5905 —שינוי שם לשנות גזר דין ותפלה עבור החולה

B"H, 6 Kislev, 5718.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"g vavac"h iy"a nu"n oseik b'tzt"z hara"p Har'a Friedman

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I acknowledge receipt of your letter from Erev Shabbat Kodesh, and thank you for the good news from Anash there. At an auspicious time, I will mention them at the holy resting place of my father-in-law, the Rebbe zatzal, who will surely arouse abundant mercy for such matters among all Israel.

Thank you for what you wrote regarding the Zohar with the notes of my late father. As for what you wrote about the portrait of the Gaon Reb Moshe Chafetz ^[1], it seems it was already printed in books some time ago, and perhaps this is what you meant.

Regarding your reasoning that some say when praying for a sick person, only the cradle name is essential—it is astonishing how one could say this! It contradicts halachic rulings and statements of our sages about adding a name to a sick person, which is well established in Shas and Poskim. The law is not stated in vain: if a name is uprooted to such an extent that even a get (divorce document) becomes invalid according to Torah law—how strange!

Even more so: with a sick person, changing their name changes their decree—so when praying about this, should one mention only the name upon which the decree was issued? This is truly puzzling.

Certainly you will participate in the farbrengen of Yud Tes Kislev, Rosh Hashanah for Chassidus. May it be G‑d's will that its impact be felt throughout all days of the coming year.

Blessings for good news.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that adding or changing a name for someone who is ill has real spiritual significance and can change their heavenly decree. He emphasizes following halachic tradition over speculative reasoning and encourages active participation in chassidic gatherings.