5144 —תכניות בניה, שיפוץ דירות, והכשרת סופרים בתומכי תמימים

B"H, 20 Shevat, 5717.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"ch iy"a nu"n oseik b'tzt"z haranan.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the 16th of Shevat, it is surprising that you did not mention matters regarding the building. According to what Haraha"g Haraha"ch iy"a nu"n oseik b'tzt"z Harabag told me, there is already a full and final agreement from the Joint to build four apartments for the Ram and the Rosh Yeshiva of Tomchei Temimim. As a result, their current apartments in the building will be vacated to expand the space for Tomchei Temimim, and some renovations can also be made in the Tomchei Temimim building. It is understood that one must be vigilant to ensure that these renovations are done properly and that their promises are fulfilled. As he told me, it is estimated that by the end of this week or the beginning of next week a detailed list regarding the apartments and renovations will already be received by our office in Paris. Naturally, vigilance should be exercised by the administration of Tomchei Temimim in Brunna with you at its head, and surely you are making the necessary preparations for this. For several reasons it is not advisable to delay what depends on them; since all these agreements did not come through their own initiative but only after negotiations and discussions etc., it is also understood that now is not the time to make further financial demands from them. This should be clear.

I was pleased to hear that there are suitable students for learning the craft of making batim (tefillin boxes) and writing parshiyot (Torah scroll sections). In addition to providing a livelihood in a simple sense, there is another advantage: these students will not seek out business or similar pursuits which could lead them into unknown environments. On the other hand, it is also clear that there is no place at all for all or even most or half of the students to learn this craft—since this is not the main focus of Tomchei Temimim students; especially as it changes the nature of a yeshiva into something resembling a school for scribes etc.

The pleasant approach here is to estimate in advance how many students possess the highest potential one can hope for from them and organize matters of the school for scribes accordingly—of course in consultation with Haraha"ch Levin on this matter—so there will be no room for accepting additional students. A deeper approach here fits with what we discussed when you were here: above all else it is necessary to instill love and enthusiasm for learning both Nigleh (revealed Torah) and Chassidus among all students—even if temporarily one must apply our Sages' remedy: "A person should always study Torah even not for its own sake—for from studying not for its own sake one comes to study for its own sake." It is understood that in our case studying not for its own sake is acceptable—and surely you will find appropriate words regarding all this.

Awaiting good news.

After writing the above I received information that there have been changes regarding building schedules etc., and there may yet be further changes—but surely you remain in constant contact about this with the office in Paris.

Regarding students training as sofrim (scribes), it is clear that three or four are insufficient since representatives of the Joint stipulated that it must be an actual school—and their support depends on this.

Summary

The Rebbe guides careful oversight over building projects at Tomchei Temimim while encouraging only select students to train as scribes so as not to alter yeshiva priorities. He stresses fostering enthusiasm for Torah and Chassidus learning among all students above vocational pursuits.