Setbacks Make one Stronger

Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson
Lubavitch
770 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11213

By the Grace of G‑d
25th of Shevat, 5736 [January 27, 1976]
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Mr. Mordechai Shoel Landow
Miami Beach, Fla.

Greeting and Blessing:

Through our mutual friend, Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipskar, I enquire from time to time as to how things are going with you business-wise, and he reports to me insofar as he knows. I have also seen the newspaper clipping.

The true businessman is one who can manage when conditions are favorable and to cope with setback I surely do not have to emphasize to you that the true businessman is not the person who can manage his affairs when conditions are favorable and things run smoothly and successfully, but also, and even more so, when he shows that he knows how to cope with an occasional setback. Indeed, facing up to the challenge of adversity makes one a stronger and more effective executive than before, with an added dimension of experience and a keener acumen, to put to good use when things begin to turn upwards. Sometimes, a temporary setback is just what is needed for the resumption of the advance with greater vigor, as in the case of an athlete having to negotiate a hurdle, when stepping back is the means to a higher leap.

In plain words, I trust - on the basis of my acquaintance with you - that you are taking the present difficulty well in your stride, coping with it squarely and making the necessary structural and other improvements, in terms of closer supervision and greater efficiency, as I see also from the clipping, although basically the present difficulty is no doubt a consequence of the general economic situation.

The present difficulty is no doubt a consequence of the general economic situation I send you my prayerful wishes that you should very soon have good tidings about a tangible improvement, and that the setback has indeed served as a springboard for the great upturn in the days ahead. All the more so now that we are about to enter the first of the two months of Adar in the current Jewish Leap Year - may your Hatzlocho1 be doubled, too, in quantity and quality, i.e. in the resurgence of profits and in their being used in the best possible way, for good, wholesome and happy things, materially and spiritually.

With blessing,

M. Schneerson