To Build a Legacy
Every Jew has the ability – hence the duty – to use his “gold and silver,” etc., not just for his own material pleasures (which contributes nothing to holiness, but sometimes to the contrary); instead, he can convert his gold and silver into something so sacred and holy that G-d desires to dwell therein. Indeed, in doing so, a Jew makes himself personally a fitting abode for the Divine Presence.
The Rebbe
This Shabbos marks Gimmel (3) Tammuz, the 28th yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory. Bold visionary and dynamic leader of Chabad, the Rebbe donned his saintly father-in-law’s mantle and forged a powerful, global movement, while guiding thousands and exerting influence in all walks of life. The Avner Institute presents the Rebbe’s letters to Mel (Mordechai Shoel) Landow (With special thanks to Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipsker), prominent Florida businessman and founder of the Landow Yeshiva, highlighting the Rebbe’s active involvement in outreach and educational activities, down to the dollars and cents, and the Rebbe’s practical and spiritual encouragement.
In Loving memory of Hadassah bas Shneur Zalman
“Your desire for even greater things”
On bringing out the potential in every human being.
By the Grace of G-d
22 Adar II 5733
Brooklyn, NY
Mr. Mordechai Shoel Landow
4340 North Bay Road
Miami Beach, FL 33140
Greeting and Blessing:
Your letter of March 1st reached me with some delay. I regret that my acknowledgment has been unavoidably delayed by the intervening days of Purim. Please accept my apology.
First of all, I want to express my gratification at your response to the suggestions which I proposed to you during your visit here. It was, of course, a pleasure to make your personal acquaintance.
Frankly, I had wondered what your reactions might be to my “un-American” manner of welcoming you. For, the accepted American way, if I am not mistaken, is to greet one with a shower of compliments and praise, even if not always fully merited. In your case, of course, it would have been very well-deserved credit, for I was fully aware of your accomplishments and generosity on behalf of the Lubavitch work in your community, given in the best tradition of inspiration and dedication, even to the extent of getting your friends involved in it. Yet, instead of verbalizing my appreciation at length, I glossed over it briefly, and immediately challenged you with new and formidable projects.
Pertinent Matters
However, the fact is that I felt impelled to use the precious time at our disposal to discuss with you those matters which, in my estimation, are of vital importance, namely the expansion of our program in Miami and also the project in our Holy Land, knowing that however much we could extend the late hour, the time would still be too short to discuss the vital need of these matters in all their ramifications.
My guiding principle in this case, as when meeting with people in general, is the bon mot I heard from my father-in-law of saintly memory: “When two Jews meet, they should not be content with the benefit that the meeting brings to each of them, but they should immediately be concerned with the prospect of bringing a benefit to a third Jew, a fourth, and to as many Jews as possible.”
Moreover, I was hopeful that you would accept my suggestions in the right spirit, precisely because you have already made a magnificent start. And as I wrote to you in my previous letter, quoting our Sages of blessed memory, “He who has 100 desires 200,” etc., or, in other words, since achievement is the great incentive to further and more ambitious achievements, I had reason to believe that your achievement in the past will widen your horizons and intensify your desire for even greater things.
Mutual Benefit
Hence, without losing time, I embarked upon the practical aspects of our meeting for the benefit of so many of our fellow Jews. This, I felt, would ensure also our share of the benefit, yours and mine, and yours even more than mine, since the actual implementation of these projects is something which Divine providence has entrusted into your hands.
As for the projects themselves, I can hardly overemphasize their importance. The development of the educational facilities in Miami on all levels, up to and including the highest, goes beyond the thing itself, for, as the point was mentioned, Miami is a showcase for American Jewry from all parts of the U.S.A., so that every accomplishment there, in the area of Torah education and revival of Yiddishkeit, has the significance of a “pilot” project for others to emulate. Similarly, giving new direction to the networks and other media would trigger off beneficial repercussions on a global scale.
Thus, even a small accomplishment in these areas could be multiplied on an unforeseen scale; how much more so a substantial accomplishment.
As Miami is the showcase for American Jewry, so Eretz Yisroel is the showcase for world Jewry, due to the considerable and growing tourism. Add to this the fact that it is the “Holy Land” also for other faiths, and attracts non-Jewish tourism, too, in growing numbers. Eretz Yisroel must therefore serve as a model for all. The project has still greater merit because it is directly connected with the influx of the new immigrants.
Multiple Tasks
In the light of all that has been said above, you can well understand that your letter has greatly relieved my mind, for you have indeed shown yourself big enough to overlook the scanty praise and to give your serious and favorable attention to the tasks at hand. I feel certain that the zechus [merit] of your good deeds already accomplished has stood you in good stead.
