The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Letter Arrived 55 Years Late, But At Exactly The Right Time

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Journalist Yossi Elituv, who recently lost his father Rabbi Shimon Elituv, one of the prominent disciples of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, described how a letter addressed to his father by the Rebbe and sent 55 years ago had arrived at exactly the right time.

Elituv, who is the editor of the Mishpacha magazine, tweeted that “to receive a condolence letter from the Rebbe over the passing of our father during the shloshim seems like a message from heaven.

“This is how it happened. On the 5th of Av 5728 (1968), 55 years ago, the rebbe sent a letter full of comforting words about the month of Av to our father. However the letter never arrived as our father had moved to Romania and the letter, addressed to Jerusalem, was returned.

לקבל מכתב ניחומים מהרבי זי״ע על הסתלקותו של אבינו הכ״מ בתוך השלושים לפטירתו, זה גובל באות משמים.
ומעשה שהיה כך היה: בה׳ מנחם אב תשכ״ח, לפני 55 שנים, שיגר הרבי אגרת מלאה בדברי ניחומים על חודש אב לאבינו. אלא שהמכתב לעולם לא הגיע ליעדו. באותם ימים אבא העתיק את מגוריו לרומניה.
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— יוסי אליטוב Yossi Elituv (@yoelituv) February 14, 2023

“An hour ago a person who was close to the Rebbe called with a message: I discovered by chance a condolence letter the Rebbe sent to your father which never reached him. Now is its time, I’m sending you a copy with shaking hands, or more correctly, the Rebbe is sending the family condolences.”

In the letter the Rebbe wrote that “may Hashem, the merciful father, comfort his people Yisrael with a double comfort, double strength. This double does not mean two times as much but rather a number which is priceless, and soon these days will become joyous and festive.

Elituv concluded, stating that “My father got 130 letters from the Rebbe in his lifetime and only one with words of comfort arrived tonight, when we most needed comforting.”