By the Grace of G-d Erev Rosh Hashanah, 5714. Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dr. Steinberg
c/o Freeland League
1819 Broadway
New York, N.Y.
Greeting and Blessing:
On the threshold of the New Year, May it bring blessings to us all, I send you my prayerful wishes for a good and pleasant year, materially and spiritually.
I take this opportunity to thank you for your thoughtfulness in sending your books for my library.
With the traditional blessing of Kesivo vachasimo toivo,
Cordially,
M. Schneerson
Notes and sources
Dr. Yitzchak Nachman (Isaac) Steinberg (5648-5717) was a Left-Socialist Revolutionary and religious Jew. He served as People’s Commissar of Justice in Lenin’s first Soviet government but resigned over opposition to Bolshevik policies. He was a leading figure in the Yiddishist movement, and a co-founder of the Freeland League for Jewish Territorial Colonization, searching for a safe haven for Jews to settle. A prolific writer, he authored numerous articles and books in Russian, Yiddish and Hebrew. In a telephone conversation with the Rebbe's secretariat after receiving this letter, he took issue with the fact that this letter, and the enclosed published material, were written in English instead of Yiddish or Hebrew, an act that he viewed as part of a trend lacking in concern for assimilation. In a (Hebrew) letter to him, dated 13 Tishrei, 5714 (Igros Kodesh vol. 8, letter 2249), the Rebbe addressed these concerns, approving of his sharp rhetoric against assimilation, and explained the considerations behind the publication of materials in various languages.
Source: Photocopy of original.
Published: Rebbe Responsa Exclusive.
Credit: YIVO Institute.