3912 —הקדשת זמן להשפעה על האשה והילדים

B"H, 29 MarCheshvan, 5716

Brooklyn.

Greetings and blessing!

...On this occasion I wish to arouse you: it is not evident from any of your letters that you devote of your time and strength to exerting influence in your own home, that is, on your wife and your children, may they live — and in pleasant ways and in matters that draw them close.

And I write the precise expression "devote" (yakdish, literally "sanctify"), because this is a matter of holiness, since it concerns the survival of "עם קדוש" — "a holy people" (cf. Devarim 7:6).

And "אין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו" — "a verse does not depart from its plain meaning" (Shabbos 63a): "ושננתם לבניך" — "And you shall teach them to your children" (Devarim 6:7), as is also explained in Hilchos Talmud Torah. And especially since the talk of the Rebbe (the Rebbe Rashab), whose soul is in Eden, is well known, which begins: just as one is obligated to put on tefillin every day, so one is obligated to devote of one's time to influencing one's wife and children, etc., etc.

And it is understood that one cannot discharge one's obligation with matters of "Shpitz Chabad" (the very pinnacle of Chabad) and "lights without vessels" at the expense of others. And in the end this is also at one's own expense. And may G‑d, blessed be He, grant you success to serve as a living example in this matter for your friends and acquaintances as well.

And it is understood that one should not begrudge the time needed for these activities, for, as said above, thereby one sanctifies the time; and holiness and mitzvah draw after them holiness and mitzvah (cf. Avos 4:2: "מצוה גוררת מצוה" — "one mitzvah brings another").

Awaiting good news in all the above.

Publisher's notes

Printed in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 22, p. 432.

The talk is well known (שמפורסמת שיחת): see above, vol. 5, letter 1391, and the references in the notes there.