Letter with Tremendous Spiritual and Material Blessings from the Gaon the Rayya"tz of Lubavitch

Letter with Tremendous Spiritual and Material Blessings from the Gaon the Rayya"tz of Lubavitch

Letter full of blessings in both spirituality and materialism, handwritten by the Admo"r Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson of Lubavitch. Addressed to Rabbi Eliyah Mordechai HaLevi. Otwock (Poland), just before the Holocaust - 27 MarCheshvan, 1937. The letter does not appear in Iggerot HaKodesh. It was printed in the HaOhel anthology, year 16. (Jerusalem, 1970), pp. 79.

This letter was written on the eve of the Holocaust. A short time later, the Nazis galloped into Poland and the Rayya"tz had to relocate yet again due to imminent danger to his life. (At the time, shocking rumours spread around the Jewish world that the Nazis had murdered the Rayya"tz.) However, the terrible situation prevailing in Europe is not at all apparent from the letter. The Rebbe, in total serenity, as if he were sitting in complete tranquility, thanks the recipient for the book he sent him and requests that he continue to send him his subsequent books as well.

The second part of the letter is filled entirely with blessings by the Rayya"tz, for enormous success spiritually and materially: "May Hashem fulfill your desires for the good and blessing, and may [you] study in the tent of Torah with expansiveness of mind, materially and spiritually." What more does a Jew need?

It is interesting to note that at the beginning of 2020, a controversy arose  as to whether it is proper to write the year detail with a bent פ' or with a final ף', that is, 'תש"פ' בפ' כפופה, או 'תש"ף' בפ' סופית (the Academy of the Hebrew Language advised that it be written תש"ף). At the same time, a letter from Rabbi Menachem Mendel was published regarding the year תש"כ. [The letter was from 3 Tammuz 1959 and was addressed to Rabbi Shimon Glitzenstein of Jerusalem.] In his letter, the Rebbe writes that it is proper to write תש"כ with a bent כ, with several reasons for this choice. Inter alia, the Rebbe says, "I have not heard this instruction, but it is based on Jewish tradition from time immemorial, and Jewish tradition establishes law [ מנהג ישראל תורה היא]. It is extremely interesting that in this letter [and in other letters] the Rebbe the Rayya"tz writes the year "תרח"ץ"with a final צ'.

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the Admo"r Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson of Lubavitch - the Rayya"tz.

[1] leaf paper, 24x16 cm.

Fine-very fine condition. Fold marks with tiny tears in the margins. Aging stains.