On Friday evening, September 11, 2026, Rosh Hashanah begins, and it is very important on the eve of this great holiday to write a PAN – a letter to the tzaddik with a request for blessing and a report of the good resolution one has taken upon oneself in honor of this day.
“This is a very old tradition – to write a letter to the Rebbe before Rosh Hashanah, a ‘pidyon nefesh’ letter with a request for blessing,” Rabbi Reuven Kaminezki, an emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, told our website. “PAN, or ‘pidyon ha-nefesh,’ literally translated as ‘letter of the soul,’ is a written appeal to a tzaddik whose soul has departed from the material world.
On this day, it is customary to write such a letter to the leader of our generation, the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. It should be noted that it is very important, before beginning to write the letter, to perform netilat yadayim – washing of the hands – and men should also put on a gartel.”
When asking for a blessing for oneself or for anyone else, one should write the person’s name (the Jewish name, if they have one) and their mother’s name.
For a non-Jew, the father’s name is usually mentioned instead of the mother’s.
The letter can be written in any language.
You may send your letter to: [email protected].
Or use fax: +1 (718) 723-4444.
