By the Grace of G‑d
1 Shvat, 5718 [1958]
Brooklyn

Greetings and Blessings!

Just1 now I received your letter of 23 Teves — eve of the anniversary of the passing of the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch — in which you write of your present condition.

You have no doubt heard the teaching of the Rebbe Maharash,2 the grandfather of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz]: “People say that if you can’t make your way from below, you should climb over the top — but I hold that right from the outset you should leap over the top.”3

Now, this approach applies to the present subject. At first sight it would appear that manifest joy should wait until one’s health improves in actual fact. However, in the spirit of the above teaching, it could be suggested that rejoicing over this improvement should be advanced ahead of time, even though the improvement is not yet manifest.

Indeed, this itself will hasten the process. As has been repeatedly cited in the name of the [earlier] Rebbeim of Chabad, “Think positively, and things will be positive.”197 And how much more does this assurance apply when one translates positive thoughts into joyful words and joyful actions. This is especially relevant to yourself, whose literary skills equip you to influence many people in this direction — and the reward of those who gladden people’s hearts is well known (Taanis 22a).4

[...] With blessings for good news,

[...]