Exchange with R. Hollander about Free Will, Miracles, and Nature (1966)

1. R. Hollander to R. Lamm (May 19, 1966)

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Exchange with Michael Tabor about Chabad Discourse on Reconciling Divine Omnipotence and Free Will (1971)

Dear Michael: I cannot tell you how very pleased I was to make your acquaintance during your recent visit to New York. My family was as delighted as I – an impression confirmed when we replayed the violin piece you allowed us to record! Now as to what to make of the discourse on Lekh-Lekha – your "favorite sichah" – of the present Lubavitcher Rebbe. As I mentioned to you over the phone, my first impression was that the idea was a put-on, a mere semantic juggling of traditional Habad nomenclature, far more mystifying than enlightening. I must be honest with you: I am still not 100% sure that the idea is really valid – but I think the effort is, at least, a worthy and intellectually honorable one.The problem, basically, is that of divine omnipotence vs. Free Will. Given the radical immanentism of Hasidism, the divine omnipotence must be taken for granted. If there is, in an ultimate sense, no reality other than that of God, certainly His power is not only perfect and absolute, but also exclusive; no other power exists. But this must include moral choice as well, the power to decide and execute a life of Torah and Mitzvot. However, if the decision in this realm is attributed to God, it loses its volitional character, and hence is no longer what it must be: a free act.The Rebbe tries – or so it appears to me – to solve the problem by an analysis of the divine Will, the instalment of His power. He distinguishes between the inner and outer aspects of the divine Will. The "outer" will is that of the divine governance of the natural universe. Here the relation between Will and existence is clear, determinate, coercive and in a one-to-one correspondence. There is no question of freedom or accident or chance – all is the product, directly, of the divine Will. But man's moral life (what the Rebbe calls his life of Torah and Mitzvot) is the realm of inwardness, and

General Jewish Thought

Exchange with Morton Merowitz about His Introduction to R. Kook Translation (1969)

Dear Rabbi Lamm: I am taking the liberty of sending you a copy of the introduction to the R. Kook translation which I am doing for Judaism. Dr. Schwarschild already has the translation itself; as I have only my own copy, I am not sending that herein. Are there any mis-statements or misinterpretations of the message? Any comments would be welcome. Hoping this note finds all well, I remain, Respectfully, Morton J. Merowitz. Born in the small Latvian town of Grieve in 1865(?), Abraham Isaac Kook studied in the yeshivot of Lutzin and Volozin. A distinguished student of the Law and of mysticism, R. Kook served as rabbi in Zimel and Boisk. In 1904 he settled in Palestine to serve as Chief Rabbi of Jaffe. In 1909, the shemittah problem, which had troubled the new agricultural community of the Second aliyah, was approached with boldness and erudition by Kook in his Shabbat HaAretz (Jerusalem,1909). While attending a rabbinic conference in Europe in 1914, R. Kook was forced to remain in England for the duration of the War. Returning in 1919 to serve as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, R. Kook remained in the presence and at the core of the Palestinian society so dear to him. Despite a mystical view of the nature of Jewish history and a rather unsystematic philosophic terminology, R. Kook, who served as the first Chief Rabbi of Ashkenazic Jewry from 1921 until his death in 1935, was beloved by all factions and persons.theOne of the more noteworthy cultural milestones of/nre-State yishuv was the long awaited onening of the Hebrew University. The event,held on Wednesday,Anril 1,1925 attracted more than seven thousand persons to the *campus’ of the school which consisted of a remodeled house,"a copner-domed wing" and a specially constructed ampitheatre. Present were Dr. Chaim Weizmann (who had laid the cornerstone on July 24,1918) President of the World Zionist Congress,Sir Arthur Balfour who delivered the main address, Chayim Nachman Bialik and others. Among the less noted speeches o…

General Jewish Thought