Don’t Worry, You’re an Agent
The conviction that you are merely an agent and channel for the Rebbe’s mission gives strength to overcome difficulties, though it may not be immediately evident – a lesson from Eliezer's mission
November 24, 1948
[22nd of Marcheshvan, 5709]
Mr. Joseph Baer
New York, N.Y.
My Dear Mr. Baer:
I want to thank you for your recent letter and for your efforts in creating a new circle of friends for the activities of the Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch. The technical details are being taken care of by the office.
I wish to refer to your letter in which you describe the road as rough and difficult, more so than you envisioned, but that nevertheless you will keep on trying. As I wrote to you in my last letter, “all beginnings are difficult.”
But I am sure that these very difficulties, far from discouraging you, will arouse the latent forces in your good self to overcome them and to go from strength to strength.
The main strength for this task you will draw from the conviction that you are not on your own in this great work, but an agent and channel through which a great purpose is being materialized under the inspiration of our great and dynamic leader, the Lubavitcher Rabbi.
The fact is that often one cannot see at once the influence he is exercising, but nevertheless, the seed he plants takes root and brings far-reaching results.
In this light it will be easier to understand a seemingly difficult commentary by our Sages in connection with Eliezer’s mission, of which we read in this week’s sidrah. Upon meeting Rebeccah at the well for the first time and before knowing that she was the chosen one, Eliezer presented her with “two arm bands, weighing ten golden shekels.” According to our Sages, the gift was symbolic of the Two Tablets with the Ten Commandments!
Although the Ten Commandments were given to Israel some four hundred years later, Abraham, as a prophet, knew of the future destiny of his people (a tradition nurtured until it was fulfilled). In the spirit of this knowledge all his actions were directed. His trusted servant Eliezer, when on his master’s mission, indicated this to Rebeccah – although a stranger at the moment – by mere “hint,” yet it eventually helped to win her over completely.
Wishing you again every success and confident of it, since according to our Sages, “a person bent on a good deed receives Divine assistance,”
I am,
Very sincerely yours,
Rabbi Mendel Schneerson
Chairman, Executive Committee
Note: This letter is from the archives of Rabbi Nissan Mindel, the secretary entrusted with transcribing the Rebbe’s orally dictated responses. It is worth noting that his archive consists of secretarial copies that may not include the Rebbe’s final edits, as well as drafts and unsent letters.
Mr. Joseph Baer was an American businessman in the lumber industry, born to a secular family. Baer was drawn to Judaism through Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch in the 1940s (through Alexander Cowen and Julius Stulman) and was an early participant in its activities. Additional letters addressed to Mr. Baer include those dated 4 Sivan, 5709 and 9 Teveth, 5712.
