Four Cubits
During the holiday of Purim (this coming Sunday), we celebrate our unique identity and mission, and our unshakeable adherence to Torah and mitzvoth that set us apart from other nations, ancient and modern. The Avner Institute presents two letters emphasizing the primacy of Torah observance in all areas of Jewish life, from “Hebrew school” and beyond; our unquestioning commitment to faith and law; and the inevitable Divine triumph over the forces of evil and assimilation.
Dedicated in memory of loving memory of Hadassah Lebovic A”h
“Very basis of Jewish existence”
By the Grace of G-d
Erev Purim, 5729
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Mr. [Gabriel] Cohen
611 N. Frank Ave.
Indianapolis, Ind. 46204
Greeting and Blessing:
I was pleasantly surprised to note in your editorial column in the issue of February 28th excerpts of letters from your son Ben-Zion, as well as the spirit of your commentaries in this connection. Inasmuch as there is no end to the good, I trust that there will be a continuity in this direction and that, moreover, the good influence of your son will create a
chain reaction infecting and affecting all the members of your family.
I am reminded of the well-known verse (end of Malachi), “And he (Elijah) will turn the heart of parents to the children,” which, according to Rashi, means “Through the children—he will induce the children, with love and good will, to go and speak to their parents to follow in the ways of G-d.” And although I trust that in any case the parents are following the way of G-d, there is, as mentioned above, no end to the good, and always room for improvement in all matters of goodness and holiness, which are infinite, since they derive from the Infinite.
You and your wife are particularly privileged in that each of you has a substantial circle of readers, a considerable number of whom undoubtedly are influenced by your writings. Clearly, Divine Providence has bestowed upon you also a special responsibility. There is surely no need to elaborate on this to you.
May G-d grant that everything should be in accordance with the text and spirit of the Megillah—“For the Jews there was light, joy, gladness and honor,” in the fullest sense of
these meaningful words.
Wishing you and yours a happy and inspiring Purim,
With blessing,
[signature]
P.S. In accordance with Jewish custom to offer a comment on a printed word, I will take the liberty to do so also in reference to the abovementioned editorial, all the more so to avoid a misunderstanding that I fully agree with all that was said there. I trust you will not take amiss my remarks.
Forcing the Issue
I wish to take issue with you in the matter of your youngest daughter who, as you write, is eleven years old, and resisted starting Hebrew school, but you “did not force the issue.” You can well imagine my reaction to this. For surely, if your eleven-year-old-daughter would have resisted going to school altogether, you would have found it necessary to
“force” the issue—if the term “force” can be applied here.
Certainly, insofar as a Jewish child is concerned, her Hebrew education is at least as important to her as a general education. This has been generally recognized throughout the ages, but it should be particularly recognized in our own day and age. For we have seen many of the greatest and saintliest of our people exterminated by a vicious enemy. Consequently, all of us who have been fortunate enough to survive must make up for this tremendous loss. On the other hand, the forces of complete assimilation have grown much stronger in the free and democratic countries. Worse still, in recent years assimilation has found expression not only with another people, but very often with such groups which have discarded all pretenses to morality and ethics, etc., etc.
You may consider my reference to your daughter’s attitude, and to your attitude in this connection, no longer relevant, since you write that she has agreed to begin Hebrew school, though you immediately point out (with apparent satisfaction) that the method of instruction is Habet Ushma’[look and listen]—a system which obviously does not aim to lead to Vaaseh [and you shall do]. Surely there is no need to emphasize to you the fact that when the Torah was given to our people, naaseh [we shall do] was not only a condition of acceptance of the Torah, but a prior condition—naaseh before v’nishmah [and we shall listen]. Our Sages of blessed memory pointed out that Jewish identity is the very basis of Jewish existence, for the individual as well as for the people as a whole, lies in this great principle of naaseh before v’nishmah. Certainly, this is the way to train and educate a Jewish child.
Distinct Identity
To refer, again, to the Megillah at this time on the eve of Purim, we note that Haman argued, “There is one people, dispersed and divided among the nations, and their laws
are different from those of any other people. Therefore, it is not worth for the king to spare them.” Indeed, there were then, as there have been at all times, misguided individuals or groups who shared Haman’s view that the trouble with Jews was their separate identity and “otherness,” and that the only solution is to do away with Jewish identity and separateness, and to assimilate. However, the truth of the matter is as we see also from the events related in the Megillah, that in order to avert the threat of Haman, Esther and Mordecai ordered the gathering of all the Jews together to emphasize their identity and strengthen their observance of their “different laws,” that is what averted the . . . danger and, on the contrary, raised the esteem and respect of the Jews in the eyes of their former enemies, to the extent that Mordecai the Jew who “did not bend his knee nor bow down,” became the viceroy of the entire Persian empire.
