Chanukah lights illuminating darkness

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A letter of encouragement to Jewish soldiers

No. 122

This letter was written to Rabbi Chanoch Hendel Havlin, one of the members of the Lubavitch community in Yerushalayim.

B"H, Wednesday, 2 Teves, 5704

Greetings and blessings,

In response to your letter of MarCheshvan 11:

1. In consideration of the fact that in general we try to minimize the cost of the texts which we publish and that we have not included the shipping costs which are very high at this time, you should understand that - despite taking your explanations in account - we cannot reduce the price more than 20%.

2. We have conveyed your request regarding HaKeriah VehaKedushah to their editorial board.

3. We have already sent a portion of the books which you requested and in the near future, we will - with G-d's help - send the remainder. For technical reasons, at times, we ship in small packages, but everything - e.g., what has been sent to Rabbis Glitzenstein, Orenshtein, and Paris - has been sent by our office. I am certain that you will have no difficulty collecting [the parcels] from them.

4. Since the publication of HaYom Yom for this year has been delayed, we have printed a small booklet containing the order of the daily study sessions. One hundred copies of this were sent to you.

5. I am surprised not to have received an answer to the letters which I wrote to ... the distinguished Rabbis Shlomo Yehudah Leib Eliazrov and Chayim Naoh.

To conclude by mentioning a theme of the present day, the days of Chanukah: The obligation of the day is to publicize the miracle. On Chanukah, that obligation is more encompassing than on Purim, for the miracle must be publicized at night and in the public domain. Based on the explanations in the maamarim on Chanukah..., this can be interpreted as referring to the era of exile which serves as a preparation for the revelations of Mashiach and the Era of the Redemption.

As is well known, in response to the Baal Shem Tov's question: "When are you coming?" Mashiach replied: "When the wellsprings of your [teachings] spread outward," [the emphasis being that they reach] the furthest peripheries. See Sichas Simchas Torah, 5690, [where the subject is discussed] at length. For this to be possible, a higher dimension of light is necessary, as implied [by the addition of the vav to G-d's name Havayah in the verse:][1] hfaj vhdh v-u-v-hu, "And G-d will illuminate my darkness," (as explained in the maamarim).

Therefore, [to cite a parallel] in our Divine service, our Sages ruled that even a person who dwells in a loft (- this refers to "men of ascendancy who are few," see the explanation of their level in Tanya, the conclusion of ch. 10 -) and does not have an opening (- i.e., a connection -) to the public domain is still obliged to carry out the Divine service described above. He must illuminate the public domain through a window.

The concept of a window requires explanation. It implies a greater revelation than that of a ray which comes through a curtain, or through a hole. See the maamar entitled Lehavin Inyan Yom Tov Sheni in Likkutei Torah.

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

Rabbi Menachem Schneerson

Chairman of the Executive Committee

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) [II Shmuel 22:29.]

Chanukah lights illuminating darkness

Table of contents

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A letter of encouragement to Jewish soldiers