By the Grace of G-d Chanukah, 5733 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

I duly received your letter of Nov. 28 from Jerusalem, and may G-d grant that all the matters about which you write should get ever brighter, in keeping with the spirit of the Chanukah Lights increasing in number and brightness from day to day.

As has been often said before, all matters of Torah are an inexhaustible source of lessons and inspiration for our daily life, especially when they take the form of practical Mitzvoth, since the Torah and Mitzvoth are Infinite, being derived from the Infinite [En Sof]. I mention this here apropos of the Mitzvah of Ner Chanukah, specifically in relation to one particular aspect which, at first, appears quite puzzling.

I am referring to the fact that although Chanukah recalls many miracles and wonders, the main event for which Chanukah was instituted was the miracle with the cruse of oil, the one and only that was found in the Beth Hamikdosh, that was intact and undefiled by the enemy, which was then kindled and which lasted for eight days, until new, pure and holy oil could be prepared.

What is puzzling about it is that the oil was not required for human consumption, nor for the consumption of the Mizbe’ach (Altar) but for fuel in the Menorah to be burnt in the process of giving light. It would seem, at first glance, of no consequence, insofar as the light is concerned, whether or not the oil had been touched and defiled, for, surely, the quality and intensity of the light could hardly be affected by the touch?

Yet, when the Talmud defined the essence of the Chanukah festival, the Sages declared that the crucial aspect was the miracle with the oil.¹ Not that they belittled or ignored the great miracles on the battlefields, when G-d delivered the “mighty” and “many” into the hands of the “weak” and “few”, for those miracles are also emphasized in the prayer of V’al Hanissim. Nevertheless, it was the miracle of being able to light the Menorah with pure, holy oil, without any touch of uncleanliness, which gave rise to the Festival of Lights.

The obvious lesson is that in the realm of the spirit, of Torah and Mitzvoth, as symbolized by the Chanukah Lights, there must be absolute purity and holiness. It is not for the human mind to reason why, and what difference does it make, etc.

Much more could be said on the subject, but it will suffice to lend further weight to our conversation during your visit here, when the point was made how most vital it is that the right person should head the institution which Divine Providence has privileged you to establish in the Holy Land and even holier City of Jerusalem, as a center for the dissemination of Yiddishkeit in its purity. The purity and holiness of the oil must be ensured.²

To carry the analogy further, it is the purpose of the central Beth Hamikdosh to illuminate and bring holiness and purity into the individual Beth Hamikdosh — i.e. every Jewish home and every Jewish person, which is also the obligation of every Jew towards his fellow Jew, in accordance of the Mitzvah of “v’ohavto Ire’acho komoicho.” But special precautions are necessary that the Beth Hamikdosh itself should be illuminated with the purest, sanctified oil, so that even the Kohen Godol, if he should happen to be tom’e, could not enter the Beth Hamikdosh, much less kindle the Menorah.

May G-d grant you Hatzlocho in establishing the said institution in fullest accord with G-d’s will, in the spirit outlined above, truly reflecting the spirit of the Chanukah lights, lighting ever more candles and increasing their glow from day to day.

With prayerful wishes for the utmost Hatzlocho in all above, and

With blessing,

M. Schneerson

P.S. The enclosed copy of my general Chanukah message³ has an obvious bearing on some of the points touched above.

PP.S.

Although it is not my custom to mention names and personalities I am impelled in this case to make an exception, which will also illustrate the point of my letter, above.

This is in reference to your mentioning the name of Prof. ....⁴ While it is true that through him many could be reached and influenced, apparently you are not aware that his wife is not Jewish and has not converted (at any rate up to most recently), and this has been reported in all the newspapers.

Now consider what would be the general reaction if he held a leading position in the Chabad House or Moadon, etc. And how could Chabad approach and convince a boy or girl about the question of intermarriage, not to mention the embarrassment to all concerned when meeting the said Prof. and his wife together?

Now the above case is certainly a conspicuous one and has been well publicised in the press. But there are other persons, whose way of life is known in Jerusalem, the very place where the Moadon is to function.

To put it in another way. The level of Yiddishkeit as practised by immigrants from those lands whence they immigrated was the maximum that was possible for them under the circumstances and in view of their education and upbringing. Indeed, in many cases it entailed real Mesiras Nefesh at every step. But having lived on this level for decades, it is understandable how difficult it is for them to change all of a sudden from a level which, with all the Mesiras Nefesh, fell short, in some cases at least, from that of the Conservatives, or even liberals. For the force of habit is very strong. It would be too much to expect that they could demand a higher level from others. On the other hand it is also understandable that they would feel resentful when people who had never gone through their experience and Mesiras Nefesh require a higher standard from them. However, the facts are there and must be reckoned with. It all goes to show how careful must be the approach to the matter at hand.