6724 —בר מצוה שקרא את כל הסדרה: תוספת לימוד תורה לפני קבלת עול מצות עדיפה על לימוד טעמי המקרא

B"H, 17 Adar I, 5719
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of Shushan Purim Katan^[1], with the pidyon nefesh^[2] enclosed with it.

On the whole it was pleasant for me to read in your letter the main points^[3] of the bar mitzvah celebration of your son …, may he live, in …^[4] But here is the place to remark, even though one does not cry out over the past^[5]: I mean the beginning of your letter, that the bar mitzvah boy read the entire sidrah. Surely it is superfluous to elaborate that these days are not like the former days^[6]. In earlier times all Jewish children spent the entire day and night in an atmosphere of Torah and mitzvos, and their studies took many hours every single day. Therefore one in whom they saw the talent to master the cantillation easily, to the point of reading the sidrah by heart^[7], learned it willingly, and occupied himself also with this, in his free time, after the many hours he had actually spent in study. Not so when the hours of study are limited in general, and a certain part of them goes to secular studies, and people warn that one must watch over the child's physical health, and so not to occupy him too much, and that he should go for walks, etc., etc., and sometimes they even add that one must be meticulous about this^[8]. Taking all of this into account, when the time of accepting the yoke of the mitzvos approaches, they spend several hours of the preparation for accepting the yoke of the mitzvos not on additional study of Torah and its matters, but on learning the cantillation, and in most cases, as good as all, only of the sidrah that the boy will chant in the synagogue on the holy Shabbos^[9], and nothing more. It is understood that the small reward there is in this is cancelled out, etc.^[10]

And to resolve what I wrote at the beginning, that this falls under crying out over the past: in my opinion it is a mitzvah to publicize that, however lofty the public reading of the Torah may be, there is a loftier matter still: to study Torah with diligence and assiduity and to fulfill the mitzvos in the finest manner possible, especially at auspicious times, when every hour is very precious; and the time in question is also the period before accepting the yoke of the mitzvos. And although in my opinion too there is benefit in the derashah that the bar mitzvah boy delivers, which also takes valuable time, yet, besides the fact that this custom has been hallowed from early years, which is not so with the bar mitzvah boy reading the Torah in public, in the speech there is the choice to put in some words of inspiration, and the actual speech is in itself^[11] an inspiration, even if it is only pilpul: an inspiration not only for the bar mitzvah boy but also for those assembled. Not so the public reading of the Torah, which a chazzan or the like does every single week. Moreover, the time taken to learn the cantillation of the sidrah comes in addition to the time taken to learn the speeches mentioned above.

As to what you write about renting out your basement apartment: it would be proper to pledge to tzedakah more than a tenth of the first year's rent; and may G‑d, blessed be He^[12], grant them success…

With blessings for good news^[13] in all the above.

Notes

1. Shushan Purim Katan (שושן פו"ק): שושן פו"ק = שושן פורים קטן, the 15th of the first Adar; in 5719 it fell on Monday, 23 February 1959.

2. Pidyon nefesh (הפ"נ): הפ"נ = הפדיון נפש, a note requesting a blessing.

3. The main points (ר"פ): ר"פ = ראשי פרקים, "main points, an outline".

4. Your son …, may he live, in … (בנם... שי' ב...): So printed, with omissions.

5. One does not cry out over the past (אין צועקין על העבר): After the Mishnah (Berachos 54a): והצועק לשעבר, הרי זו תפלת שוא, "One who cries out over the past, this is a vain prayer." That is, there is no use in protesting what has already been done; further on ("And to resolve what I wrote at the beginning…") the Rebbe explains why he nonetheless remarks on it.

6. These days are not like the former days (לא כימים הראשונים ימים האלה): In the words of the verse Zechariah 8:11: ועתה לא כימים הראשנים אני לשארית העם הזה, "But now I will not be to the remnant of this people as in the former days." There it is said of a change for the better in G‑d's conduct with Israel; the Rebbe uses the words for the change between the generations.

7. The cantillation… by heart (טעמי המקרא... בע"פ): טעמי המקרא = the cantillation to which the Torah is read; בע"פ = בעל פה, "by heart".

8. One must be meticulous about this (שצריך להדר בזה): Not only do people warn against burdening the child and tell him to go for walks; sometimes they add that one should be "meticulous" about it, as if it were a mitzvah.

9. In the synagogue on the holy Shabbos (שבש"ק... בביהכ"נ): בש"ק = בשבת קודש; בביהכ"נ = בבית הכנסת.

10. Is cancelled out, etc. (יוצא וכו'): After the Mishnah (Avos 5:11): נוח לכעוס ונוח לרצות, יצא שכרו בהפסדו, "One who is easily angered and easily appeased: his gain is cancelled by his loss." The Rebbe does not finish the phrase but writes "etc."; that is, the small gain of learning the cantillation is cancelled by the loss of the hours of Torah study given up for it, in the time of preparation for accepting the yoke of the mitzvos.

11. In itself (בפ"ע): בפ"ע = בפני עצמו.

12. G‑d, blessed be He (השי"ת): השי"ת = השם יתברך.

13. Good news (לבשו"ט): לבשו"ט = לבשורות טובות.

Summary

The recipient wrote that his son read the entire sidrah at his bar mitzvah. Although one does not cry out over the past, the Rebbe explains why it should be made known that in our times the hours before a boy accepts the yoke of the mitzvos are better spent adding in Torah study than in learning cantillation; the bar mitzvah speech, by contrast, inspires the boy and those present. He also advises pledging more than a tenth of the first year's rent from a basement apartment to tzedakah.