9100 —על רפואה שלימה, שמחה באדר, ואמצעים כשרים למצות

B"H, 7 Adar, 5726. Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I acknowledge receipt of your letter in which you also write about your health condition and the improvement in it. May it be G‑d's will that there should be a complete recovery, and that the complete recovery should come soon. This includes also regarding sadness that you mention; a healthy Jew is indeed one who is joyful, especially since we are now in the month of Adar. From Rosh Chodesh Adar we are instructed to increase in joy, and since this is a directive from Torah, it is certain that the Giver of the Torah first provides the ability to fulfill His directive and also gives reasons so that one can see that this directive has a strong foundation. Surely there is no need for me to elaborate on this for you.

Regarding your writing about permissible means and achieving a permissible goal: It is well known that something which is contrary to kosher (or simply—treif) cannot be done even for the sake of a mitzvah. As our Sages call this "a mitzvah that comes through a transgression," they use very sharp expressions about this.

There is another matter (which at times gets confused with the above), namely using means which one would not otherwise employ except to influence another person to bring him to something good—Torah and mitzvos—one "overlooks" oneself. For example: A yeshivah student could use his Shabbos (when yeshivah obligations do not require him) to learn for himself—Nigleh and Chassidus—and do so peacefully at home or in shul. Instead, he travels somewhere distant where there is no thought of Shabbos pleasure and sometimes not even Shabbos rest, using his Shabbos to influence a Jew who knows nothing about Shabbos at all or even about Judaism altogether. One must begin teaching him the alef-beis of Shabbos or Judaism—the very basics—which this bachur absorbed directly at home simply (with certainty and without doubt). Because of this, he gives up his own (spiritual) Shabbos pleasure to save a Jew from a prohibition carrying stoning (G‑d forbid), or learns Torah with him and similar things.

About this the Gemara rules (see Bava Metzia 85a) that not only is this greater than learning in yeshivah here below but even greater than learning in the yeshivah above.

Blessings for good health, good mood and joy, and for a joyous Purim.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that true healing includes both body and spirit, especially through joy in Adar. He stresses mitzvahs must be done only through kosher means but highlights how self-sacrifice for another's Jewish growth surpasses even one's own spiritual pursuits.