ב"ה, ח' מרחשון, ה'תשי"גברוקלין, נ.י.
הרה"ג והרה"ח וו"ח אי"א נו"מ
עוסק בצ"צ וכו' מוהר"א שי'
שלום וברכה:
נעם לי לקבל מכתבו מג' חוהמ״ס. כן נתקבל בעתו הפ״נ שלו לרה"ש שנקרא בעת רצון על ציון כ ק מו"ח אדמו"ר זצוקללה״ה נבג״ם זי"ע.
קראתי בשימת לב את המאמר שלו ע״ד הנחיצות דמצות מעשיות. ובמענה על שאלתו, לדעתי נכון הדבר להדפיסו, ורשום בגליון בפ״ע איזה הערות בהנוגע למאמרו, אשר להקלת הענין נעתקו לאנגלית ע" י מזכירי דר. נ. מינדל שי'.
ת״ח מראש אם יודיע בשו"ט מהתפתחות הישיבה בפרט, ומהמצב בהד״א של חב״ד במדינתו בכלל.
נהגנו כאן לכתוב G-d בהשמטת אות. ראה שו"ע אדה"ז חאו"ח ספ"ה וש"נ ואכ"מ.
בברכת הצלחה בעבודתו בקודש ופ"ש כל אנ"ש שיחיו
מ. שניאורסאהן
1. A general observation regarding this article:
You have surely seen THE COMMANDMENTS by Dr. N. Mindel,1 where the same topic is dealt with, though, perhaps, from a different angle. There you will also find a bibliography of various sources on the subject. I think you could use them to supplement some paragraphs in your article.
2. The word “rays" is not suitable here and perhaps “emanation‘’ might fit in better.2
3. Instead of “spark of G-d Himself," better "Divine spark."3
4. “The Golden Rule“ may be ambiguous here and understood in the sense of “The Golden Mean,“ which, since it involves compromise, is contrary to the Torah.4
5. I would omit the word “only."5
6. Instead of “G-dly spark," I would prefer “Divine spark" and instead of “divine Father" perhaps “Heavenly Father."6
7. Instead of “Its descent is a tremendous fact," better “It is a tremendous descent."7
8. Instead of “That world," I would put “The world."8
9. The Hebrew words עולם - טבע״" are not of the same root philologically, although their meaning is similar.9
10. The whole subject of the unity of G-d seems to be irrelevant there and would be best left out.10
11. Instead of "the G-d element," better "the power of G-d."11
12. Omit the words "disintegrate into chaos or even," and supplement with "turn back into nothingness," since without G-d's creative power there would be absolutely nothing and not merely chaos.12
13. Page 6: The reference to the "molecule" as having been thought to be the smallest unit of matter is erroneous, for it was the atom that was considered indivisible (which is the meaning of the word "atom").14
14. End of page 6: The principal components of an atom are the electrons and protons, hence the word "neutron" should be substituted by "proton."15
15. Page 7, end of 1st paragraph: The earth would be compressed into a ball of a considerably smaller radius than half [a] mile, as suggested in your article.16
16. Page 7, beginning of 2nd paragraph: The meaning of the statement that "if the human eye could but see, etc.", does not refer to the physical מציאות but to the חיות ורוחניות. תניא ח"ב פ"ג. Accordingly, your interpretation does not seem to be the correct one, in my opinion.16
17. Page 7, below: Matter and energy are not separate and distinct things, but they are distinct "phenomena." Therefore, the sentence should be corrected accordingly.17
18. Page 8, line 9: I would omit the words "in perfection." since it is too much to expect perfection from everyone.18
19. Page 8, 1st line in the chapter "Religious and social precepts:" I would omit the word "spiritual."19
20. Page 8, below: The expression "functional attachment" is not clear; likewise, "inner bond" is unsuitable. The Hebrew word ״צותא״ might best be translated as "companionship."20
21. Page 9: Instead of "duties to neighbour," better "duties to fellow man."21
22. Page 9: The sentence beginning with the words "If any of us etc." is not clear at all.22
23. Page 9, last paragraph extending into page 10: The distinction drawn between the Jewish concept of charity and that of other faiths is not clear.23
24. Page 10, 2nd paragraph, 2nd line: I would insert the word "purely" before "ethical," to read "purely ethical."24
25. Page 10, below: The reference to the 19th chapter of Leviticus with regard to the re-statement of the Ten Commandments is not adequately explained.25
26. The question of the merits of democracy as compared with a totalitarian regime, as you put it, is debatable. The entire paragraph tends to weaken the conclusions of the article, and seems to detract rather than to add to its strength. I would therefore leave it out. Accordingly some lines on page 15 also have to be altered.26
27. In the reference to a temple where religion is preached without the observance of the practical precepts, a more forceful expression is called for, for such a temple is not merely "as far from Judaism as a non-Jewish church," but considerably further, since some non-Jewish churches have much more in common with Judaism than such temples.27
28. You state that each of the 4 categories of created things has been created to serve others. This is true only as far as each lower category is concerned in relation to the higher ones, but not vice versa.28
