Harnessing Science to Torah

18th of Cheshvan, 5723
Brooklyn, N.Y.

...In addition to my letter of yesterday's date, which was confined to a purely scientific discussion, it is this second letter which will express my real approach to you, the Torah approach of one Jew to another.

It is surely unnecessary to emphasize to you that the basic principle of the Jewish way of life is "Know Him in all your ways." This principle has been enunciated in the Talmud, Early and Late Responsa, until it has been formulated as a pesak-din the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim, sec. 231). It is there explained that it is the life's mission of every Jew to acknowledge G-d even in the simplest pursuits of the daily life, such as eating, drinking, etc. How much more does this apply to the mere essential aspects of one's life, especially in the case of one who has been endowed with special qualifications, knowledge and distinction, etc., all of which place him in a position of influence. These are gifts of Divine Providence, which the Jew is duty-bound to consecrate to the service of G-d, to disseminate G-dliness through the Torah and Mitzvoth to the utmost of his ability, in compliance of the commandments and - the great principle of our Torah. And since, according to the Torah view, everything in the world is ordered and measured and nothing is superfluous, the duty and Zechus of every Jew are commensurate with his capacities and opportunities.

I have only seen you briefly, but I have formed some impressions, which have been augmented by your book, the only one I have been able to obtain so far, and by what I have heard about you and your station in the academic world and otherwise. I have no doubt that you have unusual opportunities to disseminate the Torah and Mitzvoth among wide circles of Jewish scientists, students and laymen.

In recent years, especially in the U. S. A., we have witnessed two tendencies among Jewish youth, striving in opposite directions. On the one hand there has been an intensified quest for the Truth, a yearning for closer identification with our people and our eternal values. At the other extreme, the pull of assimilation, intermarriage, etc. has been gaining, too. Aside from the colleges and universities in a few major cities, the situation in campuses in regard to Kashrus, Shabbos, etc. is too painful to contemplate not to mention the widespread confusion and misconceptions in respect of the most basic tenets of our faith.

If the first of the above mentioned tendencies were to be stimulated and fully utilized at this auspicious time, the chances are very good that it would gain momentum and grow wider, and in time also deeper. If, as our Sages say, to save one soul is to save a whole world, how much more so to save so many lost Jewish souls.

I want to express to you my fervent hope - and, if necessary, my urgent appeal also - that you put the whole weight of your prestige as a leading scientist behind a resolute effort in the cause of the Torah and Mitzvoth. I am informed that you have been elected as this year's President of the organization of Jewish orthodox scientists. You could set the pace for the entire organization, individually and collectively, to follow your example, and set in motion a "chain reaction. "
I will conclude with a well-known saying of the Baal Shem Tov, which I frequently heard from my father-in-law of saintly memory: "G-d sends down to earth a soul, which is truly a part of G-dliness, to sojourn, embodied, for seventy-eighty years on this earth, in order to render a favor to another Jew, materially or spiritually." If a single favor justifies a whole earth bound life, how great is the Zechus of a consistent effort to help a fellow-Jew, and many of them, to find their true way, the way of the Torah and Mitzvoth in their day-to-day living.

May G-d grant that your words coming from the heart will penetrate the many hearts which are ready and eager to respond, and may G-d grant you success in this as in all your other endeavors for yourself and your family.

With blessing,