A Handwritten Letter From the Rebbe About Chanukah

Welcome to our weekly program, the inside story of Chabad in America through the Mindel archives.

I mentioned last week that I found a handwritten letter from the Rebbe about Chanukah, a Chanukah letter from the early years. Usually, for letters, Rabbi Mindel used to go in and take dictation, but this letter was written in the Rebbe's handwriting, and the Rebbe crossed out certain things. This is a Chanukah letter in his handwriting, so I want to share this with you. It's hard to read the Rebbe's handwriting here, but I'll try to read it, and I'll translate the letter into English. [Applause]

So the Rebbe writes like this to somebody. It's a very interesting letter. And then [unclear] whatever, then I'll start over here.

[Reads Hebrew, partly unclear: "...hero sign I share your ear boy as calls Vivace..." [unclear]] [Hebrew]

That's one paragraph, the first paragraph. There are three paragraphs, so I'll just read this paragraph. It should be the will of Hashem that he should shine from within him to his environment with the light of Torah and its source, and in a manner of constantly going forth and increasing. And as is known, it is the abbreviation: eight candles is according to Beis Hillel, as he increases the number of converts to the Jewish people through his conduct.

Now I'll continue with the second paragraph. [Hebrew]

Now I'll translate that. My father-in-law taught us also, with this idea of increasing, the path for each and every one of us, as he was the prime example during his lifetime, going forth and lighting the souls, the candles, of our sons and daughters, the children of Israel. As we know, the candle of God is the soul of man. The Rebbe lit these candles in an ever-increasing way, from time to time, from year to year. His lighting of neshamos was at the entrance to his home, on the outside. Teaching others needs to come from the inside, yet within reach [?] of the outside, in order that the candles will be able to light up the marketplace, a place of darkness and deep darkness, because the sun has set. The Godliness of the [unclear] became [unclear], the world is hidden, so it has to go into the world. This is what the Rebbe writes in the second paragraph.

Then he finishes off. [Hebrew]

Now I'll repeat that in English. Our sages have already promised us that the blessing of lighting is on condition that the person who does the lighting of the souls does it, in other words, with sincere and good intention. As Chazal tell us, all the blessings I'm giving you to give to my children will never be nullified. And it should be a blessing that the light should constantly increase until the time of the coming of Moshiach.

This is what this letter says. I found that there are three important lessons that a person learns from Chanukah. Number one, it has to be l'ha'ir [?]: the candles should light to all the people. That's number one. Number two, to increase every day. And number three, it has to be mipesach [?], by the doorpost, from the outside. So by lighting this way you put a light into the world. But a person has to be [unclear]. That means that the home has to be surrounded with mitzvahs. Since you're going out into the world, you're lighting the world, you have to make sure that the world, the [unclear], he says, the style, the fashion of the world, shouldn't creep into your own home, to the children, [unclear] and everything else of the olam. So therefore it has to be on the outside, but it has to be mibachutz.

Another thing the Rebbe says here is something very important. He wrote this to a Conservative rabbi. I'm not going to say what the rabbi wrote to him, but the Rebbe answered him like this: "Don't be wishy-washy." That's what the Rebbe says: "Take off your kid gloves, decide in a [unclear: 'hentikas'] way."

And the Rebbe says there that in the time of Chanukah there were Jews who were called Hellenists. They followed the Greek culture. And this is today, he tells them, the movement, as the Rebbe says, of the Conservative and Reform movement. Every Jew is holy, and every Jew has an insurance [?], whether you're Conservative, Reform, or Orthodox, but the movement is the problem. And the strange thing is that by the Conservative and Reform, Chanukah is a big Yom Tov. And the whole problem is because they're trying to change the Torah [?]. It first started with the Hellenists, and then it started with the [unclear: "Buddha must kill him"; possibly the maskilim], and they said, "Be a Jew in your house but a goy on the outside." And this is what we have to get rid of. A candle should light to the people that are on the outside, that they need to do [unclear: "sugar"].

And just like in Mitzrayim [?], the Rebbe writes, we went out of Mitzrayim [?] because they didn't change their clothes, they didn't change their customs, and they didn't change their name; they were hidden [?]. The same thing also now: by putting a light outside, and not bringing the outside into your own home. That is the mezuzah, but [unclear] over there.

Next week we're going to share with you a very important letter, a telephone conversation between the Rebbe [unclear: "Robert"] and Rabbi Mindel. Thank you.