6735 —סיפור על ר' ברוך אבי אדמו"ר הזקן, ויוקר סיפורי צדיקים נסתרים

B"H, 29 Adar I, 5719
Brooklyn.

The rav and gaon, the veteran Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, a "basket full of books"^[1], Reb Tzvi, may he live long^[2]

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I acknowledge receipt of your letter of Erev Shabbos^[3], and many, many thanks^[4] for the gift: the story about the father of our master, the Alter Rebbe^[5] – author of the Tanya, a posek in the hidden part of the Torah, and of the Shulchan Aruch, a posek in the revealed part of the Torah^[6] – about his holy conduct in a wondrous manner, etc., as is described, a small fraction of it, also in the memoirs of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, the leader of Israel, though from the period before he began his exile^[7]. In any event, our Sages have taught us, "A garment is precious to the one who wears it"^[8], and especially with regard to hidden tzaddikim, "a tzaddik is the foundation of the world"^[9].

May it be G‑d's will that his merit protect each and every one of us among the Jewish people^[10] in all that is needed, materially and spiritually, and that, with peace of mind, each may tell the other, and each may hear, only good news, in good that is visible and revealed.

With respect and with blessings for a good month, from the month of Adar I to Adar II, and from it, "joining redemption to redemption"^[11], to the month of Nissan: "in Nissan they were redeemed, and in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed"^[12].

Publisher's notes

Reb Tzvi (מו"ה צבי): Friedman, Brooklyn.

Notes

1. The rav and gaon, the veteran Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, a "basket full of books" (הרה"ג וו"ח אי"א נו"נ צנמ"ס): הרה"ג = הרב הגאון, "the rav and gaon"; וו"ח = ותיק וחסיד, "the veteran Chassid"; אי"א = איש ירא אלקים, "a G‑d-fearing man"; נו"נ = נעלה ונכבד, "distinguished and honored"; צנמ"ס = צנא מלא ספרי, "a basket full of books", a title for a scholar of broad learning.

2. Reb Tzvi, may he live long (מו"ה צבי שי'): Friedman, Brooklyn.

3. Erev Shabbos (מעש"ק): מעש"ק = מערב שבת קודש, "of Erev Shabbos", i.e., Friday, 26 Adar I.

4. Many, many thanks (ת"ח ת"ח): ת"ח ת"ח = תשואות חן תשואות חן.

5. The father of our master, the Alter Rebbe (אביו של רבנו הזקן): ע"ד = על דבר, "about". The Alter Rebbe's father was R. Baruch, one of the hidden tzaddikim; the Previous Rebbe wrote in his notes that he was a hidden tzaddik and an exceptional scholar (Chabadpedia).

6. Author of the Tanya… and the Shulchan Aruch (בעל התניא... והשו"ע): שו"ע = שולחן ערוך. The Alter Rebbe is the author of the Tanya, in which he "rules" in the inner part of the Torah, and of the Shulchan Aruch, in which he rules in its revealed part.

7. Before he began his exile (קודם שהתחיל בענין הגלות): כ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר = "my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe", the Previous Rebbe. His memoirs (Sefer HaZichronos) tell at length of R. Baruch: his childhood, his wanderings and his marriage. In his later years, as told in Beis Rebbi, he left Liozna because he could not bear the honor his son, the Alter Rebbe, showed him, and began to conduct himself in exile, wandering from city to city until he reached the town of Sulish, where he passed away (Chabadpedia). Hence the Rebbe notes that the memoirs are "from the period before he began his exile".

8. "A garment is precious to the one who wears it" (מילתא אלבישייהו יקירא): בכ"א = בכל אופן, "in any event". Shabbos 10b: Rava bar Mechasia told Rav Chisda a new teaching in Rav's name, and Rav Chisda gave him a gift, saying: "Are Rav's teachings so dear to you?… This is what Rav said: מילתא, אלבישייהו יקירא"; Rashi: "a garment is precious to the one accustomed to wear it; that is, because you are Rav's disciple and used to his teachings, you seek them out." That is: a thing is precious to the one bound to it; so to us, who are bound to the Alter Rebbe, every detail of his father's conduct is precious, even from the period before his exile.

9. "A tzaddik is the foundation of the world" (צדיק יסוד עולם): Mishlei 10:25: "As the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is the foundation of the world." That is: all the more so stories of hidden tzaddikim, who are the foundation of the world.

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

11. Joining redemption to redemption (מסמך גאולה לגאולה): After Megillah 6b: in a leap year the Megillah is read in the second Adar; "R. Tavi said: the reason of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is that joining redemption to redemption is preferable", and Rashi: "Purim to Pesach". From Adar II, which adjoins Nissan, the blessing passes from the redemption of Purim to that of Pesach.

12. "In Nissan they were redeemed, and in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed" (בניסן נגאלו ובניסן עתידין להגאל): After Rosh Hashanah 11a: "R. Yehoshua says… in Nissan they were redeemed, in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed."

Summary

The Rebbe thanks a Brooklyn scholar for the gift of a story about R. Baruch, the Alter Rebbe's father, a hidden tzaddik of whom the Previous Rebbe's memoirs also tell. Every detail of such a tzaddik is precious to those bound to him, and the Rebbe blesses all with his merit and with the redemption of Nissan.