The single factor and, I emphasize, the one and only factor, which has preserved our Jewish people throughout the ages, under all kinds of circumstances, has been the fulfillment of the mitzvoth in day-to-day life, such as the observance of Shabbat, the putting on of tefillin, and the Torah education of our children. These and all other mitzvoth are already embedded in the Torah and have been observed by Jews since the Torah was given at Mt. Sinai, and they have been observed in the same way throughout the ages without change.
A further proof that this is the “secret” of Jewish survival, if further proof is necessary, is the fact that there have always been deviationists; the Torah relates that immediately after the Torah was given at Sinai there were the worshippers of the golden calf. Similarly, throughout the period of the judges, prophets, and kings, as well as the post-biblical period of the second Beit Hamikdash [Temple], and later. These deviationists attempted to steer another course, away from traditional Judaism, but they could never take root within the Jewish people. Either these deviationists eventually realized their mistake and returned to the fold of observance of Torah and mitzvoth, or they were completely assimilated among the nations of the world, without having anything further to do with the Jewish people, least of all with Jewish survival.
On the basis of the principle that the essential thing is the deed, as quoted earlier, I want to bring out the practical conclusion of the thoughts expressed in this letter, namely, that regardless of how your daily life expressed itself in the past, it is my duty, inasmuch as we have established contact between us, to point out to you your duty to yourself, to your surroundings, and to our Jewish people as a whole, to order your life in fullest accord with the Torah and mitzvoth in the daily life and conduct.
Needless to say, I realize that such a change entails difficulties and the giving up of various things, but surely it is a small sacrifices in relation to the enormous privilege of fulfilling a sacred obligation to our people. In addition to your sacred obligation to the Jewish community in which you live, and to your family.
May G-d grant that you will have good news to report in all of the above.
With blessing,
