By the Grace of G-d 28th of Shevat, 5737 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

I am in receipt of your letter in which you write about the problem of a kosher minyan and the particular situation with which you are faced.

As you surely know, it is not my custom to pasken shaalot which is the prerogative of a practicing Rabbi or Rabbinic organization. Therefore in regard to the problem you mention and similar questions, you should consult with an orthodox Rabbi who will guide you in accordance with the Torah view.

Inasmuch as everything is by hashgacha pratit and you have written to me in a matter which is outside my province, I assume that I should take advantage of the opportunity in accordance with the saying of our Sages, “Encourage the energetic.” In other words, however satisfactory the daily life and conduct in adherence to the Torah and mitzvos may be at any particular day, it is expected of every Jew not to remain in a static position but to go from strength to strength in accordance with the principle that all matters of holiness should be on the ascendency. And, needless to say, all matters of goodness and holiness, Torah and mitzvos, are infinite, being derived from the Infinite. And since this is what G-d expects of every Jew, it is certain that He provides the strength and ability to live up to G-d’s Will in the fullest measure.

To add a further point in connection with you writing that you are a law student and in light of the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov that everything in a Jew’s life is an indication how better to serve G-d. Sometimes these indications are fairly evident and at other times they are not so apparent and it requires looking for them. In your case it is not hard to find. For, as you surely know, the function of a lawyer is to tell people who have not had the ability or opportunity to study law themselves, what the law is. Of course, in order to be a good lawyer it requires a great deal of diligent study before being able to give advice and help. At the same time it is not essential that the person to whom advice is given should know all the intricacies of the law nor would it be practicable for the layman to attempt to study the law, but he must rely on the authority of the lawyer and be guided by him.

If this is the situation in regard to human law, how much more so in regard to the Divine Law as embodied in His Torah, which reflects the infinite wisdom of G-d. It is only because of G-d’s kindness and benevolence that He has revealed some of the infinite and mystical aspects of the Torah and mitzvos, which enables the true Torah scholars to become Torah authorities. To be sure, every Jew is commanded and expected to study the Torah and to grasp as much as he is capable of doing, but one must not, G-d forbid, make the understanding of the mitzvos a condition of their fulfillment.

A further point is this. A lawyer or judge, who himself does not live by the principles of the law in his daily life and conduct, is certainly no authority on the law and his decisions and rulings cannot be relied upon. Similarly, one who does not himself live in accordance with the Torah and mitzvos or who compromises them in his own personal life and conduct, obviously has a distorted view of our Torah, which is called Torat Emet, the Law of Truth, and truth cannot be compromised in any way, for anything less than the whole truth is no truth at all.

It is certainly unnecessary to elaborate to you on all above.

I send you and your group prayerful wishes to go from strength to strength in all matters of Yiddishkeit in the everyday life, with growing influence in spreading the light of the Torah and mitzvos to the fullest extent of your ability.

With blessing,