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May 12, 1959

Bio of R. Lamm (1959)

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Bio of R. Lamm Upon Receiving Honorary Doctorate from Bar Ilan (2009)

Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm. Bar-Ilan University bestows an honorary doctorate upon Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm in tribute to his dynamic leadership of Modern Orthodox Jewry in the United States and his advancement of Torah u’Madda ideology at Yeshiva University and beyond. A distinguished rabbi, philosopher, teacher, and author, Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm is Chancellor of Yeshiva University – America’s oldest and most comprehensive institution of higher learning under Jewish auspices. He previously served for 27 years as President of YU. Rabbi Dr. Lamm is a well-known voice of “Centrist Orthodoxy” and a leading proponent of the Torah u’Madda approach, which combines Torah learning with secular knowledge. He himself embodies that philosophy, which is the cornerstone of both YU and Bar-Ilan University. Originally trained as a scientist, he maintains an interest in the interface between science and Judaism. He holds a PhD in Jewish philosophy and is a disciple of the renowned Modern Orthodox scholar Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, who ordained him and also granted him his PhD – the only time he had done so. The author of numerous books, Rabbi Dr. Lamm has gained wide recognition for his writings and discourses on Jewish philosophy and law, especially in relation to problems involving science, technology, and philosophy in the modern world. He founded Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, The Torah u’Madda Journal, and The Orthodox Forum, an international Modern Orthodox think tank. His halakhic essays are contained in his volume Halakhot ve’Halikhot. Rabbi Dr. Lamm’s writings and teachings on Jewish law have been cited in two landmark decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court: the 1966 “Miranda decision” regarding police interrogation of suspects held in custody and a 1967 case involving guarantees against self-incrimination. Also in 1967, Rabbi Dr. Lamm testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on the right of privacy from the perspective of Jewish law. He spent 25 years as a …
Biographical Material

Assorted

R. Lamm - A Biographical Sketch (1975)

Dr. Norman Lamm is Rabbi of The Jewish Center in New York City, and Jakob and Erna Michael professor of Jewish philosophy at Yeshiva University. He has served (1974–1975) as visiting professor of Judaic Studies at City University (Brooklyn College). He was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 19, 1927. He and his wife Mindella have four children. Education: He received his B.A. (summa cum laude) from Yeshiva College in 1949 and was class valedictorian. For a while he continued his graduate studies in chemistry. He was ordained by Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in 1951, and received his Ph.D. degree in Jewish philosophy in 1966.Writings: Rabbi Lamm is the author of a number of works. *A Hedge of Roses: Jewish Insights into Marriage and Married Life* (Feldheim: 1966) has now been published in six editions, three in the United States, one in England, and in Hebrew and Portuguese. He is the author of *The Royal Reach: Discourses on the Jewish Tradition and the World Today* (Feldheim: 1970); *Faith and Doubt: Studies in Traditional Jewish Thought* (Ktav: 1971); *Torah Lishma* (Hebrew; Jerusalem: 1972); *The Good Society: Jewish Ethics in Action* (Viking Press: 1974), part of B’nai Brith’s Jewish Heritage Classics. He co-edited *The Leo Jung Jubilee Volume* (1962) and *A Treasury of Tradition* (1967). He was founder and first Editor of *TRADITION: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought*. He is Editor of *The Library of Jewish Law and Ethics* (Ktav Publ.), and on the Editorial Board of *Tradition* and *Sh’ma*. His articles have appeared in a variety of Hebrew and English journals, both popular and scholarly, throughout the world, and have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and Marathi. One of them has been cited twice by the United States Supreme Court — once by Chief Justice Warren in May, 1966, and again by Justice Douglas in January, 1967. He has testified as an expert in Jewish law before the United States Senate Judiciary…
Biographical Material

Correspondence

Letter from R. Maurice Lamm Praising R. Lamm (2003)

I'm sorry to say this, but... you are really the Gadol Ha’bayis – you’re helping so many in the family, as always, but these days especially my kids and grandchildren, that they are all amazed when they come together and you are invariably the subject and the model they teach their kids when they talk about the family. It is always “the Lamms” who are the ideals, “the quintessential family.” How Mom and Pop would swoon if they just heard the echoes in Olam Ha’ba. I envy you – and, yes, I love you. Gut Shabbos, Moish
Biographical Material