By the Grace of G-d 28th of Shevat, 5725 Brooklyn, NY

Greeting and Blessing:

I received your letter written on the day before the Hilulo of my Father-in-law of saintly memory.

As requested, I will remember you in prayer in the matters which you write.

I trust that you participated in the observance of the Hilulo, and may the inspiration be with you throughout the year.

With blessing, 

By (secretary)

P.S. In reply to your question how to divide your time between self-advancement in study and helping others, it is of course impossible to set definite limits. However, it is clear that provision should be made for both, as our Sages ruled (which you quote), “He who declares I will have nothing but Torah, etc.”¹

As² for your question whether you should learn Tanya in view of your difficulty to understand it — this is obviously a surprising question. Why should you not understand it? If you will only learn with a desire to understand, you will certainly understand. And while you will not understand it as deeply as those who have been learning it for a long time, you should remember that the same applies to the learning of Chumash, Gemara, etc. there is the principle which applies to all parts of the Torah: “If one says, he has tried hard but did not succeed, don’t believe him.”³ The reverse is also true, and likewise in all parts of the Torah³: “If one says, he has not tried but succeeded, do not believe him.”⁴ See more on this subject in Kuntrus Limud Hachasidus.⁵