By the Grace of G-d8th Day of Chanukah, 5726Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

I am in receipt of your letter with enclosure, which is returned herewith.

I was pleased to note that you descend from Lubavitcher Chasidim. It is surely unnecessary to point out to you the importance of heredity, which has so much been recently emphasized in scientific circles. As often happens with scientific discoveries making news, many of them have already been indicated in the Torah implicitly or explicitly. Indeed if it were necessary to prove the Divine origin of the Torah, one would have only point to the many scientific discoveries in recent years which have already been alluded to in Torah in one way or another.¹ Thus, we find in the Mishnah (Edios, Ch. 2:9) that a father bequeaths to his son many things enumerated there in the Mishnah, including both physical and spiritual qualities.

Hence, since you are a descendent from Lubavitcher stock, I trust that the heritage which your parents left you includes also the Chassidic eagerness and enthusiasm to spread the light of the Torah and mitzvos. Especially inasmuch as you are in a position of influence, which places upon you a responsibility as well as a privilege far greater than upon the average person, all the more so since you come in contact with Jewish youth. For, where youth are concerned, any good influence has a lasting and cumulative quality, which can be a source of benefit to them for the rest of their life.

May you be successful in doing so in a growing measure, in accordance with the message of the Chanukah lights, which we kindle in growing numbers.

With blessing

P.S. Apropos of Chanukah, I would like to add the following point: the miracle of Chanukah, which is symbolized by lighting the Chanukah candles, was not in the fact that a small cruse of oil was found in the absence of all other oils. For there was other oil, but it had been defiled by the touch of the Greeks. It is explained in Poskim that in a case of emergency, even such oil could have been used for public service,² so that there was really no need for a miracle, strictly speaking. However, the Jews were determined not to use any oil which had been contaminated by the touch of the Greeks and G-d showed His approval by the miracle of the discovery of a single cruse of pure and undefiled oil, which was sufficient to provide light only for one day, yet it burned for eight days, until a new supply of undefiled oil could be provided.³

The determination of our ancestors in those days to insist upon pure and uncontaminated oil and no other, emphasized their determination to adhere to the pure and sacred faith of our people and their adherence to the Divine Torah and mitzvos, rejecting even a “touch” of the Greek culture or any non-Jewish syncretism or compromise. If this was necessary in those days, at the time when the majority of the Jewish people were living in the Holy Land, how much greater is the need to guard against un-Jewish influences now that we live in golus and are a minority, at any rate numerically; and even within the Jewish fold there are, unfortunately, many “Hellenists” who are willingly prepared to assimilate. Even those who claim that it is impossible to go against the stream of modern times, would do well to reflect upon the message of Chanukah. For in those days, although the Jews fought also in the natural order of things, using weapons and strategy of warfare etc., knowing that they were greatly outnumbered, nevertheless they also knew that they were fighting for the Divine Torah and mitzvos; therefore they had no fear. In the end the miracle happened and spiritual victory, as symbolized by the “miracle of the oil in the Beis Hamikdosh” was accompanied also by a wonderful physical victory. From the positive one may infer the negative, namely, that where there is willingness to compromise and use “impure oil”, in the belief that this is advisable and even permissible to do, there can be no hope of bringing salvation to our Jewish people, but rather the contrary. It is surely unnecessary to elaborate on this to you.