This letter was sent to Mr. Arye Yaakov Lehmann, a patron of charitable causes.

B”H, Wednesday, 20 Adar, 5704, Brooklyn

Greetings and blessings,

Enclosed within is a copy of the text Kuntreis Chai Elul which we have recently published. We received your generous donation of $50 through our friend, the distinguished Rabbi, Moshe Pinchas Katz, and his wife, from Newark, which you gave to participate in the publishing of a holy text. According to your request which they communicated, the name of your father, Reb Chayim, the son of Reb Klonimus, is printed on the cover of the text as you can see.

It is very worthy to bring merit to the many, and especially to do so by printing such an important text.

Tzedakah is one of the greatest mitzvos. Tzedakah, however, does not mean merely helping a person with regard to physical matters, e.g., providing him with food and clothing for his body. Tzedakah also means helping a person spiritually, seeing to it that his soul receives the sustenance that it needs and seeing to it that he does not go around “naked,” without Torah and good deeds. This is one of the most refined and most elevated forms of tzedakah that a person can perform. As the Talmud states:1 “This one endowed him with the life of this world, while this one brings him to the life of the World to Come.”

One of the ways to help others spiritually is by making it possible for them to read the words of inspiration and the profound insights and directives of the great leaders of the Jewish people in every generation. In our generation, this refers to my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe Shlita.

May it be G‑d’s will that the merit from this great mitzvah enable you to hear good news concerning your parents and all your friends. And may you, together with the entire Jewish people, merit to greet Mashiach, speedily, in the near future.

With the blessing, “Immediately to teshuvah, immediately to Redemption,”

Rabbi Menachem Schneerson
Chairman of the Executive Committee