4863 —שקידה בהטבת הבריאות ברוחניות כמו בעניני הפרנסה, ומילוי הוראות הרופא בלי לעשות העיקר טפל

B"H, 24 Marcheshvan, 5717

Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of Wednesday, with the pidyon nefesh enclosed in it, in which you write about the state of your health, which is not as it should be.

May it be G‑d's will that you throw yourself with the same vigor^[1] into improving the state of your health spiritually as you have toiled until now over your livelihood, as you write in your letter; for then this will at once also have an effect on improving the health of the body. Of course this does not rule out following the doctor's instructions, for the Torah has given the doctor permission to heal (Bava Kamma 85a), and they are emissaries of the Merciful One; but one must take care not to make the main thing secondary and the secondary thing main, of course. And especially since you had the merit to study for a number of years in Tomchei Temimim, and the words of tzaddikim and their deeds endure forever and have their effect through the hidden powers [of the soul] down to the revealed powers and the garments of the soul, which are thought, speech and action^[2].

Surely you will let me know the continued opinion of the doctors after the examination you write about, and may it be G‑d's will that you have good news soon.

Surely you keep the three well-known daily studies in Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya^[3], and from now on you should also fix an additional study of Chassidus, the "Tree of Life"^[4]; and may it soon be fulfilled in you that "whoever fulfils the Torah, etc., will in the end fulfil it in wealth" (Avos 4:9) — physical and spiritual wealth.

With blessing for good news,

M. Schneerson

Publisher's notes

Printed in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 16, p. 582.

Notes

[1] Throw yourself with the same vigor (אז ער זאל זיך אריינווארפען מיט דעם זעלבען אימפעט): this phrase is in Yiddish in the original.

[2] Thought, speech and action (מחשבה דבור ומעשה): the study in Tomchei Temimim, founded by our Rebbeim, is engraved in his soul and works through its hidden powers until it reaches the revealed powers and the three garments of the soul — thought, speech and action (see Tanya, ch. 4). He therefore has the power to affect his health through spiritual means too.

[3] Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya (חומש תהלים ותניא): the daily study of "Chitas" instituted by the Previous Rebbe.

[4] The "Tree of Life" (אילנא דחיי): a name for the inner dimension of the Torah, from the Zohar (III, 124b, Raaya Mehemna): "Because the Jewish people will taste of the Tree of Life, which is this book of the Zohar, they will go out of exile with it in mercy." See also Iggeres HaKodesh, section 26.

Summary

This letter urges the recipient, who reported poor health, to put the same energy into his spiritual life that he put into his livelihood, which will at once improve his physical health. He should follow the doctors, without making the main thing secondary, and add a fixed study of Chassidus to the daily Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya.