3124 —שאלות על לימוד תורה, קשר פנימי לרב, ולימוד חסידות

B"H, 19 Kislev, 5715.

Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the first of Vayishlach, in which you write that you are troubled by the first part of my letter (my response to your letter), specifically: how is it possible that someone studying Torah would set aside what is written in a book accepted among Israel if he finds a contradiction? I have already explained in my previous letter at length the reasons for this. Even if the reasons were not known, this is something that happens frequently—especially among students of certain yeshivot where there is a lack of study of the inner dimension of Torah—who dismiss the opinions of later authorities and their books. I do not wish to specify who these dismissers are (and what benefit would there be in doing so), even though they do this publicly. The types of works they dismiss include Magen Avraham, Chatam Sofer, etc.

b) You are also confused about how it is possible to achieve an inner connection between the soul of the student and that of the teacher, and how one can be sure he has found the right one. In your opinion, perhaps such an inner bond only comes after an external connection has been formed. Regarding responsibility: we see even greater responsibility every day in matters of shidduchim (marriage matches), as explained in Zohar (part I, p. 85b), that the souls of husband and wife are halves of one soul which, upon descending below, split—one half entering the husband's body and one half entering the wife's body. Clearly then, uniting two halves of one soul—without which each is only half a person—is an even greater responsibility than drawing a particular soul close to its general root. Yet shidduchim happen every day. Therefore it must be that Hashem runs and supervises His world with individual providence; when a person does all that is incumbent upon him according to Torah, he receives help from above and is led toward his goal and purpose. The same applies to the connection between student and teacher or chasid and Rebbe.

c) Regarding your question about how to study the inner dimension of Torah: this question itself is surprising! After all, Penimiyut HaTorah (the inner dimension) is part of Torah—as its name implies—and therefore its study follows the same approach as all other parts: with "na'aseh" preceding "nishma" (which means understanding and comprehension—see "for Your servant hears"). Thus at first one grasps only superficial aspects; but when one studies not for argument's sake but truly wishes to understand G‑d's Torah, then with help from above one comes to know and understand matters properly—as our Sages said: "To establish halachah according to truth requires heavenly assistance," and as they also said (Sanhedrin 93b): "The law follows him because Hashem was with him." So too here: let him study Chassidus abundantly without getting bogged down at first by details—just as he did when beginning Gemara—and over time he will succeed.

d) It is astonishing that you do not recognize that all your questions and debates are incitements from the yetzer hara—they come from kelipah trying every way possible to delay your beginning study of Penimiyut HaTorah; thus it confuses you with questions and debates. As you yourself wrote in your letter: since then until now you are still groping in darkness—that is, seven months have passed during which you could have learned at least a few lines daily from Penimiyut HaTorah (the Tree of Life); instead you spent time debating whether or not it is worthwhile or permissible to learn it.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that doubts about learning Chassidus often stem from spiritual resistance rather than genuine intellectual difficulty. He encourages beginning regular study without delay or over-analysis; true understanding will come through sincere effort aided by Divine assistance.