By the Grace of G‑d
Tu BiShvat
Rosh HaShanah for Trees 5711 [1951]
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greetings and Blessings!1

An end has come to the year of the passing2 of our Nasi — his holy honor, my mentor and father-in-law; our master, mentor and Rebbe; may the memory of a holy tzaddik be a blessing, for the life of the World to Come; his soul is hidden in the realms on high; may his merit protect us.3

Our yearning is intensifying, for4 the summer has ended, the winter is passing, and we have not been saved.

On the other hand, there is reason to be anxious that habituation may make this yearning grow stale, and that the light and heat of the bond that chassidim have with our Nasi, with his teachings and with his directives — all of which are one and the same — will progressively fade, G‑d forbid.

Concerning the Giving of the Torah, Moshe Rabbeinu says,5 “these words which I command you this day,” and this means “like a new royal edict that everyone runs to see.” Likewise, concerning the mitzvos, Moshe Rabbeinu says,6 “my commandments which I command you this day,” and this means that “they should be as new for you as if you had heard them today.”