By the Grace of G-dRosh Chodesh Elul,5736. Brooklyn, N.Y.
Rabbi Aryeh Carmell
Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists1
94 Rechov Bayit Vegan
Jerusalem
Greeting and Blessing:
I just received the book Challenge,2 edited jointly by you and Prof. Yechiel (Cyril) Domb.3 Many thanks for your thoughtfulness in sending me a copy.
While congratulating you upon the publication of this important volume, I wish to express my sincere hope that you will continue along these lines, but with emphasis on the essential aspect of Yiddishkeit, which is the actual fulfillment of the Mitzvoth Maasios in the daily life.4
In this connection, it is well to remember the principle enunciated by our Great Teacher, the Rambam, to the effect that opinions are deduced from reality and not vice versa. Incidentally, this is also one of the basic principles of modern science, which holds that the acceptance of a theory is dictated by its maximum accord with reality.*
If your Association has published other works, I would of course be happy to receive such publications for our library, and many thanks in anticipation.5
Wishing you a Kesivo vaChasimo Tovo,
With blessing
M. Schneerson
P.S. Enclosed is a check towards the expense of sending the said volume.
Notes and sources
*) Hence the evaluation of the unique role of Mitzvoth Maasios as a factor of Jewish survival. – original note.
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Rabbi Aryeh Carmell (1926–2006) was a British-born Torah scholar and educator who later settled in Jerusalem. He was a prominent figure in the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, edited several Torah-science publications, and authored works on Jewish philosophy.
1) The Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists (AOJS) was founded in 1948 to provide a forum for Orthodox Jewish scientists and to publish works exploring the relationship between Torah and science. From its inception, the Rebbe maintained a special connection with AOJS as an organization and was in direct contact with many of its members.
For more on the Rebbe’s relationship with AOJS, see letters addressed to Prof. Cyril Domb, referenced below; letters to its members dated 28 Adar 5712, 26 Nissan 5712, 25 Iyar 5712 (Offenbacher); 11 Teves 5712 (Schechter); 4 Adar 5720 (unknown); 17 Cheshvan 5723, 18 Cheshvan 5723 (Goldstein); 25 Elul 5731, 18 Adar II 5733 (Faier), and as referenced there. See also letter dated 15 Av 5738.
2) Challenge: Torah Views on Science and Its Problems (Feldheim Publishers, 1976) a collection of articles published under the auspices of the AOJS. It is worth noting that the Rebbe’s famous letter from 18 Teves, 5722 on evolution and the age of the universe was published in the book..
3) Yechiel (Cyril) Domb (1920–2012) was a theoretical physicist and Orthodox Jewish thinker who held senior academic positions at King’s College London and later at Bar-Ilan University. He served as President of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and corresponded with the Rebbe on matters of Torah and science. Letters addressed to him include those dated Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5721; 29 Tishrei 5722; 4 Teves 5722.
4) See also the Rebbe’s letter to a member of the AOJS dated 4 Adar 5720, in which the Rebbe discusses the organization’s responsibility to promote Torah and Mitzvos observance.
5) In a letter of the same date, the Rebbe wrote to Prof. Velvel Greene, stating that he had recently received the book and continued, “I was certain that I would find in this book an essay by you, but I was disappointed.
"Needless to say — and it is a well known principle — that it is no use crying over the past. If I mention my said disappointment, it is not to make you feel uncomfortable, but to call your attention to the fact that since there will no doubt be a further book of this kind, it would be well for you to maintain contact with the persons or circles that are connected with it so that you would have advance notice to be able to participate.
"Furthermore, I am not thinking in terms of the distant future, but also of the shorter term, and the sooner the better. For, if you will look through this volume, you will no doubt find something to say to the editors, especially as among the contributors you will probably find some whom you know personally.”