ב”הElul 25, 5708Sept. 29, 1948

My dear Mr. Stulman:

On behalf of the Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, and in my own name, I send you herewith our sincere good wishes to you and your dear family for a very happy New Year, a year of good health, "nachas", and success, materially and spiritually.

It is my custom as you know, to insert a word of "Torah" in my personal letters. I trust the following will be of interest to you.

Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the creation of man, the last of all creatures and the highest in the order of development. Man's pre-eminence over beast is in his intellect. One would have thought, therefore, that the Rosh Hashanah service would be highlighted by intellectual dissertations and discussions, wherein Man could demonstrate his superiority over all other forms of creation.

Yet, the highlight of the Rosh Hashanah service is Tekiath-Shofar, a simple ceremony of sounding a ram's horn. Even in ancient days there existed fine musical instruments, as is historically known. But the delicate and refined strains of music of all musical instruments will not do. The commandment of Tekiath-Shofar specifically requires the use of a simple horn, producing simple sounds.

There is a profound lesson in this:¹ Rosh Hashanah, the beginning and foundation of the whole year, is inaugurated through the sounding of the horn of a beast to teach us that: although Man is an intellectual creature and must use his intellect in his daily life, the basis of his intellectual life must be submission to G-d, with the absolute submissiveness of the intellect-lacking beast. Acceptance of the Divine sovereignty with absolute submission and resignation is the starting point in the life of intellectual Man.

Again wishing you and yours all the best, I am,

Very sincerely yours,

M. Schneerson

Chairman, Executive Committee