By the Grace of G-d 7th of Tammuz, 5732 Brooklyn, N.Y.
Chicago, Ill. 60625
Greeting and Blessing:
I trust you are making suitable preparations to observe the auspicious day of the 12-13th of Tammuz, the liberation of my father-in-law of saintly memory, the significance of which you surely know.
One of the reasons for this letter is in reference to your correspondence in the past, in which you wrote about the problem of parnosso, which also has a connection with the Liberation of my father-in-law of saintly memory, who had dedicated his life for the strengthening and preservation of the Torah and mitzvos under the most adverse circumstances. Thus, he strengthened the eternal bond between the Jewish people and G-d, a bond described in terms of "marriage” in Shir Hashirim. In doing this, he has also strengthened the relationship between Jewish husbands and wives in the plain sense, since that relationship also depends on the strengthening of adherence to the Torah and mitzvos in the daily life, as the Talmud expresses it: "If a husband and wife merit it – the Shechina dwells among them.” The merit and zechus are of course, those which the Torah considers them as such. This is also the channel and vessel for parnosso, as our Sages say: “There is no better vessel for G-d's blessings than peace (sholom)."
The importance of Sholom Bayis is underscored also by the fact that it is mentioned at the beginning of our prayers every morning, as one of the things "the fruits of which a Jew enjoys in this world, while the capital remains in the world to come.”
In light of the above, it is clear that each one should do all that he or she can, and in the maximum measure, in order to preserve the Sholom Bayis. If one party is in the wrong, surely it should be easy to rectify it; on the other hand, if the party is in the right, it should also be easy to be understanding and magnanimous, to ensure that the Divine Shechina should dwell in the house. Needless to say, even where the Sholom Bayis is satisfactory, there is always room for improving and strengthening it.
May G-d grant that you should have good news to report in all above.
With blessing,
Notes and sources
Published: The Letter and the Spirit, Vol 5 (Nissan Mindel Publications, 2019), 71.
Note: Letters printed in "The Letter and the Spirit" are from the Archives of Rabbi Nissan Mindel A"H, the Rebbe's personal secretary entrusted with writing up the Rebbe's orally dictated responses. The “Nissan Mindel Archives” are comprised of secretarial copies, including first drafts, and may have subsequently been published with editorial changes. Therefore the letters as they appear in the book may not be the final signed version.