6049 - Blessing, Prayer, and Renewed Commitment to Torah and Ahavas Yisrael

Holy letters of the Rebbe, Volume 16, Letter 6049, Baruch Hashem, 13 Shevat. This is addressed to the Gaon, Moreinu HaRav Menachem Nachum Feldman, sheyichye, in Omaha. He lived in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Rebbe addressed him. Apparently, in Omaha at that time, there were still some great rabbis there, like Rabbi Shlomo Beracha.

 

The Rebbe gives titles for Shmuel David sheyichye HaLevi Raichik. This was Rabbi Raichik; he was in California, but he would travel for the Rebbe to various places. They called that a "Shadar." A Shadar is "Shlucha deRachmana," meaning an agent of Hashem traveling around. This preceded the concept of "Shlichus," where he was a traveling Shaliach. They would spread Yiddishkeit and also raise money for Chabad activities for the Rebbe. He would visit communities that were neglected, such as Omaha, Nebraska.

 

The Rebbe says that Rabbi Shmuel David Raichik passed along a Pidyon Nefesh—a "redemption of soul" note—where the recipient was asking for a blessing for himself and for his son, Shapsy. He was asking "avurai" (for himself) and "uvno" (for his son) Shapsy, sheyichye.

 

The Rebbe says: "During an auspicious time, I will mention them on the holy Tziun of my father-in-law," referring to the titles for his father-in-law, regarding everything they are asking fitting to the contents of that Pidyon Nefesh note. The Rebbe continues: "For sure it is extra to encourage you and to tell you that the more that you add in matters of Torah and Mitzvos, the One who gave the Torah adds." The One who gave the Torah and the Mitzvos, the One who commands the Mitzvos, adds because He leads the world and supervises each and every person with very specific supervision. He adds in His blessings to everything the person and his family needs.

 

So the Rebbe says, you are writing your needs in that redemption of soul note, but you should know—and I don’t have to encourage you—that the more you add in Yiddishkeit, Torah, and Mitzvos, the more you get from Hashem. The One who gave us the Torah and told us the Mitzvos is the One who runs the world and supervises everything. When He sees that you are doing more Mitzvos and more Torah, He blesses you because He is in charge.

 

The Rebbe then moves on to one of the main principles. Since the recipient was in Omaha, Nebraska, the Rebbe took every opportunity to respond. He says: "One of the main Mitzvos is to influence your environment." The Rebbe likely felt he was in an area where he needed to reach out. He points to the Mitzvah of "V’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha"—love thy fellow as yourself. Rabbi Akiva said this is a major principle of the Torah; it’s not just a regular Mitzvah.

 

This is also part of the portion of the week, the portion of Yitro regarding Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah). At that time, it was the 13th of Shevat. As we saw before, the 10th of Shevat was in the portion of Beshalach, so the 13th was already the next week in the portion of Yitro.

 

The Rebbe says that in the portion of Yitro, as we see articulated in the holy Zohar, when was the Torah given? Only after Yitro admitted and said, "Ata yadati ki gadol Hashem mikol ha’elohim"—"Now I see that Hashem is greater than any of the other gods." That acknowledgment needed to come first before Hashem gave the Torah. That is the order in the Parsha: Yitro comes, declares Hashem is greater than all gods, and then the Torah is given. Why? Because of "yitron ha’or mitoch hachoshech"—the advantage of light is when it comes from darkness. Even Yitro, who had worshipped all other idols, came to the recognition that Hashem is the greatest. That is the advantage of light coming from darkness, and that is when Hashem gives the Torah.

 

The same is true at all times. Even though the Torah was given once many years ago, every day it should be as if the Torah is being given anew. We should always treat the Torah as something new, as we say: "Bechol yom yiheyu chadashim be’enecha"—every day it should be new in your eyes. We have evidence for this in the Bracha we make on the Torah: "Baruch Ata Hashem, Noten HaTorah"—the One who gives the Torah, in the present tense. We don’t say "who gave us the Torah" in the past; we say He gives it now.

 

Therefore, when we talk about Matan Torah, we need the concept of "lehotzi yakar mizolel." This is the language used in the verse: to extract something precious from someone who overpowered or consumed it. "Zolel" basically means that if you find a soul who is lost and you bring that soul back, you are taking out a precious soul and returning it to its place. This is "yakar mizolel"—either by helping another person return to Yiddishkeit or even by subduing your own nature to do a little more. You take the precious from the "other side" that holds onto you, extracting yourself from the clutches of the evil inclination trying to hold you back.

 

The Rebbe also references Tanya, chapter 27 (page 34b), mentioning that even great rabbis wouldn't eat right away in the morning. They would stay hungry for two hours because they didn't want to give in to natural temptation; they wanted to exercise self-control.

 

The Rebbe then mentions the three daily studies: Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya, known as "Chitas." We heard many times from the previous Rebbe that these are equal for everybody and are especially effective for many things. The Rebbe is following up: you are looking for blessings and need help from Hashem? Do the Chitas. The previous Rebbe said this helps for many things. "At least," the Rebbe says, "keep it from here on out." He concludes with honor and blessings for good news.

 

Here you see the Rebbe: anytime he got a hold of a name through people traveling, he followed up. He was kind, reached out, and always had a lesson. People responded in kind. The Rebbe showed us what to do: reach out to every person that comes along the way. If someone wrote a letter, the Rebbe wrote back and encouraged them. Since the recipient was asking for blessings, the Rebbe told him the more Mitzvos and Torah he did, the more blessings he would receive. One of the big Mitzvos is to spread Yiddishkeit in your community, to go out and bring in others—which is the concept of "yakar mizolel"—and also to work on yourself. The Rebbe encouraged the daily study of Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya, wishing them good news in all the above.