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Correspondence

March 1973

Exchange with R. Riemer about R. Lamm's Job Offer in Israel and "The Quest for World Community" (1973)

Interfaith Biographical Material

1. R. Riemer to R. Lamm

1. R. Riemer to R. Lamm (March 8, 1973)

1. R. Riemer to R. Lamm (March 8, 1973)

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Correspondence

Exchange with Joel Harris about Rumors of R. Lamm Assuming Haifa Chief Rabbinate (1972)

I sat at a pesach table with Mike Tabor a while ago, and he mentioned to me that there were stirrings in the wing that whispered you migjt soon be elevated (is this the correct term?) to the chief rabbinate in Haifa. Its all a mystery to me, however, and, as I know that you'd inform me of such an event with a florish of trans-atlantic trumpets, I remain silenced and deafened by the deep shadow where a letter from you might well stand. In other words, it would be good to speak with you again.
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Exchange with Samuel Brenglass about R. Lamm's Appointments to JCRC and NCRAC Committee on Interreligious Activities (1962)

Upon the recommendation of Rabbi Abraham N. AvRutick, President of the Rabbinical Council of America, I am pleased to notify you of your appointment to the Joint Communal Relations Commission of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and of your designation to the Committee on Interreligious Activities of the National Community Relations Advisory Council (NCRAC) as a representative of our Joint Commission. You will receive the meeting notices of the above committee directly from the NCRAC. Meeting notices and any other communications of the Joint Communal Relations Commission will, of course, be mailed to you directly from the Orthodox Union. I shall greatly appreciate your sending me a brief summary of the proceedings of the meetings attended by you.
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Correspondence

Exchange with William Frankel about R. Lamm's Views on Divine Revelation (1969)

Dear Rabbi Lamm, As you may by now have seen, I published your letter in our last week's issue. You make the point that because you accept "Torah min ha-shamayim" and Dr. Jacobs does not, you are Orthodox and he is not. That would be perfectly fine and explicit if we knew what you meant by "Torah min ha-shamayim" since this was the basis of the "local polemics" to which your letter refers. Dr. Jacobs has made his position quite clear but neither your letter nor any other of your writings that I have seen are equally explicit on this subject. I am sure that you don’t wish intentionally to cloud the issues by deliberately vague formulations – indeed meaningless formulations. Would you therefore care to write an article for me, of not more than 1,200 words, on how you define "Torah min ha-shamayim" from the point of view of "modern Orthodoxy" as distinct from the non-modern acceptance of verbal inspiration? I am sure that such an article from you would have more than local interest and would be an important contribution to what I consider to be at the root of what you have described as "Modern Orthodoxy’s identity crisis". With kind regards, yours sincerely, William Frankel.
Biographical Material