This letter was sent to R. Yaakov Katz of Chicago, one of the initial supporters of Lubavitch activities in America.

B”H, 9 Elul, 5710

Greetings and blessings,

In response to your letter of Rosh Chodesh Elul and the enclosure: Enclosed is a receipt for the check for the printing of the kuntreis for the coming Rosh HaShanah. One mitzvah leads to another; 1 may you proceed continually further and increase [your] acts of tzedakah according to the full extent of your present abilities and even beyond them.

G‑d has two ways [of granting blessings]. One is that He grants money first and sees what proportion a person gives to tzedakah. Another way is for a person to give even more tzedakah than he can. G‑d does not remain indebted and pays the person back, calculating how many portions [are due him] if he had given a tenth, or if he had given with abandon, how many portions [are due him] as a fifth. 2 As a consequence, the result is that for every dollar that one gives beyond what appears to him as his present capacity, G‑d gives him, in addition to that dollar, many times that amount, as is well known [and explained] in several texts.

Therefore when reading your letter — [where you state that] you do not want to delay the opportunity to give a little bit of tzedakah, particularly in the month of Elul — and then seeing the amount of your check, I was amazed to what degree you are being merciful to G‑d. Why would it bother you if your check would be so [large] that G‑d would have to give you an income and earnings immeasurably greater than you had reckoned was possible when giving the tzedakah with this check?

I hope that you will not be upset with me and that you remember that the Rebbe wanted to make you a wealthy man. One of the ways to achieve that is to “Tithe in order to become wealthy” 3 ; giving tzedakah as the Rebbe would have desired. And when a person does not concern himself with the particulars [of his gift], G‑d does not show concern [with any limits either]. As explained in [Tanya,] Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 13, even giving a fifth stems from the attribute of constraint and limitation in Divine service. In contrast, one whose Divine service is characterized by the attribute of kindness and its expression in Divine service (a quality particularly related to kohanim, 4 for a kohen is a man of kindness) 5 has no constraints to his spirit of generosity, be it in tzedakah or in Torah study. And there the Alter Rebbe concludes that G‑d also conducts Himself toward that person with His attribute of abundant kindness that is without limit or end.

We would be happy to hear good tidings of the goings on in your community in general and, also, what is happening with your brother. I hope to hear from you that there is a noticeable revival in your business. I am interested to know what is happening with regard to your legalissueand with the suggestion regarding a building.

With blessings for a kesivah vachasimah tovah and awaiting good tidings,

Menachem Schneerson