By the Grace of G-d 22nd of Cheshvan, 5736 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Blessing and Greeting:

Your letter and enclosure reached me with some delay, and I regret that my acknowledgment has further been delayed for reasons beyond my control.

Let me at once come to the cardinal point of your letter, namely the matter of Taharas Hamishpocho, the laws and regulations connected with having children in Jewish life.

As I have had occasion to point out before, and it is also stressed in various sources, it is clear that Jewish parents are prepared to do anything to ensure their children's well-being, and no sacrifice is too big to attain this end. Moreover, they will not be discouraged by difficulties, even if such exist and are real, and leave nothing to chance, even a remote chance, if they can help it. If this is so in regard to their physical and material well-being, how much more so should it be in regard to their mental and spiritual well-being, and in an area which is vital not only to the children themselves, but also to their children and all future generations. Even more so if it is taken into consideration that the difficulties are not as serious as might be imagined, and are more than not, comparatively speaking, quite negligible.

All the above would have been quite valid even if the laws of Taharas Hamishpocho had just been given. Certainly when our people had the experience of nearly 3500 years behind us, and we therefore know also from personal experience how vital these laws and regulations have been for the Jewish family and the Jewish people as a whole.

To sum it up in a few words: On the one hand, our G-d-given Torah declares clearly and unequivocally that the observance of the laws of Taharas Hamishpocho are vitally important for the parents as well as for the children and future generations. To be sure, these laws impose certain restrictions, but they are truly minimal and trivial by comparison with what is at stake. On the other hand, one might raise the question whether one should take upon oneself these even minor restrictions, if one is not 100% convinced that this is necessary. To put it differently, on the one hand we have the absolute assurance of the Torah plus almost 3500 years of experience to the effect that the observance of these laws are a must, and that the reward is not only in the world to come, but also in this world. On the other side of the scale is a personal feeling that maybe since one is after all not fully convinced, is it worth taking upon oneself the restrictions involved? The decision should not be difficult.

Now with regard to the other matter which you mention in the letter, namely whether to postpone having children because of financial and similar reasons¹ - I am, of course, of the opinion that here again one should put one's trust in G-d, Who is not only the Creator of the world, but also the Master of it, and Whose benevolent Providence extends to each and everyone, individually. It is not for a human being to interfere with G-d's management of the world, but to conduct a normal life in accordance with the said laws and regulations, within the general framework of adherence to the Jewish way of life, and to feel certain that when G-d will bless the parents with healthy offspring, He will also provide for the economic and material needs of the child, as well as for his spiritual upbringing in accordance with the traditional blessing to bring up the children to a life of Torah, Chuppah and Good Deeds.²

I trust that for a person of your background, no further elaboration is necessary.

With blessing,