4729 —אמת לעומת פשרה בהדרכה תורנית ובהפצת תורה

B"H, 27 Elul, 5716.

Brooklyn, NY.

Havavac"h iy"a nu"n engaged in tzt"z etc. Yitzchak

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I received your letter in due time along with the printed copy of your article "Ad Matai?", and I greatly enjoyed its content. I hope this is the beginning of a series of articles—and more importantly—of actions aimed at achieving the hoped-for goal.

I delayed my response because I wanted to see what kind of reaction your article would generate among the circles you intended. Now, after Mr. Blizinski came here and relayed to me the content of your conversation with him, I regretfully see that one of my concerns has been confirmed: namely, that people are misusing the saying of our Sages "Rachmana liba ba'i" (the Merciful One desires the heart) out of context. In other words, even though they recognize that the demand is generally justified, they refuse to draw and implement practical conclusions, evading them in every way with empty excuses—even to the point of confusion.

My intention is simple: The foundation of all foundations is to recognize complete truth and not begin with compromises. This does not mean, of course, that we should expect everyone whose conduct is not yet proper to immediately change completely. But it is necessary to demand that they truly recognize this fact as it is—because truth and compromise are opposites. Even if a person stumbles in practice for various reasons or lacks strength of will despite recognizing the truth, he must realize at his moment of failure that he is transgressing against his conscience. Then there remains hope that he will try to correct himself and draw closer to the desired perfection.

If instead a person convinces himself that compromise itself is ultimate perfection and places compromise in place of truth, he deprives himself of any possibility to correct what is wrong or lacking.

From this you can understand my perspective regarding your discussion with Mr. Blizinski about what should be demanded from those who come seeking guidance and answers to their question "Ad Matai?" My opinion is clear—based on experience—that one must answer them firmly: The Torah is a Torah of life; it does not allow for compromises. Either way—if you recognize that Torah is from Heaven—then man with his limited intellect cannot or may not change anything in it. On the other hand, if human intellect is the final authority, then Torah loses all its value and force as G‑d's living Torah; man remains without support—like the saying goes: no one can lift himself by pulling his own hair.

If the questioner recognizes the truth and wants to reach it, then he should be given an approach suited to his nature and environment—to show him the best way for him personally to reach the goal. One person may lean toward "turn from evil," another chooses "do good," etc.—these are only instructions for how best to reach the desired goal.

But if compromise itself is made into the starting point—not only will this not lead to the desired goal but will actually produce opposite results.

Additionally—as explained in Tanya—a person should not lose heart over his difficult battle with his yetzer (inclination), even if it seems he falls daily; such ups and downs are normal in our world—sometimes one falls, sometimes rises. But it’s clear that every good deed adds more light in the world and diminishes darkness—not only in one's personal world but also globally (see also Iggeres HaTeshuvah ch. 11).

There are circles here—and surely similar ones in Eretz HaKodesh—who say that if you present all 613 mitzvos at once you’ll scare away those seeking purity and drive away many Jewish souls. But experience has shown otherwise: people sense when a compromise has been offered and lose trust even after explanations about why Torah was presented partially.

It’s well known from our Rebbeim: "It’s certain that outreach never returns empty-handed." I am confident your efforts have already borne fruit—and fruits of fruits! Yet nowadays we cannot be satisfied with little; we must strive appropriately to use every moment during these critical times to save Jewish souls—for who knows if there will be another chance afterward?

I therefore hope you will continue your activities as described above—and completely reject fears about demanding too much or doubts about whether your outreach has impact—it certainly does! Especially if you increase it forcefully and openly since Divine Providence has enabled you to awaken hearts among certain circles who until now were—as Rambam says—forgetting truth amid worldly vanities…asleep while their sleep pleases them.

Allow me also to add: one method for successful outreach here (and elsewhere) is showing a living example through thought-speech-action by the activist himself—the merit of many helps him overcome his own struggles more easily than he imagines.

I fear for several reasons there may be less success among those already middle-aged or older—but I hope for great success among youth circles; perhaps they’ll influence elders too—as our Sages say about Messianic times: "youths will shame elders; elders will stand before youngsters," but here—in its positive sense.

I await good news on all this—and wish you and yours a good inscription and sealing for a sweet new year—with honor.

Regarding practical instructions: since all Jews are believers—the children of believers—in our Sages’ words: they said tefillin represents subjugation of heart/mind; all Torah was compared with tefillin; conversely non-kosher food dulls heart/mind. Therefore these two matters should be introduced immediately as universal beginnings—plus starting each day with prayer and giving some coins to tzedakah (charity on weekdays). Prayer must follow only our established text composed by Anshei Knesses HaGedolah—not just for its inner meaning but so all returnees know they’re united daily by their prayer/conduct. If someone insists on adding something personal let him do so after this prayer—but as prayer itself per my approach one must know/recite from Siddur: Birkos HaShachar (morning blessings), Krias Shema, Shemoneh Esrei—including Tefillas Sheva/Musaf generally (and Shemoneh Esrei on Motzaei Shabbos/festivals). It must always be stressed—even missing any mitzvah now—even at first—is still an aveirah (transgression) requiring teshuvah work too.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that true progress comes from recognizing uncompromised truth rather than settling for partial measures or excuses. Outreach must present authentic Torah standards while guiding each individual according to their capacity—never diluting core values for convenience or fear.