Since the Torah is eternal, and the Megillah is part of the Torah, its message is eternal and always relevant. Thus, what was true for the Jews and their destiny in the days of Mordecai and Esther, is true for the Jews in the U.S.A. and the Holy Land and elsewhere. And just as the Jews could not take comfort and security from the fact that they had some influence at the Court through Esther the Queen, and Mordecai who had access to the Palace, which did not stop the enemies of the Jews from plotting the extermination of the Jewish people, so nowadays Jews cannot rely on any influence they can muster in the capitals of the world. But, in the final analysis, it is the Jewish adherence to the Torah and mitzvoth – the source of their life and strength, that will topple all Hamans and bring “Light, joy, gladness and honor.”
It is not my custom to engage in homiletics, etc. The hope and the purpose of the above observations is a practical one, namely that the curriculum of your youngest daughter, as well as of all the family, will not be limited to habet ushma, but will also include aseh [doing] and, indeed, the basic Jewish approach of doing before even understanding. May
G-d grant you and your wife true Yiddishe nachas [Jewish joy] from all your children.
“To arrive at your destination”
By the Grace of G-d
10th of Iyar, 5729
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Mr. Benzion Cohen
Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim
Kfar Chabad
Greeting and Blessing:
This is to confirm receipt of your letter, which was, in a way, supplementary to the article about you by your father, which appeared in the Post and Opinion. Needless to say, I was gratified to read in your letter many additional personal details of your wanderings (spiritually speaking) until you found the right direction.
Inasmuch as you are fortunate to arrive at your destination, namely the Torah, Toras Emes—and emes [truth] precludes any form of compromise or change, whether by reason of a change of place or a change of time—you will now enjoy the relief that comes after such a journey, and will utilize all your capacities in the “four cubits” of Torah and
mitzvoth. And although the expression speaks of “four cubits,” these are the four cubits that embrace the whole world. I have already had occasion many times to emphasize that precisely in our day and age we can clearly see how a small quantity can produce extraordinary results which are completely out of proportion. We have seen the destructive forces that can be realized from a very small quantity of several pounds of atomic material.
If this is so in the negative and destructive aspect, how much more so is it in the good and constructive aspect, since the forces of good are intrinsically stronger than those of evil. This is why the “four cubits” of Torah and Mitzvoth, even of one single individual, can have a tremendous effect on the whole world. Here again we can see the effectiveness of a single individual who brought about such destruction and the death of many millions of people, while other millions, of people stood by doing nothing. This can serve as an
illustration of what a good individual can do in the realm of goodness.
I am impelled to add a further point, namely that there are people who think that in order to bring about change in the world, it is necessary to do this through violent revolutions and loud propaganda, etc. This is not the way of our Torah, Toras Emes, which teaches us that great things can be accomplished by comparatively small efforts.
Tipping the Balance
A clear illustration of this can be found in the balances of a scale. When both sides of the scale are balanced, a small weight can radically tip the scale. And as always in Torah, where truth is embodied not only in an instructive way, but also in a practical way, we can see this principle as part of the Halacha, as we find in the code of the Rambam (Hil. Teshuva, ch. 3:4): “A person should consider himself equibalanced and all the world equally balanced, thus at any time (during the entire ear) when a person commits a good deed he tips the scale in favor for himself as well as for the whole world, and vice versa.”
I trust therefore that you and your friends, in the midst of all our people Israel, will fulfill what is expected of you, namely to live a life of Torah and mitzvoth, fulfilling the mitzvoth with hiddur [glory], and without weighing the importance of mitzvoth since all come from the same Source, as explained in various sources. In your case there is the additional consideration of [Hebrew] rashavmo al sultatat, climbing upward. For if the mitzvah of v’ahavta l’reacho komocho [loving your fellow neighbor] applies in relation to all Jews, it is even more so in regard to one’s own parents, brothers and sisters.
Therefore, you will surely always be a living example to them and also try to influence them in the right direction by the written and spoken word. Moreover, such influence assumes even greater importance in regard to your parents, since each of them has. a circle of friends and readers much greater than the average person, who are influenced by them.
Room for Improvement
Consequently, every additional good aspect of Torah and mitzvoth in their life, is compounded many times in those who are influenced by them. And insofar as the Torah and mitzvoth are concerned, no matter how satisfactory the position may be at any particular time, there is always room for improvement, since all matters of goodness and holiness are infinite, coming from the Infinite.
And insofar as your brothers and sisters are concerned, considering that they are still young and have yet to settle down in life, every advancement in their religious and
spiritual life is likewise compounded when they will get settled and establish families and set the pattern of living for their children and offspring. You may, of course, show this letter to anyone you think could benefit from reading it, including those mentioned in this letter, if thereby you will not lessen the influence on them in the desired direction.
As you no doubt expect me to, I will conclude my letter with the prayerful hope that you are making additional efforts in the study of the Torah, and the fulfillment of the mitzvoth, going from strength to strength, in accordance with the promise, “He who is determined to purify himself (and others), receives help from On High.”
With blessing,
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Really appreciate these letters,fascinating, thank you for sharing