Lesson from oil wells: After removing the outer layers one's inner well gushes forth
By the Grace of G-d
14th of Tammuz, 5712
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mr. ...
Houston, Texas
Greeting and Blessing:
I was pleased to receive your letter. It was gratifying to note your general attitude toward our work for Torah and tradition, and particularly of your active participation in and cooperation with Rabbi ...’s purpose in your community.
I trust you will be successful in your oil drilling ventures and they will display steady growth, which is the sign of all living things.
You may have heard the saying of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, founder of general Chassidism, oft repeated by my father-in-law, the late Lubavitcher Rabbi of saintly memory, that a Jew should consider every experience in his life as a lesson in better and more G-dly living. This is particularly true of one’s principal business or occupation, which in your case is oil drilling.
The idea of oil is to drill deep into the ground until a strike is made in the existing subterranean oil field or deposit, until the oil begins to gush forth of its own accord.
The parallel in our own living is to get through the superficial layers that hide our inner depths, and once that is pierced, G-d helps the inner “well” to spread forth and light up our existence.
The same applies also to our duty toward our fellow Jew, who we must help discover his inner “deposits” of light and warmth. For deep in the heart of every Jew there is a well of faith and the hidden spark of his Divine soul. It is necessary to pierce through the outer layers that obscure and hide it, for that Divine spark to be released and the well of faith gush forth of its own accord. Reflecting on this, should remove the discouragement that one may encounter in one’s efforts to light up one’s environment.
I am looking forward to good news of your work along these lines, and may G-d bless your efforts in “oil drilling” in both the physical and spiritual sense.
Cordially yours,
