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[Your] honor’s letter of this month just reached me, and I feel it is urgent that I write [to you] as [you] requested.1This letter is R. Salanter’s reply to a letter informing him of the death of a good person during a cholera epidemic. R. Salanter seeks to guide his correspondent as to how to deal with the threat of the epidemic, the shock of the untimely death of an innocent good man, and how to handle feelings of grief and loss, especially in light of the doctors’ warning that excessive grief can weaken the body’s resistance and ability to fight off disease.

The whole purpose of man2Compare Ecclesiastes 12:13. is to control his spirit,3Compare Proverbs 16:32, Avot 4:1. to divert it by his will4Meaning to turn it toward his desired outcome in accordance with the Torah’s prescribed good behavior – as against where uncontrolled desire [instinct] could lead him. to whatever his situation demands. [In this case, someone has died, so there is a choice] whether to direct the spirit toward sadness, to be embittered by [the dead man’s loss of] His service, blessed be His name, for it has passed,5I.e., premature death cut off a person’s service of God before their time. that is, because “the dead are free” [of the Torah and commandments];6Shabbat 30a: “R. Yoḥanan says: ‘The dead are free’ (Ps. 88:6) – when a person dies, he becomes free of the Torah and the commandments.” or, to direct one’s spirit toward calming and relaxing the soul, [by regarding this death as a case of] a good man who is on his way to his eternal rest, which is the aspiration of every human being on the face of the earth. This eternal bliss is the fruit of his purpose; “Sweet is the sleep of the toiler….”7Compare Ecclesiastes 5:11. R. Salanter’s application is that the person is enjoying the fruits of his labor, i.e., his good deeds, in the next world as he sleeps in death.

Were it not for the strong words of our Sages, of blessed memory, which confirm and uphold all that we have taught, it would stand to reason that we should stand firm as a rock8I.e., we would not mourn at all because earning bliss in the World to Come is our main concern. against the natural desire for a happy life in this world,9The natural desire is to focus on life in this world; accordingly, it makes sense to mourn the death of someone who departed with unfulfilled desires. However, the Sages’ approach, while emphasizing the reward of the next world, nevertheless takes this world seriously and calls on us to mourn loss of life. (See n. 11.) and we would not complain about the departure of a noble man; his possessions are in his hand,10He acquired wisdom and good deeds that assured his place in the next world. and who knows what would be the outcome of his struggle, were he to live on?! However, we must follow the words of the Sages, of blessed memory, to go and find a way to maintain fear and grief in our heart.11R. Salanter is saying that the rational (i.e., religious) reaction to the death of the righteous should be joy, as he has achieved life’s ultimate goal of attaining eternal reward in the next world. This shows yet again that R. Salanter profoundly internalized the centrality of reward and punishment in the next world to life in this world. Nevertheless, one must follow the Sages and train his heart to experience fear and grief. Actually, he is acknowledging that the Sages give greater weight to the significance of this life (or its untimely loss) than he does.

Yet, for everything there is an occasion, and for every experience, a time.12Compare Ecclesiastes 3:1–2. R. Salanter is saying that the epidemic has created a time for grief in our life. We also are pained by the untimely loss of life. Nevertheless, we should guide our emotions not to fear the plague. Now that this plague has appeared in the land, and even here – may the Merciful One save us – this is the teaching that should guide a person,13Compare II Samuel 7:19. The verse in II Samuel carries the overtone that this guidance is a gracious, unmerited gift from God. and this is common sense: Do not be afraid of [the disease] at all. For what is human life in any case? Who knows if his [future] path [in life] would have turned out [to be] upright.Furthermore, we must act in accordance with the wise doctors’ instructions – for our religion tells us to walk by the light of their words14Halakha considers “You shall safeguard your lives very much” (Deut. 4:15) to be a mitzva. Halakha also rules that saving a life overrules all of the Torah’s commandments except for three. and thus uphold this life to be good and do good.

Experience also taught us in past days when the plague was rife, may the Merciful One save us, that whoever submitted to the burden of the doctors’ orders15Literally: bowed his shoulder to bear [the weight of] the doctors’ instructions. Compare Genesis 49:15. vis-à-vis diet, etc., wisely, not foolishly, was not affected by plague or disease, may the Merciful One save us.Thus, since all religious behavior is altered according to halakha itself16R. Salanter is saying that one should not view the shift away from mourning and grief as the interference of a “secular” or “outside” approach in halakhic practice. Rather, halakha itself commands us to follow the instructions of physicians. This is in keeping with R. Salanter’s leadership during the cholera epidemic in Vilna in 1848. R. Salanter insisted not only on doing life-saving work on Shabbat (and eating on Yom Kippur to protect life), but that all should follow doctors’ orders and do anything that promotes health, without trying to minimize medically prescribed halakhic changes or seeking exemptions for religious activities. at this time, one should not be excessively bitter on the holidays. This is the time to observe and serve God in joy, and this will be our strength.17See Nehemiah 8:10. There is a tension between joy and dread during the Days of Awe. Here, R. Salanter is instructing his disciples to tilt the balance away from dread by alluding to Ezra the Scribe’s admonition of those who were weeping on Rosh HaShana that they should prepare festive meals and rejoice, for it is a joyous day. He is also responding to the doctors’ instructions that grief and mourning make the individual more vulnerable to illness, while joy strengthens resistance to the plague. The shift of balance from dread to joy is appropriate in a time of plague.

Similarly, do not grieve or be upset about the precious soul [of the dead], for it has been freed from the troubles of vain life to go on to the ultimate destination of its journey.18R. Salanter concludes by reasserting his belief that the untimely death of a righteous person means that the person has left the vanities of this life and gone to a desirable eternal reward. May his soul be preserved in the bonds of life.

May God, may His name be blessed, comfort [you]…

May you be blessed with the blessing of mazal tov, and the blessing of years of life and peace.