30. It was mentioned yesterday1 that when the name of a tzaddik is mentioned, in the World Above he hears what is said, particularly on his hillula, the anniversary of his passing. So since Shavuos is the hillula of the Baal Shem Tov,when he is mentioned he hears, in whatever World he is.
We also spoke then2 of how keilim (a Kabbalistic term; lit., “vessels”) paradoxically reveal spiritual light by obscuring it – by limiting it and fragmenting it.
[Here, too, as in sec. 14 above, the sichah proceeds to analyze the various definitions of spiritual “lights” and “vessels” in terms of the Sefiros. The discussion is based on Etz Chayim, a seminal Kabbalistic work authored by R. Chayim Vital, foremost disciple of the AriZal.]
In every sefer Torah there are outsize letters, regular letters, and small letters. The size of the large letters is defined in terms of a specified unit of measurement – the width of the tip of a quill. One might well ask: Of what worth is a mere feather in comparison to the mystical significance of those large letters? The answer is: This is what Divine wisdom ordained – that the spiritual light of those letters should be drawn down and revealed by means of that unit of measurement, namely, feathers. And the same applies to the analog, of “lights” and “vessels.” [I.e., Divine wisdom ordained that spiritual “light” can be revealed specifically by means of being obscured by “vessels.”]
31. Today, the [branch of the] Machneh Israel Society3 in Eretz Yisrael is celebrating a Yom-Tov.Over there, today4 is already Isru Chag, the day after [the] Yom-Tov [of Shavuos] – but the Yom-Tov that they are celebrating is the siyum, the completion, of the entire Six Orders of the Mishnah that have been memorized by many people.5 The fact is that the Eretz Yisrael people are great at getting things done.6 As recently as Beis Nissan7 they celebrated their first siyum, and today is their second. And this project embraces not only Anash, but also all the varied circles among which the Machneh Israel Society has organized the memorization of Mishnayos.
32. One of the aims of this project is the purification of the atmosphere,8 which is needed more urgently in Eretz Yisrael, because impurity is more prevalent over there: children (G‑d forbid!) are being led to apostasy.
Today I received a 200-word telegram from Eretz Yisrael which reports that the situation of the refugee children has not changed at all.9 [The authorities] have not yielded in any way. The published announcement that the controversy [over the placement of the children] had been straightened out was intended only to fool the public into donating one-and-a-half million dollars during the Shavuos appeals, by pacifying them.
In fact however, they are conceding nothing. They seek out all kinds of wiles that will enable them to distance these children utterly from Yiddishkeit. They (so to speak) locate a child’s ostensible distant relatives, provide them with all their household needs, and entrust his upbringing to a household that desecrates Shabbos and ignores the laws of kashrus. These are children whose fathers were murdered and their mothers were burnt in Sanctification of the Divine Name, and whose brothers and sisters were buried alive. And such a child, sometimes the lone survivor of his family, is not allowed to attend a shul for the Yizkor commemoration service! If world Jewry knew this, they would not remain silent. This state of affairs is worse than in the reign of Czar Nicholas I, when little Jewish boys were kidnapped and forcibly baptized. And now, in our days, these people are seeking to uproot Yiddishkeit completely, so that these children will have no share in the G‑d of Israel. Until now – that is, as at a few days ago, because a Jew can do teshuvah at any moment – the responsible authorities have not relented at all.
The money of fellow Jews is being funneled off to unworthy goals, such as providing the organizers with hedonistic pleasures. At the moment, however, I’m not speaking about that, because part of the money collected possibly derives likewise from unsavory sources, [just as sometimes, payment for immoral services is ultimately recycled for similar services10]. At any rate, if the donors were aware of the facts, they would not contribute, whereas the way things stand today, the organizers collect money and laugh off the Jewish public.
It’s hard for me to speak about the above, and anyway, “Not by an abundance of words does wrongdoing cease.”11 It is especially difficult on Shavuos, when one should be speaking about avodas HaShem. However, the above situation lies heavily on my heart, and all Jews should know about it, and do something about it.
I’ve said what I’ve said. Now, each of you should do whatever you can.
33. The Sages record [that Rav Sheshes once said], “We do it in our way; they do it in theirs.”12 A similar expression appears with regard to a certain kind of blemish in a sacrificial animal: “With them [i.e., the Romans], this is not counted as a disqualifying blemish; with us, it is.”13 [In the former quotation,] “we” refers to fulltime Torah scholars, and “they” refers to laymen. Both quotations imply that even though the two levels are distinct, they nevertheless have something in common.
“They” with reference to laymen has a drawback, such as not davening with a minyan and not managing to set aside time for regular sessions of Torah study. Anyway, their heads are too preoccupied. When it comes to strolling with their hands in their pockets and observing the crows, for that there is time.
