I received your letter in which you notify me about Mr. ... and his wife.

[You write to me that] he is suffering from a number of ailments and his wife is also not well. You ask for a blessing on their behalf:

Explain to them that G-d, the King of kings, is the sole Master of the entire universe, and that He is the Essence of goodness, kindness and mercy. We on our part have merely to make the proper vessels in order to draw down and receive His blessings from on High. The appropriate vessels for a Jewish man and woman are matters of Torah and mitzvos (commandments).

When someone is physically hungry or thirsty, he stills his hunger with bread and quenches his thirst with water; it does not matter whether or not he understands how the bread and water are able to satisfy his hunger and slake his thirst.

The same is true regarding one's spiritual life. When the soul hungers and thirsts for the bread and water of Torah and mitzvos, the most important thing is the actual deed - that its hunger and thirst be slaked through the practical performance of Torah and mitzvos.

Once the soul becomes healthier and stronger, it will be much simpler - and a lot less time-consuming as well - for it to understand [the significance of] Torah and mitzvos. Moreover, this will [not only be apprehended by his soul, but] even by his [inherently] limited physical intellect.

However, one should not change the order and declare that only after he understands the why's and wherefore's [of the necessity of observing Torah and mitzvos] will he be ready to observe them.

All the above also applies to Mr. ... . G-d will surely return him to good health. But he on his part should not make conditions that first he must get well and only then will he use his free time to understand the necessity of performing Torah and mitzvos, and only [then] begin increasing his practical performance of Torah and mitzvos.

To act in the above manner is similar to someone who is unwell and yet insists that he will not take any medication until he concludes studying the science of medicine and understands exactly how the medication promotes his healing.

In point of fact, it is quite the contrary: Taking medicine will strengthen his intellect, making it much easier for him to understand the science of medicine [and how the medication promotes his healing].

Mr. ... should begin performing mitzvos, particularly wearing tefillin and observing kashrus (the laws of kosher), and his wife should begin conducting a scrupulously kosher home and lighting candles prior to Shabbos and Festivals, and before lighting them she should give to the charity of R. Meir Baal HaNes.

[When they will begin doing so,] they will merit to be able in a short amount of time to convey glad tidings about an improvement in their health.