Retaining The Days
7th of Iyar, 5741 [1981]
Greeting and Blessing:
I duly received your letter of the 1st day of Rosh Chodesh Iyar and, as requested, will remember you for the fulfillment of your heart's desires for good.
There is surely no need to remind you that there is always room for advancement in matters of Torah and Yiddishkeit [Judaism], which is a must for its own sake, but is also the way to widen the channels to receive G-d's blessings in all needs.
The present days of sefira are particularly auspicious for such advancement, in preparation for the festival of Mattan Torah [the Giving of the Torah i.e., Shavuot]. In this connection, it is noteworthy that in counting the days of the omer, we do not use the ordinal numbers (second day, third day, etc.) but the cardinal numbers (two days, three days, etc.).
This indicates that the advancement in matters of Torah and mitzvot is not just a matter of rising to a higher level, but at the same time it implies retention of all previous achievements in a cumulative way. Thus we say "shnei yamim" rather than "yom sheni" - the difference between two days and the second day.
With prayerful wishes for hatzlacha to you and yours,
