6 A Souvenir

Bringing home the right souvenir from Eretz Yisrael

Thank you for your letter of 2nd Sivan upon your return from Eretz Yisroel and previous communication.

I am pleased to note that you and your wife enjoyed your visit in Eretz Yisroel and were impressed with the activities of Chabad there. As I have remarked on similar occasions, it is customary to bring back souvenirs from the lands one visits that are characteristic of native features and products, etc. I trust, therefore, that you, too, brought back with you the right souvenir from the Holy Land, namely, an extra measure of holiness, which will serve as a fitting memento of your visit. And, of course, there is always room for improvement in matters of holiness, Torah and Mitzvos, in the daily life. In your case this is even more important, not only for your own benefit, but also for the benefit of the many who look to you for inspiration; and one is inspired not by someone else’s good thoughts and intentions, and not so much by word of mouth as by a living example, which needs no elaboration to a psychologist...⁵

M. Schneerson

Source: Photocopy of the original. Dr. Yehuda (Judah) Landes (1930–2004) was a clinical psychologist who piloted the Rebbe’s Kosher Meditation initiative. For the extensive correspondence between Dr. Landes and the Rebbe regarding kosher meditation, see Letters from the Rebbe on Meditation (Rebbe Responsa, 5784).

⁵ See further in English letter from 5728 (The Letter and the Spirit, vol. 1, p. 249).