By the Grace of G‑d
Tammuz, 5740
Brooklyn, N.Y.
[June 1980]

Greeting and Blessing:

I duly received your correspondence, and may G‑d grant the fulfillment of your hearts desires for good in all the matters about which you wrote.

At this time, in proximity to the anniversary of the Geulo – deliverance – of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, of saintly memory, from the Soviet regime, fifty-three years ago, on the 12th-13th of this month, it behooves us to reflect again on those history-making events and how they relate to everyone of us here and now. For, as he indicated in his first letter on the occasion of the first anniversary of his Geulo, and as we clearly see it now, his deliverance was more than a personal one, but a turning point in the survival of Russian Jewry, and is of lasting significance for every Jew everywhere.

This timely reflection should make everyone of us all the more deeply appreciative of the blessing of freedom to live a full life of Torah and Mitzvos, and, what goes with it, the sacred obligation to do one's utmost to spread and strengthen Yiddishkeit, with enthusiasm and love – the love of G‑d, love of the Torah, and love of our Jewish brethren, which are inseparable.

Moreover, by his total Mesiras Nefesh even in the face of overwhelming odds, and by his eventual triumph, with G‑d's help, he has shown the way, and trodden the way, for every Jew to follow in his footsteps, with complete assurance that when a Jew is firmly resolved to work for Torah and Yiddishkeit, he or she will overcome whatever difficulties there may be, and be matzliach with G‑d's help.

I hope and pray that the inspiration of the Baal haGeulo and Chag haGeulo – especially as this year's Geulo anniversary also marks his 100th birthday on the selfsame day of the 12th of Tammuz – will stimulate you and yours to redouble your efforts in the said direction in the days ahead, which will also widen the channels to receive G‑d's blessings for yourself and all yours, in all needs, both materially and spiritually.

With blessing for good tidings in all above,

M. Schneerson