96 —שאלות על הדפסות, פרסומי חב"ד, ומשמעות שם בן

B"H, Thursday, 9 Elul, 5715.

Brooklyn, NY.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letters—briefly, as I am busy with the printing of Kuntres U'Maayan, the Pesach talk, and other matters (which also caused the delay in my reply):

a) You surely received our previous letter regarding your coming here to consult about work in your city concerning education al taharas hakodesh (pure Torah education) and outreach to strengthen mitzvah observance and Torah study.

b) For a certain reason, "HaKriah V'Hakedusha" has been delayed these past months; we hope it will be published (for Tammuz, Menachem Av, Elul) within about a week.

c) All printed materials you requested are being sent to you; surely by now you have also received copies of the letter for Kliatzkin. It is surprising that there is still a delay.

d) We received from you on 20 Tammuz eight booklets; on 1 Elul twenty-five booklets; and via Harav Fradmaski thirty booklets.

e) The Sefer Torah committee sent several receipts and letters about two weeks ago. Surely these also reached all those who participated through you. If not—please let me know which names are missing and I will look into it.

f) As I have heard—and you can confirm this with Rashal—the tefillin of Maharad a"h Shifrin are not mehudar at all. If nevertheless you want them, let me know and I will find out where they are and try to fulfill your request.

g) To Rabbi Karlebach we sent our books Vol. I and Vol. V as requested.

h) Through whom is it possible to arrange for our educational books to enter your Jewish Congress circles?

i) Perhaps it is worthwhile and possible for your newspaper to print a review about "our books" specifically and our other publications in general? Since efforts from here have not succeeded, it is worth trying that several readers write letters to the editorial board about this or similar methods.

j) We are now preparing for print a calendar—in English—as last year; also a book about the Beis HaMikdash with plans of the Temple service etc.—also in the local language—and if donors are found their names can be printed. If time permits there will also be a calendar as above by Machane Yisrael in Yiddish.

Regarding what you wrote about Shemos Ayin-Beis (72), Samech-Gimmel (63), Mem-Heh (45)—why is the larger number written first except for Shem Ben? Many years ago I saw in a certain book—apparently by Maharash of Ostropoli—that explains this: Ayin-Beis, Samech-Gimmel, Mem-Heh in small gematria total nine; likewise "Ben," since final Nun is counted as 700 (see Rashi Sukkah 52b; see also Likkutei Torah beginning Parshas Berachah and end Parshas Balak; explained further in Eitz Chaim Shaar Perek HaTzelem ch. 6 and Shaar Tikkun HaYareach ch. 5), which in small gematria is nine. But "Nun-Beis" is only seven in small gematria. I do not recall if he explains why specifically nine is required here. Perhaps because nine is "the ultimate number beyond which there is nothing higher" (as stated in Eitz Chaim), since ten returns to one as another cycle begins. See also the introduction to Sefer Shefa Tal (apparently studied much in your country), where he elaborates on the virtue of nine regarding Shem Mah being nine in small gematria.

Simply put: as with mnemonic devices, they chose an arrangement easy to remember—i.e., forming a meaningful word—whereas "Nun-Beis" has no meaning (though this raises a question about "Mem-Beis," which could have been written as "Be-Mem").

On a deeper level: The aspect of Shem "Ben" relates to the word "Even" (stone)—(see Yichuda Ila'a end ch. 7; incidentally: what he writes anonymously there—see Likkutei Torah discourse V'Samti Kadkod p.63; hinted at also in Torah Ohr Bo Yud discourse V'Tachas Raglav)—regarding the four sons in the Haggadah (Pri Etz Chaim Shaar Hachametz ch.6; mentioned also in Siddur Maharid of Liadi), ten sons from Maamar Elkana (Likkutei Torah from Arizal Shmuel A). See also this year's Pesach talk regarding Kan HaBen Shoel Mah (here the son asks what). See Biur HaZohar Parshas Behaaloscha on difference between final Nun straight or bent; Likkutei Torah discourse Acharei D'Achar Teileichu; unclear if relevant here.

The continuation regarding other questions will follow next time.

Summary

The Rebbe addresses both practical issues related to Chabad publications and mystical questions about Divine names and their numerical values. He encourages proactive efforts for spreading Torah materials while providing deep insights into Kabbalistic concepts like Shem Ben.