By the Grace of G-dErev Shevuoth, 5719Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

After the long interval, I was pleased to receive your letter of June 7th, and thank you for your good wishes for the Festival, which I sincerely reciprocate, wishing you and all your family a truly joyous and inspiring Festival of “Receiving the Torah with joy and inwardness,” to quote my father-in-law of saintly memory. Needless¹ to say, the text of a blessing which has become traditional in Chabad, is meaningful. The significance of the blessing quoted above lies in the fact that the Torah entails two essential aspects:

a. The inward experience of the Torah and Mitzvoth, so as not to permit them to degenerate into an uninspiring habitual routine, and,

b. Joy, that is to say, one’s study and practice of the Torah and Mitzvoth should permeate one’s inner being to such an extent as to realize that, far from their being any sort of a burden or duty, or a means of getting reward or avoiding punishment, they are good in themselves and a source of true inner happiness.

With kind regards and,

With blessing,

M. Schneerson

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