Mourning Customs

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The distribution of chassidic texts; a request for stories regarding chassidim of the earlier generations

No. 413

This letter was addressed to R. Yitzchak Menachem Mendel Liss.

B"H, 3 Cheshvan, 5709

Greetings and blessings,

In response to your questions:

1. On Yom Kippur, it is not our custom to say the passage Elokeinu V’Elokei Avoseinu that precedes the Akeidah, nor the passage Ribbono Shel Olam which follows it.

2. We do not recite Tachanun[37] or [the Confessional Prayer] Al Cheit in the recitation of the Shema before retiring on Yom Kippur. This applies even if [Yom Kippur] does not fall on Shabbos. My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe Shlita, said: “On Yom Kippur, we say Al Cheit only as many times as we are obligated to.”

3. [You asked:] Why, when mentioning the good character traits that are naturally found within the Jewish people,[38] does the Tanya, at the conclusion of ch. 1, mention mercy and deeds of kindness, but omit the third quality, bashfulness?[39]

To be more specific: Tanya, at the conclusion of ch. 1, speaks about the nature of the Jewish people from the perspective of the animal soul. Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 12, speaks about this subject from the standpoint of the G-dly soul. In both cases, [the Alter Rebbe] mentions mercy and deeds of kindness, but does not mention bashfulness.

The rationale [for this can be explained] as follows: These three qualities [are alluded to with the acronym] gever.[40] The qualities of deeds of kindness and mercy stem from the attribute of kindness, [Chessed,] and from the vector of decision[41] which tends to kindness. Bashfulness, by contrast, stems from the attribute of Gevurah and tzimtzum (see the maamar entitled Ki Yedaativ in Or HaTorah from the Tzemach Tzedek). Therefore, in Iggeres HaKodesh, [the Alter Rebbe] explains that within the Jewish people, the attribute of kindness is predominant. Hence, their natures are conducive to being merciful and performing deeds of kindness. There is not, by contrast, a connection to the qualities of brashness or bashfulness, for both are motifs that stem from the attribute of Gevurah.

With regard to the Jewish people, they are doers of kindness, [and are] bashful and merciful, even from the perspective of the animal soul (Yevamos 79a). The quality of bashfulness is, however, different from the attributes of doing kindness and mercifulness in that the latter two qualities are intrinsic qualities; natural [to the Jewish people]. [This is not true with regard to] bashfulness. On the contrary, according to their nature and inherent tendencies, the Jews are the brashest of the nations (Beitzah 25b). It is only that at the time of the Giving of the Torah, the Torah weakened their strength and made them bashful. And from our ancestors [who received the Torah], this quality is transferred as a heritage to the descendants without any effort or labor on the part of the children (Nedarim 20). See the Chiddushei Aggados of the Maharsha to the passage from Yevamos, loc. cit. Therefore when Tanya, at the conclusion of ch. 1, mentions the positive qualities that are inherent to the nature of the animal soul of the Jewish people, [it does not mention bashfulness,] because it is not one of those qualities.

Fixed times to study Tanya communally have no doubt been established in your locale in a public place, in addition to the establishment of fixed times to study the sichos and the maamarim of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe Shlita. [This is alluded to by the verse]:[42] “On the eighth day, you shall hold an assembly.”

With greetings to all the members of our brotherhood,

Rabbi Menachem Schneerson

   

Notes:

37. (Back to text) [I.e., the confession beginning “Ashamnu.”]

38. (Back to text) [As mentioned in Yevamos 79a.]

39. (Back to text) [See Letter No. 326 where this question is also discussed.]

40. (Back to text) [Which means “man of courage.” gever serves as a mnemonic for gomlei chassadim, bayshanim, and rachmanim, the three qualities mentioned above. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXX, p. 66, note 49.]

41. (Back to text) [I.e., mercy is from the middle vector, which is called the vector of decision, because it arrives at a decision by developing a compromise between the two opposing qualities of kindness and judgment. Nevertheless, it tends toward kindness.]

42. (Back to text) [Bamidbar 29:35. The Rebbe appears to be alluding to the fact that the Previous Rebbe was the eighth of the Nesi’im beginning with the Baal Shem Tov. An assembly, i.e., a gathering, should be made to study his teachings.]

Mourning Customs

Table of contents

Search this book:

The distribution of chassidic texts; a request for stories regarding chassidim of the earlier generations