This letter was sent to Mr. Moshe Shtarkstein, a well-known philanthropist from Detroit.

B”H, 28 Adar I, 5711,
Brooklyn

Greetings and blessings,

In response to your letter of Sunday of the week of Parshas Tetzaveh which was received after a slight delay: Because of [my] many concerns, my response was also delayed for which “forgiveness is yours.”1 The same applies with regard to your letter of Tuesday, Parshas Vayakhel....

Enclosed is a receipt for your donation for the institutions Oholei Yosef Yitzchak-Lubavitch in North Africa that, thank G‑d, are proceeding to expand. It is appropriate that these institutions which bear the name of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, will grow and increase several fold and that there be no financial constraints and obstacles to their development. Nevertheless, [in practice,] this is an issue and because of a lack of resources, their growth is being hampered. There are hundreds and thousands of Jewish boys and girls in the cities and villages of North Africa who are still growing up without being exposed to the Torah. Thank G‑d, our institutions — the teacher’s institute, the yeshivah, the yeshivah ketanah, the schools for boys and for girls, and the evening programs for those who work in crafts or professions — have already achieved a position of prominence and serve as an example of what can be accomplished in actual fact with the help of G‑d and with the participation of friends who love the Torah. Were they to be able to actually see how their material [contributions] are being transformed into something spiritual, they would be giving more, with additional vigor.

As per your request, tomorrow, the day preceding Rosh Chodesh, when I visit the resting place of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe,זצוקללה"ה, נבג"ם, זי"ע,2 I will mention you, your wife, and the members of your household, [and request] blessings and long and good life.

Enclosed is a summary of concepts relevant to the present time that were spoken about in the farbrengen of this past Shabbos that I sent to another person. [The Rebbe sent a copy of the concluding portion of Letter No. 930.]

I conclude with a blessing that G‑d grant you and your wife a long life in which you will reap much satisfaction — Jewish satisfaction and chassidishe satisfaction — from all the members of your household and also from your own selves, and that you be able to increase your gifts to tzedakah and your good deeds that strengthen Judaism as a whole and the teachings of Chassidus in particular.

This is the intent of long life as my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, explained it: not only that one’s actual length of life is very great, but that one’s life is qualitatively increased, that it is filled and [indeed] overflowing with Torah, mitzvos, and good deeds, and filled with the light and vitality of the teachings of Chassidus.

With blessing,