Weekly Moment With the Rebbe

Save our Souls
Our militantly secular age has cast so many young adrift in a sea of confusion. Has faith become a sinking ship? The Avner Institute presents two letters where the Rebbe tosses a spiritual life raft to Jakob Josef Petuchowski (1925-1991), renowned American research professor of Jewish theology and liturgy, along with timeless advice on keeping others afloat: when it comes to truth, anything other than Torah just doesn’t hold water.

In loving memory of Hadassah bas Shneur Zalman

“Encourage the Energetic”

By the Grace of G-d
20 Sivan 5734
Brooklyn, NY

Prof. J.J. Petuchowski
7836 Greenland Place
Cincinnati, OH

Shalom uBrocho:

This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 16th of Sivan, in which you ask for a clarification of an explanation attributed to me.

Needless to say, I was surprised that you should have given any credence to the purported statement, especially since we had occasion to meet and talk some years ago. At any rate, the enclosed copy on the subject mater will surely clarify it.

Inasmuch as everything is by hashgocho protis [Divine Providence], it occurred to me that the strange understanding ought to serve another useful purpose, namely, to give me an opportunity of writing to you on the topic that follows, which I should have done much sooner, in any case. I trust you will accept my remarks in the spirit that they are offered.

Priorities

Several prefatory remarks are in order.

First, every person with multiple demands on his attention must, of course, have a set of priorities. However, it is well known that pikuach nefesh [saving a life] takes precedence over everything, even pikuach nefesh of a single individual, a fortiori pikuach nefesh of a “rabbim” [group].

Secondly, one of the most serious problems of our time—indeed, of all times, except that it has never been more acute than now—is the state of confusion and prevailing misconceptions regarding vital issues, to the extent of—to quote our Prophets—calling light darkness, and darkness light.

Thirdly—on the positive side, our young generation thirsts for a true way of life to a degree never surpassed and is groping in dark alleys for lack of proper guidance.

Finally, there is the upheaval of the so-called Holocaust which weighs so heavily in our present generation. The “Final Solution” projected by that unmentionable yimach shmo [Hitler—may his name be blotted out] was a brutal one, aiming at physical destruction. But there is a more subtle method which is also destructive, namely, spiritual destruction through assimilation and intermarriage, a sense of inferiority complex, and a desire to ape the Gentile, on the part of many Jewish circles.

SOS

All of the above is, of course, not new to you, but it leads up to the point I wish to make here.

I am aware of your influence in various circles. Even in areas where there are other good influencers at work, no one has a right to withhold his share; how much more so in areas not accessible to others. I had therefore expected that a person of your standing would come out with a loud, urgent, and persistent SOS call to stem the tide of assimilation, in whatever form, and to help the lost souls to find their way to authentic Jewish values, and authentic Jewish experience, in the utmost measure. But if there have been such urgent SOS calls, the echoes have escaped me.

The above is not to say that there is any question of your making good use of time and influence. But, as mentioned above, we are confronted with a massive problem of pikuach nefesh, which has top priority. Especially as it concerns young people, every one of whom will before long establish a home and family, and the future of that family will be largely determined by the amount of influence the young man and woman now receive.

I am, of course, not unaware of the arguments and realizations so frequently heard about the modern times, and the need for new approaches and adjustments, etc. But surely, in our more than tri-millennial history, all sorts of new approaches have been experimented with, and they all failed. It is high time to revert to the time-honored and tested and proven way, which alone has enabled our people to survive for over 3,000 years under the most adverse circumstances, and in the face of overwhelming odds, a tiny nation in a hostile world. This is the way of total commitment to Torah and mitzvoth in the daily life.

On the basis of our personal acquaintance, I am certain that no future elaboration is needed. Undoubtedly you have often reflected along the above lines. I am confident, therefore, that you will accept my remarks in the saying of our Sages, “encourage the energetic,” and your voice will ring out loud and clear for full commitment to Torah-true Yiddishkeit in the daily life, the authentic Torah from Sinai, free from dilution and compromise.

With esteem and blessing,

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“A matter of personal conviction”

B.H.
Erev Shabbos-Nachamu 5739
Brooklyn, NY

Professor Jakob J. Petuchowski
7836 Greenland Place
Cincinnati, OH 45237

Greeting and Blessing:

Your letter of May 27th reached me with considerable delay. I regret that my acknowledgement has been further unavoidably delayed.

I trust that the matter of your tefillin has finally been straightened out. Nevertheless, it would be good to hear from you about it explicitly.

Since it is a Jewish trait to answer a question with a question, I feel certain that you will take the following remarks in the proper spirit.

Knowing of your involvement in hashkofo [outlook] and philosophy, etc., I wonder how your judgment of an idea, or philosophy—in this case, of a movement—can be justified on the basis of the conduct of some followers or proponents of that philosophy, particularly when it is based on a single experience.

Surely you are aware of the principle, one of the most cardinal principles of philosophy: kebel et haemet me’mi she amru—receive the truth from those who say it. And since it is customary to cite sources, it is particularly noteworthy in our case that the said principle is found in the Rambam, the Moreh Nevuchim [Guide to the Perplexed] of his generation and of all generations, though it is also found in a notable responsum in the name of non-Jewish philosophers.

And, in reference to the concluding paragraph of your letter, I wonder also how one can shift responsibility in a matter of personal conviction—in this case, the mitzvah of tefillin—onto the shoulders of others by means of a rationalization.

With blessing,

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P.S. In view of the inordinate delay in receiving your letter, and indeed, your indication that it is your second, my response is speeded via Special Delivery.

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