By the Grace of G-d 12th of Nissan, 5735 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Shalom uBrocho:

I was pleased to receive your letter.

I particularly appreciate the cordial welcome you extended to and the lively sprit in which you discussed the various topics relating to Yiddishkeit.

May G-d grant that the meeting and discussion should be fruitful and with much hatzlocho, in accordance with the saying of our Sages, “a person sanctifies himself a little here below and he is sanctified a great deal from On High.” As has been pointed out on previous occasions, there is a deeper meaning to words of Torah and of our Sages, in addition to their plain meaning. In regard to the above quotation, the deeper meaning is not that a person sanctifies himself “a little,” but however much one does is really a little in relation to the imperative that comes from the En Sof, the Infinite, however by the same token it is “mu’ot hamachzk es hamrubeh” by virtue of attaching oneself thereby to the Infinite. All the more so, as in the present case, where it is of benefit to the many and zechus horabim.

The following observation may not be new to you, but it is well to bear in mind. I refer to the particularly conducive atmosphere in which Jewish servicemen can be approached in matters of Yiddishkeit. For, one of the very basics of military life is submission to a superior authority, without question. An order has to be promptly carried out, even if outside military rank, the person receiving the order may be in many respects superior to the one giving it, intellectually and otherwise. Furthermore, it is self-evident to a soldier that his conduct, his commitment to the rules and disciplines of his military status, is not something which he can claim to be his own personal business, and nobody else’s. Nor can he reserve himself the right to decide which orders he will obey and which he might consider unimportant.

The above principles are the same for Jews in relation to the Torah and mitzvot. Ever since the exodus from Egypt, Jews have been called Tzivos Hashem, “G-d’s hosts/armies,” and true to this status Jews received the Torah with na'aseh (“we will do”) before v'nshma (“we will understand”). And they have accepted the fulfillment of the mitzvot with a responsibility which is best expressed by our Sages and cited as a psak-din in the Rambam: “A person should always consider himself equi-balanced and the whole world similarly equi-balanced. Thus, with one good act he tips the scale in his favor and in favor of the whole world.” (Hil. Teshuvo 3:4)

At this time before Pesach I send you and all the Jewish servicemen in your care my prayerful wishes for a kosher and happy Pesach. May the Festival of Our Liberation bring each and all of us, in the midst of all our people, true Freedom materially and spiritually, in accordance with the spirit of Zman Cheiruseinu, as discussed in the enclosures.

With blessing,