Letter to R. Saul Berman about Nursing Home Scandal (1975)

The 1975 nursing home scandal, reported in The New York Times, exposed Medicaid fraud by several Orthodox-affiliated owners in New York. Rabbi Lamm urged Orthodox leaders to confront the ethical failures and restore public trust.

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Letter about Community Resources for Education and Housing for the Elderly (1968)

Dear [redacted]: I regret that your letter is just a bit too strong for me to answer dispassionately. You may have a point, but it seems to be lost in a great deal of dogmatic opinion, and I think it the better part of wisdom, therefore, for me merely to thank you for your letter and not go into the issue. Sincerely, Rabbi Norman Lamm

Biographical Material

Letter to R. Irwin Gordon about Fee Waiver Request for Patient at Jerusalem Mental Hospital (1972)

Dear Irwin: It’s been some time since we have seen each other, but your presence benevolently pervades my home from time to time when Mindella talks Ezrath Nashim business. I am writing to you to solicit your intervention on behalf of a very very dear friend whom I have known and loved since before we started elementary school together. His name is [redacted] and he now lives at 445 Sterling Street in Brooklyn, New York. [redacted] was a brilliant student all through his school year, a very fine תלמיד חכם, and, above all, one of the sweetest, most sensitive and noble characters I have ever known. When he was a youngster, he suffered a bout of meningitis from which he recovered and resumed his normal activities. Unfortunately, in recent years it was learned that the scar tissue had begun acting up after a long period of dormancy, and [redacted] is now largely incapable of looking after himself.His father passed away some years ago, and he is left alone with his widowed mother, who Is a charming and highly refined lady, but without any significant means at all. Upon my suggestion, she has decided to emigrate to Israel, and they expect to leave in about two week from the date of this writing. I strongly recommended that she seek help for her son from the Ezrath Nashim, and she wrote to the hospital, (I believe she wrote to you and received an answer from someone on the professional staff).There is a problem that has arisen with regard to his treatment, and it is about this that I solicit your help. She was informed that she would be charged $105 per week for the time that he must be hospitalized. This is, for her, an unbearable burden. There is a possibility that a Major Medical insurance policy which she took out a short time ago will cover the expense. In that case, there is no problem at all. However, if she is not covered by that policy, I earnestly request you to make every possible effort to significantly reduce the fee.In general, Irwin, I will be most grateful…

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Letter to R. Sherer about His Health (1998)

לכ' ידידי ה"ר משה שרר שליט"א, שלומך ישגא, זה עכשיא נודע לי שבשובך מדיבורך (המוצלח) בא"י נאלצת להתאשפז בבית החולים ובכן, דע לך שאני וכל בני ישיבתנו הק' מתפללים עבורך, שתתברך ברפואה שלימה והחלמה מהירה מן השמים, רפואת הגוף ורפואת הנפש. ותזכה אתה וביתך לבריאות ושמחה עד מאה ועשרים שנה א"ס.

Biographical Material