Proceeding in the activities of the Rebbe Rayatz despite the difficulty arising from his passing; an emphasis on ahavas Yisrael

Table of contents

Search this book:

An explanation of the Alter Rebbe's words of consolation in Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 27; ways to maintain a bond with the Rebbe Rayatz

No. 560

The text of this letter was sent to various individuals, personally addressed to each one.

B"H, Rosh Chodesh Adar, 5710

Greetings and blessings,

Enclosed is the newly published sichah of Yud-Tes Kislev, 5710,[214] [for you to] share with people at large. The introduction[215] at the beginning of the pamphlet explains the reason for this printing.

In the present situation, it is very difficult to write and answer letters, and in particular to write about the Rebbe's passing, for who will comfort us and with what shall we be comforted?

Who of us, however, comprehends the secrets of the Merciful One?[216] But with regard to the matters that are revealed to us,[217] each and every member of the Jewish people is "a day-worker." According to the interpretation of the Tzemach Tzedek (quoted in the sichah of Simchas Torah, 5696),[218] their work is to generate light.

As is well known, Sefer Yetzirah divides all existence into three categories: olam (place), shanah (time), and nefesh (soul).

[Now even] when a worker's soul confronts ordinary conditions, our Sages warned and cautioned:[219] "The workers are lazy." Needless to say, such a warning is appropriate when there is a possibility of erring and [thinking] that it was only "previously,[220] that the tzaddik —theleader of the generation — labored on behalf of the living, to every living being,... the soul of every living being that is bound up with his soul" ([Tanya,] Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 27).[221]

If in ordinary situations "the day is short,"[219] how much more so does this apply when the year is lacking;[222] [i.e., there has been] the passing of a tzaddik for which we cannot find any replacement" (Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachos 2:8; see also Eichah Rabbah 1:37).

Even when the world[223] follows its ordinary pattern, "the work" — the light of Torah — "is extensive."[219] How much more so does this apply when "the sun" — which refers to the shining light of a tzaddik" (Moed Kattan 25b) – "sets in the afternoon" and the darkness and concealment in the world increases considerably. [As a result,] the tasks [incumbent on] the workers and their responsibility have increased and grown several times as much.

My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, hk"m, instructed us that salvation will not come from sighing[224] and that despair, Heaven forbid, sadness, and weakness is not the path to take one out of his straits and difficulties and bring him to abundance and light.

Our way and goal is actual practice: thought, speech, and deed. Or to refer to the wording of the master:[225] "[The feelings in] the heart will be brought[226] to the mind and this will be expressed in action."

There is a well-paved path and a clear mission resting on the shoulders of every member of the chassidic brotherhood and the students[227] who share a bond or a connection to my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, hk"m, "whose spirit is actually present among us," to think deeply about the directives that he individually received from him or about the directives that are found in his maamarim, sichos, and letters, and to add strength to their actual fulfillment, "[going] deeper and deeper, [becoming] more truthful and even more truthful."[225]

And the Torah has informed us (Zohar III, p. 71b) that a tzaddik who passes away is found more prominently in this world, [the world] of deed, than during his lifetime.

By following the straight path that he showed us, to bind and connect ourselves to him, we will merit to be comforted twofold with the fulfillment of the prophecy (Yeshayahu 40[:1-4]): "Take comfort, take comfort, My people.... For the appointed time [for her exile] has been completed.... Every valley will be raised." [On that verse, our Sages comment] (Zohar III, p. 280a): "All those who are humble and lowly will be elevated for Your sake. This refers to the Jewish people who are humble." And my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, will take lead of us and guide us upright to our land, as indicated by the verse:[228] "He [will] come at the head of the nation, because he carried out G-d's justice and His judgments among Israel."

With blessing and greetings to our entire fellowship,

M. Schneerson

   

Notes:

214. (Back to text) [Printed in Likkutei Dibburim, Vol. IV, p. 578a ff.; Sefer HaSichos 5710, p. 382ff.]

215. (Back to text) [Which is the text of Letter No. 558.]

216. (Back to text) [Cf. Berachos 10a.]

217. (Back to text) [Cf. Devarim 29:28.]

218. (Back to text) [See also the Igros Kodesh of the Rebbe Rayatz, Vol. IV, Letter No. 879 and the sources mentioned there.]

219. (Back to text) [Avos 2:15.]

220. (Back to text) [I.e., one could err and think that it was only before his passing that the tzaddik labored on behalf of his flock.]

221. (Back to text) [I.e., with the passing of the Rebbe, it is possible that the chassidim will become lax in performing the tasks the Rebbe asked of them.]

222. (Back to text) [This relates to the dimension of time mentioned in Sefer Yetzirah.]

223. (Back to text) [This relates to the dimension of place mentioned in Sefer Yetzirah.]

224. (Back to text) [See the letter of the Rebbe Rayatz composed after the passing of his father, the Rebbe Rashab (Igros Kodesh of the Rebbe Rayatz, Vol. I, Letter No. 84). In a more general context, see Letters No. 264, 382, 466, in that source and subsequent volumes.]

225. (Back to text) [Likkutei Dibburim, loc. cit., p. 581a ff.; Sefer HaSichos 5710, loc. cit., p. 385ff.]

226. (Back to text) [Note the slight differences between the Yiddish original recorded in Likkutei Dibburim and the citation of the passage in this letter.]

227. (Back to text) [In the original, temimim, students of the Lubavitcher Yeshivah, Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim.]

228. (Back to text) [Devarim 33:21. See Devarim Rabbah, sec. 2, which understands this verse as a promise that ultimately Moshe will lead the generation he led out of Egypt into Eretz Yisrael.]

Proceeding in the activities of the Rebbe Rayatz despite the difficulty arising from his passing; an emphasis on ahavas Yisrael

Table of contents

Search this book:

An explanation of the Alter Rebbe's words of consolation in Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 27; ways to maintain a bond with the Rebbe Rayatz