By the Grace of G-d In the Days of Selichoth, 5746 Brooklyn, N. Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

I was pleased to receive your letter of Sept. 18th, with the enclosures.

To begin with a blessing, this gives me the opportunity to reiterate my prayerful wishes for a Kesivo vaChasimo Tovo, for a good and sweet year, including the fulfillment of your heart's desires for good in the matters about which you wrote.

If I may make a remark, in the spirit of the old Jewish custom, I am surprised at your reaction to my letter, in your words לא זו הדרך. Surely there has not been any greater man than Moshe Rabbeinu, and Rashi (in a Commentary even on the level of a five-year-old child beginning to learn Chumash) remarks about Moshe Rabbeinu הודה ולא בוש (ויקרא, שמיני י:כ)

You also know that when the daughters of Tzelofchod presented to Moshe Rabbeinu their claim for inheritance, adding that their father had no part in Korach’s Rebellion (39 years earlier), Moshe Rabbeinu immediately disqualified himself from making a judgment, considering their remark as a possible “bribery,” and, instead, presented their case directly to HaShem, as explained in various Commentaries.¹

Anyway, the important thing is that it is always good to clear up any possible misunderstanding, especially when a good personal relationship is involved.

בברכת כתיבה וחתימה טובה לשנה טובה ומתוקה לו ולכל אשר לו

With esteem and blessing,

M. Schneerson

P. S. Just received the books To Live With Meaning,² אמנות ויהדות.³ Many thanks (also for the קווים ביוגרפיים).

כמנהג יהודי עתיק "להעיר" ואתו הסליחה רבה: אע"פ דקבל האמת ממי שאמרה, לפענ"ד בע' 1 דספר הא' כדאי הי' (בעתיד עכ"פ) להדפיס רק מחז"ל.⁴