This letter was addressed to R. Moshe HaKohen Shayevitch.

B”H, 5 Adar I, 5711,
Brooklyn

Greetings and blessings,

I received the panim1you sent concerning yourself, your wife, ..., and the members of your household at the time [they were sent]. I read them on the day of the yahrzeit of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, at his gravesite. Certainly he arouses, and will arouse in the future, abundant mercies on those who are bonded with him in general and on your wife and the aforementioned, may they live and be well, in particular, in what they need. And G‑d will fulfill the blessings in a complete sense, because “the righteous are greater [after their passing] than during their lifetime.”2

And you will be able to give good tidings regarding the improvement in the health of those mentioned above.

Also, please inform me regarding Mr. ....’s status vis-à-vis Yiddishkeit and the observance of the mitzvos.

There is a well-known adage of the Baal Shem Tov: “A soul can descend into this world for seventy or eighty years just in order to do a favor for a Jewish man or woman in material or spiritual matters.”3

Obviously, one need not be content with doing a favor once or twice, but — to borrow the well-used wording of our Sages — “even 100 times.” (See Chulin 87a: “Here, Scripture explicitly reduced [one’s obligation].”4

If you help the aforementioned [persons] with regard to health, their livelihood, etc., you should surely take an interest in their spiritual situation and assist them in those matters to whatever degree possible.

As the wording of [one of] the verses in this week’s Torah reading states:5 “And Aharon (and ‘the deeds of the fathers are a sign to their descendants’)6 will carry the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before G‑d at all times.”

With blessings and greetings to all the members of your fellowship,

M. Schneerson