8599 —עידוד לתלמידי ישיבה על צדקה ולימוד תורה

B"H, 25 Shevat, 5723.

Brooklyn, NY.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

Your letters from the 21st and 22nd of Teves reached me even before the 24th of Teves, the day of the passing-hilulah of the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya and Shulchan Aruch, founder of Chabad and its approach. I was very pleased to read that you wish to participate in the "Keren Shneor" campaign with the money you collected yourselves for material charity. All the more so your desire to participate in what is essential for you—diligent and persistent study of our holy Torah, learning that leads to practical fulfillment of mitzvos with excellence and proper conduct fitting for students of Achei Temimim Lubavitch Yeshiva, with joy in mitzvahs, infused with love of G‑d, love of Torah, and love of Israel—these being central teachings of the one whose hilulah we mark.

Surely you know how much the leaders of Chassidus—the Baal Shem Tov, the Alter Rebbe, and subsequent Chabad leaders—devoted themselves to educating Jewish boys and girls, along with their hopes and expectations for them. I pray that you will strive with all your strength and energy to fulfill these hopes in actual deed; it depends only on you and your will.

Our Sages have already said: "You have labored and found [success]"; and whoever sanctifies himself "a little" below is sanctified "a lot" from Above—all the more so when one sanctifies himself more than a little.

May Hashem fulfill your heart's desires for good—in both material and spiritual matters together.

Blessings.

Summary

The Rebbe encourages yeshiva students to combine acts of charity with diligent Torah study and mitzvah observance. He stresses that personal effort brings Divine assistance and urges them to live up to the expectations set by chassidic leaders.