The Letter & the Spirit: Letters by the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson

FROM THE DIVINELY INSPIRED WRITINGS OF KING DAVID... TO THE EPISTLE OF MAIMONIDES... COME THE CONTEMPORARY LETTERS BY THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. His name conjures hope and delight in the possibility of the Torah-true path and the messianic age. To have been in his presence while he physically graced the earth was truly a miraculous occasion. Imagine then being his personal secretary. For over five decades and in several languages, Dr. Nissan Mindel, of blessed memory, faithfully transcribed the words of the Rebbe into correspondence. These letters were carefully preserved as part of the extensive teachings and personal yechidut of the great Rebbe. They reveal the Rebbe's role as confidant and counselor among his other roles. For the first time, some of these letters are bound together in the first volume of THE LETTER & THE SPIRIT: LETTERS BY THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE, SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY DR. NISSAN MINDEL. From the very public debate over prayer in school to private questions of family, faith and Jewish law, THE LETTER & THE SPIRIT gives the reader a seat at the table with one of the world's foremost spiritual thinkers and religious leaders. Truly amazing, they reflect the Rebbe's ever growing influence - indeed his posthumous continuous presence - on the issues that affect Jews and Gentiles in the ever-changing modern world. Dr. Mindel waded through the copious flow of personal letters, questions and pleadings that crossed the Rebbe's desk and presented Rabbi Schneerson's remarkable spiritual insights in a comprehensible and eminently readable manner. Dr. Mindel ushers the reader beyond the walls at 770 Eastern Parkway, the world headquarters of the Lubavitch movement, past throngs of the Rebbe's well-wishers and Talmud scholars, and into the center of Lubavitch world. The reader is privy to both the practical and the holy. Mindel reveals how letters were crafted and prioritized in a manner consistent with the philosophy of Chabad-Lubavitch.