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July 20, 2003

Introduction to Foundation of Faith (2003)

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Introduction of Dr. Norman Lamm (2003)

As we begin the awarding of diplomas, I want to recognize an honorary graduate of the Class of 2003. The candidate for our special recognition came to us at a time of great fiscal crisis and helped us through the fog of fiscal despair. When I assumed this deanship 19 years ago, we labored together to ensure that the Albert Einstein College of Medicine would remain the Hope Diamond in the crown of Yeshiva University. Our honoree is the distinguished President of Yeshiva University. As President he has personally conferred the degree of Doctor of Medicine on 4,607Einstein students. This is 3000 more than have climbed Mt. Everest in the past 50 years. Although President Lamm is not a Sherpa, he has helped more of us to scale the heights of success than is required of most guides. Indeed no President in the history of American medicine has minted more young medical doctors than Dr. Norman Lamm. And now after 27 years he leaves the Presidency in the able hands of Mr. Richard Joel to assume a new role as Chancellor of the University. Will the candidate, Dr. Norman Lamm, join me to receive a special award.President Lamm, I am honored to present you with the Uncle Albert Einstein Gold Stethoscope Award for distinguished service to the College of Medicine. You should know that it is very cool to drape the stethoscope over your shoulders like ascarf, let it hang from the neck - or actually plug it into the ears. In your new role as Chancellor you may use this special device to listen for the wheeze of the frail of spirit, the murmurs of the discontented, and muffled sounds of the faint of heart who would desist from supporting our noble purpose. Let what you hear guide you on a new path as you continue to serve Yeshiva University. We are appreciative and thankful for your devotion to our College of Medicine and we are comforted in the knowledge that you will always be “on call” for spiritual guidance.
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Article

Leader of Modern Orthodoxy Speaks to Students (2002)

An unusual silence pervaded the Isaac Levinstein Synagogue as formally dressed students and faculty stood anticipating the arrival of Rabbi Norman Lamm, the leader of Modern Orthodoxy and president of Yeshiva University. A sign posted on the stage read, “Your eyes should follow your teachers,” and indeed the students’ eyes did just that as the entire Judaic faculty escorted Rabbi Lamm into the room. After greeting the Frisch community, Rabbi Lamm proceeded to address a question that the Modern Orthodox community tackles daily: How do Jews take the best of Western culture and science—Madah—and connect it to Torah? His speech offered new insights and confirmed old ones for students, stimulating further discussion throughout the Frisch community. Rabbi Lamm explained that before one can achieve an integration of Torah, “the center of Jewish life,” and Western culture and science, one must first master the basics of each independently. He emphasized that if Frisch students integrate their Judaic and general studies, utilize Torah and Madah, respect other denominations in Judaism, and behave with dedication and integrity, they will be a source of pride and pleasure to the Jewish nation. Dr. Kalman Stein expressed his satisfaction that Rabbi Lamm chose to speak about the importance of linking secular and Judaic studies, noting that the school must “give students the opportunities to think about Torah and Madah in an integrated way.” According to Tali Fishel (’04), Rabbi Lamm’s speech “put into perspective the fact that the Torah we learn every day in school and elsewhere does not contrast with or limit our lives—it simply provides guidelines by which to live them.” Dr. Stein added, “The real challenge is not learning Torah and Madah separately, but figuring out how we can be part of an exciting world while deciding which of its attractions can be kept and which need to be filtered out.” To help Frisch students accomplish this integration, Dr. Stein announced plans to es…
Biographical Material

Article

The Vineyard of Torah (1971)

One of the high points of a semi-Sabbatical I recently spent in Israel was a visit for Shabbat to Yeshivah Kerem B'Yavneh. I had, of course, paid brief visits during past trips to the Holy Land, but this was the first opportunity to do so together with my family and for a whole Shabbat. That we were greeted with an outpouring of friendship, goes without saying. Even in a country renowned for its hospitality, Kerem B'Yavneh is distinguished for the warmth and genuineness of its welcome. The esteemed Rosh Yeshivah, whom I am honored to consider a friend and whose admirer I am, the well-known and beloved Mashgiach, the members of the faculty and administration, and the students – all were extremely gracious. But it was not only the sum of these individual encounters that left a lasting impression. All together join in forming a model Torah community, in which learning and vigor, piety and youthfulness find their fullest expressions. I do not exaggerate when I say that my family -- including young children who had never been to Kerem B'Yavneh before experienced a sense of home-coming. Kerem B’Yavneh is, indeed, the kind of ”home” on which many of us pin our hopes for Israel's future. Here, in an atmosphere in which spiritual and psychological growth is natural, one finds that rare combination: an uncompromising dedication to Torah combined-with an awareness of contemporary life and a commitment to Israel and Jewry.Most unforgettable was the Friday evening at the home of Rabbi Goldvicht. After enjoying the charming hospitality of the host and hostess, both the culinary excellence and the delightful and instructive conversation, a number of American students — almost all of whom I knew from the States -- came to visit. I was struck by the openness with which they engaged the Rosh Yeshivah and myself in the conversation. It was a frankness perfectly allied with respect and reverence -- in a way, a form of Talmudic discourse on general Jewish subjects I Opinions were freel…
Biographical Material