By the Grace of G-dErev Rosh Hashanah, 5741Brooklyn, N. Y.
The Honorable R. Boschwitz, U. S. S.1
7010 Holyrood Drive
McLean, Va. 22101
Greeting and Blessing:
On the threshold of the New Year — may it bring goodness and blessing to all of us and all our people Israel, I extend prayerful wishes to you and yours for a Kesivo Vachasimo Toivo for a Good and Sweet Year, materially and spiritually.
I take this opportunity of expressing to you my profound appreciation for being instrumental in the publication of my pronouncement on "Family Planning” in the Congressional Record.2 I apologize for the delay, due to pressure of duties, but the excuse is rather weak considering the subject matter - in light of the first precept in the Torah, "Be fruitful and multiply.”3 For when a child is born and raised in accordance with the Will of the Creator — i.e. in accordance with the Torah and Mitzvos insofar as Jews are concerned; and in accordance with the Seven Laws of morality, with all their ramifications, given by G-d to all humanity through Noah and his children, which are the basis of any decent human society - it is more than a matter of one life (sufficient as it is in itself), but a matter of all posterity. How much more so when, as I hope, the publication in the Congressional Record will surely reach many, and have a far-reaching impact.
May this additional accomplishment of yours bring you additional Divine blessings to have, together with your wife, much Nachas from each and all of your children, and to have much Hatzlocho in your Senatorial work, in good health, and improved and expanding Parnosso, in the ordinary sense, going hand-in-hand with your expanding "spiritual Parnosso.”
Looking forward to hearing good news from you in all above.
With esteem and blessing,
M. Schneerson
Notes and sources
Regarding the Rebbe's view on family planning see the Rebbe's message in this regard (from the Sicha of 17 Sivan, 5740); Likkutei Sichos, vol. 25, pp. 35-37; A Partner in the Dynamic of Creation: Womanhood in the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson (SIE, 1994), pp. 45-55.
1) Senator Rudy Boschwitz (b. 1930) was an Independent-Republican United States Senator who represented Minnesota from 1978 to 1991. He has also served as a United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Through Rabbi Moshe Feller, the Chabad emissary to Minnesota, he developed a close connection with the Rebbe, and corresponded frequently. For additional letters addressed to Boschwitz, see letter dated 5 Tammuz, 5731.
2) The Rebbe’s message, which appears next in this booklet, was published in the Congressional Record on August 27, 1980. The Record can be accessed here. See his interview with JEM where Senator Boschwitz relates the effect that this had.
3) Bereishis 1:28.
Source: Photocopy of original.
Published: Rebbe Responsa Exclusive.