Publishing the Previous Rebbe's sichos; the significance of the name Shlomo

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Publishing the Previous Rebbe's sichos; the importance of initiatives toward outreach

No. 91

The following represents the conclusion of a letter. The beginning of the letter and the name of the person to whom it was sent are not published in Igros Kodesh.

[9 Menachem Av]

...To conclude with matters concerning the present day: Our Sages (Bava Metzia 85b; Talmud Yerushalmi, Chagigah 1:7) state with regard to the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash: Although [the Jewish people] had committed sins, had they considered the Torah important, the "light of the Torah" would have spurred them to return to the good, and the Beis HaMikdash would not have been destroyed. And [they state] (Yoma 9b) that the Second Beis HaMikdash was destroyed because of unwarranted hatred.

In the present era, ikvesa diMeshicha, the time when Mashiach's approaching footsteps can be heard, we can certainly apply our Sages' statement (Sanhedrin 97b): All the appointed times for Mashiach's coming have passed, and the matter is dependent solely on teshuvah and good deeds. It is incumbent upon each and every person to invest effort in ahavas Yisrael in the place where he lives and in cherishing the Torah and its mitzvos with more intensity and power.

Both of these purposes are fulfilled simultaneously when one works toward strengthening the Torah and Yiddishkeit among the broadest spectrums of our people. For there is no greater [expression of] love than taking the effort, both spiritual and physical, to save one's friend - and this term refers to every Jew, for "all Israel are friends"[1] - from descending to perdition because of sins and transgressions.

And there is no greater expression of the appreciation for the Torah than explaining to everyone that it is the will and wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, that it is eternal, applying in every time and place, and that He implanted the life of - [this] - world in our midst[2] through the Torah and its mitzvos. May G-d hurry and speedily redeem us through our righteous Mashiach.

With the blessing "Immediately to teshuvah, immediately to Redemption,"

Rabbi Menachem Schneerson

Chairman of the Executive Committee

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) [Cf. Chagigah 26a, based on Shoftim 20:11.]

2. (Back to text) [Cf. Siddur Tehillat HaShem, pp. 70, 74. The word okug is translated differently here than its accepted meaning in those sources.]

Publishing the Previous Rebbe's sichos; the significance of the name Shlomo

Table of contents

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Publishing the Previous Rebbe's sichos; the importance of initiatives toward outreach