6510 —הרהור על צמיחה אישית, ריחוק, ושידוכים

B"H, 4th of Tishrei, 5719. Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from Motzaei Shabbat which I received recently, in which you write about your pain when recalling where you were at the time of writing your letter three years ago and where you are now.

Please study what is explained in Chassidus on the Mishnah "Better one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come," among them in Hemshech Vekacha HaGadol,

And the central point is that teshuvah and good deeds — these are the matters that bring nachas ruach (pleasure) to Hashem, whereas the life of the World to Come is what brings nachas ruach to the person,

from which one understands how great the distance between them is, and how great this "better" is.

And of the same nature is the comparison between your situation three years ago, when the main thing was pleasure for the person, and your situation now, in which the main thing is pleasure for Hashem through your activities in spreading the wellsprings outward — and this is readily understood, and also simple.

And can it be said that over this change, which is the better one, one is — G‑d forbid — pained?!

Regarding what you wrote about physical distance, nowadays it is neither wondrous nor far away; rather, G‑d has made everything beautiful in its time.

Regarding what you wrote about shidduchim (matches), it is well known from our Sages that 'the daughters of Israel are beautiful,' and it is obvious that... [the subject] is included in this—especially in recent years when there has been a significant positive change in matters of Judaism that can be seen even with physical eyes.

Blessings for good news in all the above, for a good inscription and sealing for a good year.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that true spiritual growth comes from focusing on bringing pleasure to Hashem through positive actions rather than dwelling on past shortcomings. Physical distance poses no real obstacle today, and optimism should be maintained regarding shidduchim and Jewish progress.