If one Jew were absent at Sinai, Torah would not have been given at all; from greatest to smallest, we form one interdependent body sharing the same spiritual vitality; Our obligation to every Jew, each of whom inwardly desires to be brought closer to Torah.
By the Grace of G-d
Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 5731
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Mr. . . .
London, England
Greeting and Blessing:
I was pleased to receive regards from you through mutual friends, and am especially gratified to hear of your active participation in the work of Lubavitch for the strengthening and spreading of Yiddishkeit in general, and in the area of Jewish education in particular.
Now that we have entered the auspicious month of Sivan and the day on which our forefathers came to Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah, it is well to recall one of the teachings of our Sages in this connection. Our Sages tell us that if there would have been one Jew short (absent) of the 600,000 adult Jews at the time of receiving the Torah, the Torah would not have been given at all.
Needless to say, like all matters of Torah, which have countless aspects, teachings and instructions, this saying of our Sages also has many implications. I can only dwell on one of them in this letter.
At first glance it seems hard to understand why all of the Jewish people, even Moshe Rabbenu would have been deprived of the Torah if there was one Jew short. After all, the Jewish people themselves consisted of various segments (“from the Heads and Princes of the Tribes to the hewer of wood and the drawer of water”).
Moreover, there were a number of matters of the Torah which had already been given to the Jewish people before Mattan Torah, with certain obligations assigned to some segments. Also after Mattan Torah, there are mitzvos which obligate only Kohanim, or Leviim, or men only, or women only, etc.
In order to understand the essential meaning of the above mentioned saying of our Sages, it is well to take an illustration from the physical body. On the one hand the body consists of different limbs and organs, in some cases radically different, such as from the highest intellectual aspect of the brain to the toenail. But however different these various parts of the body may be, they have one common and essential aspect, namely the general vitality of the body which must extend to all parts of the body. Thus if the vitality is lacking insofar as the toenail is concerned, it means that there is a lack of vitality also in the brain.
Similarly in the matter of the Torah and the Jewish people. Insofar as the essential and vital aspect of the Torah is concerned, the giving of the Torah by G-d and the receiving of it by the Jewish people—there is no difference between the least significant individual and the most significant individual. Indeed, in order that the greatest Jew should receive the Torah it is necessary that also the least significant Jewish individual should receive the Torah simultaneously.
The practical consequence of the above is, as we also mentioned it during our conversation when you were here, that at no time must we give up or despair of any Jew. It is the duty of each and every one of us, especially those who have an influence in the community, or can influence individuals, to help every Jew become an active part of Torah Judaism, and also involve everyone in the activities connected with the education of Jewish children in particular, the kind of education that prepares them to receive the Torah, and live the Torah in the daily life on the basis of Naaseh (first, and then) v’Nishma, as at the time when our forefathers first received the Torah at Sinai.
I therefore hope and trust that you and your friends will do everything possible to involve your and their friends and acquaintances to become active in this most vital work of Torah-true chinuch.
I had occasion to mention this before that the misconception which is often applied here, namely the principle of “mind your own business” is completely out of place. For, aside from the fact that this is indeed the business of each and every Jew, it also has this advantage that every Jew inwardly desires very much to be brought closer to the Torah, as the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad, put it: “No Jew can, nor does he wish, to be separated from G-dliness.” If, for some reasons, a Jew has strayed or become alienated, it is only because external aspects have somehow obscured his essential inner being. Consequently, anyone helping to remove this outward crust and reveal his essence, not only renders a vital service, but earns the sincere and everlasting gratitude of the individual so helped.
Finally, let me also say that this kind of work knows no limit, and however many friends one has succeeded in involving in this work, there must be one more that could participate, and who knows, maybe that additional person has a very special function to carry out for the benefit of the whole cause. And since this is a matter of zechus horabim, it will surely stand you and all your friends in good stead, to be blessed with hatzlocho in all your efforts.
With blessing,
