בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה כְּלֵי שָׁרֵת — אַהֲבַת ה', אַהֲבַת הַתּוֹרָה, אַהֲבַת יִשְׂרָאֵל — צְרִיכִים צְעִירִים בְּנֵי תוֹרָה לָגֶשֶׁת לַעֲבוֹד בְּכֶרֶם ה' צְבָאוֹת, לְקָרֵב לֵב אֲחֵיהֶם לְקִיּוּם מִצְוֹת מַעֲשִׂיּוֹת וּקְבִיעוּת עִתִּים לַתּוֹרָה — מִבְּלִי הִתְחַשֵּׁב עִם מַחֲלַת הַמִּפְלָגוֹת. וְהָאֱמֶת הַגָּמוּר הוּא, אֲשֶׁר לֵב יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא מַעְיָן מְקוֹר מַיִם חַיִּים, וּבְרִית כְּרוּתָה לַעֲבוֹדָה וְתַעֲמוּלָה שֶׁאֵינָן חוֹזְרוֹת רֵיקָם.

Young Torah scholars should approach their work [among the Jewish people, who are lovingly called] “the vineyard of the L‑rd of Hosts,”1 equipped with three sacred implements: a love of G‑d, a love of the Torah, and a love of their fellow Jews. [Their task is] to draw the hearts of their brethren close to the observance of practical mitzvos and to the designation of fixed times for Torah study, regardless of the malady of party affiliation. The real truth is that the heart of Israel is a spring of living water, and we are assured by an unshakable covenant that hard work and outreach endeavors will never be fruitless.2

A Chassid to Remember

R. Mendel Futerfas, a warm and wise elder chassid whose principles had recently cost him 16 years in a Siberian gulag, was finally visiting the Rebbe. One morning in the 1960s, in the early days of the tefillin campaign (mivtza tefillin), he informed the students at “770” who were about to leave for Manhattan that he would like to join them.

“Excuse me,” one of them politely protested, “but you don’t speak a word of English! How will you communicate?”

“Not to worry,” R. Mendel reassured him in Yiddish.

As soon as they reached Times Square, R. Mendel approached a fellow Jew and offered to help him perform the mitzvah. The young New Yorker, predictably, spoke neither Yiddish, Hebrew nor Russian.

With a smile, R. Mendel said: “I Jew, you Jew.” When his listener nodded in affirmation, R. Mendel continued: “I tefillin, you tefillin.” And without hesitation, the other Jew agreed.

The above encounter explains why the Rebbeim were so sure that outreach work would be successful. They knew that the core of the Jewish soul is a Divine spark that longs for connection with its G‑dly source. All that is needed is a fellow Jew to warmly encourage that spark to glow.