The name of the recipient of this letter was not released.

B”H, 27 MarCheshvan, 5711,
Brooklyn

Greetings and blessings,

I was happy to hear greetings from you through our mutual friends, the chassidic scholars and communal leaders, Rabbi Shmuel Levitin and Rabbi Eliyahu Simpson. They told me that the education you received from your father, who was one of the vintage Lubavitcher chassidim, is apparent in your home.

This good report reinforces what we continually see in life. How true is our Sages’ adage:1 “Throw a staff into the air; it will land on its base.”

The inner meaning of this statement is that as a tree grows and spreads forth [its branches], both the trunk and the branches grow further from their roots. In particular, this applies when it appears that a branch was cut off, Heaven forbid, and became a solitary, dried staff. One might [then] think that it has no connection with its roots. In truth, however, a Jew never departs from his source. The proof is that even a dry staff falls on its base. All that is necessary is to have the right people who will find the right words to remind a person of his source.

I was happy [to hear] that your family does not require any external reminders, because within you is burning the warmth and light of chassidim which you inherited as a legacy from your ancestors. I hope that this light and warmth will be reinforced and will receive its true expression in matters of the Torah and its mitzvos.

There is a saying of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, הכ"מ: “G‑d does not remain a debtor.” I wish you that in the merit of the role that you will take in different tzedakah enterprises and, in particular, those connected with the institutions of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, הכ"מ, G‑d will bring gladness to your heart {with [the birth] of viable offspring} and that He fulfill all the wishes of your heart for good in material and spiritual matters.

I would suggest that, before lighting candles for the Shabbos and festivals, your wife,... should put some coins in the charity box of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, and that when you put on tefillin, you should recall that you are connected with my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, הכ"מ. This will be the channel through which the blessing {for viable offspring} will be fulfilled.

With blessing,

Menachem Schneerson