6818 —חינוך על טהרת התורה ועליית התלמידים לדרגת בן חכם

B"H, 18 Nissan^[1], 5719
Brooklyn.

Brachah v'Shalom!

In reply to your letter of 2 Nissan, in which you write of your wish to become a teacher of Jewish children – and surely you mean a teacher in an education based on the purity of our holy Torah, the Torah of life,

for it, and it alone, leads the Jewish boy and girl to their true happiness: happiness in material matters and happiness in spiritual matters.

Since, as it appears, your activity until now shows that you are successful in the field of education, the said decision seems very [fitting].

From this it is understood that, regarding the examinations, you should choose those examinations which suit the attainment of the said goal, that is to say^[2], the acquisition of the knowledge and the certificates that will qualify you still further to fulfill the said most important and lofty task.

And the merit of your present occupation – bringing the hearts of your pupils close to our Father in Heaven through our Torah, the Torah of life, and its mitzvos – will stand you in good stead for added blessing and success in your personal affairs as well.

With blessing for good news^[3] in the above, together with an increase in your work in the Oholei Yosef Yitzchak Lubavitch institution^[4],

In the name of the Rebbe shlita^[5]

Secretary

P.S.

I was pleased to see in your letter the request for a blessing for the pupils of your class. I express my blessing on the theme of these days, the days of the Festival of Matzos, which begin on the first night with the conducting of the Seder; and at its beginning there are four sons: one wise, and descending from level to level^[6].

May it be the will of our Father in Heaven that every Jewish man and woman, of whom it is said, "You are children of the L‑rd your G‑d"^[7], should very soon – all Jews, all the said types – ascend from level to level until they unite in the most lofty type, the wise son. So too regarding the pupils of your class: that all of them should be, always, all the days^[8], only and exclusively of the said type, like the wise son, through diligent and assiduous study of our Torah, of which it is said, "For it is your wisdom and your understanding"^[9], and the observance of its mitzvos.

May it be G‑d's will that you explain all the above to them in words that come from the heart, which enter the heart of the listeners^[10].

Notes

1. 18 Nissan (ח"י ניסן): 18 Nissan 5719 was a Sunday, one of the days of Chol HaMoed Pesach.

2. That is to say (ז.א.): ז.א. = זאת אומרת.

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

4. The Oholei Yosef Yitzchak Lubavitch institution (מוסד אהלי יוסף יצחק ליובאוויטש): One of the Chabad educational institutions named after the Previous Rebbe, among them the network of Chabad schools in the Holy Land (see letter 6696 above, note 13).

5. The Rebbe shlita (כ"ק אדמו"ר שליט"א): "Our holy master, teacher and Rebbe, may he live long and good days, amen." The letter was written by the secretary in the Rebbe's name.

6. Four sons: one wise, and descending from level to level (ארבעה בנים... אחד חכם ופוחת מדרגא לדרגא): After the text of the Pesach Haggadah: כנגד ארבעה בנים דברה תורה: אחד חכם, ואחד רשע, ואחד תם, ואחד שאינו יודע לשאול, "The Torah speaks of four sons: one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not know how to ask." The Haggadah lists the sons from the highest, the wise son, descending level by level to the one who does not know how to ask.

7. You are children of the L‑rd your G‑d (בנים אתם לה' אלקיכם): Devarim 14:1: בנים אתם לה' אלקיכם. Every Jew is a "son", so the Rebbe blesses them all to rise from the level of one son to the next, up to the level of the wise son.

8. Always, all the days (תכה"י): תכה"י = תמיד כל הימים.

9. For it is your wisdom and your understanding (כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם): Devarim 4:6: ושמרתם ועשיתם כי הוא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים, "Observe them and do them, for it is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the nations." The Torah is wisdom; it is by studying it that the pupils become "the wise son".

10. Words that come from the heart enter the heart (בדברים היוצאים מן הלב שהם נכנסים ללב): After the well-known saying "words that come from the heart enter the heart". Similarly Sefer HaYashar (attributed to Rabbeinu Tam), Shaar 13, speaking of one who teaches his pupils: כי לא נכון לאדם לייסר לזולתו במה שאינו עושה וללמד מה שאינו מאמין בו, כי כל דבר שיצא מן הלב ייכנס בלב, וכל אשר לא יצא כי אם מן הפה לא יעבור האוזן, "For it is not right for a person to rebuke another for what he himself does not do, or to teach what he does not believe, for whatever comes from the heart enters the heart, and whatever comes only from the mouth does not pass beyond the ear."

Summary

Through his secretary the Rebbe encourages a woman working in an Oholei Yosef Yitzchak institution who wishes to become a teacher: true education is education in the purity of the Torah, and she should choose the examinations and certificates that best prepare her for this task. In a postscript he blesses her pupils, in the spirit of the four sons of the Seder, that all of them rise to the level of the wise son through Torah study, and asks her to tell them so in words from the heart.