Igrot Kodesh · Letter 6435 — Faith & Bitachon

By the grace of Hashem*,

5 Menachem Av* 5718,

Brooklyn,

Greetings and blessings,

I am responding to your letter, in which you speak to me about your son. In my view, the true reason for this situation is as follows: it is difficult to be supervised all day, to be subjected to a certain organization. It seems, indeed, that at home he was not subjected to all of this. One must therefore obtain, in a pleasant and peaceful manner, that he remain there until the beginning of the school year. Of course, the longer he stays there, the easier it will be to become accustomed and to receive a lasting influence for the entire year — to accept discipline and to submit to order, not only during school hours, but also at home, which is the most important thing for a child.

Psychologically, one must also acknowledge that he himself will realize that the decision has been made to leave him there. He will therefore integrate, in his mind, the idea that he must stay. In contrast, from what you write, it appears from your telephone conversations that he still hopes to be able to free himself from the vacation center and from the discipline. You also make reference to a medical treatment. This is new and one must therefore take the greatest precautions, performing a check every few days, making sure each time that one does not let more than a few days pass. May Hashem* grant that you announce to me good news of all this. You and your wife, in good health and with breadth of spirit, will derive true satisfaction — that is, Chassidic* satisfaction — from your children. With my blessing to convey good news of all this,