29. The idea of Abraham having fulfilled the whole Torah in a spiritual sense may have an undesirable effect on the unlearned, although you attempt to minimize this effect by saying that after the Torah was given it is necessary to observe it in practice. Therefore, I would omit it. By way of illustration; I have been visited by a group of people, among whom there was one who had once learned but later turned astray. He argued that we need not be more particular than Rabbi Jose Haglili who maintained that the prohibition of meat and milk did not apply to fowl. It is likely, therefore, that one can use the argument that he need not be more particular than our patriarch Abraham.29
30. The argument that the Rabbinic enactments should be binding because they are designed to better us, is not very forceful or convincing. It would therefore be best to refer to Maimonides who stated that the Rabbinic injunctions are binding because we are commanded to accept them by the Torah; in other words, the Rabbinic injunctions are rooted in the written Torah.30
31. The reference to "עולם התיקון" is not suitable here in connection with the idea "to perfect the world under(?) the Kingdom of the Almighty".31
Notes and sources
The following are the Rebbe's edits on an article titled The Practice of Judaism: An Exposition of the Need and Significance of the Observances, authored by Rabbi Osher Abramson (a Lubavitch rov sent by the Rebbe Rayatz to Australia). This letter (without the edits on the article in English) is printed in Igros Kodesh, vol. 7, letter 1894.
Free translation of the cover letter:
Greeting and Blessing:
I was pleased to receive your letter of the third day Chol-HaMoed Succos. Your pan for Rosh Hashanah was also received and will be read at the resting place of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, of saintly memory.
I have attentively read your article on the importance of practical Mitzvos, and in answer to your question – in my opinion, it is proper to print it. A number of comments on your article are noted on a separate sheet, which, in order to make matters easier, have been translated into English by my secretary Dr. N. Mindel שי'.
Thank you in advance if you will inform me of good news concerning the progress of the Yeshivah in particular and of the circumstances of the Chabad environment in your country in general.
We are accustomed here to write "G-d" with the ommission of a letter. See Shulchan Aruch Admur HaZakein, Orach Chayim, ch. 85, and as referenced there.
With blessings for success in your holy work and with regards to all of Anash שיחיו
1) The Commandments: A philosophical exposition of their Significance and functions, authored by Rabbi Nissan Mindel and published by Kehot in 1945. Can be accessed here.
2) The article read: צדיקים יושבים ועטרותיהם בראשיהם ונהנין מזיו השכינה - “They sit with crowns about their heads and enjoy the rays of the Divine Presence."
3) The article read: his נפש אלקית, a divine soul which emanates from G-d above, and is a spark of G-d Himself.
4) After describing the internal battle between man's two souls for dominance, the article explains how the victory of either one affects one's outward life. As an example, it discusses the commandment "love thy neighbor as thyself," referring to it as "the Golden Rule." The Rebbe's concern was that one may assume this term to be a reference to "the Golden Mean," i.e the middle path straddling two extremes.
5) The article read: If, however, man’s ego in him is ruled by the divine element in him, he becomes thereby a spark of the divine clothed in a bodily form, and sees in others only the divine spark that is in them, though that divine element be concealed in the very depths of their beings.
6) The article read: every man is infused with a G-dly spark from the same divine father.
7) The article read: The divine soul in man descended from the supremest heights, and was clothed in a mortal frame. Its descent is a tremendous fact, and has as its purpose the soul’s ultimate elevation.
8) The article reads: We may understand this more clearly if we first assess what the material world is. That world is called in Hebrew עולם; and what we normally call Nature is rendered by the Hebrew word טבע.
9) The article read: Philologically, both words stem from the same roots as two other words which invite our attention.
10) The article explains that the world's true existence is the G-dly energy that creates and sustains it, and that the soul's mission is to reveal this truth. The article prefaces this concept with the following lines: “We are all familiar with the Biblical expression concerning G-d: מלא כל הארץ כבודו – "The whole earth is filled with his glory," – and with the affirmation – ד׳ אחד G-d is one and unique. Together, both phrases mean that there is nothing on earth outside of G-d."
11) The article read: G-d gives it (the world) קיום, existence, and חיות, life. If for the twinkling of an eye, the G־d element were taken from it...
12) The article read: [continuing from above -ed] ...it would disintegrate into chaos or even nothingness.
13) The article read: It was thought that the molecule was the smallest unit of matter.
14) The article read: Each atom is a tiny planetary system in which the space between its component electrons and neutron is proportionally much greater than in our solar system.
