4968 —התועדות, התאספות נשי חב"ד, והפצת המעיינות

B"H, 24 Kislev, 5717.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"g vavac"h iy"a nu"n oseik b'tzt"z Dov Yehuda Shochat

Shalom u'Vrachah!

After the long pause, your letter from the 22nd of Kislev was received, and I read with pleasure about the farbrengen held in connection with the bright day of redemption, Yud-Tes Kislev that just passed. I also noted that Nshei Chabad gathered the following day for a lecture on the day's Torah portion and so forth.

Certainly all this will have practical effect. As is well known, our Torah—the Torah of Life—guarantees that great is study for it leads to action; this is a definite assurance also evident from several laws in Hilchos Talmud Torah. It is also significant that your letter was received on the eve of Chanukah: in our work of spreading the wellsprings outward there must be constant daily increase in this matter. The increase should be specifically in pure oil—especially in the part of Torah called Ilana d'Chayei (the Tree of Life), where there is no impurity (see Iggeres HaKodesh by Rabbeinu HaZaken sec. 26). It is already well known in many places that Torah is compared to water (bread), wine, and oil; within Torah itself, water and bread are the revealed part of Torah while wine and oil are its secrets and inner secrets.

May it be G‑d's will that through this spreading and increase we merit very soon the fulfillment of "Layla k'yom ya'ir" (the night will shine like day) with the coming of our righteous Moshiach—who is one of the eight princes among men—as explained in Torah Or by Rabbeinu HaZaken (33d–34c).

Summary

The Rebbe encourages ongoing growth in spreading Chassidus through both learning and action, likening different aspects of Torah to water, bread, wine, and oil. Increasing these efforts brings us closer to redemption with Moshiach.