7109 —מדוע תאריך מסוים אינו נחוג ודעות על הצמצום

B"H, 8 Kislev, 5720.

Brooklyn.

Mr. Yaakov shiyichyeh

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the eve of Friday, in which you ask about what you found printed in Sefer Ginzey Nistarot, part I, section 59: "they established upon themselves to do so every year... on the 26th of Tammuz," and you ask why this day is not celebrated, and even a mention as a festival is not evident.

I have not heard an explanation for this, but what seems to me is that we find similar cases regarding establishing a festival whose acceptance and establishment only become clear after some time. There is a hint to this in the words of our Sages regarding the miracle of Chanukah: "the following year they established it" (Shabbat 21b). Since the aforementioned acceptance was in the year 5519, i.e., even before this was observed for the first time, there was already the passing (yahrtzeit) of the Baal Shem Tov and his group dispersed. The state of mind among his students at that time is well known, so it appears that from the outset this acceptance did not actually take effect.

2) There in section 55: The view that "there is no place empty of Him," even in lowly matters etc.—this is the view of the Ramak z"l. You ask since surely this is also the view of the Arizal, as explained in Igeret HaKodesh by our Rebbe (the Alter Rebbe), section 25. It can be explained as follows: It is known that the concept of tzimtzum (Divine contraction) does not exist according to the Ramak's approach but does according to the Arizal's approach. The concept of tzimtzum gave room for some scholars to mistakenly understand tzimtzum literally (see Shaar HaYichud VeHaEmunah ch. 7), whereas according to the Ramak's approach there was never any room for such an error. Since that letter (section 55 above) was written to answer questions in very simple terms, it mentioned only the Ramak's view—according to which everyone agrees that even in lowly matters there is no place empty of Him.

I strongly hope you have set times for broad study of Chassidus and only rarely encounter questions etc., and since we are commanded to always ascend in holiness, surely your set study increases from time to time. May it be G‑d’s will that—as per our Rebbe’s saying—this should be a fixed practice not only in time but (and this is most important) also fixed within your soul.

Blessings for good news,
In the name of His Honor, our Rebbe shlita,
Secretary

P.S. Surely you keep up with all three well-known daily study portions—Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya—and at least will keep them from now on.

Summary

The Rebbe explains why certain commemorative dates may not become established due to historical circumstances or lack of communal acceptance and clarifies differences between Kabbalistic views on tzimtzum. He encourages consistent study and spiritual growth through Chassidus.