When Malia, a student from Sydney, contacted the Chief Rabbi for help with a school project, she may not have expected a response.

The 11-year-old girl’s mission was to ask people around the world what friendship means to them.

The request moved Rabbi Mirvis to describe friendship as a "beautiful and inspiring topic".

He wrote back: "The great King Solomon, who was one of the wisest men who ever lived, once said the following: 'Just as iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.'

"I think what King Solomon meant was that a friend is someone who has a positive impact on you. Friends support and encourage you.

"They make you strong when you might otherwise feel weak. They make you feel happy when you might otherwise feel down. They protect, empower and inspire you.

"In other words, your friends are the people who help you be the best person you can be. And of course, in turn you do the same for them."

Rabbi Mirvis’s response will allow Malia to include his answer in her work before her September 1 deadline.