By the Grace of G-d15th of Av, 5739Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

After the long interval, your respective letters of . . . were received. And may G-d grant that henceforth you should have only good news to report.

Needless to say, if a person has had difficulty in coping with the Yetzer in the past, it must by no means, G-d forbid, cause discouragement in the future. Indeed, it is one of the tricks of the Yetzer to persuade a person that he, or she, is a "proven" failure. For this is the way of the Yetzer - first to gain a small victory and then use it for further and greater victories. Therefore, the sooner a person gets wise to the Yetzer's tricks, the sooner he will learn to beat the Yetzer at his own game, and a past failure becomes a jumping board for greater advancement in the future.

A case in point is the period of the "Three Weeks", culminating with the "Nine Days", which we have just observed, reminding us of the most serious failures which have led to the present Golus. Yet their essential purpose is to inspire us to redouble our efforts to rectify the cause ("Because of our sins we have been exiled from our land") and hasten the true and complete Geulo. And so confident are we of this, that even during those saddest days of the year we say in the Morning Amidah, "May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy." And later on, in the afternoon, seeing that Moshiach has not come yet, we repeat it again at Minchah, and so also during Maariv, and each time with the same fervor and confidence.

Much more could be said on this subject, but it is surely unnecessary to elaborate to you.

In conclusion let me just say: Strengthen your trust in G-d, and feel secure in His trustworthiness, as it is written, "Blessed is the man who trusts in G-d, and G-d will be his security" (Jer. 17:7); follow this path with confidence, and bring up each and all of your children in accordance with the traditional blessing - to a life Torah, Chuppah and Good Deeds, with joy and gladness of heart.

With blessing,