Igrot Kodesh · Letter 984 — Faith & Bitachon

By the grace of Hashem,
13 Nissan 5711,
Brooklyn, New York,

Greetings and blessings,

I received your letter in its time, and my many occupations have prevented me from replying to it until now. And, in fact, you have no need of my reply, since you have already obtained that of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, when you were here.

In any event, I shall repeat to you what I have already said several times.

You must know, once and for all, that emunah* is not a theoretical notion, but truly a value that is at the source of all existence.

Now, you have emunah*, without the shadow of a doubt, and you believe that Hashem directs the world. If He can govern a billion and a half people, it is clear that He has the means, as concerns you, to fulfill the terms of the verse: "I have made and I will bear, I will suffer and I will save."

Think, then: Hashem gives the assurance that the one who suffers will be saved. How can you imagine that a non-Jew of this or that country could prevent Hashem from keeping His word, chas v'shalom*?

Imagine what results from all this. Does Hashem need you to busy yourself with the way in which He runs the world and brings a solution to your problems? Or perhaps Hashem can find a positive outcome without your worrying yourself?

For, in the end, you must remember that our master, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, granted you his blessing. Now, the blessing of the tzaddik* is realized in any event, and it will likewise be the case for the one that concerns you.

Nevertheless, an alternative presents itself to you. You can worry, so long as the blessing is not yet realized, telling yourself that perhaps it will not be realized at all. And then, when it is in fact realized, you will be confronted with another worry: How were you able to live in anguish for so long, uselessly?

But you can also strongly mark your emunah* and your bitachon* in Hashem, Who will lead you on the straight path, fulfill all the blessings that have been granted you. Then, when you witness their materialization, you will say to yourself: "How well I did not to be worried! This positive outcome was really obvious! It could not have been otherwise."

This is one of the meanings to be given to the blessings my father-in-law granted you. Even more, in this case, it is not a matter of a blessing, but indeed of an order — that of being joyful, for, with the help of Hashem, the problems that appear to you so insurmountable will disappear. There is therefore no reason to be worried. You can rejoice and put into practice the injunction "Serve Hashem with joy."

I wish you a kosher and joyous Pesach*, that you should always be in good health and happy. I await receiving very soon your good news.

Enclosed you will find the sicha* of Pesach* 5703, which will surely interest you.