The text of the first part of this letter was sent to various individuals, personally addressed to each one.1 The portion following the Rebbe’s signature was addressed to a specific individual whose name was not made known.
B”H, 12 Iyar, 5709
Greetings and blessings,
Your letter has been received. I am [writing to send] the enclosed selection of Likkutei Dibburim for the coming Lag BaOmer holiday.2 You no doubt will share it with people at large in the most appropriate manner as explained in sec. 2 of that sichah.
Perhaps it is possible to offer the following explanation of that [date]. Lag BaOmer is alluded to in the phrase3 “the mound of testimony,” [which was constructed by Lavan to mark the separation between him and Yaakov]. Two concepts are implied: a mound [separating] between the [transcendent] level of sublime whiteness4 and the holiness of Yaakov, and a mound [separating] between holiness and the forces of evil, as explained in the Siddur [Im Dach], Shaar HaLag BaOmer. Accordingly, Lag BaOmer contains two elements: the ultimate ascent experienced by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, [as manifest in] pnimiyus haTorah, that was revealed on this day, and [the lowest levels of] acknowledgment, which is the Divine service of utterly simple people, as explained in the kuntreis [published] in connection with the Pesach holiday.5
It is possible to explain that throughout the time the Baal Shem Tov’s [identity] was hidden, he was [functioning] on the level of the sublime whiteness as expressed [above] with the level of holiness. This is alluded to in the digest [of the Rebbe’s talks] ([see] the enclosed [issue] of Likkutei Dibburim, p. 29). When the time that he was to remain hidden ended and it was necessary that he be revealed [as a teacher], the sign was that of gal ed, “a mound of testimony.” It is well known that the Baal Shem Tov writes (printed in Sichos,20 Kislev, 5693; HaTamim, Vol. IV, p. 18) that after he completed studying the Torah with his master, AchiyahHaShiloni (see Seder HaDoros which writes that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a reincarnation of him; see the Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachos 9:2), until the phrase “before the eyes of all Israel,”6 he was revealed [as a teacher]. With wishes for everlasting good in all matters,
M. Schneerson
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The health of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe Shlita, has continued to improve. May G‑d grant him a complete recovery in the near future. Amen, so may it be His will.
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I will answer the question you raised before Pesach when I am able to free myself slightly. With wishes for everlasting good in all matters and with blessings for the “small Pesach,” i.e., at least a “small leap”7 at the present time.
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