By the Grace of G-d 3rd of Chol Hamoed Pesach 5718, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

I have been informed of your forthcoming Bar-Mitzvah celebration to take place Shabbos, April the 26th. I therefore wish to send you my blessing that you should grow up into a fine Jew, which means one who lives his life in accordance with our holy Torah, observing the Mitzvoth, and your parents should lots of Nachas, Yiddish Nachas, from you.           

Bar-Mitzvah is a festival, marking the time when a Jewish boy becomes a fully qualified member of our holy nation. It is a great and important day for him, for his parents and friends. Yet it is not like the other festivals, when either no work is permitted at all, or, if it is, then in a smaller measure. On the day of Bar-Mitzvah, (if it does not occur on Shabbos) work is permitted and Tachnun is said in prayer.

There is a lesson in this for the Bar-Mitzvah boy: that although the Bar-Mitzvah is a great and Joyful event, it also places on him all the duties, responsibilities and privileges that belong to a fully qualified Jew. Such an event cannot be celebrated by a stoppage of work. On the contrary, it calls for Increased efforts immediately, showing that the Bar-Mitzvah boy has become an active member of our people, according to the requirements of our holy Torah

But in the course of work, especially in the beginning, it is possible to make mistakes without knowing about them. That is why the Bar-Mitzvah boy says Tachnun on this day, even though it is a festival. For Tachnun is a confession of the mistakes which he may have made, and a prayer for forgiveness, together with a resolution to be better, purer, and holier, that is, to be worthier of the name ^“Jew^" in the fullest sense of the word.

I will be glad to receive a letter from you about your Jewish studies and I wish you much success in them. With the blessing of Mazaltov to you and your family.

By N. Mindel