Letter to Herbert Tenzer about Seeking Reappointment as YU President (1978)

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Letter to A. Leo Levin about Declining Offer of Bar-Ilan Presidency (1973)

Dear Leo: You deserve to be amongst the first to know my response to the people of Ramat Gan. Regretfully it is negative. However, you have been of the greatest assistance to me and I want you to know how much I value your friendship and how grateful I am to you for your counsel. All my warmest greetings. Very cordially, Rabbi Norman Lamm

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Letter from R. Wexler about R. Lamm's Appointment to YU Presidency (1976)

Dear Norman: My wife joins me in extending to you our heartfelt mazel tov on your election to the presidency of Yeshiva University. I am sure that you will meet the challenge of this new position with all of your ability and I pray that the Almighty will bless your efforts with success. If ever you have a need for help or service in any manner, please feel free to call on me. I cannot speak officially for all your other classmates, but I am sure that they share the same feelings. Sincerely, Stanley B. Wexler

Yeshiva University

Letter about Retirement from YU Presidency (2001)

Dear Rabbi Lamm, I have composed this letter in my mind numerous times, though inevitably my most eloquent phrasing comes either late Friday night or in the middle of class. When I heard of your impending retirement my first thought was to write to you. In the following satisfaction over my brilliant idea I conveniently avoided a few details. As reality sunk in, the difficulty of the task I had set for myself only moments earlier began to dawn upon me. What would I write? How could I say everything that I meant to? The doubts continued to accumulate and a trip to the local Hallmark looked increasingly appealing. But somehow, my thoughts continuously returned to the letter that I had firmly decided not to write. I felt compelled to try, even if the only product I would be able to offer was the silent tribute of discarded papers attesting to my effort. I will strive, as my English teacher often says, “to Strunk it.” Pithy and precise will be my goals, though I may, in my quest to include everything, bore you with mundane details. If this occurs feel free to skip ahead to the more exciting aspects of the letter. It is strange because I am literally the queen of brevity. Circumlocution annoys me and I cannot stand the use of a paragraph when a sentence or a word would suffice. Yet suddenly I find I cannot say enough, so I apologize in advance for any extraneous information I may include. My journey began at the start of my junior year. Inquisitive by nature, I found something lacking in the religious viewpoints that were supported by my school. I was unable to accept their position without first understanding it, though my teachers often refused to tolerate what they viewed as criticism of their belief system. An avid reader, I looked through my father’s library in search of relevant literature. I studied the Rav, Heschel, Wiesel, Buber, and more. I enjoyed some more than others, but there were none that I could wholly accept. Torah U’Madda was different. I can’t real…

Biographical Material