By the Grace of G-d5th of Cheshvan, 5735Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

Your letter and enclosure, reached me through a roundabout way from L.A. Hence my acknowledgment has been somewhat delayed. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in wishing to send me a personal gift of a piece of art of your creation. However in accordance with the ruling of my ancestor, the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya and Shulchan Aruch, specifically in the latter (Hil. Mechira u’Matana, par. 9) "not to accept gifts ... as it is written, ‘He who hates gifts, lives’,” I must decline your kind gesture with thanks, and I trust that you will accept this in the proper spirit.

In as much as everything is by Divine Providence, and you took time out to write to me about your hobby, etc., enclosing also a picture of your original menora, this in particularly relevant to the campaign I have inaugurated recently to spread the observance of the mitzvah of the lighting of Shabbos and Yom Tov Candles, not only by married women, but also by unmarried girls, including in fact, quite young ones who have just reached the age of chinuch.

Although the mitzvah of lighting the Shabbos and Yom Tov candles has been given specifically to women, there is a similar mitzvah of spreading the light of the Torah and mitzvot (as it is written, “A mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light") by each and every Jew. Bearing in mind the principle of our Sages, which is also the principle of our religion, namely "The essential thing is the deed," it is the duty of every Jew to stress the importance of the actual observance of the mitzvot in the daily life, however important it is also to have “a good Jewish heart." I refer simply to such mitzvot as kashrus, tefillin, Shabbos and Yom Tov observance, etc., as clearly spelled out in the Shulchan Aruch.

As a matter of fact, when a layman, especially a prominent layman, makes an effort in this direction, he is usually more successful even than a Rabbi, since when a Rabbi speaks about these things, it is sometimes taken for granted that it is his job to do so, whereas when a layman speaks about it, and shows a living example, it has a more profound impact, and can even start a chain reaction. This is not to say that even a single mitzvah is not important, G-d forbid, for even a single mitzvah performed once has also tremendous implications. I mention the possibility of starting a chain reaction only because sometimes there are difficulties, and it is well to bear in mind that where there is a possibility of starting a chain reaction of these dimensions, it is surely worth every effort to overcome whatever difficulties may be encountered.

Since you obviously wish to gratify me by the offer of the gift, I can assure you that it would be my utmost gratification if you would act upon my suggestion to spread the light of the Torah and mitzvot to the fullest measure of your influence. And may G-d grant that this should be more than a hobby, but that you should consider this an important G-d-given mission in your life.

With blessing,