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Correspondence

March 1, 1966

Exchange with R. Berkovits about Organizing Group for "Western Orthodoxy" (1966)

Modern Orthodoxy

1. R. Berkovits to R. Lamm

1. R. Berkovits to R. Lamm (March 1, 1966)

1. R. Berkovits to R. Lamm (March 1, 1966)

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Dear Marvin: I haven’t responded to your letter of May 7th because of the overwhelming press of weight of my own work and burdens. I am truly sorry, but I am not in position to act on your problem. One of the fruits of a community that is not sensitive to social issues or ethical concerns is that it doesn’t even know how to protect its own interests in society. Perhaps the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations or some such group can be prevailed upon to take the initiative, or maybe Rabbi Abraham Besdin, the new Associate Director of Rabbinical Council of America, AL 5–1900. He is an able person who can understand the significance of this project, and maybe he has some free time since he is a new man.Beyond this, I am physically incapable of following this up or anything else. If there were 50 Rabbis sensitive to the issues, then I am sure a few of them would be free to work upon it. It comes back to the same pedagogic and ethical issues that I have raised in the community. It is certainly no source of satisfaction to me to point out that you seem to be happy with trends in the community but unhappy with the fruits of such trends.I am sorry that this is all I can do at this point. I truly believe that this is an important project and regret that your own effectiveness is crippled by the unresponsiveness of the community.Sincerely yours,Irving Greenberg, Rabbi P.S. Are you sure you contacted all the proper sources? I recall going home in the car with Henry Wimpfheimer and Naftali Cohen of the Breuer community. They mentioned they were on a committee concerning “neighborhood stabilization.” Perhaps you should speak to them rather than the rabbi who may be busy and less responsive to your concerns.---June 15, 1970 Rabbi Irving Greenberg Riverdale Jewish Center 3700 Independence Avenue Riverdale, New York Dear Yitschok:Though I cannot remember the issue or the context, I seem to recall that about a year ago, in an exchange of correspondence, you wrote something quite …
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Dear Rabbi Lamm, I want to write to you in order to tell you that I deeply admire your religious convictions, your broad range of learning, and your ability to write clearly with much depth. No one more than I appreciates it since I along with you like to base a personal philosophy of life within the framework of Judaism. I have read your reply to the questions posed in Commentary on the August symposium and have also had occasion to read your lecture Why be Orthodox in which particularistic insights like this in common with those who are firm in Tradition and Jewish life are meaningless. In general I am very happy you have taken this stand because nothing but harm and confusion is produced among those who have long since left Orthodoxy or to those Jews in the United States whose perspective of Judaism is one brought anything but learned and committed minded scholars. As a young man of age 26 and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Madison in political science along with having a religious background, I have been influenced strongly by such distinguished Orthodox Jewish writers and Jewish leaders by Leo Jung, Studies in Judaism by Solomon Schechter, Man and Judaism by Eliezer Berkovits, Judaism Eternal by Samson Raphael Hirsch, Judaism, Scholasticism and Islam by Louis Ginzburg, Jewish Law and Jewish Life by Pinchas Peli, The Philosophy of Judaism by Samuel Belkin, Reconstructionism, a Critical Appraisal by Eliezer Berkovits, Judaism, A Historical Presentation by Solomon Freehof, A History of the Jewish People by Max Margolis and Alexander Marx. I have a regular subscription for the past ten years to the Jewish Observer newspaper. I usually do not buy or read Commentary except on special occasions. However I find much dignity and honesty in what is expressed. I have wondered whether there were times when both the Orthodox and the Conservative were when Judaism was being trampled under by the numbers from Eastern Europe to the United States. Certainly West…
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