I am very gratified to note that the activities in Miami are proceeding at an accelerated pace. No doubt these include the summer camp and day camp which came up in our conversation, as well as making your influence increasingly felt in the networks and news media, after the promising start you made.
As for the third project, namely, the one for Eretz Yisroel, may I say, with all due respect, that I do not agree with your contention that you are not equipped to develop it. I am certain that you are. However, it would in any case have to wait until the Miami program is well advanced, so as not to detract attention from the latter.
Actually, I regret to say, there is also a different factor, which makes the present moment not very opportune for the immediate implementation of the Eretz Yisroel project. For, such a project must, of course, have the utmost cooperation of various departments of the Israeli government. But, unfortunately, for various reasons, the present moment is not very auspicious to embark upon the project, so that it must be postponed for the time being.
Actual Deed
Finally, with reference to the conclusion of your letter, on the subject of ritual observance, I need not emphasize to you, a successful businessman, that although knowledge and motivation, etc., are very desirable things, the essential thing, after all, is the actual deed. As for the “disappointment” at the lack of greater progress, I would like to cite a basic Chassidic principle, actually deriving from the [first Lubavitcher] Alter Rebbe, in his classic work the Tanya. It is to the effect that inasmuch as a Jew must utilize to the fullest all his capacities towards increasing the good and the holy within himself and the environment, “disappointment” (which usually is a negative factor, being closely linked with discouragement) can also be converted into a positive force, to redouble one’s efforts in the right direction.
Indeed, it can be made into a springboard for an even greater accomplishment, as in the case of a person who has to make a wide leap, which he can do only by going back a few steps in his feelings of satisfaction –not, G-d forbid, in doing mitzvoth in order to gain momentum for that extra leap. May G-d grant that your hope for complete observance will be realized even sooner than you expect, and the zechus horabim (benefit for many) will help you, since your way of life and conduct will surely be an inspiration to many.
With esteem, and with blessings for good tidings,
[signature]
P.S. I was pleased to receive personal regards from you through Prof. Yirmiyahu [Herman] Branover, who informed me that he gained the distinct impression that the Eretz Yisroel project has become much closer to your heart, not just theoretically, but also from the practical viewpoint. And while, as mentioned above, the time now is not opportune, the situation might change at any moment, though the Miami program must have top priority, as above; and, hopefully, the other project will have its turn at the proper time.
“Always room for improvement”
Spiritual connections entail moral and practical encouragement.
By the Grace of G-d
28 Elul 5734
Brooklyn, NY
Mr. & Mrs. Mordechai Shoel Landow
4340 North Bay Road
Miami Beach, FL
Greeting and Blessing:
After the long interval, though I have of course inquired about you in the interim, I just received your letter and enclosure relating to the Dedication celebration. Since all good things contain the seeds of continuity, like a chain reaction, may G-d grant that this be so also in this case. It is indeed a great zechus for both of you – I was pleased to hear that Mrs. Landow, too, actively participated and was honored – and may it be G-d’s will that just as you have seen His blessings in the past, in the rapid growth of the students in quantity and quality, and the general blossoming of the program, etc., you should see even greater progress in the future.
All the more so that your letter arrived in the auspicious days before Rosh Hashanah.
At this time, I extend to you and all yours my prayerful wishes for a good and happy year, materially and spiritually.
With the traditional blessing,
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P.S. Regarding the matter with your son, about which you wrote, it is surely unnecessary to emphasize at length the need to enlist the cooperation of good friends that they should do all they can to influence your son in the right direction. It is to be expected that he may feel freer to discuss the matter with friends than with parents or close relatives. In that case the friends could promptly refute whatever reasons he may have. Of course, this does not preclude your using your persuasion and influence.
I would like to add – and this is also very pertinent in the present case – that all the members of a Jewish family are like one body. When a particular organ of the body needs strengthening, it is given direct treatment, as well as indirect, by strengthening the other organs in an extra measure, to benefit also the affected organ.
Certainly, when parents strengthen their personal life in accordance with the teachings of G-d, it is bound to have a benefit upon the children, directly and subconsciously. And, needless to say, there is always room for improvement in matters of goodness and holiness, Torah and mitzvoth, which are infinite, being derived from the infinite. And, as above, every improvement is a benefit, direct and indirect, also for the children.
It is certainly an encouraging sign that the son did not want his father to know about the problem, and may G-d grant that it should be resolved satisfactorily and sooner than expected.
