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

ב"ה,
14 Tammuz, 5711,
Brooklyn.

Greetings and blessings,

Through the chassid, Mr. …, I received your donation of five dollars which I deposited in the account of Lishkas Chasha’in,1 a fund from which assistance is granted to individuals or causes without public knowledge. When charity is given in such a manner, your merit is very great. I hope that giving tzedakah in a private manner will aid your request on behalf of … (for whose [merit] you gave the tzedakah) and will help that he will begin to feel better and healthier.

The Talmud teaches us2 that when a person prays for his friend when he [himself] is in need of the same thing, he is answered first.3 In the present time, by and large, everyone is lacking something. I would like to wish you that G‑d will give you what you need, and that your house be a true Jewish home, replete with Torah and mitzvos. I will be happy if you write to me about this.

As I understand, you attend shul frequently. I would like to suggest that you resolve to carry out the practice ordained by my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, זצוקללה"ה, נבג"ם, זי"ע4 to recite the daily portion of Tehillim as the book is divided up according to the monthly cycle, every day after prayer in the morning. I would also suggest that you give something to charity every day before the morning and afternoon prayers. The amount you give is not significant. What is significant is that it become a fixed practice; that you should not miss giving to tzedakah before prayer.

The Torah reading that we read last Shabbos begins with the verse:5 “This is the statute of the Torah.” In Chassidus,6 it is explained that the term chukas, “statute,” alludes to letters that are engraved, and clarifies the differences between letters that are engraved and letters that are written. When letters are written, the ink is one entity and the surface on which one writes is a second entity, and when the person writes, the two entities are combined. When, by contrast, letters are engraved into a stone, the letters are part of the stone itself. So too, our study of the Torah and observance of its mitzvos must be carried out with the approach of “engraving.” The person and the Torah and mitzvos that he carries out are one thing. When a person observes the Torah in such a manner, the Torah promises us:7 “If you proceed in My statutes” — bechukosai, which connotes engraving— “I will grant your rains in their season and the land will produce its yield.”

I hope to hear good news from you. Concluding with blessing,