6004 —המשכת ההשפעה במקום, וחשיבות הפצת היהדות

B"H, 22 Teves, 5718.

Brooklyn.

Havavac"h iy"a nu"n his work is the work of Heaven Harav Tzvi Dov Travis

Shalom u'Vrachah!

After the longest break, your letter from Thursday was received, in which you write about your current way of life and ask my opinion whether to continue with it or try to move to a larger city with many G‑d-fearing people.

Based on what I have often heard as directives in such matters from my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe zatzal, since Divine Providence has granted you that your voice is heard and your influence is felt where you are—and since there are not many Torah-observant people there—not only should you not move away from there, but on the contrary: you should become even more connected there. You should seek advice and strategies on how to fully utilize the influence you have. From your letter and description of your life, it seems you are utilizing this influence only minimally and insufficiently. Although it appears from your letter that you use your free time for personal study—and Torah study is indeed great—nonetheless, in our era and especially in our generation in the United States, spreading Judaism on the largest scale is truly a matter of saving lives—not just for the World to Come but also for this world. This can be seen clearly in the lives of youth: an education that is non-religious or only minimally religious puts their conduct at risk—even to its lowest point—and this is well understood.

A mitzvah that cannot be done by others—and especially the mitzvah of saving lives—certainly takes precedence even over Torah study, as our Sages ruled in many places. All the more so since you have merited to be in such a place at this unique time when there is an awakening toward teshuvah and religious life—even among those who previously had no such inclination at all. Anyone who contemplates the idea of 'Ve'ahavta l'reacha kamocha' (Love your fellow as yourself), especially according to our Rebbes' well-known saying from Rabbeinu HaZaken that 'Ve'ahavta l'reacha kamocha' (Love your fellow as yourself) is one with 'Ve'ahavta es Hashem Elokecha' (Love the L‑rd your G‑d), which is the root of all mitzvos—and as our Sages taught: one who serves out of love cannot be compared to one who serves out of fear—certainly would not even entertain such a question.

I strongly hope that these few lines will suffice for my answer. Moreover, I hope you will find suitable words to explain and illuminate this matter for your wife so that she will not only agree with what was said above—that is, being involved in strengthening Judaism within your community with dedication—but will also actively participate. May both of you succeed ever more so—increasing light as Torah demands: "Ma'alin bakodesh" (we ascend in holiness).

I look forward to hearing good news about all of this.

P.S. At the end of your letter you ask whether it suffices to serve Hashem as you do now. According to what was said above: it is absolutely forbidden to be satisfied with this; rather, you must increase manifold your efforts in strengthening Judaism—many times over! Nothing stands before true willpower—especially nowadays when we see clear success in such work.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that when one's positive influence benefits a community lacking strong Jewish observance, they must remain and intensify their outreach efforts rather than seek a more religious environment elsewhere; spreading Judaism locally saves lives both spiritually and physically.