The zechus of your dedicated work in the cause of chinuch [education] of Jewish children, of whom the Torah states, “You are children of G-d your G-d,” that they should be brought up in the right way, the way of the Torah, will surely stand you in good stead to have true nachas [pleasure] from your son and all your offspring.
“Within each and every Jew”
A leader recognizes and guides every worthy cause.
By the Grace of G-d
4 Adar I, 5736
Brooklyn, NY
Mr. Mordechai Shoel Landow
4340 North Bay Road
Miami Beach, FL 33140
Greeting and Blessing:
This is to acknowledge your correspondence and telephone message. Although my reply was conveyed to you by phone, I will reiterate it here in writing, for the record.
It is self-evident that you should continue actively in the business world, which, obviously be good for your self-confidence and in general, as well as for your wife and family.
There is also a further point to this. You have been successful in business for many years, having put to good use the capacities and talents which G-d has bestowed upon you in a generous measure. It would therefore not be right, to say the least, not to utilize them fully in the future, for it would be tantamount to rejecting something which G-d has given you to make good use of. In other words, it is not merely a personal problem, but one that has also other far-reaching implications.
It follows from the above, and in order to go about it in the most practical way, you should concentrate your efforts in the line of business in which you have experience, connections, and general recognition.
As in all areas of fruitful endeavor, it is more effective and successful, and at the same time less strenuous, when it is carried out with confidence and a happy disposition.
You will probably suspect that in advising you the above, I have also the good of the Torah Center in mind. I must confess that I do, for I see no contradiction in it. To be sure, there could be situations where personal ambition may be in conflict with communal interests, but this is certainly not the case in the present instance, where the interests coincide.
With regard to the students’ financial participation in your business, I apparently did not make myself quite clear in my previous letter. Let me clarify it. My suggestion is that each and every student of the Torah institutions that you have been instrumental in establishing should have a $10,000 investment in your business. I added immediately that if the number of students is greater than 200, I would make good the difference. Now that I have been informed of the correct figure, I am enclosing the check for the difference (in addition to the $2,000 sent with my previous letter).
On the basis of my estimation that your business is worth about 10,000 times the amount of the check that I sent on behalf of the students’ investment, it was my suggestion that all the students as a body should be entitled to 1/10,000th part of the profits, since it was my opinion that the whole transaction should be done in a business manner, and for various reasons. How I see it, it is worth 50% more; hence the 2nd check.
Divine Sanctuary
So much for the business part of this letter.
It is an old Jewish custom to connect everything within the Torah portion of the week, as was also emphasized by the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad. This week’s portion, Terumah, begins with the Divine commandment, “Make Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell among them” – within each and every Jew. It goes on to call for contributions of gold, silver, and brass, etc., with which to construct the Sanctuary with all its requirements.
At first glance, there seems to be a difficulty here. If G-d wanted a Sanctuary for Himself, promising that He will then dwell within each and every Jew who will contribute the “gold, silver, and brass,” etc., for the Sanctuary – why was it necessary to contribute these material things in the first place?
Innate Ability
One of the explanations is as follows:
Every Jew has the ability – hence the duty – to use his “gold and silver,” etc., not just for his own material pleasures (which contributes nothing to holiness, but sometimes to the contrary); instead, he can convert his gold and silver into something so sacred and holy that G-d desires to dwell therein. Indeed, in doing so, a Jew makes himself personally a fitting abode for the Divine Presence. For, as is well known, it is human nature for any person, particularly a successful businessman, to put his heart and soul into his business, to make the utmost possible amount of “gold and silver.” Now, when a Jew takes part of this hard-earned money and dedicates it to a sacred cause in fulfillment of G-d’s will, he dedicates thereby also his body and soul, all the physical and mental efforts, that had gone into the gold and silver which he had worked so hard to earn, thus making himself personally a fitting object of holiness. Moreover, it also serves him as a springboard for further and greater achievements in the realm of goodness and holiness.
Prosperity Ahead
In conclusion, I would like to add that having heard from our mutual friend Rabbi Lipskar that you showed my previous letters to your wife, I assume that you will also show her this letter. If so, I would like to remind her of the time (may it never recur) when you were not feeling well, and she wrote to me, nostalgically recalling earlier, far less affluent, but nonetheless happy days, all the family being well and contented, etc. I am confident that she will not be discouraged by the present temporary business difficulty, and, on the contrary, will be a source of encouragement to you, if further encouragement is needed.
With prayerful wishes for hatzlocha [success] in parnossah [livelihood], in the plain sense of the word, and to have the zechus not only to continue as heretofore your contributions of “gold and silver,” etc., to sacred causes, but also to do so with joy and in ever growing measure.
With blessing,
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