Letter from Haham Gaon to Haham Gaon about His Rulings for India, Israeli Reticence to Join R. Gotthold's Mission, and the Need for a Rabbi (1963)

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Letter from Haham Gaon about Forming Indian Beth Din and Gittin (1961)

My dear Rabbi Lamm, I was very glad to receive your communication as well as your enclosure of the letter from Mr. Benjamin. Our Beth Din our now considering this letter and will be in direct contact with Mr. Benjamin and will keep you advised of what we are doing. I shall be writing to you shortly in connection with the proposal for the reorganisation of the Beth Din in Calcutta and Bombay. We are also considering the Gittin that you have sent us and we shall be sending the copy of our own Gittin to the Communities of Calcutta and Bombay and we shall also send him the whole of the procedure and the way in which the Gittin should be given. I am hopeful that I shall see you soon and please convey to Rabbi Leo Jung my best respects.With all best wishes to you and your family,Sincerely yours,Gaon.Haham.

India

Letter from Haham Gaon about Difficulties Finding a Rabbi for India (1962)

My dear Rabbi, I am sorry that I did not answer your letter of October 2nd before, but I have been trying to see whether a qualified Orthodox Rabbi, preferably Sephardi, could be found here who would be ready to go to Bombay. Unfortunately, my search has not been successful at all. I agree with you that unless something is done with the Indian Community in Bombay, we shall entirely lose this community. The problem of Bene-Israel is no better, and I have spoken to some members of that community who have come to see me. They still feel very embittered about the treatment that the Bene-Israel are receiving in Israel.As you probably know, I hope to be in New York some time at the beginning of November, and then I shall be able to discuss with you this whole problem in a personal way.With all best wishes and taking this opportunity of wishing you all a very Happy New Year,Yours as ever, Haham

India

Letter from Haham Gaon about R. Gotthold's India Visit and Religious Indifference (1963)

My dear Rabbi Lamm, Our mutual friend Mrs. Bendheim told me that you do not expect letters from me until you see me. The reason for not writing to you before was that, as you can imagine, I was extremely occupied with many problems facing our community in England and unfortunately the illness of Dr. Brodie threw some more work upon me. He is now, thank God, feeling much better and is undertaking his duties. He will, however, have to look after himself. In addition we also had the European Conference of Rabbis, which was, in my opinion, one of the most successful conferences that we have ever held. Unfortunately, the "Jewish Chronicle" refused to give it proper coverage - in my opinion, just because it was successful. I was told that Rabbi Jung is already in Switzerland and that he hopes to be in London sometime at the beginning of September. This means that you are now in charge of the Congregation all on your own. I received the letter which you wrote to me in Hebrew, and I can assure you that there is no truth in those rumors as far as any permanent appointment is concerned. I may be willing from time to time to come and help, but, in my opinion, there will be necessity in that Congregation of a full-time Rabbi who will undertake to revive its traditions, its sense of duty and also, its sense of responsibility for the Sephardim throughout America.I know that you must be upset with me that I have not written to you as often as I would like to do, but I am sure you will understand that, owing to the fact that I have had to do so much work which had accumulated during my absence, I was not able to keep up my correspondence as I ought to have done. I would like, however, to hear from you how things stand. I hope that the bonds of friendship, which we formed during my stay in America, will continue to bind us, and I can assure you that very often I think of you and of the problems which face you.Please give my best wishes to Mr. Stern and to his family, and I do hope …

India