Dear Yitz, First of all, let me wish your family and you a Kosher Pesach together with our hope that all the good wishes and expectations of the Haggadah will be fulfilled for all Jews soon. Then, as I am preparing for another meeting of the Mixed Marriage Committee, let me thank you and your colleagues once again for that most stimulating and enriching session in New York, which left a deep impression on all of us. The Committee has asked me to request of you, if at all possible, to ask two or three of you to write brief statements which we might include in a packet of material to be sent to the members of the Central Conference before our Annual Meeting in June. I would need this material not later than April 20. Please let me know whether I can count on something from you and one or two others. Lotte joins me in sending your family and you our best wishes. Shalom, Herman E. Schaalman, Rabbi

Dear Mr. Soskis: I’m glad we were able to meet, exchange ideas and find out more deeply about NYANA’s work. Based on yesterday’s discussion and our growing work with the increasing number of community-based groups helping Russian Jewish immigrants, I’d like to put down in writing what we perceive to be some of the needs of Russian Jews in New York. A. English. Although it is true that a good number of Russian Jews would rather find a job than learn English when they arrive, NYANA should explain to them that proficiency in English leads to better jobs and that such an opportunity to learn English without having to work at the same time will probably not exist again for them. Private language instruction, cheaper than the public school type, seems much superior (smaller classes, more keyed to need to know technical language) should be made available to all who ask, even to those who have first tried a public school course and found it wanting. (Here you can involve volunteers who are needed to help immigrants practice English once a basic knowledge of the language is acquired. Volunteers don’t know the language well?, both by personal meetings and by three or four in a single phone call. The latter would give an enormous opportunity for a shut-in, older person or one too far away from the Russian family centers such as Brighton Beach, Forest Hills, etc.) B. Jobs. The vocational department of NYANA should be reorganized, with an emphasis on enlisting, publicly, the aid of the Jewish community to help meet the employment needs of Russian Jews. (As a result of the other needs for training, NYANA cannot simply put them in jobs like stock room or factory jobs; professionals, musicians and many, many others cannot find employment unless NYANA Employers can “put in” and help NYANA become a real vocational agency. What is needed is a public announcement through the Federation Employment Service and Jewish Family Service that professional jobs for Russian Jews exist.) C. Hous…

Dear Rabbi Lamm, I know you must be flooded with congratulatory notes and calls – but please permit me to add mine. I have been an admirer of yours for many years, appreciating your sound scholarship, your clarity of thought and your ability to articulate your ideas in a most interesting way without resorting to rhetorical and literary gimmickry. I have found myself in agreement with many of your stands, as you spoke convincingly and with dignity for the Orthodox position. While I have no personal ties with Yeshiva, I recognize its paramount role in Jewish life and I am overjoyed that those entrusted [with] so momentous a decision...