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I Will Write It In Their Hearts, Volume 1
I Will Write It In Their Hearts, Volume 1
I Will Write It In Their Hearts, Volume 1
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I Will Write It In Their Hearts, Volume 1

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A Treasury of Letters from the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson
Selections from Igros Kodesh

Every day, the postman would deliver several postal sacks of mail to “770.” From year to year, the content of these sacks increased. And as the communications revolution brought us faxes and e-mail, the amount of correspondence the Rebbe received became prodigious.

And there were answers. At all times — even after his heart attack in 5738 (1977) and during shivah for the Rebbetzin in 5748 (1988) — he would reply to letters. And even after the stroke in 5752 (1992), to the fullest extent possible, the Rebbe endeavored to respond to the many questions sent to him.

Scholars, communal leaders, children - the wide range of people to whom he wrote is staggering. Equally striking is the individual manner in which he would address and relate to each person.

Certainly, the letters contain profound lessons. But the larger lessons — insights into the Rebbe-chassid relationship and the different vantage points from which we can see the Rebbe — are the most exciting dimensions of this treasury.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 22, 2011
ISBN9781465779175
I Will Write It In Their Hearts, Volume 1

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    I Will Write It In Their Hearts, Volume 1 - Eliyahu Touger

    I Will Write It In Their Hearts

    Volume 1

    A Treasury of Letters from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson

    Selections from Igros Kodesh

    Translated by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger

    Published by Sichos In English

    I Will Write It In Their Hearts

    Volume 1

    Published by Sichos In English at Smashwords

    Copyright 1999 Sichos In English

    ****

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    ****

    788 Eastern Parkway - Brooklyn, N.Y. 11213

    5759 - 1999

    ****

    ISBN 978-1-4657-7917-5

    Chapter 1: Publisher’s Foreword

    B"H

    In the file where we keep all the important family documents, there is a folder which we open from time to time. The papers in it are aging; some, indeed, are quite yellow, but we refer to it often.

    There is a letter my wife received when she was a child, the response to the announcement of our engagement, some advice we received at turning points in our lives, and blessings for our children.

    Our interest in the folder is more than sentimental. The answers which the Rebbe gave us in the past serve as guideposts for our present and our future. The advice that he gave us then helps us focus our energies and highlight our individual missions.

    My friends have similar folders, and at times they have allowed me to read some of the letters which they received. Here, I did not have the same degree of personal interest. Nevertheless, the guidance the Rebbe gave them was always eye-opening. I enjoyed seeing how the Rebbe related to the issues they raised and the depth of insight in the answers he gave them.

    On occasion, people with whom I share less close ties have shown me letters they received from the Rebbe. I remember a retailer in Manhattan where I purchased some computer equipment, an Israeli army major whom I met on a visit to the base he commanded, and a Jewish communal leader in Cleveland. It was with special feeling — something not unlike the reverence a chassid would display — that they took out the letter they had received from the Rebbe. And after reading it, I felt that I could sense why: There was a message that hit home, an insight that lifted the person above the vantage point from which he operated previously and gave him the perspective to find a solution to his difficulties.

    In these situations, the setting was important. I wasn’t just reading a letter, I was seeing it in its context. That made it more alive. On the other hand, when the first volume of the Rebbe’s collected Igros Kodesh was published, the feelings I had when reading those letters was not very different. In most instances, I did not know the recipient personally. Nevertheless, the letters opened up windows through which I could observe their lives, and more significantly, see how the Rebbe’s insights enhanced their world view.

    These feelings repeated themselves as each of the 24 volumes of Igros Kodesh was published. For these volumes tell us an ongoing story of the manner in which the Rebbe reaches out to people and gives them advice, compassion, and direction.

    Together with these feelings came a strong desire to share these letters with people for whom English is their primary language. We had already published many translations and adaptations of the Rebbe’s sichos and maamarim. But the way the Rebbe relates in letters is different — and we wanted English readers to appreciate this dimension as well.

    The Art or the Artist?

    When contemplating the translation of these volumes, we were faced with the question of whether to collect letters on various subjects or to proceed through the volumes chronologically. There are advantages to each approach; we chose the latter.

    Were we to highlight subjects, our readers would be given a chance to receive a comprehensive picture of every particular topic. By choosing the chronological option, we endeavored to allow our readers to gain a picture of the Rebbe.

    Going through the letters one by one enables a reader to see how the Rebbe relates to the widest variety of people and situations. Scholars, communal leaders, children — the diverse range of people to whom he wrote is staggering. Equally striking is the individual manner in which he would address and relate to each person.

