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Correspondence

January-August 1966

Exchange with Sonia Davis about Science and Judaism (1966)

Torah & Science

1. Sonia Davis to R. Lamm

1. Sonia Davis to R. Lamm (1966)

1. Sonia Davis to R. Lamm (Jan. 1, 1966)

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Exchange with Barbara Hubbard about "Religious Implications of Extraterrestrial Life" (1966)

Dear Rabbi Lamm, I was interested to read your views on the possibility of life on other planets as quoted in this Sunday's N.Y. Times. My husband is an artist, and he feels as you do, that we must take this possibility of other kinds very seriously. As our history on earth has been a gradual integration of men into mankind, so the destiny of mankind may well be integration into the universe, + the formation of a new, larger, composite being by communication of cultures.
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Exchange with Dr. Shneour about His Scholarship on Extraterrestrial Life (1966)

Dear Dr. Schneour: Mr. Raymond A. Haeckel of the Public Relations Department of the University of Utah was kind enough to send me a copy of a news release and article in which you were interviewed concerning the question of life on other planets. Mr. Haeckel sent me this in response to an article which recently appeared in the New York Times, reporting on an article I had published in Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.As soon as reprints of my article become available, I will send one on to you. I hope you will do me the favor of reading it and letting me know your reactions.Permit me now to add a personal note. I may be mistaken, but I think that we once met many years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting, several years before his death, the distinguished Hebrew and Yiddish poet, Zalman Schneour, together with his wife, his son, and his daughter. In fact, he once did me the honor of reading and criticizing some Hebrew poetry which I wrote.I dimly recall hearing that this son was a biologist in Utah. That is why I believe that you are probably the man I met at that time. Perhaps it will help you to recall our association if I mention the name of my beloved aunt, Mrs. Sarah Wank. She and my late uncle Hyman were very friendly with the Schneour family.Finally, I would be very pleased to receive copies of any publications you may have on this theme that is of mutual interest to us.Sincerely yours,RABBI NORMAN LAMM
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Exchange with Michael Kaufman about "Religious Implications of Extraterrestrial Life" (1966)

Dear Rabbi Lamm, Just a fan letter to let you Know how much I appreciated your excellent, thought-provoking study, "The Religious Implications of Extraterrestrial Life" in the current issue of Tradition. The discussion was significant in exploring a Jewish approach to the eventual discovery of life on other worlds, and as such I nave no doubt that your study will be the source to which Jewish (and possibly Catholic) theologians will turn in 10, 50 or 100 years when, as is probable, contact will be made with extraterrestrial life.However, of at least equal or greater significance in my mind, was your treatment, in the course of your discussion, of a number of major concepts of Jewish theology from the Orthodox point of view which provided fresh, new insights into biblical exegesis and the story of the Creation, and the nature of G-d, and His relation to man. You have thus made available to the Orthodox Jewish intellectual, scientist and collegian a major contribution to their understanding of Judaism, and all three will find in your discussion a new source of strength for their faith as they delve into questions relating to G-d, man and the universe.May G-d grant you the strength and the means to continue in the footsteps of the Rambam and S.R. Hirsch.Sincerely,Michael KaufmanRabbi Norman Lamm 27 West 06th Street New York City
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