By the Grace of G־d 14th of Teves, 5741 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Blessing and Greeting:

I am in receipt of your letter and may G-d grant that you should have good news to report in all the matters about which you wrote, both personal and general.

I was particularly gratified to read about your resolve to utilize your capacities and knowledge, with which you have been blessed, in the area of Torah-true Chinuch of Jewish children. Needless to say, if such Chinuch has always been vital, how much more so in the present day and age of distorted values and especially in a country like Australia where many refugees have recently arrived from places they had no possibility to learn anything about Yiddishkeit.

The idea of advancing one’s own personal Torah education by making Aliya to our Holy Land is understandably tempting, but there are situations where one must forgo one’s own benefit, even spiritual benefit, for the sake of others. A case in point is the incident which is related in the Talmud and a story in Torah She-b’al-peh is also instructive: In the time of the Churban, Boruch ben Neiria, a disciple of Yirmiyahu haNavi, aspired to become a Navi like his master. This is surely a legitimate aspiration, especially in those difficult days. Yet the answer was: the Beis Hamikdash is destroyed, the Jews are exiled and you desire Nevua! This answer is difficult to understand at first glance, for surely he could have both things, that is to say, he could have been of help to his fellow Jews in exile as well as the spirit of prophecy. But the message from the above is that a human being is created so that he cannot have two equally important priorities at the same time, for one of them must have the top priority. In light of this, the challenge to him was that how could he think about his own personal advancement at a time when the Jewish people were in such a critical situation. It is sometimes easy to delude oneself that a person can handle two important priorities, but in fact this is not possible.

In your case, I am glad to note that you recognize what your first priority is, and I trust that you will dedicate yourself to it in the fullest measure, so as to give your utmost to the Chinuch of Jewish children in your present place.

As a matter of fact, if one was to weigh the two priorities on a scale, your decision would outweigh the other, even from the viewpoint of the benefit and security of Eretz Yisroel itself, both spiritually and physically. For, by helping raise a new generation of Jews in Australia in the true spirit of the Torah, it will be inestimably more beneficial for Eretz Yisroel than if you would have now made Aliya there. For Jews brought up in this way in the Diaspora, are bound up heart and soul with Eretz Yisroel, praying three times daily, “May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy.” This, of course, expresses the desire to be there to behold G-d’s return to Zion. In other words, such a Torah education promises to create many olim also in the ordinary sense.

I trust there is no need to elaborate to you on the above.

May G-d grant you the fullest hatzlocho in your Chinuch work and as mentioned above, you certainly have no cause for regret about your decision, so that you can wholeheartedly devote yourself to your Chinuch activities, all the more so since children are usually very sensitive to their teacher’s mood and enthusiasm on the part of the teacher begets enthusiasm on the part of the children.

Hoping to hear further good news from you.

With blessing,