    On one level, each letter is carefully tailored for the particular recipient, providing him with insights that relate to him personally. But while the Rebbe is speaking to the recipient, he is sharing a message that transcends the individual’s sphere, and is sweeping in its relevance.

    Certainly, the letters contain profound lessons. But more exciting are the larger lessons – an insight into the Rebbe-chassid relationship, and a novel vantage point from which we can see the Rebbe. These are highlighted by the chronological approach.

    We therefore began with Vol. I,¹ which presents letters written by the Rebbe before the nesius, before he assumed the mantle of leadership. Nevertheless, despite our desire to present the fullest picture of the Rebbe, preparing this anthology required a certain degree of selectivity. For one thing, several letters may center on one theme; secondly, the unique scholarly content of certain letters, even in the original, can be understood only by experts in the field. These and similar reasons advocated selectivity.

    The Fading of the Past

    and the Building Blocks for the Future

    The letters in this volume range from the year 5692 (1932) to 5704 (1944), well before the beginning of the Rebbe’s nesius. At the beginning of this period — from which we have very few letters — the Rebbe lived in France and was primarily involved in his personal studies.

    At the end of 5699 (1939), the Nazis invaded Poland. The Previous Rebbe was living in Warsaw at that time. As reflected in Letter No. 19, the Rebbe was involved in the rescue effort to bring him from Poland to America. In the following year the Germans began their conquest of France. The Rebbe fled from Paris to Vichy and from there to Nice, until ultimately he and his wife, Rebbitzin Chayah Mushka, were able to arrive in New York on Sivan 28, 5701 (1941).

    * * *

    Almost immediately upon the Rebbe’s arrival, the Previous Rebbe appointed him head of two newly-established institutions: Machne Israel and Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch. In HaYom Yom, published in 5703 (1943), the Rebbe outlines the purpose and scope of these two institutions:

    Machne Israel

    Its mission: Through the actions and conduct of its members, to strengthen the practice of Yiddishkeit, the observance of the Torah and [the performance of] mitzvos; to rouse the hearts of the Jewish people and draw them close to teshuvah, Torah, and good deeds.

    To publicize the truth — that [through] LeAlter LiTeshuvah ("Immediately to teshuvah"), [we will proceed] LeAlter LiGeulah (immediately to Redemption) — the ultimate Redemption, led by Mashiach.

    Membership: There are no monetary dues required of anyone who desires to be a member of Machne Israel. Every Jew who observes the Torah and its mitzvos can join as a member of Machne Israel. His actual deeds — both his individual conduct and his influence on others — are the only membership dues required of him.

    Operation: The work of the members is performed in an unpublicized manner… Their objective is, through their exemplary conduct in the spirit of the Torah and its mitzvos, to influence their families, their business acquaintances and the members of their synagogues.

    A special branch named Mazhirei Shabbos Machne Israel has been founded to spread the concept of Shabbos observance.

    Mishnayos B’al Peh — A society has been founded to study Mishnayos by heart. All Six Orders of the Mishnah are divided among its members by lot… so that the entire Mishnah will be studied and reviewed [continually] throughout the year.

    This project, initiated at the suggestion of the Rebbe [Rayatz], is intended to purify the air through the recitation and review of Mishnayos at home, and outside: in the street, in one’s store, in the subway, [indeed,] in any clean place. [It is] a great mystic process to "ease the birthpangs of Mashiach and brings Mashiach’s [approaching] footsteps closer with kindness and mercy...."

    Chevros Tehillim: Machne Israel establishes new societies for the recitation of Tehillim and strengthens existing ones. All of these societies are united with the International Tehillim Society in Jerusalem, founded by the Rebbe [Rayatz]….

    Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch

    Mission: To act out of concern for the education of Jewish boys and girls in the spirit of our Patriarch Yisrael.

    The activities of Merkos extend to all branches of education and encompass all matters connected to the field of education. These efforts include:

    a) An endeavor to make Jewish parents recognize the vital necessity that their sons and daughters be educated in purity and holiness….

    b) [The organization of] study sessions in the evening in the study of holy [texts] for those who are involved in business occupations throughout the day.

    c) The establishment of schools to educate Jewish girls in the spirit of the Torah and its mitzvos. Such schools, named either Beis Rivkah or Beis Sarah, have been established in and outside New York….

    d) The establishment of Shabbos parties for Jewish children, to come together on Shabbos under the supervision of expert educators….

    e) Pedagogical instruction: [This program intends] to make it possible for religious teachers to augment their knowledge… and expertise in the professional instruction of holy subjects.

    f) The design of curricula for educational institutions.

    g) A statistical division.

    h) An employment bureau for teachers.

    i) A division for the financial support of religious institutions, teachers, and students.

    j) A division for publishing books and magazines. Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch publishes books for youth in the Holy Tongue, in Yiddish and in English, as well as two monthly magazines.

