By the Grace of G-d8th of Cheshvan, 5735Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

Thank you very much for your letter. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in writing to me on the subject matter of your letter.

However, from the practical viewpoint, you surely know that the person you mention in your letter undoubtedly has his own consultants and advisors in the various areas of his activities, including also the area touched upon in your letter.

Inasmuch as everything is by hashgocho protis, and since you write that you are a professor in Brooklyn College and also have smicha, I consider it my duty to take advantage of the opportunity of your writing to me, to express my hope that you are active in the cause of spreading true and unadulterated Yiddishkeit to the fullest extent of your influence. I have particularly in mind your Jewish students, and to some extent also the faculty at Brooklyn College. And bearing in mind the principle of our Sages that the essential thing is the deed, I trust that you are placing the emphasis on the actual observance of the Torah and mitzvot in the daily life, where there is always room for improvement, since the Torah and mitzvot are infinite, being derived from the Infinite.

Although you do not mention your specific academic field, there is no doubt that whatever it is, it comes under the Psak Din of the Shulchan Aruch - Kol Maasecha L’shaim Shomayim, Bchol Derochecho Do’ay’hu. Especially as this concerns Jewish Youth, for whom it is not merely a question of advancement in matters of Torah knowledge and hiddur mitzvot, but simply a question of pikuach nefesh to make them aware of their Jewish identity in the first place, and save them from assimilation.

Moreover, it is also well known that regardless of the subject matter taught by the professor, or teacher, the student looks up to him also in areas outside the particular subject, and is directly and indirectly influenced by the professor’s thinking and way of life. In view of your background, there is surely no need to elaborate to you on all above.

I should be glad to hear from you.

With blessings,