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December 2002

Leader of Modern Orthodoxy Speaks to Students (2002)

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End of an Era, Or a New Beginning? Yeshiva University President Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm Ponders the Future (2001)

Dr. Norman Lamm, elected president of Yeshiva Uni- versity in August 1976, has brought to the office a sensitivity to the University’s strengths and needs gained as a former student and faculty member and as a parent and distin- guished alumnus whose leadership and scholarship have earned him a position of prominence in the Jewish community. A rabbi, philosopher, teacher, and author, Dr. Lamm’s wide scope of scholarship and interests range from religious philosophy to the areas of human rights...The first American-born president of Yeshiva Universi- ty, Dr. Lamm succeeded Dr. Samuel Belkin (1943-1975) and Dr..Bcrnard Revel (1915-1940).Yeshiva University, in New York City, is America’s oldest and largest university under Jewish auspices, tracing its origins to 1886.A Tradition Nurtured In AmericaDr. Norman Lamm has brought to the presidency the vigor of Jewish tradition nurtured on American soil. Born in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., December 19, 1927, the son of Samuel and Pearl Baumol Lamm, here- ceived his elementary and high school education at Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath.To further his Judaic scholarship and expand his own horizons through a liberal arts education, he entered Yeshi- va College, the liberal arts unit of Yeshiva University, in 1945, majoring in chemistry. The Israeli War of Indepen-dence in 1948 was to test his skills learned in the laboratory when, as a student, he was asked to work on a secret muni- tions project for the struggling state. The project was head- cd by Dr. Ernst D. Bergmann, who was later to become head of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission. In 1949, Dr. Lamm was awarded the bachelor of arts degree sumrna cum laudc from Yeshiva College and was class valedictorian.Upon graduation, Dr. Lamm continued his scientific studies at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn while main- taining his Jewish studies at Yeshiva. He was ordained a rabbi at the University’s affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in 19…
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Tribute

Introduction of Dr. Norman Lamm (2003)

As we begin the awarding of diplomas, I want to recognize an honorary graduate of the Class of 2003. The candidate for our special recognition came to us at a time of great fiscal crisis and helped us through the fog of fiscal despair. When I assumed this deanship 19 years ago, we labored together to ensure that the Albert Einstein College of Medicine would remain the Hope Diamond in the crown of Yeshiva University. Our honoree is the distinguished President of Yeshiva University. As President he has personally conferred the degree of Doctor of Medicine on 4,607Einstein students. This is 3000 more than have climbed Mt. Everest in the past 50 years. Although President Lamm is not a Sherpa, he has helped more of us to scale the heights of success than is required of most guides. Indeed no President in the history of American medicine has minted more young medical doctors than Dr. Norman Lamm. And now after 27 years he leaves the Presidency in the able hands of Mr. Richard Joel to assume a new role as Chancellor of the University. Will the candidate, Dr. Norman Lamm, join me to receive a special award.President Lamm, I am honored to present you with the Uncle Albert Einstein Gold Stethoscope Award for distinguished service to the College of Medicine. You should know that it is very cool to drape the stethoscope over your shoulders like ascarf, let it hang from the neck - or actually plug it into the ears. In your new role as Chancellor you may use this special device to listen for the wheeze of the frail of spirit, the murmurs of the discontented, and muffled sounds of the faint of heart who would desist from supporting our noble purpose. Let what you hear guide you on a new path as you continue to serve Yeshiva University. We are appreciative and thankful for your devotion to our College of Medicine and we are comforted in the knowledge that you will always be “on call” for spiritual guidance.
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Correspondence

Letter from R. Haskel Lookstein about "Some Thoughts on Leadership" (1998)

Dear Norman: I just received Some Thoughts on Leadership and I had to write with my reactions. What a majestic statement! You touched so many bases with sensitivity and elegance. I was moved by the entire speech, but particularly by your explanation of the need for compromise with its attendant principle of openness and ahavat Yisrael. The statement from the Kotzker Rebbe was so magnificently applied. The explanation of God’s handling of ernes was breathtaking. Finally, the application of the teshuva of the Terumas Ha-Deshen was so homiletically creative and practically decisive. “What holds true for a Sefer Torah must hold true for a Jewish neshama.” Simply brilliant! A Modern Orthodox leadership conference merits a highly significant statement about how we ought to function as Orthodox Jews. I so much admire your having presented that statement with eloquence and power. Very cordially yours, Haskel Lookstein. HL:ff.
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