By the Grace of G-d 21st of Sivan, 5725Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

I have received your letter, in which you write about your health, etc. Although you do not mention it, I hope and trust that you are in consultation with a suitable doctor, while putting your complete faith in G-d, the true “Healer of all flesh Who works wondrously,”¹ while the doctors are only G-d’s agents.

If you will inform me of your Hebrew name, as well as your mother’s Hebrew name, as is customary in such a case, I will remember you in prayer.

I must take issue with you in regard to your writing that you are not a religious man. This cannot be true in light of our sacred Sources, as has been confirmed by modern science in the field of genetics. A Jew who is a descendant of scores of generations of religious Jews, “believers, the children of believers,”² to the extent of being ready to sacrifice their very life, as you surely know from Jewish history, it is impossible that he should not have inherited a great deal of this essential characteristic and nature of the Jew. For it is well known that even much recent and less profound dispositions and propensities are passed on from parents to children; how much more so such deep-rooted traits as mentioned above.³

It has also been explained in our Torah and this too has been confirmed by modern science, that it can happen that an essential trait or quality may be covered up by a surface layer, or, to use modern terminology, the subconscious may be overshadowed by the conscious.⁴ In such a case, conflicts are inevitable, for the essential man is linked to the substratum, and not to the external cover, which itself is subject to change and external influence.

For the Jew, in order to eliminate conflict, it is necessary to bring to the fore his inner essence of the Jew, namely his deep-rooted faith in G-d. Otherwise he is bound to feel disquietude, even though he may not realize the cause of such disturbance. In other words, the Jew must live his daily life in accordance with the Torah and mitzvos, the Jewish way of life, for it is only in this way that he can attain true harmony and peace of mind.

Needless to say, it is not easy to transform one’s daily life and routine, and bring it into accord with a way of life which had not been practiced in the past. However, inasmuch as this is the command and will of G-d, the Creator of man, it is clear that the Creator does not expect His creatures the impossible and that He has provided every Jew with the ability to live up to the way of life which G-d willed. It does require, however, an effort, and often a strenuous effort and determination; sometimes also the sacrifice of certain conveniences and the like. But considering what is at stake, namely the attainment of peace of mind and inner harmony, and even ordinary physical health, inasmuch as the physical and the spiritual are interrelated, every effort will surely be worthwhile and most rewarding.

I would suggest, by way of a start, that you begin to put on tefillin every weekday morning, and that you should say at least a short prayer. It is necessary that the tefillin should be checked first, to make sure they are kosher. This as mentioned, would only be a start, but the right step in the right direction. I urge you to do so, and I take the liberty of enclosing herewith a booklet on the significance of tefillin.⁵

Hoping to hear good news from you,

With blessing,

P.S. With reference to the possibility of a personal appointment, I regret that this year the schedule of appointments has been greatly curtailed, for personal reasons, and in any case it is fully booked for a long time. On the other hand, we have it on good authority that in this case a personal appointment is not so important, inasmuch as my reply has been given above at some length.