Rabbi Shimon Elituv related how when he came to learn in [a Chabad] Yeshiva in 1951 he used to correspond with the Rebbe very frequently. This went on until the Rebbe became very busy and stopped answering all of his letters, so he decided to stop writing. He was astonished to receive a letter from the Rebbe with a postscript in his own holy handwriting reading, “Your silence is surprising. It saddens me that you are making a calculation – based on the lack of letters from here – that I am loaded with burdens and troubles, etc.”
So, while the Rebbe didn’t answer his mail, the Rebbe was most definitely reading it!
Growing up, we always knew that when you wrote to the Rebbe — unless it was about particular topics (like a shidduch) — you wouldn’t receive an answer three out of four times. Even on questions related to health and the like.
A “non-answer” from the Rebbe was an answer, on many levels and in many ways.
Reb Zalman Duchman once asked the Rebbe for a Bracha for somebody, adding that he doesn’t want the generic Azkir Al HaTziyun; he wants a “personalized” answer. The Rebbe answered Azkir Al HaTziyun. When the person for whom he asked recovered, the Rebbe told Reb Zalman, “Nu? Is “Azkir Al HaTziyun” nothing?”
The Rebbe once said that the Halacha is that “Chazakah shliach oseh shlichuso” — an agent can be presumed to carry out his mission. If you put a letter in the mail – I got it! And the impression the Rebbe gave was that he didn’t get it when the mail arrived, — he got it as soon you put it into the mailbox!
Why? Because according to the Torah, there is a chazakah that the messenger will carry out his shlichus, and therefore, once you sent the Rebbe a letter, the Rebbe received it!
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That aside, I do understand why people may feel that there is a difference between before and after Gimmel Tammuz. But we should understand that even before Gimmel Tammuz the fact was that more than half the time, you wrote and didn’t get an answer. There were occasions that the Rebbe answered, and there were occasions that the Rebbe didn’t.
But your letter got to the Rebbe, and no matter how busy the Rebbe was, your letter got the Rebbe’s full attention! Deep and complete focus with no deficiency and that itself is the answer. Just let the Rebbe know about your situation, and you got your answer!
[Approaching the topic as one unbound to the limits of the physical world, helps us appreciate that] all this continues to be true.
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As far as getting answers from the Rebbe now, different Chassidim have different approaches. Many put their letters in the Igros Kodesh and (sometimes) get very clear answers. I know people who always get clear answers,
and I know people who never get answers. I think it’s an incredible Zechus, for those who see clear answers.
The Rebbe hinted to this phenomenon at the beginning of his Nesius. The Rebbe said to people, regarding writing to the Frierdiker Rebbe, “You should write, and the Rebbe will find a way to answer” while bringing a source from a verse in Tanach: “Vayavo eilav michtav m’Eliyahu” — a letter came to him from Eliyahu. (See sicha of 12 Tammuz 5710; translated to English in Proceeding Together vol. 2 p. 49)
— The story goes like this: seven years after Eliyahu Hanavi went up to Heaven in a fiery chariot, a letter came from him addressing King Yehoram. The letter was warning him to repent from his evil ways. (Divrei Hayamim II 21:12) —
I think that the mere fact it became a custom of Chassidim to put letters in Igros Kodesh [and seek answers shows its legitimacy], as the Jewish people are called by Chazal “bnei nevi’im” (sons of prophets). [It is in fact] something that the Rebbe sort of hinted to by alluding to the “michtav” that came from Eliyahu.
I’m not saying one must connect to the Rebbe this way; everyone has his own Hergesh and style of a relationship to the Rebbe. It’s a profound and personal thing. Some people don’t look for answers at all.
[But the main point is, as] the Rebbe used to say — and continues to say — “Du shreib, un der Rebbe vet gefinen ah veg.”
To summarize:
That the Rebbe received the letter — is no question. That the Rebbe is being meorer rachamim rabim for us — is no question. That we are connected to him, and thereby closer to the truth of Hashem – is no question.
When it comes to how to resolve the difficulties in our life, the Rebbe will find a way. It might just a be a clarity that just rests upon you after going to the Ohel or writing to the Rebbe.
But above all is following what the Rebbe himself said in a series of sichos from the year 5748: that depending on the situation, you should consult either three Chassidishe rabbonim, or askanim who are expert in the relevant field, or doctors who are friends, and so on.
When doing so, the Rebbe made it clear, the advice coming from them is not theirs — it’s the Rebbe’s advice flowing through them!
But the most important thing is to appreciate the true idea of Hiskashrus and to understand that it’s not that before Gimmel Tammuz you got answers whenever you wanted, instead you believed that the Rebbe is paying attention to your note. Even if physically it was for a fraction of a second, you knew that that second was a lifetime of care, attentiveness, awareness, and concern and that itself gave the answer.
Let us hope that the Hashem shall bring us to see the Rebbe b’einei basar once again and enjoy a different kind of circumstance for our relationship with the Rebbe. ■