Dear Rabbi Lamm: As usual, my husband and I were very much interested in your sermon last Saturday morning. We feel always so stimulated by your messages, except that we sense a certain aversion to Zionism every time you touch on the subject of Israel. Motivated by your call to the worshippers to speak up when they feel a wrong has been done, I am encouraged to take the liberty of commenting on your remarks in synagogue last Saturday morning. In the course of your sermon you criticized Ben-Gurion for choosing to spend his vacation to “meditate” in a Burmese Monastery. You implied that thereby he was betraying his own religion and setting a bad example for his fellow Jews. I am afraid the facts as presented were rather misleading because they were not given in the right perspective. This is especially unfortunate, as many of your congregants may not be acquainted with the events leading to Mr. Ben-Gurion’s action. You undoubtedly know that the coming sessions of the United Nations will deal with the Arab refugee problem and that these will be trying days for Israel, which will be subjected to a heavy barrage of attacks from all sides. You are also certainly aware that Israel has few, if any, friends. Mr. U Nu, who is a personal good friend of Mr. Ben-Gurion, is perhaps the only true friend Israel now has. He has invited Israel’s Prime Minister to be his guest, and as he has chosen to become a priest, his invitation was naturally extended to his Monastery. The present Acting Secretary-General, Mr. U Thant, is, as you know, a Burmese, and Mr. U Nu, though withdrawn to his Monastery, still has great influence on the representatives of his country and has earned the respect of many neutral countries. While the real reasons prompting Mr. Ben-Gurion’s acceptance of the invitation to Burma would not, of course, be stated publicly, it seems obvious that he is not going for the purpose of “meditating” or alienating his G’d, but rather in the interests of his people, trying …

Dear Rabbi Lamm: Firstly, let me, belatedly, send you and your family our very best wishes for many blessings in the coming year, and for many years. I am taking the liberty to write to you regarding some recordings of “Hazzanut” by the late Cantor Pinchas Jasinowsky. Years ago, when I served as Executive Secretary at the Jewish Center, I had the privilege of working with Cantor Jasinowsky, helping him distribute some of his music, and in fact I still have some of his sheet music, very sweetly inscribed to me. We had no idea that Mr. Julius had passed away, and I originally wrote to him about it, several months ago. I know that Cantor Jasinowsky has recorded some of his “Hazzanut” and we would be most interested in purchasing his records. I am wondering if I may impose on you to refer this letter to the relevant authority at the Jewish Center and have him advise me if the Center itself owns any of Cantor Jasinowsky’s records and if they are available for sale. Or, perhaps they know his daughter’s name and could inquire from her if she would be ready to sell the records. We would also appreciate knowing: how many records are available, what are the selections of each, what is their price. We have many friends visiting us from the States, so as soon as we have the necessary information, we could send a dollar check to cover and arrange for someone to bring the records to us. Looking forward to greeting you here in Israel, and with renewed good wishes from both of us, Sincerely yours, Mrs. Michel Zamir