6596 —עמידה על ההפרדה בכתות הלמוד אף שטוענים שאין להוציא לעז על ישראל

B"H, 11 Kislev, 5719

Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

... It is surprising that you write nothing about the question of the separation^[1], although I strongly hope that you are continuing to work on it, with the energy that befits the importance of the matter. For here too the situation is as stated above^[2], that is to say: if they do not separate them today, it is possible that by the very next day there will already be — etc.^[3] And certainly for someone like you there is no need to elaborate on this.

Of course I too am aware of the arguments that one must not cast aspersions on the Jewish people, etc.^[4] But it has already been said that about this too it is said אל תצדק הרבה, "Do not be overly righteous" (Koheles 7:16)^[5]. For our Sages — of every one of them it may be said that he is a lover of Israel (since they are ordained, generation after generation, back to Moshe Rabbeinu^[6], who was a lover of Israel^[7]) — and nevertheless they warned about this very matter, and in expressions כמדקרות חרב, "like the thrusts of a sword" (Mishlei 12:18)^[8]; and this is easily understood^[9].

As for what you write about your wife's condition: may Hashem, blessed be He, grant that the days of her pregnancy be completed properly and easily, and that she give birth to a healthy and viable child in its proper time, properly and easily.

With respect and with blessing for good news in all of the above.

Notes

[1] The question of the separation (שאלת ההפרדה): separating boys and girls into separate classes in the schools, so that they do not learn together in one class. The Rebbe pressed for this many times in these years, especially regarding the religious schools in Eretz Yisrael. See letter 6537 (1 Cheshvan 5719) and the sources noted there, and letter 6929 (14 Tammuz 5719), where the Rebbe addresses the arguments of the opponents of the separation.

[2] As stated above (כהנ"ל): in the earlier part of the letter, which is not printed here (as marked by the dots at its opening).

[3] There will already be — etc. (כבר יהי' כו'): this is not a distant concern that can be dealt with later. Every day the boys and girls remain in one class, harm may arise by the very next day, and what has happened cannot be undone. The Rebbe does not say what "will be"; he only hints at it with "etc." Moreover, once the mixed classes are set for the school year, it is much harder to change them afterward. As the verse says, ופורץ גדר ישכנו נחש, "whoever breaches a fence, a snake will bite him" (Koheles 10:8).

[4] One must not cast aspersions on the Jewish people (אין להוציא לעז על בנ"י): this is the opponents' argument: demanding that boys and girls be separated implies that they are suspect, and so slanders Jewish children. The argument draws on Chazal: לא נחשדו ישראל על משכב זכור, ולא על הבהמה, "Jews are not suspected of relations with males or with animals" (Kiddushin 82a). But regarding men and women Chazal said no such thing; on the contrary: אין אפוטרופוס לעריות, "there is no guardian against forbidden relations" (Chullin 11b). The Rebbe sets these two rulings side by side on this question in letter 6929.

[5] Do not be overly righteous (אל תצדק הרבה): from the verse אל תהי צדיק הרבה (Koheles 7:16). Rashi there: כשאול שדימה להיות צדיק וריחם על הרשעים, "like Shaul, who imagined he was being righteous and had pity on the wicked." The Gemara (Yoma 22b) relates that when Shaul wrongly pitied Amalek, a heavenly voice told him, "Do not be overly righteous." See also Koheles Rabbah 7:16: whoever becomes merciful where he should be harsh ends up harsh where he should be merciful. Here: refraining from separation so as not to "suspect" Jewish children looks like kindness and righteousness, but it is a righteousness beyond what the Torah itself requires, and the children themselves pay for it.

[6] Ordained (סמוכים): from semichah. Each Sage was ordained by his teacher, generation after generation, back to Moshe Rabbeinu, who ordained Yehoshua: ויסמך את ידיו עליו, "he laid his hands upon him" (Bamidbar 27:23). See Rambam, Hilchos Sanhedrin 4:1, and Avos 1:1: "Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Elders…" Since they are ordained in a chain from Moshe Rabbeinu, the lover of Israel, each of them is a lover of Israel.

[7] Who was a lover of Israel (שאוהב ישראל הי'): see Moshe Rabbeinu's self-sacrifice for the Jewish people after the sin of the Golden Calf: ועתה אם תשא חטאתם, ואם אין מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת, "And now, if You will forgive their sin — and if not, erase me now from Your book which You have written" (Shemos 32:32).

[8] Like the thrusts of a sword (כמדקרות חרב): from יש בוטה כמדקרות חרב (Mishlei 12:18) — sharp, cutting language. "They warned about this very matter" — about keeping men and women apart. For example: המרצה מעות לאשה מידו לידה כדי להסתכל בה, אפילו יש בידו תורה ומעשים טובים כמשה רבינו, לא ינקה מדינה של גיהנם, "one who counts out money from his hand into a woman's hand in order to gaze at her — even if he has Torah and good deeds like Moshe Rabbeinu, he will not escape the judgment of Gehinnom" (Berachos 61a). At the Simchas Beis Hashoevah they instituted a "great enactment": שיהו נשים יושבות מלמעלה ואנשים מלמטה, "that the women sit above and the men below" (Sukkah 51b), learning it from "and their wives apart" (Zechariah 12:12): והלא דברים ק"ו, ומה לעתיד לבא שעוסקין בהספד ואין יצר הרע שולט בהם, אמרה תורה אנשים לבד ונשים לבד, "Is it not an a fortiori argument? If in the future, when they will be occupied with mourning and the evil inclination has no power over them, the Torah said men apart and women apart…" (Sukkah 52a).

[9] And this is easily understood (וק"ל): if the Sages, every one of them a lover of Israel, warned about this so sharply, it is obvious that demanding separation casts no aspersion on the Jewish people, and the argument need not be heeded.

Summary

This letter urges the recipient to keep working, without delay, for separate classes for boys and girls. It answers the objection that such separation casts aspersions on Jewish children: the Sages, every one a lover of Israel, nonetheless warned sharply on this very matter.