By the Grace of G-d 3rd of Elul, 5737 Brooklyn, N.Y.
Greeting and Blessing:
I am in receipt of your (undated) letter.
Following the order of your letter, and to begin with the fact that as you write you come from Ethiopia, you surely know that there are different segments of Ethiopians whose Jewish status requires verification from the viewpoint of the halacha. Therefore, it is necessary in each case to ascertain this status through a competent Rabbinic authority, and find out if there is anything necessary to be done in compliance with the halacha.
Needless to say, the above does not in any way, G-d forbid, reflect on your status. However, inasmuch as this is such an important matter, it would be well for you to make sure.
With regard to the next question in your letter, namely the idea of coming to the U.S.A. to study Torah, it is very surprising in view of the fact that - if, as above, your status from the halacha viewpoint is under no question - there are so many good Yeshivot in Eretz Yisrael where you could study with devotion and diligence. So why leave the Holy Land to go elsewhere to study Torah?
With blessing,
For the Lubavitcher Rebbe
By (secretary)
Notes and sources
Published: The Letter and the Spirit, Vol 2 (Nissan Mindel Publications, 2013), 419.
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.