5736

Greeting and Blessing:

Your letter, in which you write in reference to your daughter, reached me with some delay.

I trust I need not emphasize to you that I do not, G-d forbid, give any orders. I can only give advice when I am asked for it, and, of course, I can only give advice to the best of my understanding and assessment of what it is that constitutes the best interests of the person asking my advice. Clearly, I must consider the immediate future of the person and his material advantages, but also what will ensure a lasting benefit to that person, particularly from the point of view of his, or her, peace of mind. If human happiness has always been predicated on inner peace and harmony, it is especially so in the present age of confusion.

For a Jew, true inner harmony and peace can be attained only if his lifestyle does not run counter to his essence, which is something he cannot change or alter, and which is his inheritance from countless generations. In other words, a Jew can be in harmony with himself only if his life is authentically Jewish. No material riches can substitute for it.

I surely need not elaborate to you regarding the state of the present-day younger generation, nor do I need to emphasize that there is no greater blessing than to feel secure and steadfast, proof against change and upheaval, from day to day, and from one extreme to the other, affecting everything from basic standards of modesty and morality to the basic concepts of Yiddishkeit.

These are the considerations that motivate me when young people ask for my advice; the rest is up to them. However, it certainly makes it easier for them if they are also encouraged by others.

May G-d, whose benevolent providence extends to each and every one individually, grant you much true nachas from your daughter, and the ability to enjoy it in happy circumstances.

With blessing,