    A year later, the Previous Rebbe established Kehot, the Lubavitch publishing house, and entrusted the Rebbe with the directorship of this institution as well. These three institutions established the basis for Lubavitch activity in America: outreach efforts, schools and other educational activities, and publications.

    As reflected in these letters, the Rebbe was involved in the minute details of all these institutions. At the beginning, there were no supporters, no workers, and there was no plan of action. The Previous Rebbe had outlined the mission, but it was the Rebbe’s responsibility to make that mission a reality, to make a functioning organization out of an abstract ideal.

    The majority of the letters focus on the activities of these institutions. There are, however, many treatments of scholarly themes. Deserving of special mention are a treatise on the Resurrection of the Dead, an exposition of Hashgachah Peratis, and an explanation of the importance of studying Mishnayos from memory. In these three extensive works the Rebbe combines research, analysis, and his own insights.

    Moreover, even the letters that focus on the functioning of the institutions are generally not restricted to the practical sphere alone. At the conclusion of many letters, the Rebbe includes a directive for Divine service or the explanation of a spiritual concept. Indeed, one of the unique characteristics of these letters is a free flow of thought. In one letter, guidelines for outreach grow into a discussion of a concept in nigleh, the revealed teachings of the Torah, and this in turn invites parallels in the mystic secrets of pnimiyus HaTorah.

    For this reason, although we have prepared a detailed table of contents, listing the subjects mentioned in every letter, it is not complete. The sheer variety of topics contained in many letters would make such a listing awkwardly long.

    In the Shadow of Darkness

    The letters in this volume were all composed in the specter of the Holocaust. In some, the Rebbe relates to that theme directly, outlining the Divine service necessary to turn the tide and humble the enemy. Others are directed to Jewish soldiers serving in the American army, encouraging them to maintain high spirits and continue Torah observance. And in many letters in which the Holocaust is not mentioned directly, allusions are certainly present.

    Significantly, there is never a tone of despair. Instead, the Rebbe speaks with hope and determination, focusing on the Jewish future and the spiritual endeavors necessary to make that future present.

    LeAlter LiTeshuvah: LeAlter LiGeulah

    Less than a month before the Rebbe arrived in America, the Previous Rebbe issued this clarion call: "Immediately to teshuvah: immediately to Redemption." This was not a slogan; it was — as emphasized by the Rebbe’s inclusion of it in the mission statement of Machne Israel quoted above — a declaration of purpose.

    The Rebbe concludes the overwhelming proportion of letters with this expression. This highlights how he regarded the efforts to spread Yiddishkeit and establish the foundation for Lubavitch activity in America, not as endeavors of a limited scope, but as part of a greater — indeed, the greatest — picture: the preparation of the world for Mashiach’s coming. Anyone who thinks that "the Mashiach campaign" was a new dimension that surfaced in the Rebbe’s later years is shutting his eyes to the driving force which — as the Rebbe testifies in a later letter² — motivated him from childhood and set the tone for his initial labors of leadership.

    With Our Readers in Mind

    The personal dimension of these letters enhances their universal relevance, rather than detracting from it. Every one of us can find points in which he feels that the Rebbe is speaking to him, and giving him personal direction.

    We tried to structure our translation so that this tone characterizes the book. For example: According to the polite conventions of correspondence in the Torah world, the recipient is addressed indirectly, in the third person. Since this sounds foreign to English readers, we have employed the second person instead. Similarly, we have dispensed with certain formalities and titles that are frequently used in the Torah community. For example, the abbreviation kaf-taf-reish, kvod toraso, addressing an honored Torah sage, we have translated simply as you.

    Also, to make the text more accessible to an English reader, we have added certain explanatory sentences and phrases. These are set off by square brackets. Squiggle brackets { } and parentheses ( ) are used as they appear in the original text.

    Some of the references cited were included in the original letters; others were added when the letters were published in the series Igros Kodesh; and others, including certain explanatory footnotes, were added by our staff. Notes and explanations that were not authored by the Rebbe are enclosed in square brackets. At times we took the liberty of relocating references that were originally recorded in the body of the letters as footnotes.

