By the Grace of G-d Purim, 5719 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Sholom u’Brocho:

On the occasion of the eventful convocation of the Members and Friends of the Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch in Detroit, taking place on the 19th of Adar II, I send my prayerful wishes to all of you who have joined the ranks of dedicated workers for Torah and Tradition and Torah-true Jewish education under the auspices of the Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch. By participating in the work of this outstanding, world-wide organization, you have become partners in a great movement which is dedicated to the revival and strengthening of true Yiddishkeit not only in your community, but also in other communities, countries and continents, including our Holy Land.

On this day of Purim, I welcome you all into the happy family of “Mordechai’s men.”¹ Mordechai, as our Sages tell us,² was the head of the Sanhedrin; and at the time when Haman’s terrible decree of annihilation hung over the heads of all our people, Mordechai gathered 22,000 Jewish children and taught them the Torah.³ Moreover, he taught them a certain part of the Torah which seemed “out of time and out of place,” for he taught them about the Omer offering, though the Jews were in exile, the Beth Hamikdosh in ruins, and the Omer had been disrupted. Nor did this study of the Torah seem to have any bearing on the problems of the day, nor could it apparently serve as a natural cause for Haman’s downfall. Yet precisely this kind of dedication to the Torah and Torah education brought about Haman’s downfall and the salvation of all our people in all the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire ruling the world at that time.

The lesson is obvious: The survival of our people in a hostile world can be assured only by virtue of our attachment to the Torah and Mitzvoth – even though this may seem to some misguided individuals, as impractical, unreasonable or out of time and place. For our attachment to G-d, His Torah and his Mitzvoth, is our very life and strength.

Following in the footsteps of Mordechai the Jew you will surely be blessed of G-d, you and your families, to enjoy “light, gladness joy and honor,”⁴ materially and spiritually.

With blessing,

M. Schneerson