2826 —תמריצים מבוססי עמלה למכירת ספרי קה"ת והפצה

B"H, 24 Tammuz, 5714.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"g vaharaha"ch iy"a nu"n engaged in tzt"z Moharba"g Binyamin Eliyahu Gorodetzki

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I acknowledge receipt of your letter from the Fast of the Fourth Month—may it soon be transformed to joy—and the subsequent letter. I also received the telegram from your trip to Tunis, and certainly you also meant the island of Djerba...

I was very pleased with what you wrote about finding someone to translate the talks from Yiddish to French. However, your conclusion that all the notebooks for the coming year will be sent—surely you know that here too the notebook appears at the beginning of each month, meaning they are finished in writing in the last days. Thus, it is clear that in this way, the French editions will never appear on time. Since time is needed for translation as well, hopefully they will appear after a second month. Therefore, this should be done with notebooks from previous years; aside from parshiyot or haftarot, these notebooks are suitable for all years.

Regarding books: if book sales are entrusted to an outsider, there is a significant concern that until a substantial quantity of books he receives is sold, he will absolutely not allow new books to be brought in and will simply say that lack of sales proves there is no demand, etc., etc. Therefore—and for other reasons as well—one should not entrust or involve an outsider in this matter. Among Anash I do not know anyone who can officially be given this responsibility except for Reb Yisroel Shmotkin. However, practically speaking, young people—those with actual energy—should be utilized for this task so they can strive for maximal sales and distribution. It is understood that if those involved request a salary it is worthwhile because after all who knows what will happen with the books? Perhaps it would be better to set their salary as a percentage commission rather than a fixed wage so as to increase motivation. Whom among the young people to include in this can surely be determined locally; in any case all Chabad organizations must also be obligated to participate in distribution according to their general role of spreading the wellsprings outward. Here too Tzeirei Agudas Chassidei Chabad are especially relevant since they travel and visit villages and settlements and thus have familiarity with people on site...

For some time there have been discussions about printing the talks in Lashon HaKodesh in Eretz HaKodesh; Rabbi Shalom Chaskind has taken this upon himself. As with other Chabad matters, immediately comes the question of resources; therefore at present this matter has quieted down. Since I anticipated this delay I spoke generally about it with Mr. Shazar and told him my intention regarding publishing a monthly journal in Lashon HaKodesh in Eretz HaKodesh...

I also spoke with him about finding means for a group of Talmud Torah students from here to travel for several months to Eretz HaKodesh on condition that there too they would remain under Talmud Torah's authority—even though naturally they would tour the land as well—but under his supervision and not under that of the Agency...

You surely know about Mossad Harav Kook which prints books and is also connected with publishing Sinai magazine which is mostly dedicated to halachah and aggadah topics. When Mr. Mindel visited Eretz HaKodesh last year I asked him to contact Mossad's management and arrange that my library receive their publications—especially those already published—since my library here serves many people. Naturally there is no fund here to pay for these books; likewise they should receive publications from Kehos if requested. Unfortunately Mindel was unsuccessful even though he met some management members—they told him it was not their custom and their only way is through purchase etc., etc....

It would be worthwhile during your stay in Eretz HaKodesh to find out who handles this matter because without doubt with proper explanation they will agree as above; shipping costs—their previous expenses which surely amount to a significant sum—should be covered by Aguch or similar organizations.

This approach should also be suggested to other publishers in Eretz HaKodesh especially Torat Hibitz (which publishes science books), university publishers etc....

I believe I told you when you were here about our conversation with Mr. Shazar regarding possibly founding a second Kfar Chabad in Eretz HaKodesh; its conclusion was that for now they will develop Kfar Chabad I further. Nevertheless it would be worthwhile for you to clarify his view on this matter after completion of what was mentioned above etc....

Reb Moshe Lipsker wrote me that he was informed about a proposal to establish a yeshivah near Rabbi Amram's ohel (may his memory be blessed), which people visit twice yearly etc.; the location is between Fes and Meknes. I await your opinion on this as well.

Blessings for success in your holy work regarding all of the above.

Summary

The Rebbe advises using energetic young community members on commission-based terms for Kehos seforim sales rather than outsiders or fixed salaries, emphasizing local initiative and organizational involvement while addressing broader issues of translation, publication logistics, and collaboration within Jewish institutions.