By the Grace of G-d In the Days of Selichos,1 5741 Year of Hakhel Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

At this time, with only a few days left to Rosh Hashanah, and pursuing the theme of the letter of Erev Chai Elul, it will be well to elucidate more explicitly a point which was touched upon only briefly in the said letter. It is, that in living up to the way of the Torah, Toras Chayim² (“instruction in living”), in the everyday life, a Jew has to follow two, apparently contradictory, directives: On the one hand, a Jew is expected to serve G-d (learn Torah, do Mitzvos, beginning³ with the Mitzvah which is a Great Rule in the Torah, “Love your fellow as yourself”); in a manner of “with all your might,” without constraint; and on the other hand, he is cautioned that matters of Torah and Mitzvos must be carried out in a definite, circumscribed manner—“You shall not add to it, nor detract from it.”

And since the Torah, Toras Emes, demands the two together, both “with all your might” and “do not add, nor detract,” it is certain that this can be carried out in actual practice in a completely truthful manner.

* * *

Reflecting on this matter more deeply, we discover that, as a matter of fact, the same point characterizes also the entire creation of the world, both the “big world” and the “small world,” every individual being.⁴ Rosh Hashanah, being the anniversary of the creation of man, is therefore a special occasion for serious contemplation on this point, both on Rosh Hashanah itself as well as on the preparatory days before Rosh Hashanah.

Declared our Sages of blessed memory⁵ that at the time of Creation G-d said to the world “Enough!” (that it be a finite one); yet, “He left no thing out of His world.”⁶

Similarly, G-d also created man, the small world, in the same manner, with a definite number of limbs and sinews,⁷ everything in precise proportions and limitations.

At the same time G-d gave man unlimited powers to dominate the world⁸ around him, and, especially, to break through all natural limitations, both within him and in the world at large, and thus to elevate himself and his whole environment to a level and a “world” which is without measure or limit. Such powers were given to a human being to enable him to carry out his task and mission “to make an abode for Him here on earth”⁹—an abode for the Ein Sof¹⁰ (without limit).

Our Sages¹¹ further tell us that this was attained and accomplished by the First Man, Adam, on the day he was created, realizing that this was his purpose and mission. He called upon the world: “Come,¹² let us prostrate ourselves, bow down, and kneel before our Maker!” This he accomplished, and so it was indeed.

All this is renewed and reaffirmed every Rosh Hashanah, when, in addition to praying to G-d to accept our act of Coronation¹³ and be King of our people Israel in an active and revealed form, we also pray: “Reign over the entire world in Your glory,” to the point that “everything¹⁴ that was made will know that You made it, and everything that was created will understand that You created it, and everyone that has a soul will declare, ‘the L-rd, G-d of Israel, is King, and His kingship rules over everything and everywhere.'"¹⁵

Clearly, to crown a King and to know and feel that “His kingship rules over everything,” requires, first of all, complete submission and obedience, without any reservations whatever.¹⁶

* * *

Whence comes¹⁷ the said unlimited power in a human being, who has been created, as mentioned, with definite limitations, and is a part of the finite world?

The explanation is found in Torah, Torah Or (“Torah is Light”), which illuminates everything¹⁸ in its true light. Basically it is connected with the meaning of the name by which the Torah describes a Divine commandment, namely, “Mitzvah,” which, in addition to the plain meaning of the word in the sense of “command,” also contains the concept of “attachment and unity,” as in the word Tzavta.¹⁹ This means: A Mitzvah binds and unites the Commander of the Mitzvah with the one who carries out the Mitzvah—notwithstanding the fact that the Commander is the Creator, the Infinite, and the commanded is a created and finite being.

In giving a Mitzvah, the Creator in effect declares that although He is Ein Sof and beyond any comprehension, He gives the Mitzvah to a human being and tells him that if he will carry out the Mitzvah he will please²⁰ (so to speak) the Creator that His command and will were done. G-d gives the human being the power to create this Divine pleasure and thereby to unite with Hashem,²¹ who is the Infinite,²² without any limitations whatever.

Thereby also the Divine infinite Light “irradiates” and permeates the person who performs the Mitzvah, as well as the person’s share in the world around him (her). This is what gives the human being the unlimited powers to raise one’s self, and the world, above all limitations.

At the same time (and as a precondition) one must carry out each Mitzvah in the required manner of “You shall not add to it, nor detract from it" (as discussed at some length in the previous letter).

The Mitzvah and the manner of its performance are both one and the same—the command and will of the Creator, who is in no way limited, and unifies two opposites,²³ as above.

* * *

To bring the above concept down to earth in actual deed, in keeping with the principle that “action is the essential thing”:²⁴

The Holy One, blessed be He, desires to benefit²⁵ and sanctify every Jew, and all Jews, with Torah and Mitzvos in the fullest measure, and He makes these accessible to the human intellect,²⁶ each one according to one’s capacity. And although the human intellect is limited, yet knowing that when one learns G-d's Torah and fulfills G-d’s Mitzvah one attaches one’s self to the Ein Sof, must permeate one with boundless joy, the joy of doing a Mitzvah.²⁷ This also helps, even in the natural order, to overcome all sorts of difficulties, both imaginary and real (in most cases the latter, too, are not as formidable as imagined),

Because “Joy breaks through barriers.”²⁸ Filled with joy, one is able to break through hindrances and constraints, and then one is able to, and actually does, fulfill G-d’s commandments and Divine mission “with all your might,” without constraint of any kind.

And the fulfillment of “with all your might” in learning Torah and doing Mitzvos brings (a response “in kind”)²⁹—an increase in the Divine blessings,³⁰ likewise without measure or limit, “from His full, open, holy³¹ and ample Hand,” to each and everyone according to one’s needs, materially and spiritually.³²

Including, especially, the main blessing, namely, the fulfillment of the prayer: “Hashem³³, G-d of Hosts, restore us, light up Your countenance, and we shall be delivered,” with the true and complete Geulo, through Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

With prayerful wishes for Hatzlocho in all above, and with the blessing of Kesivo vachasimo toivo, for a good and sweet year,

/Signed: Menachem Schneerson/