""28 Elul, 5689 (1939)
Riga
My dear and precious nephew, Menachem,
On the day you turn 13, the day of your Bar Mitzvah, I long to have a brief conversation with you, as if we were sitting side by side, speaking face to face. Until we are together, I am compelled to send these words to you in writing, and it is my hope that in time, when you read all that I write, you will reply to me in writing, or orally, with your thoughts and opinions on my letter.
Apparently, on the day of his Bar Mitzvah, when a young Jewish man becomes responsible for observing the Mitzvot, like an adult, he is considered from then on as a man, This day, I should have been exempt from reciting supplications [Translator's note: the section of prayer said on non-holiday days], forbidden from doing work, as on a holiday. Because here the Yetzer Tov [Translator's note: the inclination toward good in every Jew] enters [the body], and the young man enters the People of Israel, but it is not so! We say supplications, we study as every day, etc., etc.
The reason for this is that each of us was not created for celebrations and festivities, but for work and labor. "Man was born for labor" (Job 5:7). The world is not a party, man is not a guest who dresses in Shabbat clothes and comes to a banquet, and the days of life are not holidays and Shabbat. This world is a world of action and work: today, to fulfill them [Translator's Note: referring to the fulfillment of Divine precepts, which must be done in this material life], work is much [Translator's Note: referring to the work of fulfilling precepts, as mentioned in Pirkei Avot 2:15], and man was created only to serve, observe, and work, and is not free to exempt himself from this. And when he submits to the heavenly yoke of Torah and Mitzvot, it is not a holiday, but a day of action and work indeed.
The first Bar Mitzvah mentioned in the Torah is that of Isaac, our patriarch, peace be upon him. Our sages tell us that Abraham, our patriarch, peace be upon him, was a king. He had many servants and was also wealthy, possessing much livestock, silver, and gold. He had also made covenants with the kings around him. Even so, many mocked him for his ways and customs, but he, with outstretched hands, spread his faith to all who came and went, and he won many souls to his belief.
On the day of his only son's Bar Mitzvah, he threw a great party, invited kings and officials, and was overjoyed. During the party, some of his guests laughed at him and his joy, saying, "We have the strength and power; we can subdue them with the touch of a finger!" But Abraham, our patriarch, peace be upon him, was not moved or shaken, nor did he pay them any attention. Instead, he went his way, the way of God, and kept it, to do what was right and just.
As the days passed, "tens of thousands and thousands upon thousands sprang from the seed of Abraham," and those men who laughed at him fell into his hands.
The story of the second Bar Mitzvah is as follows: Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Both went to school and both studied and were educated at the feet of Isaac and Abraham. The boys grew up and reached the age of thirteen. Immediately, Esau began to frequent houses of idolatry. He began to wander among people and charm them, for he bewitched them with his words and ensnared them with his mouth. He had fine clothes. He also had food and drink; he became one of the foremost hunters and warriors. Despite all this, Jacob, his younger brother, even seeing the success of his brother Esau, even hearing all the mockery and shame heaped upon him, did not turn away from his path. And from the day of his Bar Mitzvah, he separated himself from his brother. Yaakov became a complete man, diligent in his studies at the school of the elders Shem and Ever, he always studied Torah, he was on the path of life.
It was said to Jacob: “Do not be afraid, Jacob, for the Lord will bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you. Great nations will serve you, and peoples will bow down to you, for you will be ruler over your brother, and kings will come from your descendants. In the last days there will be no descendants of Esau, and he will send fire on Teiman and it will consume the palaces of Beelzebub. You will be like a lion among the beasts of the forest, from which no one can rescue, among many nations. For the Lord will restore the glory of Jacob; the day of the Lord is near.”.
After a generation had passed, Jacob celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of his two sons, Simeon and Levi. Then, by force and against their will, they were compelled to change their ways, to submit and fulfill the will of others. And when Jacob left his uncle Laban and went to see his father Isaac, he had a family and much to do, and they rested on the way at Shechem. Jacob and his sons and daughters and all that he had were a few men, while around them were the Canaanites, the Prizites, and the Hivites, great and powerful nations. The sons of Jacob did not want to mingle among them and learn their ways. They acquired a portion of land for themselves, pitched their tents there, and served God, the God of Israel. The Hivites began to ask them to join them, and not be a people who dwell alone; And they promised them that, because of this union, the land would be theirs—and the land is vast—that they could take it and live among them. So the Hivites abducted Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and she stayed in the house of Shechem and Hamor, the owners of the land. The sons of Jacob saw that their neighbors had committed a disgrace. Simeon and Levi were furious, and they cared nothing for all the inhabitants of that land; they knew that they were right and true, and they fought, the two of them, against Shechem and all his people with the fury of their souls and annihilated them.
When they were asked, “Why were you not afraid of the Hivi and the Prizi?” they replied, “We will not be appeased by anything, for they have brought disgrace upon Israel. It is a disgrace to us. One should not act like this.”.
Shimon and Levi turned thirteen that day. And so they celebrated their Bar Mitzvah. Immediately they began to fight against denigration, protecting with all their strength and the fury of their souls, their customs and faith.
May God grant that, from the day of your Bar Mitzvah, you progress and grow. May you be faithful to all that is holy to us, and observe and cherish all our treasures. May you be an example to many in your life and your path, bringing renown and glory to our people, and making our family proud.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson