Exchange with Michael Tabor about His Kiruv and WUJS Seminar (1970)

1. Michael Tabor to R. Lamm (Apr. 29, 1970)

1. Michael Tabor to R. Lamm (April 29, 1970)

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Exchange with Michael Tabor about Birth of a Daughter and Hasidic Thought (1974)

Dear Rabbi & Mrs Lamm, Greeting from your Anglo-Saxon friends! It's a girl!! born on 14 July כ"ד תמוז at 11:50 pm is to be names שושנה – what a relief and excellent timing. Naomi attended the final speech day and promptly afterwards at 4:30 pm we despatched her off to Wallingford Hospital. ב"ה both are well and doing fine. Hopefully I will have some time this summer to catch up on my vocational delights: fiddling, reading, writing & being with my wife & family for a שבת (what a change!?) I would like to send you some ideas on חב"ד for your forthcoming book & if you give me a few weeks I'll be writing a longer letter.May I in the interim make one suggestion. You seem to want to cover a tremendous field within the confines of one book and yet at the same time to resent the profound Hasidic ideas which will require concentrated thought and study. You mention that you don't want to adopt the anecdotal style of Buber or non existentialist/but academic approach of Schulem. If your format is to be selected passages from classical texts & commentary, won't you need to be either highly selective in what you choose or compete with the 8 vols. of שט"נמן on באר החסידות.Anyway be that as it may, I would like to write to you my favorite stories, ideas on חב"ד.The merger between junior/sen school goes ahead in September. I'll be teaching English & social studies across the board & a Rabbi Kelman (a talmid of yours?) is coming to join the staff.With fondest wishes from the Tabor trio to the Lamm sextet, I end with an observation of the previous Rebbe on the state of wester & particularly American society: He says that in America the מחלה is איך מאג, איך קען but the chassidim of old used to say:וואס מען קען זיט – קען מעין זיט אבאר זיט אלס וואס מען מאג בדארף מען טאןThose were the days ...?!כידדות עוזמיכאל תי

Chasidim & Mitnagdim

Exchange with Michael Tabor about Research Suggestions on Chabad (1974)

Dear Rabbi Lamm, Greetings! Many thanks for your good wishes on the birth of שושנה, who is thriving. School starts again in a few weeks and before the pressure begins again I have written out some suggestions re the writings of the נשיאי חב"ד which I hope will be of some use in your search for suitable material. As you can see (and please note for future correspondence...!?) we have moved into a house on the campus and slowly getting organized. We didn't go away this summer but remained in the splendid isolation of interterm Carmel – I've enjoyed the peace and opportunity to read and practice altho' Naomi misses town life quite a bit – but as you said some months ago marriage is constant interaction and adaptation on both sides...Well I bid you and your charming wife & family (what are your kids doing now – I especially remember your daughter (youngest!?) who did a little dance for me – are your other children studying?]The seasonal greetings: כתיבה וחתימה טובהמיכאל ת'General Books & Ideas [mostly published by Kehor – or obtainable from your other Luby inclined friends & acquaintancesספר המפתחות – useful cross red & index of of ideas within literatureספר העררים – Encyclopedia – out a few years ago (1971?) I think only first vol is up to א!אור החסידות – brief summary/outline of basic concepts – some beautiful summaries of חב"ד by the נשיאי חב"ד.* על ספר החבדית – collection of short essays on major חב"ד books.The Tzemach Tzedek & Haskalah movement – interesting reading on background of fierce kultur komph & intrigues of Haskalah ideologists/missionaries'.On Teachings of Chassidus, On Learning Chassidus, קינטרס לימוד החסידות : transl by Z. Posner of two booklets by previous Rebbe.Deals with questions of how its possible to 'understand' theological concepts of chassidut. I found the 2nd part very interesting bringing parallels from other intellectual disciplines – different of comprehension:[P.27]הפשטה = עליית המשיג אל המושגהלבשה = המשכת וירידת …

Chasidim & Mitnagdim