Letter & Spirit: Is There Hasogas Gvul in Education?

In this week’s edition of Letter & Spirit, we present a letter from the Rebbe on the topic of Hasogas Gvul – encroachment on another’s turf – and whether this concept applies to the field of education.

This weekly feature is made possible by a collaboration between CrownHeights.info and Nissan Mindel Publications. Once a week we publish a unique letter of the Rebbe that was written originally in the English language, as dictated by the Rebbe to Rabbi Mindel.

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                                                                                                                                   By the Grace of G-d

The Honorable_______

Ottawa, Ontario K2A 1J9 Canada

Greeting and Blessing:

I was pleased to receive your later with enclosures.

First of all, many thanks for the good news it contained about your physical health, enabling you to get involved personally in the life of the Jewish community in your city.

I was also very pleased to read about your going from strength to strength in your spiritual advancement, in matters of Torah and mitzvos. Your approach, doing mitzvos and then leaning about their significance, in that order, is certainly in keeping with the approach of our Jewish people when the Torah was first received at Mount Sinai, with the commitment of na’aseh (followed by) v’nishmah.

Since in the realm of good there is always a natural striving for better, or a our Sages expressed  it “Whoever has one hundred desires two hundred, and (having achieved) two hundred, desires four hundred “ – it should certainly be so in regard to  the eternal values of the Torah and mitzvos.

Indeed, the assurance of divine help in carrying out His imperative also takes account of this Jewish nature of ever striving to do better, in keeping with the principle that “All matters of holiness should be on the ascendency.” Thus Hashem provides the capacity not only to maintain one’s level of yiddishkeit, but also to do so in a steadily growing measure, since the status quo in matters of yiddishkeit however satisfactory today, is not good enough tomorrow, when it should be on a higher level.

Now to the second point of your letter, and the enclosed copy of the letter which you received from a rabbi in your community, I must say that I was astonished at its contents. So much so, that I am impelled to depart from a principle established by my father-in-law, the Rebbe, of saintly memory, in his activities ever since he arrived in the USA. As expected, he also encountered criticism, and sometimes more than that, from certain quarters or individuals. But he followed the principle of not engaging in polemics since it was almost certain to be fruitless. Indeed, since the issue, or issues, involved activities to disseminate Torah and strengthen Yiddishkeit, he let the actions and results speak for themselves, for sooner or later, the critics and those who stood aloof would recognize their misjudgment and become supporters and participants.

My astonishment was all the greater because the letter was written by a rabbi who should know that there is clear ruling in the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch to the effect that the law of encroachment (hasogas g’vul), though it is one of the eleven strict prohibitions which the Jews were instructed to, and did, proclaim upon entering the Promised Land (Deut. 27:17), does not apply in the area of Torah education. Moreover, the Shulchan Aruch further rules that not only is competition in Torah chinuch permissible but, indeed, obligatory, regardless of existing facilities, especially when it concerns the provision of the best possible education for the young generation. Even if existing facilities were satisfactory under existing conditions, there is the rule of ma’alin b’kodesh, the imperative to upgrade things of holiness, i.e., not to be satisfied with the status quo as indicated above.

The halachah does not require the approval of human reason. But this is a case where even a little reflection will suffice to explain why competition in the field of Torah chinuch, far from being a negative factor in a Jewish community, is indeed healthy and commendable, if one considers it objectively.

For those who would still try to defend their contrary position in a polemic, I would pose a few “dumb” questions,” to use a colloquialism.

Suppose a new and severe disease threatens, or actually takes the form of an epidemic, has one a right to discourage efforts to improve medical treatment of the problem, claiming that existing medical methods are satisfactory?

Question #2: Can one estimate how many of our younger generation and older ones, have moved and are moving away from Jewishness in recent years, many having moved very far away, almost to the point of no return?

Question #3: Has the proliferation of educational institutions ever been harmful, and is not the time-honored Talmudic saying, “Competition among the wise increases wisdom “ a truism that has certainly proved itself in regard to Jewish institutions?

As for the person who declines to participate in a good cause, yet maintains that his refusal “to be taken as critical in any way, but simply to make clear” is a position, etc. – the answer is that public opinion is not shaped by the intent, even good intentions, of a person taking a public stand, but by how the public interprets his words and his actions, and ultimately the important thing is the actual net result of the action.

To conclude on the timely subject of Shavuot, which we have just celebrated, it is worth noting that one may wonder why such a “to-do” is made of the Festival of Mattan Torah, considering that only twelve months ago it was celebrated enthusiastically and wholeheartedly, etc. Yet, the Torah requires that it should again be celebrated with renewed enthusiasm and commitment, reliving – as much as possible – the tremendous experience of the Divine Revelation and the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. And since the Torah does expect this, it is certain that every Jew possesses the potential to actualize it, not only for the sake of others, but also for one’s own sake and edification.

May you continue advancing in Torah and mitzvos steadily and consistently, which includes of course, continuing to benefit your community in growing measure.

Looking forward to receiving further good news from you in all above and wishing you again much hatzlacha in all your undertakings.

With esteem and blessing,

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The above letter is from a forthcoming volume of The Letter and the Spirit Series, two volumes of which have been published to date, with volume three coming out shortly, IYH. The letters are from the archives of Rabbi Dr. Nissan Mindel, a personal secretary to the Previous Rebbe and The Rebbe, whose responsibilities included the Rebbe’s correspondence in English.

We thank Rabbi Sholom Ber Shapiro, director of Nissan Mindel Publications and the one entrusted by Rabbi Mindel, his father-in-law, with his archives, for making these letters available to the wider public. May the merit of the many stand him in good stead.