The name of the recipient of this letter was not released.

B”H, 11 Teves, 5711,
Brooklyn

Greetings and blessings,

I duly received your letter of the 10th of Kislev informing [me] that, according to your understanding, the situation of your daughter ... is dire and you ask that I pray on her behalf. You conclude with a promise that the moment that she completely recovers, you will become a fully observant Jew.

I did not respond to you immediately because of [my] many preoccupations, but while I was at the gravesite of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, הכ"מ, I mentioned your daughter with a request for a speedy recovery. Certainly, he gave his blessing. In addition, your brother-in-law informed me that your daughter’s situation has improved. I hope that you will soon be able to inform me that she has returned to health.

Despite the fact that you write that you are free-thinking,1 I still address you with the title “a G‑d-fearing man.”2 For we heard — not only once or twice — my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, הכ"מ, referring to a [non-observant] Jewish person as “a G‑d-fearing man,” because that is [every Jew’s true] nature. As he would say, “No Jew can and no Jew will separate himself from G‑dliness.” It is only that, at times, due to external factors, it could appear to him that he is not G‑d-fearing, Heaven forbid, or is, as you write in your letter, “free-thinking.”

By and large, we see that, by nature, it takes a shock to make it possible to see the inner aspects of a person’s soul. This can come about through either of two ways: a) through an undesirable event, Heaven forbid; b) or through an unusual and uncommon joyous matter. Through these two types of events, a person’s soul is jolted, its external garments fall away, and its pure, inner [nature] is revealed.

In your instance, your inner dimension was revealed [to you] due to the illness of your daughter. May it be G‑d’s will that from now on, your inner [nature] will not be hidden. And if it is [His] will that the inner dimension of your inner [nature] be revealed, may this be through matters and events associated with joy.

I hope to hear good news from you soon with regard to the health of your daughter and with regard to your affairs in general.

With blessings that you soon convey good tidings with regard to material and spiritual matters,

Menachem Schneerson