    A Shepherd and His Flock

    The Rebbe would receive a prodigious amount of mail; hundreds of letters and faxes would arrive at 770 every day. And the Rebbe would respond. At all times — even after his heart attack in 5738 (1977) and during shivah for the Rebbitzin in 5748 (1988) — he would reply to letters. And even after the stroke of 5752 (1992), to the fullest extent possible, the Rebbe endeavored to respond to the many questions sent to him.

    At present, we are unable to receive a written reply from the Rebbe. Nevertheless, chassidim — and indeed, many Jews and even non-Jews — continue to write to the Rebbe. For, as he assured us when speaking of the Previous Rebbe,³ he will find a way to answer.

    May studying the Rebbe’s letters encourage us to shoulder the mission of spiritual responsibility with which he has charged us: to prepare the world for the coming of Mashiach. May our efforts draw down abundant blessings, including the ultimate blessings: the coming of the Redemption and the Resurrection of the Dead, when those who repose in the dust will arise and sing.

    Then we will no longer have to content ourselves with reading letters written years ago, but will hear new teachings from the Rebbe. May this take place in the immediate future.

    Rabbi Eli Touger

    Sichos In English

    Purim, 5759 (1999)

    * * *

    Credits

    Rochel Chana Schilder for editing; Rabbi Aharon Leib Raskin for checking the authenticity of the text and supplying additional references and source material; Yosef Yitzchok Turner for designing the layout and typography; Rabbi Yonah Avtzon for preparing the text for publication; Avrohom Weg for designing the cover; and Rabbi Shalom Dovber Levine, whose notes and background information to Igros Kodesh were an invaluable resource.

    Chapter 2: A Letter Sent by the Rebbe to His Father-In-Law, the Previous Rebbe.

    B"H, Motzaei Shabbos, 2 Shvat, 5692

    To my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe shlita,

    The Rebbe’s letter — the memorandum — of the 24th of last month arrived, and from the depths of my heart, I thank you for this precious gift. At this time of favor, I will be bold enough, for my hope will strengthen me, to place a double request — if such a request is necessary, and if such a request will avail — before the Rebbe, to honor me and grant me pleasure with such letters from time to time.

    I am lacking much of the informal background information concerning Chassidus, in particular with regard to its history and the explanation [of that history]. Thus, like a person who has found great booty, I am happy for every new concept and piece of information which I gain.

    I cannot restrain myself from asking for additional explanation concerning a matter that has perplexed me for some time, a point which I have repeatedly heard: In Lubavitch we do not hold miracles in esteem. I also found parallels to this concept in the Rebbe’s letter. [Chassidim] refrain from speaking about these matters, and silence others who speak of them.

    Certainly, the chassidim of the early generations had no need for such matters, for their hearts and minds were refined. But in the present age, when due to the distress of the times, people’s emotional potential have dwindled, and they are sunk in material affairs, their entire concern is for material matters to the extent that refinement and an elevation of the soul are not felt at all. On the surface, this is difficult to correct [only] by intellectual means, for these will not affect a person. They are too refined to use as a first step. Miracles and the stories of tzaddikim and the wonders they perform, by contrast, generate lofty feelings within the soul, taking one out and shaking oneself free, at least partially, from material concerns. This moves even souls which are on a lowly level, or which are found in a low spiritual state.

    I again express my warm and deep thanks for the Rebbe’s letter; I remain,

    Your son-in-law who continuously seeks your welfare,

    and who hopes for the Rebbe’s blessings,

    Chapter 3: Treasury of Letters

    No. 11

    This letter was addressed to Rabbi Yerachmiel Benjaminson, a distinguished Rabbi from London. Reference to it is found in Marbitzei Torah U’Mussar, Vol. III, p. 66.

    B"H, 19 Shvat, 5699, Paris

    Greetings and blessings,

    The letter with the enclosed $28 arrived on time.

    With regard to your comments concerning the tzimtzum, [the initial contraction of G-dly light,] and the statement of your acquaintance that all the different approaches [to the concept] flow in a single direction:

    I was amazed to hear such a proposition, particularly insomuch as in your letter, you describe that person as one who has studied Kabbalistic texts. Obviously, he does not fit that description at all. Even in the first generation after the AriZal — the one who revealed the secret of the tzimtzum — there were radical differences in opinion among his disciples with regard to the tzimtzum. These are obvious from the texts they composed, and these differences were perpetuated [in the subsequent generations].

