בְּרִית כְּרוּתָה לְתַעֲמוּלָה וַעֲבוֹדָה בְּמוֹעֲצוֹת חָכְמָה וּבְקִרוּב הַדַּעַת שֶׁאֵינָהּ חוֹזֶרֶת רֵיקָם.

One may rest assured, as by a covenant,1 that endeavors and toil [for the dissemination of Yiddishkeit], in a spirit of wise consultation and comradely openness, will not be expended in vain.2

Living in This World

When a person acts with good intentions and consults with others to make sure that he is not absorbed in his own subjectivity, he can rest assured that his actions will bear fruit. Thus, in many of the Rebbe’s responses to queries from his representatives around the world, he quotes the phrase,3 “Salvation comes through an abundance of counsel.”

However, the salvation that comes through counsel alone, no matter how abundant, is scant — unless it gives birth to practical action. From time to time, usually at a farbrengen, the Rebbe would propose (for example) a new outreach project or an additional study program for his chassidim to undertake. Soon after, he was sometimes presented with a report — that in response to his recent practical proposal, a meeting had been called and further consultations were on the drawing boards. On such occasions, the Rebbe would make it clear that he was left unimpressed by a meeting whose only practical outcome was… the convening of another meeting. As he often reminded his correspondents, “What matters is the actual deed.”4