275 —אודות חדש מנחם אב, צדקה, וענינים שונים בקהילה

B"H, 1 Menachem Av 5707.

Kavod Haraha"ch vavac"h iy"a nechbad venaaleh etc. Mahar"ch.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the 12th of Nissan—and my reply is delayed due to my visit in Europe.

a) Thank you for your blessing regarding the arrival of my mother, the Rebbetzin, may she live and be well. Whoever blesses will be blessed with abundant increase, etc. Thank G-d, her journey went well and peacefully.

b) The deed of acquisition for the house and property in Chevron named after my father-in-law, the Rebbe shlita, was not found among the papers you sent here some time ago; likewise, I have not yet received the copy of this deed which you promised to send in your above-mentioned letter. I hope that now at least this deed will be sent immediately into the hands of my father-in-law, the Rebbe admu"r shlita without any delay.

c) The book seller says that they sent them Hilash and Keren Ora.

d) Copies of letters from Rabbi Aharon of Karlin addressed to my father-in-law, the Rebbe admu"r shlita were received only once during all this time; none were received addressed to me at all.

e) The article printed in "Mishor" has not yet arrived.

f) I already replied long ago to Rabbi Meir Leib Shapira and Rabbi David Shapira (author of Bnei Tzion) regarding their letters about chiddushei Torah. It is surprising that they did not confirm receipt of my letter.

g) Two packages of Kuntres HaVaH and a package of the journal printed in Eretz Yisrael have been received.

h) Just now was published Sefer HaToldos Admu"r Maharash z"l and it was sent to you via a traveler.

i) Regarding the missing page in your tzt"z—you can certainly obtain it from our store in Ockz where there is a complete copy to copy from there.

j) For the yahrzeit of my father z"l on the 20th of Menachem Av, please give on my account from our fund ten shekel for Torah Or, ten shekel for Kolel, and five for the World Tehillim Society.

I said at the farbrengen on Shabbat Mevarchim Menachem Av that the name of the month is Av—and so it is written in a get (see Kav Venaki Siman 51 Sif Katan 4)—but in a ketubah and when blessing the month we say Menachem Av. This can be explained according to what is explained in Chassidus: one should see the greatness of a father's love even when he strikes his son; this is during exile when Israel are like a woman who has been divorced (Yoma 86b). Therefore, in a get we write Av (the word 'father,' as also explained in Maamar Nachamu 5670), but our request is that love should be revealed specifically; therefore when blessing the month (and also in a ketubah which is so it should not be easily annulled—the opposite of divorce), we specifically say Menachem.

Blessings for immediate redemption and double comfort.

Summary

The Rebbe addresses practical communal matters while offering insight into why we use 'Menachem' or 'Av' depending on context—highlighting hidden love even during exile. He encourages prompt action on communal needs and emphasizes revealed kindness over concealed severity.