2034 —חיזוק התורה והמצוות כהעזרה האמיתית לארץ ישראל

B"H, 5 Adar, 5713.

Brooklyn.

Havavac"h iy"a nu"n ossek b'tzt"z Moreinu Harav Baruch Litvin

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I received your letter from the 3rd of Yitro, which is a response to my letter to you, and I am interested to know whether you received a reply to your telegraphic and written appeal to the Jewish Appeal, and what their response was.

However, one must know that if we want to help our Holy Land, we must do so by strengthening there the matters of Torah and mitzvos. For the Almighty, blessed be He, cannot be outsmarted; and if He—blessed be He—exiled us from our land, it was not because the Romans or Aspasinos wanted it so, but rather "Mipnei chata'einu galinu me'artzeinu" (because of our sins we were exiled from our land), and Eretz Yisrael is such a land that, as it says in our holy Torah (end of Parshas Acharei), it does not tolerate transgressions.

Therefore, anyone who truly wants to help and seeks the genuine good of our Holy Land and the good of the Jews living there must first ensure this point—not to be persuaded that there are more important or even equally important matters. In maintaining a house and its existence, the first thing is a healthy foundation; if G‑d forbid the foundation is not good or properly set, then the greater the building is, not only does it not bring benefit—it is actually harmful, G‑d forbid.

Since regarding Eretz Yisrael one should not speak even good words unless it concerns practical action on a matter, it is therefore difficult for me to elaborate on this. Especially since I am sure that for you even this brief mention will suffice.

You write in your letter about the electric saw for Kfar Chabad which you have to send but need to pay customs. I would like to know approximately how much this customs fee will cost and also whether one needs a license to import the saw into Eretz HaKodesh T'vuah.

I wish you a joyous Purim! Until Purim you should also use the time to strengthen matters of Torah and mitzvos—which can never be too much—and when one truly desires this, Hashem Yisbarach grants success when mitzvos are done joyfully and in a joyful manner.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that genuine support for Eretz Yisrael begins with strengthening Torah observance there. Material efforts are only effective when built upon a solid spiritual foundation rooted in mitzvah observance.