Interest-free loans from persons, in order to pay off the debts and eliminate the high interest rate

22nd of Cheshvan, 5735 (1974)

This is to confirm receipt of your letter of October 10th with enclosures, which reached me with some delay. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in sending me the enclosure.
One of the reasons why my acknowledgment was delayed was the fact that there was reason to believe that Prof. Branover would be visiting the U.S., although I do not know how definite this is, when there would be an opportunity to discuss the various matters of your letter personally with him.
I was particularly gratified to read in your letter that a beginning has been made in regard to the suggestion which we discussed, namely to obtain interest-free loans from persons, in order to pay off the debts and eliminate the high interest rate.
May G-d grant that you should soon be able to complete the list of such persons, especially as some of the participants in this project have made it conditional upon the complete list of participants.
I trust that you have been active in the Five Mitzvah [commandment] Campaigns which I have stressed, and more recently also in the matter of encouraging young girls from the age of Chinuch [Jewish education], to light the candles Erev [the eve of] Shabbos and Erev Yom Tov. And while you are destined for, and are capable of, great things and accomplishments, and to participate in the above mentioned Mitzvah Campaigns may seem to you that these things should be done by others, we have one of the basic teachings of the Torah to the effect that one should not attempt to weigh the importance of big mitzvos and small mitzvos, but do them all as they come along.
It should be noted that the above statement speaks of "big" and "small" mitzvos but the conclusion is that all mitzvos should be carried out with the same eagerness and joy and vitality.
One of the explanations which explains the seeming anomaly in the above statement is that when a person does a good thing, no matter how big or small, he "pleases G-d" thereby and becomes attached to G-d through the fulfillment of His commandments. In this way G-d's unity permeates all these good actions of the person. Hence, bigness or smallness is of no consequence, since he fulfills G-d's commandments for the sole reason that G-d commanded him to do them.
At this time, before Shabbos Mevorchim Kislev [the Sabbath on which the month of Kislev is blessed], the mitzvah of the Shabbos lights is particularly pertinent inasmuch as we shall soon be observing the festival of Chanukah with the lighting of the Chanukah candles.
We are told that the Shabbos candles have a priority over the Chanukah candles (in a case where one cannot afford both), which goes to show how important the Shabbos candles are.
You do not mention about your own daughters lighting the candles, but I am certain they do. I only want to express the hope that they are a shining example to their friends in this and in every other respect.
Wishing you hatzlocha [success] in all the matters about which you write, and especially that you and your wife should have true Torah Nachas [pleasure] from each and all of your children.