6725 —פתיחת הדואר בכפר חב"ד: לבשר ולקבל בשורות טובות, ומאדר לאדר ולניסן לגאולה השלימה

B"H, 18 Adar I, 5719
Brooklyn.

The Va'ad of Kfar Chabad^[1]
May G‑d be upon them, may they live.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

With pleasure I received your letter of Purim Katan^[2] about the opening of the post office^[3], etc.

May it be G‑d's will that G‑d, blessed be He, fulfill the wishes of your hearts^[4], within the heart of all Israel, for good, in visible and revealed good; that you use the above to bring and to receive good tidings, in material and spiritual matters together, both in general matters and in particular ones, each helping and adding to the other.

And since we are in the days of the month of Adar, and from Adar to Adar, and "juxtaposing redemption to redemption," Adar to Nissan^[5], may there be, from the "footsteps of Mashiach"^[6], that each and every one of us, within the whole Jewish people^[7], merit the beginning of the redemption, and from it, speedily in our days and right away^[8], the culmination of the true and complete redemption through our righteous Mashiach, when there will be fulfilled "you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south"^[9], up to "an inheritance without boundaries"^[10].

With blessings for good news^[11].

Notes

1. The Va'ad of Kfar Chabad (ועד כפר חב"ד): The committee that ran the affairs of Kfar Chabad in the Holy Land, the village founded by the Previous Rebbe; the Rebbe corresponded with it regularly on all the village's affairs (see letter 6651, note 1).

2. Purim Katan (פורים קטן): The 14th of the first Adar; in 5719 it fell on Sunday, 22 February 1959.

3. The opening of the post office (פתיחת הדואר): In Tammuz 5716, when the Va'ad had succeeded in "the matter of stopping the additional train at Kfar Chabad," the Rebbe wrote to them: "it would be proper to look into opening a branch of the post office, on condition from the outset that it be closed on Shabbos and Yom Tov, and I mean this even with regard to telegrams and without any dispensations; and if it is not possible to be sure of this, it is not worth pursuing for the time being" (letter 4546). On Purim Katan 5719 they wrote to the Rebbe of the opening of the post office, and this letter is his reply. On 2 Iyar 5722 the Rebbe thanked the district director of postal services, Mr. M. Bernstein, for "his valuable help in the development of the post office in the place" (letter 8408).

4. Fulfill the wishes of your hearts (ימלא השי"ת משאלות לבבם): In the words of the verse Tehillim 20:6: ימלא ה' כל משאלותיך, "May G‑d fulfill all your wishes."

5. "Juxtaposing redemption to redemption," Adar to Nissan (ומסמך גאולה לגאולה אדר לניסן): Megillah 6b: in a leap year, according to Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the Megillah is read in the second Adar, and אמר רבי טבי: טעמא דרבי שמעון בן גמליאל, מסמך גאולה לגאולה עדיף, "Rabbi Tavi said: the reason of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is that juxtaposing redemption to redemption is preferable"; Rashi: גאולה לגאולה - פורים לפסח, "redemption to redemption: Purim to Pesach." The Rebbe adds "from Adar to Adar": from the first Adar (in which their letter was written, on Purim Katan) to the second Adar, and from there to Nissan.

6. "Footsteps of Mashiach" (עקבתא דמשיחא): The time just before Mashiach's coming, after the Mishnah (Sotah 49b): בעקבות משיחא, חוצפא יסגא, "In the footsteps of Mashiach, insolence will increase"; Rashi: בעקבות המשיח - בסוף הגלות, לפני ביאת משיח, "in the footsteps of Mashiach: at the end of the exile, before Mashiach comes."

7. Each and every one of us, within the whole Jewish people (כאו"א מאתנו בתכ"י): כאו"א = כל אחד ואחד; בתכ"י = בתוך כלל ישראל.

8. Right away (ותומ"י): ותומ"י = ותיכף ומיד.

9. "You shall spread out…" (ופרצת ימה וקדמה צפונה ונגבה): Bereishis 28:14: והיה זרעך כעפר הארץ ופרצת ימה וקדמה וצפנה ונגבה, "Your seed shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south," G‑d's blessing to Yaakov.

10. "An inheritance without boundaries" (נחלה בלי מצרים): After Shabbos 118a: כל המענג את השבת, נותנין לו נחלה בלי מצרים, "Whoever delights in the Shabbos is given an inheritance without boundaries" (Rashi: "that is, it has no end"), as it says "I will feed you the inheritance of Yaakov your father"; and 118b: לא כאברהם... ולא כיצחק... אלא כיעקב, שכתוב בו: ופרצת ימה וקדמה וצפונה ונגבה, "not like Avraham… nor like Yitzchak… but like Yaakov, of whom it is written: 'you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.'" Thus "you shall spread out" is the inheritance without boundaries.

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

Summary

Answering the Kfar Chabad committee's Purim Katan letter on the opening of the village's post office, which he had urged in 5716 on condition that it be closed on Shabbos and Yom Tov, the Rebbe blesses them that it serve to bring and receive good tidings, material and spiritual, and, from Adar to Adar and on to Nissan, that the full redemption come, with the "inheritance without boundaries."