Igrot Kodesh · Letter 5289 — Faith & Bitachon

By the grace of Hashem,

19 Adar Sheini* 5717,

Brooklyn,

Greetings and blessings,

After a long interruption, I was pleased to receive your letter of 12 Adar Sheini*.

You report to me the words of the doctors.

Now, you know the principle applicable to the conduct of every Jew, that it must be based on the teachings of our holy Torah*. In this instance, our Sages* tell us that "the physician has been authorized to heal," which indeed means that he acts as an emissary of Hashem. Very often, he himself does not perceive the deeper dimension of this mission (see note 1), but in any event, he merely conveys the words of the One Who mandates him. In this way, his opinion becomes an integral part of the Torah*.

It follows from all of this that, even if one does not fully understand the emissary, even if one has questions about him, as you yourself do in your letter, nothing should follow from this in the manner in which one complies with his prescriptions (see note 2).

I am therefore convinced that, upon receipt of this letter, you will begin to put into practice what the doctor told you. May Hashem grant that, by listening to him and complying with his prescriptions, you achieve immense success in all domains.

Likewise, it is quite clear that not eating on time or taking only one meal per day does not correspond to the way of the Baal Shem Tov*, which has been described to us many times by our holy masters. It is also specified, regarding the body: "you shall surely help him" (see note 3). One must therefore set aside fasts and mortifications.

I hope to receive from you a prompt response, telling me that you are applying all that has just been said.

May Hashem grant that you achieve success.

With my blessing,

Notes

(1) He is not aware of conveying the words of Hashem.

(2) One must indeed comply with them.

(3) See, regarding this, letter no. 4924.