The positive side is that when someone reminds them that it’s time for Minchah, or that some fellow Jew needs a free loan or some other favor, the way they spring to respond can be heard in their voice. When it comes to “we” with reference to fulltime Torah scholars, their response is also positive – but at a measured pace, after being thought out…
34. Sometimes, “we” (the scholars) become “they” (the laymen), and conversely, “they” (the laymen) sometimes become “we” (the scholars).
When “we” (the scholars) become “they” (the laymen), this means that the element of “they” (the laymen), which was latent in the element of “we” (the scholars), now surfaces. This happens whenscholars invest effort in communal tasks – such as providing mikvaos for family purity and founding educational institutions – and thereby invigorate the laymen who have traditionally taken responsibility for those tasks.
(The involvement of the nesi’im of Chabad in communal responsibilities over these last 180 years is described in the Introduction to the booklet which is now being published.14)
Conversely, when “they” (the laymen) become “we” (the scholars), this means that the element of “we” (the scholars), which was latent in the element of “they” (the laymen), now surfaces. This is expressed in the layman’s earnest and sober “Wow!” when he suddenly recognizes his own spiritual state. That awareness of his is superior to that of the Torah scholar. True, the layman’s knowledge of Torah is more limited, and the scholar’s comprehension of Torah is greater. Moreover, when one is studying a subject in the Gemara in depth together with the Tosafos that analyze it, one can relish its sweetness, and one can savor the same sweet taste while studying a concept in the Torah’s inner dimension. This makes one feel sorry for those who do not enjoy that comprehension and mastery of Torah knowledge. Yet nevertheless, the layman’s earnest and sober “Wow!” is superior to that of the Torah scholar.
The scholar, then, ought to include the layman in his responsibilities, in the spirit of the obligation that “when you see someone who is naked, clothe him!”15 This means that if you see fellow Jews who are naked of Torah and mitzvos, clothe them!”16
And the layman will then be superior to the scholar, like the dwarf on the shoulders of a giant.
35. Nowadays, when the Torah scholars are obliged to be utterly submerged in [the above-mentioned needs of] the laymen, the Torah scholars [inevitably] lose something of their spiritual standing.17
36. Some American Jews are insensitive to the unearned favors that are bestowed on us. In the Old Country, in Europe, if people were able to buy clothes and to pay for their children’s tuition and the like, that sufficed, and they were thankful for Heaven’s unearned favors.
We learn that Yaakov and Eisav divided their inheritance: Yaakov chose the World to Come and Eisav chose This World.18 Since Jews thus have no real connection to This World, one would expect that their blessings should come down by spiritual means, like the manna, the “bread from Heaven,” that our forefathers received in the wilderness.19 Nevertheless, as an unearned favor,20 the Holy One, blessed be He, gives Jews This World as well. A Jew needs This World for the sake of Torah and mitzvos, so that he can engage in the avodah of beirurim.21 Apart from that, Jews have no real connection to This World, so the fact that we receive This-Worldly gifts is indeed an unearned favor – yet here in America not everyone is sensitive to this.
In addition, some people are nebbich-Yidn: it is only when Jews undergo suffering that they are counted as Jews. As people used to say: “That goat there produces nothing, but when all the local goats are stricken by an epidemic, it too counts as a goat…”
Some American Jews go further, and regard themselves as partners with the local non-Jews.
37. The Torah has its own path in life, as in the phrase, “This is the way of the Torah.”22 If a person treads his own path, he can go off track. In the Old Country, regardless of their material predicament, people found time to daven with a minyan, to read Tehillim, and to listen to a regular study session. Over here, people can’t find time for all of that.
38. The Gemara teaches that if a person gives his friend a gift, he should inform him of it, and if he gives a gift to a child, he should inform his mother, by smearing his lips with honey, for example.23
In that spirit, [I’m now informing the temimim, the students of Tomchei Temimim, that] there’s something I’d like to tell them. I ought to have spoken of it at length, but bodily weakness doesn’t allow me to do that. Nevertheless, since it serves a spiritual end, which calls for mesirus nefesh, self-sacrifice, I will say as much as I can, as follows:
Students of Tomchei Temimim must know that it is not like other yeshivos. They must know that with regard to the founder of this Yeshivah, [the Rebbe Rashab,] not only are “tzaddikim greater [after their passing than during their lifetimes],”24 but beyond that, the founder of the Yeshivah knows about every single individual. He prays for their spiritual welfare and for the material aspect of their spiritual lives.25 To him, every step they take matters.
39. Diligence26 has two components: punctuality, and focused attention to the subject being studied.
I expect the students to deal with three things that need to be set right: conscientious assiduity, brotherly love, and clean speech.
40. Every Yom-Tov has an erev Yom-Tov that precedes it and a Motzaei Yom-Tov that follows it. Motzaei Yom-Tov empowers a person to [cope with the spiritual challenges of] the following ordinary days, and to internalize [the spiritual potential of] the next Yom-Tov.27
[The present Yom-Tov,] Shavuos, is the season of the Giving of the Torah, which is called28 a Torah of Life. […29] with Divine lovingkindness and compassion.
