Igrot Kodesh · Letter 4102 — Chinuch

B"H

9 Shevat* 5716

Brooklyn

Greetings and blessings,

I am responding to your letter, in which you tell me about the association of Chabad* women and girls of Cleveland.

I took note with satisfaction in this correspondence of your interest in the work carried out by this association and, even more so, of your personal participation — of the fact that you bring your friends and acquaintances there.

Obviously, I agree with you when you say that there is no cause for discouragement. The Jews and Judaism have traversed many difficulties during the millennia of their existence. They lived, strengthening themselves in Torah* and mitzvos*, among many peoples who were physically much stronger and far more numerous. Despite this, no trace remains of those peoples.

This teaches us that even in the present situation, we must not allow ourselves to be misled by the evil inclination, which claims that it is difficult to be Jewish. On the contrary, if a Jew truly wishes to be happy — not only in the World to Come, but also in this world — if he wants to derive true satisfaction from his children, he has no other means of achieving this than by remaining on the path charted for us in the holy Torah* by the Master of the world, Who directs it.

When one truly desires this, not only does one overcome the difficulties and achieve success, but moreover, these difficulties prove to be far less significant than what one might have imagined, and as the effort continues, they become even more minor.

May Hashem grant you the success to find the right words to explain all of this to your friends and acquaintances. In this way, you will mobilize and intensify your work to strengthen Jewish values, in an ever-increasing manner.

May the merit of all this protect you in all your personal concerns.

With my blessing,

On behalf of the Rebbe shlita*,

the secretary,