Igrot Kodesh · Letter 1660 — Faith & Bitachon

By the grace of Hashem,
25 Sivan 5712,
Brooklyn,

Greetings and blessings,

I obtained news of you, with pleasure, through the Rav, distinguished chassid* who fears Hashem and devotes himself to the needs of the community, Rav Eliyahu Simpson. Nevertheless, I was pained to learn that you still suffer at times from migraines.

You should eat cake before tefillah*, if you have not already adopted this practice, and not content yourself with drinking. You know the saying of the Tzemach Tzedek,[1] according to which "it is preferable to eat in order to pray, rather than to pray in order to eat" — that is, to eat first in order then to pray calmly, rather than to pray first, thus weakening one's nerves and one's head. In this latter case, the tefillah* cannot be done tranquilly, for the yetzer hara* and the body are awaiting what one will eat afterwards.

My father-in-law, the Rebbe, asked several chassidim* to eat before tefillah*, for reasons of health. He told them not to content themselves with drinking. When you adopt this good behavior, it will be useful to you, both for your health and for your business affairs.[2]

With my blessing of good health, for yourself and for the members of your family,

Notes

[1] See concerning this letter no. 1611.
[2] Which can improve thanks to increased concentration during tefillah.