Letter to Dr. Belkin about Proposal for Founding Institute of Jewish Research (1966)

Dr. Samuel Belkin, then President of Yeshiva University, held Rabbi Lamm in high esteem, as evidenced by his request that Rabbi Lamm outline plans for a new research institute.

Background Information

View The Text

This content is currently available in its original PDF format. As we expand the library, we plan to add a text version as well.

Letter to R. Joseph Baumol about Religious Involvement in Israel Council for Jewish-Arab Cooperation (1965)

Dear Rabbi Baumol: I am returning to you the enclosed information you sent me concerning “The Israel Council for Jewish-Arab Cooperation.” Needless to say, I am heartily in agreement with the aims of this group. Apparently it is meant strictly for Israelis, and rightly so. Nevertheless, all of us who are interested in the welfare of the State of Israel should enthusiastically approve the aspirations of the Council.I think it is important that the religious leadership of the State, especially the Rabbis and heads of the Yeshivot, involve itself in this kind of work. First, it is the kind of moral endeavor which should evoke the support of the spiritual leadership of the country. Second, there is another important reason: We all hope that before long peace will be established in the entire area. While peace will solve so very many problems, it will raise new ones. Among them will be the nature of the relationship between the Jewish and Moslem populations of the State of Israel.If the religious leadership of Israeli Jewry will have already taken strong stands towards enhancing the relationships between both segments of the country, it will be able to direct the nature of these relationships in the proper channels, i.e., that of creative political, economical and social intercourse, but with full consideration for the cultural and religious integrity of both the Jewish and Arab populations. Unless such goals are built into the philosophy of the Council, it is only too easy to imagine that the problem of intermarriage will become a very serious one.For moral and religious reasons, therefore, I believe the work of the Council should be supported and religious Jewry should become involved in it as soon as possible.Cordially yours,RABBI NORMAN LAMMNL\:rlencl.

Interfaith

Letter from Dr. Talmon about His Scholarship (1972)

Dear Norman, I have just sent off my little piece to Henry Siegman. Luckily I found a friend who was leaving this morning for New York, so that my paper will be late by only about two or three days. I have asked Henry to xerox the typescript and forward copies to you, Lou and Foxman, and all others who may be concerned. I have sent copies directly to Uri Tal and Werblowsky. The length of the paper is a compromise between your own ideas about it and mine. It runs to down about ten pages, half of which are in the nature of discourse, and the other half constitutes what I would consider the basis for the final more elaborate presentation. As I said in my letter to Henry, I organized the paper in such a way that it leads directly to the issue of “Communities” which will be dealt with by Uri Tal. Uri and I had a long conversation in which I, hopefully, succeeded in making him understand the set-up of our deliberations in Geneva. He had planned a rather fully fledged discussion of the issue which would have gone far beyond the limits of what can be accommodated in the frame of that meeting. I understand that Lou intends to append a piece of his own to my paper in which he will discuss the question of “Universality and Particularity” in modern Christian theology against the background of Niebuhr’s philosophy. I have just touched upon the subject, since I could not refrain from some comparison, although initially I had intended to keep strictly to a presentation of the, or a, Jewish view. I do not intend to go on to Marseilles either. I understand that this is not required of us since the meeting with the Vatican will be of a different nature altogether. I look forward to meeting you again in Geneva. I plan to arrive possibly already on Wednesday or Thursday, to take a breather before we begin our meetings. I wrote to Henry saying that I doubt whether we should again be put up in the Hotel Du Rhone. It is too expensive for my taste, and I wonder whether public money shoul…

Interfaith

Letter to R. Fabian Schonfeld about Jewish-Christian Dialogue (1973)

Dear Fabian: As you had requested, I am returning to you the enclosed copy of Siegman’s report on the two consultations. I hope you do not mind that I made some penciled comments in the margins. With one or two exceptions they should prove legible and relevant. In short, while I had a number of criticisms on this report, and a number of inaccuracies, I do not find anything in it that would get me excited about violations of the standards we had set for such dialogues.All my best.Cordially,Norman.:cwEnc.

Interfaith