1324 —התועדות לי"ט כסלו וגישת יהודים שאינם שומרי תורה ומצוות

B"H, 1st of Teves, 5712.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"ch vavac"h iy"a nu"n etc. Simon Jacobson

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I was pleased to receive your report about the gathering for the festival of festivals, Yud Tes Kislev. It is unfortunate that it was only in general terms, as well as regarding the good resolutions made by the participants. Certainly, as our Sages say, "Not study is the main thing but action," these resolutions will be brought into actual practice in the coming year for good for us and all Israel. Nevertheless, from time to time it is very appropriate to remind and encourage those who participated about fulfilling these resolutions. As our Sages say, "Great is hospitality that brings people closer," it is good to use upcoming gatherings to further motivate fulfillment of these decisions. May Hashem grant that each one of us brings into actuality what we have been given in potential; when a person sanctifies himself a little below, he is sanctified greatly from Above; one who comes to purify is assisted. It is known in Chassidus (Likkutei Torah Devarim 88b) that the wording "to purify" (l'taher) rather than "to be purified" (l'hitaher) means also to purify others.

With blessings for success in all the above—awaiting good news and concluding with regards to all Anash and their families,

M. Schneerson

P.S.: Regarding your question about your visits to various countries where you also engage in conversation with those who are not yet fully observant of Torah and mitzvos—and some object to this: The answer is that it has always been the approach of Lubavitch not to distance any Jew, even those of this type; on the contrary—to draw them closer to our Father in Heaven through pleasant words and acts of closeness. Of course, this must be done with caution, as my revered father-in-law the Rebbe zatzal said in one of his holy talks: "One should not lower oneself down to another's level but rather lift him up to oneself." Still, it is understood that even then one must extend a hand—sometimes even a long hand—to those needing help; but almost always with such caution one succeeds in this work and extracts precious from worthless. We have no other conduct than this, and we are assured that it will be successful.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that resolutions from chassidic gatherings must be put into action and regularly reinforced. When reaching out to less observant Jews, one should do so with warmth and care while maintaining spiritual integrity—success comes through this balanced approach.