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Blessing and Greeting:

Following up on your previous correspondence, I am writing these lines to express the hope that the relationship between you and your husband has improved considerably, making it a home fit for the Divine Presence; as our Sages state, “Where a husband and wife are meritorious, the Shechinah dwells with them.”¹

This is all the more the case since both of you have the zechut of hatzlachah in the chinuch of Jewish children, of whom G-d says, “You are children unto G-d, your G-d."² It is therefore easy to imagine the great zechut which both you and your husband have, in that G-d has entrusted to you the chinuch of His children, and has blessed with hatzlachah your efforts to implant into their hearts ahavat Hashem and yirat Hashem. In light of this, each of you should regard it as a special blessing to have found a mate worthy of G-d’s blessing for hatzlachah. Even if it may appear that the other party falls short of perfection, and even if such a lack is not wholly imaginary, it should be remembered that true perfection belongs only to G-d. Indeed, the very fact that we have all been commanded to go from strength to greater strength in all matters of goodness and holiness shows that there is no perfection in human beings, for obviously the previous level is imperfect by comparison with the next and higher level. Moreover, perfection itself, insofar as humans are concerned, is relative, in that it is to be found in different areas in different people.

Thus, our Sages speak of one category of Jews as Torah-learners, and of another as mitzvah-doers.¹ Clearly, they speak of excellence in each case, for every Jew is expected to be both a Torah-leamer and a mitzvah-doer. Hence, the difference between the two categories is a difference of excellence in each area; that is to say, in the first category excellence is to be found in their Torah scholarship, while in the other category the excellence is in the fulfillment of the mitzvot.

It is surely unnecessary to elaborate for you on the above. I only want to emphasize that the greater the harmony, mutual respect and devotion of a husband and wife - especially where both are shomrei-Torah and -mitzvot - the greater is the measure of G-d’s blessings for both of them in all their needs. This includes reward in kind-to be blessed with healthy offspring of your own, to bring them up to a life of Torah, chuppah and good deeds - in fulfillment of your hearts’ desires for good.

With blessing,