Igrot Kodesh · Letter 3347 — Shidduchim

B"H

16 Adar* 5715

Brooklyn, New York

Greetings and blessings,

I learned with pleasure that your daughter has become engaged. May Hashem grant that it be at a good and auspicious time, and that the young couple build an everlasting edifice*, founded upon Torah* and Mitzvos*, illuminated and permeated by the light and spirit of Chassidus*.

Our Sages* use with precision the expression "everlasting edifice" in connection with engagement. This is not a figure of speech. These words carry profound meaning. An edifice rests upon its foundations, and it is sturdy only when those foundations are strong and unshakable. The external appearance of the foundations matters little. What matters is that the materials used be solid, durable, and resistant to every situation.

The same is true — and even more so — in the moral dimension, for the edifice that a young couple builds. A harmonious life together, a happy Jewish home, materially and spiritually, is conceivable only when the house is built upon the solid foundations, tested by many generations, that are Torah and Mitzvos. In such a case, there is absolutely no reason for concern, as those who do not understand all this might think.

I wish the young couple to take the decision to build their home upon the foundations that have just been defined — those of Torah and Mitzvos, with the good conduct and customs of a Chassidic* home, of Chassidic parents and grandparents — and to fulfill all of this in their lives. You, your wife, and your dear parents will derive from them much true satisfaction — Jewish and Chassidic.

With my blessing of Mazel Tov*, Mazel Tov,