By the Grace of G-d 12th of Elul, 5728 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

I received a request for a prayer in your behalf. I will remember you in prayer when visiting the holy resting place of my father-in-law of saintly memory, for the fulfillment of your heart’s desire for good.

May G-d grant that you should fully, and in the best possible way, utilize the capacities and opportunities which have been bestowed upon you as one of the chief administrators of the J.D.C. in your country, for the benefit of all who are in need of help, especially the educational institutions, where Jewish boys and girls are brought up in the traditional way of our forefathers.

Inasmuch as everything is by Divine Providence, especially appointments to responsible positions, it is clear that together with the task is given the ability to carry it out in the best possible way. If this is so in regard to any responsible task, it is certainly so in regard to one that is connected with Jewish education, which determines the entire future of the children, both as individuals and as members of society.

May G-d grant that you should carry on your good work along the above lines in good health and with joy, and G-d’s blessings be with you for hatzlacha.

I want to take this opportunity also to refer to the so-called Tefillin Campaign, of which you have no doubt heard. The purpose of this great effort is to spread the mitzvah of putting on tefillin on every weekday. In addition to this being one of the first mitzvos of the Torah, it also has the special quality of bringing about harmony between the mind and the heart, the intellect and the emotion, as symbolized by the two parts of tefillin, one on the left arm facing the heart and the other on the head, the seat of the brain. On the attainment of such harmony, the whole happiness of a person depends. Though this is not within the sphere of your work, I trust that indirectly you can use your good influence to strengthen and spread the practice of this great mitzvah, and the Zechus Harabim will stand you in good stead.

The present days of Elul are particularly auspicious. No doubt you heard about the parable by which the Alter Rebbe explains the significance of the present month of Elul. This is it briefly: When a king is in his palace, it is not so easy to approach him in person and deliver a petition. On the other hand, when the king goes out in the field to meet the people, everybody can easily approach him even in work clothes, and present a petition to him personally, which the king accepts and grants graciously.

Similarly, the month of Elul, the last month of the year, has been set aside as a period of special Divine Grace, in preparation for Rosh Hashanah and the new year.

With prayerful wishes for a Ketiva vaChatima Tova, for a truly good and sweet year,

With blessing,