    The crux of the differences centers around two issues:

    a) Should the concept of tzimtzum be understood literally or not, i.e., are we speaking about a withdrawal of the light, or merely its concealment?

    b) Did the tzimtzum affect merely G-d’s light, or did it affect also the Source of light, [i.e., that He Himself has withdrawn or is hidden from our world]?

    [In dealing with these questions,] it is possible to outline four different approaches:

    a) the tzimtzum should be interpreted literally, and moreover, that it affected G-d’s essence. The proof offered in defense of this theory is that it is impossible for the King to be found in a place of filth, Heaven forbid;

    b) the tzimtzum should be interpreted literally, but that it affected only His light;

    c) the tzimtzum should not be interpreted literally, but it affected the Source of light as well; and

    d) the tzimtzum should not be interpreted literally, and it affected only His light.

    As is well known, the misnagdim at the time of the Alter Rebbe followed the first approach mentioned. They explained the expression,⁵ There is no place apart from Him, meaning — apart from His providence.⁶ They said, moreover, that the approach which states that G-d’s essence is found everywhere contradicts the laws applying to [the restrictions against prayer and Torah study] in places of filth,⁷ as reflected in the notices and proclamations which were circulated at the time of the Baal Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe.

    See also the references to the issue in Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 7, and Iggeres HaKodesh, the conclusion of Epistle 25. It appears to me that Beis Rebbe also includes a letter from the Alter Rebbe concerning this subject.⁸

    [Reb Chayim of Volozin,] the author of Nefesh HaChayim which you mentioned in your letter, follows the third approach mentioned above. In this, he differs from his master, the Gaon, Rav Eliyahu [of Vilna]. In general, it appears that Reb Chayim of Volozin had seen Chabad texts, in particular, the Tanya, and had been influenced by them. I do not, however, have definite proof of this.

    [As chassidim,] we follow solely the fourth approach mentioned which explains that the concept of tzimtzum should not be interpreted literally, and that it affects only [G-d’s] light, but not the Source of light. [Indeed, within the light,] it affects only the lowest level of the light which existed before the tzimtzum, as explained in the texts and manuscripts of Chabad [teachings].

    In our time, we have merited the revelation [of Chassidic teachings], and the concept of the tzimtzum has been explained at length — at least relatively so — and in many of its particulars, in the texts of the Chabad Chassidic teachings in print and in manuscript. As such, one who desires to understand the concept of the tzimtzum has no alternative except to study these texts. To corroborate this, it is sufficient to compare the discussion of this issue in other texts — where it appears that for various reasons, these texts shied away from speaking in detail about the matter — to its discussion in the texts of Chabad.

    I do not know which texts and manuscripts are available to you to make recommendations. The subject of the tzimtzum is mentioned in Torah Or, in the maamar Pasach Eliyahu (and there are notes on this from the Rebbe Rashab which were printed in lithograph in Otvotzk); Likkutei Torah, in the additions to Sefer Vayikra, the maamar Lehavin Mashekasuv beSefer Otzeros Chayim; Shaar HaYichud; Sefer HaMitzvos, [the maamarim entitled] Mitzvas Haamanas Elokus, and Shoresh Mitzvas HaTefillah (beginning ch. 34); in the Siddur, [the maamar] on the verse Zecher Rav Tovecho. In the maamarim of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe shlita, that have been printed, [the subject is discussed] in [the maamarim entitled:] Al Yipater Adam [56]89, Dirshu Havayah [5]691, Al Kein Yomru [5]691, [Sichos] Shavuos [5]693, p. 8, and Tov Li [5]697.

    I am sure that you have the series of maamarim [beginning in the year 5]666. There the subject is also explained in the maamarim entitled VaYolech Havayah es HaYam and Anochi Havayah Elokecha.

    The subject of the tzimtzum also relates to the concepts under discussion in Tanya, chs. 48 and 49, as explained in greater length in the maamarim entitled Yavi’u Levush Malchus in Torah Or and in Shaarei Orah.

    I have also mentioned sources of which I am certain you are aware so that a complete list would be included.

    With respectful and warm regards,

    M. Schneerson

    No. 12

    This letter was addressed to Rabbi Yisrael Jacobson who was one of the primary leaders of the Chabad community in the U.S. before — and after — the arrival of the Previous Rebbe.

    B"H, 20 Shvat, 5699, Paris

    Greetings and blessings,

    Your letter written in the end of Teves

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