By the Grace of G-d2nd of Elul, 5740Brooklyn, N.Y.

Blessing and Greeting:

This is in reply to your letter in which you refer to several sections in the book, “Philosophy of Chabad”¹ and question certain concepts therein.

Needless to say, it is difficult to go into such matters in a letter. Actually, if you reread these paragraphs and reflect on them more deeply, you will find that they are self explanatory. However, not to leave you without any answer to your questions, I will attempt to clarify them, though necessarily very briefly.

1) You ask, how one can be sure that man “being the last of creatures created, is the ultimate end of all creative acts?”² This will be understood by means of a simple illustration: if you follow a person running to catch a bus, you will realize that this is not his ultimate goal when you see that after the bus ride he gets on a train and then takes the subway to his office. But even getting to his business or job is not his ultimate purpose, for the real purpose of earning money is to spend it on good and healthy things for himself and his family, etc. In other words, when you observe a chain of connected actions, the ultimate purpose of each link in that chain of actions is the final one, which is the end purpose of all the preceding actions. Similarly in regard [t]o the Creation, as narrated in the Torah, with Man being the last creature to be created on the sixth day of creation.

This does not mean, of course, that after concluding the work of Creation, the Creator cannot or will not, create anything else, as He sees fit, but it does mean that man is the ultimate purpose of all Creation.

2) With reference to prayer as being a time of self judgment, this is undoubtedly one aspect of prayer, as the Hebrew word tefilla implies.³ Indeed, the first thought before commencing prayer should be “Know before Whom you are standing.”⁴ This is also why our three daily prayers include expressions of contriteness and pleas for Divine forgiveness (except on Shabbos and Yom Tov). Without this awareness, it is hardly possible to pray to G-d with “combined heart-mind-will.”

3) Regarding the passage “with constant vigilance and effort he can barely manage to keep the animal soul in check,”⁵ etc. - you seem to miss the distinction between controlling evil inclinations and eradicating them. To control one’s passions and proclivities is within the power of every individual; to eradicate them is the accomplishment of superior men, Tzaddikim.

As for some of your general observations, specifically as to how a Jew is to order his everyday life in keeping with Torah in the context of present day situations, etc. — there is one general answer: every Jew is committed to a life that is regulated by the Torah and its precepts. This is the meaning of Torah (“instruction”), called Toras Chayim and Torah Or, for Torah is the Jew’s practical guide in life, which illuminates everything in its true light, so that it enables the Torah-true Jew to avoid misconceptions and pitfalls. T[o] make it still easier for every Jew to live in keeping with the Torah, there is the Shulchan Aruch, a precise Code of Conduct and even a Kitzur, a digest of it, in many languages.

One of the basics of our Jewish faith and way of life is that “This Torah will not be changed.”⁶ It is the one and only eternal Torah which G-d has given us for all times and all places. And while the ordinary weekdays are different from Shabbos and Yom Tov and consequently, there are different laws applicable to each, this does not imply a change in the Torah, but it is the same Torah that sets the rules for all occasions. In the same way, when the Torah was given to us at Sinai 3292 years ago, it has taken into account all possible future changes and conditions of life and set down the principles by which any question or problem that may arise is to be solved.

It has taken into account also the problem you mention, namely the fact that not every Jew is able to acquire full knowledge of the Torah in all its depth and that there are Jews, especially in the present day and age, who are in the category of a child that has been taken captive and raised by non-Jews in complete ignorance of Yiddishkeit. This is why the Torah declares that in every generation there would be “Judges” (to borrow from the name of this week’s Sidra), i.e., the Rabbis who dedicate their lives to the study of Torah and are thoroughly versed in all its laws and principles and personify the Torah in their personal life, and these are the authorities to guide and advise every Jew who has any question or doubt as to what should be his conduct in any given situation that would fully comply with the spirit and letter of the Torah.

At the same time, it is the duty and privilege of every Torah observant Jew, man or woman, to use his or her influence to bring less knowledgeable and observant Jews closer to Yiddishkeit, Torah and mitzvos, both by example and precept, in accordance with the Great Principle of the Torah, V’ohavto L’re’acho Komocho.⁷

Hence, noting your interest in Chabad philosophy and in deeper aspects of religion, even touching upon the mystical, I take it for granted that certainly in those areas where Chabad and the Torah in general clearly indicate that the essential thing is the deed,⁸ namely the actual fulfillment of the mitzvos, including the mitzvos of helping other Jews do the same, you are doing your utmost in this direction.

With prayerful wishes for a Kesivo va’Chasimo Tovo, for a good and sweet year and

With blessing,