By the Grace of G‑d
13th of Cheshvan, 5734 [November 8, 1973]
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Mr. Mordechai Shaul Landow
Greeting and Blessings
I trust that the eleven students who were sent from here to form the nucleus of the new Yeshiva in Miami Beach, have duly conveyed to you my personal regards. In addition to the letter I sent with them I am enclosing an additional copy and also a copy of the English translation, which I hope will be of interest to you.
The purpose of this writing is to reiterate the oral message of congratulations conveyed through the students, and to wish you Mazal Tov again on the far-reaching turn in the development of the Oholei Torah Center in Miami Beach through the establishment of the Yeshiva. May G‑d grant that this Torah Center, which you have made possible through your generosity, should continue to advance and develop with gigantic steps, especially in view of its importance to serve as a pilot project.
Moreover, I trust that this development will be both steady and at a rapid pace, which, in this case at any rate, will not inhibit the progress, but on the contrary. Indeed, in light of the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that a person must learn from everything around him how better to fulfill his purpose in life, especially in fundamental matters, the present jet age and supersonic transportation should inspire the idea of time-saving in the spiritual realm. A distance that not so very long ago took days and weeks to cover, can now be spanned in a matter of hours, and a message that took as long to communicate can now be transmitted instantly. If this could be accomplished in the physical and material, surely the same should be true in the spiritual realm, whether in the area of personal achievement, or in the area of effecting a change in the environment. To be satisfied with less in the realm of the spirit would be like arguing to return to the era of the horse and buggy on the ground that this was satisfactory in olden days, all the more so since spiritual matters have never been subject to the limitations of time and space.
If anyone may entertain any doubt about his ability to meet a challenge which Divine Providence has "thrown into his lap," suffice it to remember that G‑d does not act despotically or capriciously, and most certainly provides the necessary capacity to meet the challenge, and to do so joyously, which is the way of all Divine service, as it is written, "Serve G‑d with joy," and which, incidentally, is a basic tenet of the Chasidic approach to all matters.
With all good wishes, and with blessing,
M. Schneerson
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