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Correspondence

February 1967

Exchange with R. Bergman about Archbishop Visit to Hebrew University (1967)

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Background Information

In early 1967, Rabbi Lamm found himself moderating a controversy surrounding the appointment of a bishop from Chicago to a faculty position at Hebrew University. After clarifying the facts, he concluded that the issue was overblown and worked to defuse the argument.

Background Information

1. R. Lamm to R. Bergman

1. R. Lamm to R. Bergman (Feb. 3, 1967)

1. R. Lamm to R. Bergman (Feb. 3, 1967)

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Letter from R. Cherrick about Archbishop Visit to Hebrew University (1967)

Dear Rabbi Lamm: It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity of meeting you the other day together with our good friend Mr. Jakob Michael. I appreciated the great understanding you showed for the work of the Hebrew University. I hope that I will have an opportunity of discussing other aspects of the University's work with you in the not too distant future. May I repeat what I said to you when we met with reference to the publicity which has been given to the program for Canon Law at the Hebrew University. The first thing I would like to make clear is what the Rector of the Hebrew University stated categorically last week, namely that there will be no chair in Canon Law at the Hebrew University. He further added that all academic programs at the Hebrew University, whether of teaching or research, cannot be decided upon by outside bodies but only by the faculties concerned and subsequently these decisions must be approved by the Senate and the Board of Governors.All that has been agreed to by the University is that a Visiting Lectureship in Canon Law is to be set up. From time to time, outstanding experts in this field will be invited to deliver lectures in Jerusalem on aspects of this subject. There will be no regular course for students or others. The University has several similar lectureships such as the Samuel Paley Lectures in American Culture and Civilization, and the Lionel Cohen lectureship in Law. These visiting lectureships provide a very useful addition to the regular curricula of the University enabling us to bring outstanding figures to Jerusalem periodically.A very important point which seems to have been confused due to some of the statements in various newspapers is on the nature of Canon Law. This is a specifically legal subject and is not concerned with the teaching of Catholicism as such. This is a discipline which belongs within the field of legal studies. It should be borne in mind, incidentally, that marriage, inheritance and other matters of…
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Letter from R. Hershel Schacter about Archbishop Visit to Hebrew University (1967)

Dear Reb Nachum: Enclosed is the clipping I discussed with you this morning. I did see the statement by Professor Rotensterich in Haaretz of January 22, the substance of which you conveyed to me. It is my feeling that perhaps it would be prudent to emphasize that the few laws in Israel which bring the area of personal status under religious law are certainly not responsible for restraining the aliya of "modern" Americans. Do our opponents see in the individual freedom that is characteristic of American life any positive ties on the part of Jewish intellectuals to the Jewish people? Do they possess any roots that restrain the corrosive influences of assimilation and intermarriage threatening to engulf us? Do they think that if Israeli society would liberate itself from the hallowed historic roots then this would ipso facto motivate the aliyah of those intellectuals who are so concerned with individual freedom of conscience? Do they think that a cursory knowledge of Jewish history or even the Hebrew language would be adequate to deepen the bonds of affinity and kinship with the Jewish people and its homeland, if we rend asunder the ties of religious practice which unite our people in Israel and in the Diaspora?I leave this in your capable hands. While I realize the many pressures under which you labor, I earnestly ask that you dispatch the letter to the Jerusalem Post at your earliest convenience. "דבר בעתו מה טוב"I know you are at least as concerned with these issues as we all are. I also hope that you have taken care of the request for the letter from the American Friends of the Hebrew University and that you will forward it to me upon your receipt of same. Thanks a million. Regards from house to house.Cordially yours,Rabbi Herschel Schacter
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