Not Small At All

By the Grace of G-d
2nd of Sivan, 5729

Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mr. [...]
Yale University
New Haven, Conn. 06520
Greeting and Blessing:

I am in receipt of your letter. . .
...I completely agree with you, of course, about the importance of the role of Jewish youth in this country and everywhere else. However, I do not agree with you in taking the defensive and almost apologetic attitude about the great things that can be achieved with Jewish youth. Firstly, how can one judge or measure the greatness and significance of any particular mitzvah which is carried out in the daily life, especially in light of the saying of our Sages “Do not engage in weighing the mitzvos of the Torah.” Moreover, the infinite importance of a mitzvah has been aptly stated by our Sages and quoted in the Rambam as a matter of Jewish law (since his work Yad Hachazaka is a Code of Jewish Law), to the effect that a person should always consider himself, as well as the whole world, as equi-balanced, so that by doing one additional good deed, he tips the scale in favor both for himself as well as for the whole world. If this has been said in regard to everyone, it is particularly significant to youth who have untapped reserves of energy and enthusiasm and who have yet to establish their way in life. At this stage, every improvement is eventually compounded, as is the case for example, with a seed and seedling, when proper care at this early stage has lasting effects in producing a healthy fruit-bearing tree, while even the slightest damage to the seed or seedling may have lasting crippling effect. There is also the added consideration that each and every youth brought closer to the Torah and mitzvos is likely to result in a chain reaction, both in the effects upon himself as well as in the society at large.

Finally, if there have ever been any doubts about the importance and effectiveness of small things, this has been completely dispelled in the present atomic age, which has demonstrated the tremendous power that can be realized from relatively minute quantities of matter and utilizing the atomic energy concealed in it. Certainly this is true of the spiritual qualities and powers possessed by each and every Jew.

In the present auspicious days, on the eve of the Festival of our Receiving the Torah, I send you the traditional blessing to receive the Torah with joy and inwardness. And although every day is in a sense a day of receiving the Torah, as we say in the blessing over the Torah “Who gives the Torah" (in the present tense), and our Sages have told us that we should consider the Torah as newly given every day — certainly the anniversary of our receiving the Torah at Sinai and the days of preparation before it, call for an especial measure of inspiration and dedication.

Wishing you a happy and inspiring Yom Tov,
With blessing,