By the Grace of G-d
Erev Shabbos Mevorchim Iyar, 5737, Brooklyn, N.Y.
To All Participants in the Annual Dinner for Oholei Torah
G-d bless you all!
Greeting and Blessing:
I was pleased to be informed about the forthcoming Dinner on the first day of the week of Achrei-Kdoshim. May G-d grant that it should be with much Hatzlocho in every respect.
As is well known, the weekly Torah-portion contains teachings of our Toras-Chayim (our practical guide in life) which are relevant to all happenings in that week, especially events that are directly connected with Torah.
At first glance it seems strange that the Sedra Achrei begins with details concerning the avodah (service) of the Kohen-godol on Yom Kippur, which occurs only once a year, all the more so considering that these instructions were given in the month of Nissan — six months before they had to be actually implemented — while those relating to the everyday life and conduct of the kohanim follow later in the Sedra Emor (“Speak to the Kohanim").
One of the explanations of this seemingly strange order is that when the kohanim were about to be inducted into the affairs of Kehunah which is, of course, in the realm of Kedushah (holiness) — and on a higher level of holiness than that of an ordinary Jew, which is also a member of the “Kingdom of kohanim and holy nation,” it was necessary to emphasize that the basis and force of kedushah derives from the “Holy of Holies” — in space (Beis Hamikdosh), in time (Yom Kippur), and in the soul of the person representing the highest level of holiness in the “Kingdom of kohanim and holy nation” (with all these three elements of olam, shanah, nefesh combined and united, as explained in Chabad).
Herein is also a practical instruction in regard to Chinuch-al-taharas-hakodesh. For the essence of Chinuch is to provide the Jewish child with the quality of education that “also when he grows old he will not depart from it.” It should be an education that will be felt throughout his entire life and will permeate his daily conduct as is expected of one who is a member of the “Kingdom of kohanim and holy nation.”
In the area of Chinuch, too, there are the said three elements: the educational institution where the child learns; the period of formative education when the foundation is laid for the whole life; and the teachers and administration who carry out the sacred educational service. These are, so to speak, the three elements of “space, time, and soul” of Chinuch, which must combine on the highest level of kedushah to achieve the utmost results.
However, in order to make this kind of Chinuch a reality, it requires the collaboration and support of the parents and of the friends of the educational institution. And this is the purpose of the Annual Dinner, which takes place once a year but must lay the groundwork for meeting the needs of the school, to enable it to carry out its sacred task in the maximum good.
May G-d grant that all that has been said above should find the proper response and the proper expression at the Dinner of the Oholei Torah institution, with a corresponding effort by everyone, with joy and gladness of heart.
With esteem and blessing for Hatzlocho and good tidings,
/Signed: Menachem Schneerson/
