Letter 60
Introduction
Baal HaSulam wrote this letter in response to a question that was sent to him following the publication of the essay Matan Torah [“The Giving of the Torah”], where he elaborates on the commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” being the whole of the Torah, and that it means that one should be care for one’s friend’s benefit no less than one cares for one’s own benefit. The sender of the question did not know Baal HaSulam at all, but came across his essay. Baal HaSulam copied the question and underneath it wrote his reply. According to the manner of the writing, it seems as though he intended to publish it in future publications.
The Question
…I am not against, on the contrary, I wish the two hundred thousand people in the country would see only to their benefit… the needs, indeed… if… the essence of the Torah is only to be concerned with people and nothing more, why do all of the Torah, the authors of the Talmud, the rabbinical authorities hardly speak of it at all? Did they all abandon the main issue and dealt only with the marginal? In my view, all your words in this regard completely contradict conventional religion in Israel, and as has been the norm among us. In my opinion, this required force is a new construction, a new method that you have invented from your own mind. Of course, I am only expressing my opinion.
Signed, M.L. Petah Tikva
The Reply
It seems as though you did not delve in my words sufficiently. All I wrote was that there was a precondition from the beginning of the reception of the Torah, but afterward, since the time of the making of the calf, the package has been taken apart, since wars occurred and the children of Levi killed three thousand men by the word of the Creator, and then the grievances against Moses and Aaron, and the spies. Naturally, all those did not add love or unity.
Afterward, after the coming to the land [of Israel], it was still not quiet. Hence, it was irrelevant to ask anyone to uphold this prime commandment. However, in order for the Torah not to be forgotten from Israel, they began to engage in the rest of the commandments although they had abandoned its main point, since they had no other choice. Perhaps this is what our sages meant when they asked about the ruin of the Second Temple, that there was no idolatry there and they were proficient in Torah, so why was it ruined? They said it was for unfounded hatred. Perhaps this means that it was because they could not engage in the heart of the construction of the Torah, which is “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).