15) The article read: The men of science have further calculated that if we could do the same [removing the space within atoms, leaving only solid particles] with the whole terrestrial globe, keeping only the "solid" parts of its atoms, and ridding it of the space within each of them, the earth would then be reduced to a ball with a radius of less than half a mile!
16) The article read: Our sages have long since taught that if the human eye could but see what there is to be seen in every stone and blade of grass, the matter in them would appear to be entirely dispersed.
17) The article read: Science is just beginning to understand that matter and energy are not separate and distinct phenomena.
18) "When man's work is carried out in perfection, the soul receives its elevation and spiritual ascent."
19) "The character of the spiritual work which has been ordained for the soul of man in the material world, is first to link his intellect with Divine Wisdom, חכמה עילאה , that is with the Torah of G-d; and second, to regulate and fill his daily order of living with the Divine Will, that is with the Commandments which we call the רצון העליון."
20) The article read: Mitzvah does not merely mean a command. The word is derived from the Hebrew word ־ צותא functional attachment which points to an inner bond.
21) The article originally translated מצות שבין אדם לחבירו as "duties to neighbour."
22) The article in discussing various types of mitzvas, stated: If any of us is exercised about the need and significance of the Mitzvot, it is the former, the חוקים, or statutes which exercise us. (Publisher later wrote: The use of the word "exercised" seems to be the problem here. The British (and Australian) use of this word can also be used in the sense of "perplexed" or "worried" (v. Oxford English Dictionary).)
23) The article read: Jewish charity differs from that required by other faiths. In the latter, the command to give charity applies only when there is poverty to relieve. If there be no poor, there is no obligation to give, and the command has no relevance - it lapses. Jewish charity on the other hand is a personal religious obligation – just as I am obligated to put on Tephillin and if I do not possess them I am in duty bound to seek until I find them, and If I fail to find and acquire them I am deficient in that particular precept – so that the "light of the soul" generated by the performance of the Tephillin Mitzvah will be denied me - just so, if there be no poor through whom I may fulfil the command of charity, I am denied the "soul-light" generated by the performance of the Tzedakah precept.
24) The article read: We see, then, that all the Mitzvot, even those which are ethical, are threads which bind the individual to his maker.
25) The article read: in the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus, where there is a restatement of the Ten Commandments, each precept is followed by the words 'אני ה, "I am the L-rd."
26) The article read: Man possesses within himself two opposing forces. On the one hand, he is democratically motivated - he loves freedom, independence and equality. On the other hand he respects strength, discipline and power; even a totalitarian power which robs citizens of their personal liberties can take root in some countries because there is this inborn willingness to obey and to submit to orders and decrees. For this reason, therefore, every country's regime depends on the spiritual condition of its citizens in relation to these opposing forces which influence man's inner being. If the first impulse, that which demands freedom is the stronger, a democratic regime comes into power, possessing unquestionable merits, but nevertheless having serious defects, for it withholds from man's second impulse - that impulse which seeks an authority to which to submit – the satisfaction it needs. If on the other hand, the second of man's impulses prevails, a totalitarian regime is established, which likewise has its support in the forces that dwell in man's soul, but which in the end robs the citizens of their elementary rights and freedoms.
27) Presumably, the article contrasted Reform Judaism as is practiced in such temples with authentic observance. This section was subsequently removed.
28) The article read: There are four categories of created things: דומם – the inanimate; צומח – plant life, the vegetable kingdom; חי – the animal kingdom; and מדבר – that which is endowed with speech – man. Each has been created to serve the other. The inanimate serves plant life and gives it its sustenance. Plants are food for the animal and the animal serves man. Man through the fulfilment of Torah and Mitzvot achieves the sovereignty of the G-dly in him....
29) The article read: "The Patriarch Abraham fulfilled the whole Torah, even before it was given at Sinai" So say the Rabbis - meaning that he fulfilled the inner soul of the Mitzvot, no "bodily" form having yet been given them. But since the Torah was given, all the Mitzvot must be fulfilled in practice, in their "bodily” form, in order to manifest the inner soul of each Mitzvah - its inward content.
30) The article read: All [Rabbinic enactments] are in the same way binding on the community [as Biblical commandments], because each Rabbinic precept and each Rabbinic Takanah is designed to strengthen the will to be סור מרע - to turn away from evil ־ and to be עשה טוב - to do that which is right and good.
31) The article read: A man should therefore always review his activities in the light of our Holy Torah and tradition and should seek to determine them in the same light and spirit as the aspiration לתקן עולם במלכות ש-די – “To perfect the world under the Kingdom of the Almighty.” When that will be achieved, the whole of mankind will see the world as an עולם התיקון – a perfected universe. ” (The world of Tikkun is a Kabbalistic term referring to our organized and contained world (as opposed to the chaotic world of Tohu) and does not refer to a world perfected by our actions.)