6728 —בול דואר שעליו תמונת רבנו הזקן – מדוע מופרך הדבר

B"H, 22 Adar I, 5719
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

…^[1] As to what you write about a stamp bearing the image of, etc.^[2], in my opinion the idea is untenable, since stamps eventually pass from hand to hand, etc.^[3], in addition to the unavoidable matter that the stamp and the image are struck^[4]…

With blessings for success in the above^[5].

Publisher's notes

Bearing the image of (ובו תמונת): The Alter Rebbe.

Notes

1. … (...): The beginning of the letter was not printed, nor its end (as the dots after "the image" show).

2. A stamp bearing the image of, etc. (בול ובו תמונת וכו'): במ"ש = במה שכתב, "as to what you write". The recipient wrote about a postage stamp bearing the portrait of the Alter Rebbe (as the publisher's note states).

3. Eventually pass from hand to hand, etc. (מתגלגלים סו"ס וכו'): סו"ס = סוף סוף, "eventually". Stamps pass from hand to hand, and in the end… The Rebbe does not spell it out, but hints with "etc." at the disrespect to the portrait that is liable to result.

4. The stamp and the image are struck (שמכים על הבול והתמונה): Every stamp sent through the post must be cancelled with a postmark, so the portrait itself is struck. Years later (2012), when the Israel Post issued a stamp marking two hundred years since the passing of the Alter Rebbe, the stamp showed an open copy of the Tanya, not his portrait.

5. Success in the above (הצ' בהנ"ל): הצ' = הצלחה, "success"; בהנ"ל = בהנזכר לעיל, "in the above".

Summary

Answering a question about a postage stamp bearing the Alter Rebbe's portrait, the Rebbe writes that in his view the idea is untenable: stamps pass from hand to hand and end up as they do, and the postmark must strike the stamp and the portrait on it.