Appointment as Yale Trustee comes with added obligation; being a practicing Jew in high society; education by example
By the Grace of G-d
22nd of Sivan, 5725
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mr. William Horowitz
333 Welton St.
Hamden, Conn.
Greeting and Blessing:
I was gratified to learn of the distinct honor which has been bestowed upon you in your election as a trustee of Yale University. I note from the report that the event made history inasmuch as it broke with the “tradition,” you being the first Jew elected to this body.
Needless to say, every event in one’s life is meaningful in other ways than personal, especially an extraordinary event. I trust therefore that you will see in this appointment not only a well deserved personal tribute, but also an added obligation to utilize your new opportunities for the good of the many. I understand that there are many Jewish students at Yale, and they have special problems, such as relate[d] to Sabbath and Yom Tov observance, and the like. It is to be hoped that they will find in you a sympathetic and understanding friend, and that you will take a personal interest in their academic problems.
No doubt a distinction of this kind goes with a feeling of humility and gratitude to G-d, to which you will surely wish to give full expression. In this sense, I trust that your election as a Yale trustee will be meaningful also in that it will show that one can be a believing and practicing Jew and at the same time hold the highest honors in the society at large; that not only is the one not incompatible with the other, but to the contrary, for the Torah way, in addition to being the Jewish way of life, and a must for its own sake, is also the channel to receive G-d’s blessings in every aspect of the daily life.
As one who is active in education, it is superficial to emphasize to you that instruction by example is much more effective than by sermon or precept. May G-d grant that you should be a living and inspiring example to others.
On the basis of having made your acquaintance during one of our farbreingens I trust that you will accept the above lines in the spirit that they have been written.
Congratulations and best wishes for your continued success, prosperity and good health.
With blessing
