This letter was addressed to R. Gershon Axelrod, one of the supporters of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch from Valdosta, Georgia.

B”H, betweenRoshHaShanah and Yom Kippur, 5707

Greetings and blessings,

On behalf of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch and on my own behalf, I wish you and yours a good and sweet year and success in all your endeavors.

The literal meaning of Rosh HaShanah is “the head of the year.” Our Sages1 explain that [the holiday] is called Rosh HaShanah and not “the beginning of the year” because just as the head directs the functioning of the entire body, so, too, the good resolutions and [desirable] conduct we take upon ourselves on Rosh HaShanah must direct [the outcome of] the entire year.

This is our wish: That in the coming year, we all advance in our spiritual endeavors, in the fulfillment of our mission, and in bringing to fulfillment all of our good thoughts and plans.

We hope that this letter will find you in the best of health. We are perplexed by the fact that we have not heard from you in a very long time.

With blessings for a chasimah and a gmar chasimah tovah,

Rabbi Menachem Schneerson
Chairman of the Executive Committee