In a 1991 letter to President George H.W. Bush, the Rebbe noted that the President’s letter had been sent a day after July 4th, and pointed to a connection between the American holiday and the day the Rebbe and Rebbetzin arrived on US soil.
By Anash.org staff
In a 1991 letter to President George H.W. Bush, the Rebbe noted that the President’s letter had been sent a day after July 4th, and pointed to a connection between the American holiday and the day the Rebbe and Rebbetzin arrived on US soil.
Presented in connection with the 80th anniversary of Chof Ches Sivan, celebrated this year by chassidim around the world.
The Rebbe’s Letter:
By the Grace of G-d
The Third of Elul, 5751
August 13, 1991
Brooklyn, N.Y.
President George Bush
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Greeting and Blessing:
I was deeply moved by your gracious felicitations in connection with the 50th anniversary of my arrival in the United States.
Your good wishes, Mr. President, as well as those of the First Lady, are heartily appreciated. I can best reciprocate by invoking G-d’s promise to our Patriarch Abraham, “I will bless them that bless thee.”
I welcome especially your remarks, my dear President, as a tribute to the Lubavitch Movement which I am privileged to head. That it has grown and flourished in this country is a testimony to the conducive climate and responsive human nature that combine to ensure that all positive efforts are abundantly fruitful.
By Divine Providence your kind letter was dated on the morrow of the anniversary of the Nation’s birthday. It is well to remember that the founders of this Nation considered Independence Day as “a day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to G-d Al-mighty.” By Divine Providence also my arrival in the United States in 1941 coincided with the declaration by Congress that year, making July 4th a legal public holiday.
Speaking of auspicious seasons, we are about to usher in the month of Elul which, being the last month of the year (5751) in our Jewish Calendar, is a time of meaningful preparation for the New Year beginning with Rosh Hashanah 5752. As such it is particularly propitious for firm resolutions to advance from strength to strength along the path of solemn acts of goodness, good in the eyes of G-d and good to fellow man.
With prayerful wishes and traditional blessing for a good and sweet new year both materially and spiritually,
Cordially,
The Rebbe’s signature
VIDEO: The Rebbe on the Basis of America’s Founding
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