By the Grace of G-d 6th of Cheshvan, 5741 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the . . . Since we have no facilities in our office to write in French, the reply comes in English. However, you may continue to write to us in French.

With regard to your question about the duration of a day in the narrative of Creation in the beginning of the Book of Genesis, I do not quite understand why there should be any question about it, inasmuch as the Torah states it explicitly and emphasizes it in connection with the seventh day of Sabbath as a Day of Rest. To mention but two well known passages, may I refer you to the fourth of the Ten Commandments, where the Torah states clearly: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the L-rd, your G-d ... for in six days the L-rd made heaven and earth...and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the L-rd blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exod. 20:8-11).

Again: "And the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever that in six days the L-rd made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested" (Ibid 31:16-17).

Of course, we also have a Sabbatical year, but there the Torah speaks clearly in terms of years, namely working the fields and orchards for six years, and resting the earth during the seventh year, which is designated as a "Sabbath unto G-d."

Noting your interest in the Torah, I trust that you are active also in disseminating the study and teachings of the Torah and its eternal values, particularly with emphasis on the actual performance of the Mitzvoth in the everyday life, in accordance with the basic Torah-rule that "the essential thing is the deed." And since G-d would obviously not request of a person to do anything beyond his or her capacity, it is certain that the Mitzvoth and obligations which He has commanded and expects every Jew to fulfill are within the capacity of every Jew to fulfill, and it is ultimately mainly a matter of one's own will and determination.

With blessing,