4472 —פרסום תורת חיים, גלגול נשמות, והפצת תורה לכל יהודי

B"H, 21 Sivan, 5716.

Brooklyn.

Havavac"h iy"a nu"n involved in tzt"z RY Shteinfeild

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I was given the content of your letter, in which you are surprised that in my conversation with a certain individual from among the Jewish people—though at present he is not among those who are scrupulous regarding the word of G‑d—I spoke to him about the concept of gilgul neshamot (reincarnation of souls). I am surprised at your surprise, since the concept of gilgul neshamot has already been discussed in books printed in numerous places and at length. Its foundation is found among the Rishonim who studied it this way and also printed it in their books. It has thus left the category of being solely an esoteric teaching of the inner dimension of Torah and is now discussed openly. Especially since only through the concept of gilgul neshamot is it possible to resolve great difficulties faced by our fellow Jews today—particularly young Jews who reflect on what has happened to the Jewish people in recent years. This negatively affects their faith in Divine Providence and G‑d's guidance of the world, weakening their practical observance of mitzvot and so forth. This is well known to anyone who interacts with the younger generation and youth in America especially.

Anyone who can find a channel or method for publicizing matters of our holy Torah—a Torah of life—to the public is obligated to do so as much as possible. Furthermore, regarding publishing words of Torah in newspapers: although generations ago there was great caution due to concerns that newspapers would not be treated respectfully and might be discarded on the streets, even here leading sages began this practice in the generation before ours. As is known from how religious newspapers operated in Poland and Eretz Yisrael, and likewise several Torah matters were published by my father-in-law, the Rebbe (of blessed memory), leader of Israel, in American newspapers—so long as they reach even one or two Jews and bring them to truth and light.

If only all those who are scrupulous regarding G‑d's word would go out into public squares and teach Jews Torah without first requiring them to become observant before teaching them! By spreading Torah widely like this, many precious Jewish souls would be saved for G‑d and His Torah much more quickly.

Although it is known from Zohar—and explained many times in Chassidut (including Tanya)—that "Torah without awe and love does not ascend above," we see clearly that this approach—informing every Jew who asks about our living Torah with clear explanation and closeness—ultimately brings listeners closer (even if not all listeners are affected equally). See also Hilchot Talmud Torah by Rabbeinu HaZaken—the author of Tanya and Shulchan Aruch—chapter 4 section 3 in Kuntres Acharon: "And also the teacher must say that one should introduce..." etc. Especially regarding well-known matters of Torah that are misunderstood or misinterpreted incorrectly, leading people to opposite conclusions from truth.

I sense from your letter that this wonderment is shared by several of your friends; therefore I ask you to share this content with them as well—and most importantly: awaken them and explain that many fellow Jews are drowning in a vast sea of ignorance. This alone explains why some are lax about practical mitzvah observance. Anyone able to help but hides within his own four cubits while justifying himself as being right while others are wrong—this attitude has already been explained in Zohar at length regarding the difference between Moshe Rabbeinu's conduct after Matan Torah versus Noach's conduct before Matan Torah.

In truth we do not even need Zohar's explanation here; logically: if someone walking by a riverbank sees a fellow Jew drowning there, surely he would interrupt his studies and do everything possible to save him from drowning—without asking whether he puts on tefillin daily or not. If this applies for saving a body—all the more so for saving a soul!

Furthermore—even if one were to say there is doubt whether teaching him Torah will change his ways—who can rule on such life-and-death matters that someone will never repent? At least there remains doubt—and halachic rulings state that even doubtful cases override everything else; these rulings appear in the same Shulchan Aruch where tefillin laws are written.

May it be G‑d's will that you find the right words to explain all this to your friends until they change their previous approach—and fulfill our Sages' teaching: "When gathering time comes—disperse!" Spread forth words of living G‑d until they reach even outside boundaries.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that spreading Torah—including deep concepts like gilgul neshamot—is vital for reaching every Jew. Outreach should have no preconditions; just as we save lives regardless of background, so too must we strive to rescue souls through open sharing of Torah wisdom.