Igrot Kodesh · Letter 7140 — Prayer

By the grace of Hashem,

4 Teves* 5720,

Brooklyn,

I greet you and bless you,

I duly received your letter of Rosh Chodesh* Teves*, indeed of the seventh light (note 1: Of Chanukah*), with the request for a blessing that was enclosed. It will be read near the holy resting place of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, whose merit protects us. It is you who transmitted this request to me, and may Hashem therefore grant that you announce to me good tidings of all that you write.

You tell me that your business has no clients (note 2: Wishing to buy it). Perhaps you should consider going, for a few days, to Montreal, in order to seek a means of earning your livelihood there. Furthermore, you may perhaps find a client there, rather than in the place where you are looking. Indeed, who knows how matters stand according to the hidden reasons? One must therefore explore various means, and may Hashem grant that the best one be discovered.

We have just experienced the days of Chanukah*. The moment at which one fulfills this Mitzvah*, by kindling the candles, is at sunset, when everything becomes dark. It is then that a Jew kindles them and thereby causes clarity to burst forth, not only for himself, but also "at the door of his house, toward the outside" — precisely the one that faces the street — so that the clarity reaches there as well, not in an invariable and always identical manner, but rather in an increasing way, with ever more light, multiplying the candles and the clarity. Thus, the Ramban*, in his commentary on the Torah*, in Parshas* Behaalosecha*, alluding to the miracle of Chanukah* and its candles, emphasizes that they are eternal and that their blessings will never disappear. These are, in this instance, the following: "May Hashem bless you and guard you" (note 3: That is, the priestly blessing). And our Sages* specify that: "Your possessions will be blessed."

May it be so, very soon, regarding you. From then on, you will no longer be preoccupied by what you write to me. Indeed, our Sages* state that the wheel turns, so that when one finds oneself at the very bottom, one must see in this the beginning of the elevation, of the ascent. In fact, your preoccupation will turn toward justifying, to yourself, the questions you ask yourself (note 4: About the current difficulties) and the way you formulated them. Certainly, in the Grace After Meals, and even in its first blessing, ordained by the Torah*, it is clearly stated that Hashem "feeds the entire world with grace, kindness, and mercy." Nevertheless, it is customary to say: "May Hashem grant that one be at this level!" With my blessing to give good tidings of all that has been said,