"Who Is a Jew?"ch: I trust that you received my cablegram informing you of the date of my arrival (my wife should arrive separately on the same day) and our expected date of departure from Australia. Our own travel plans on the way to Australia and on the return trip are still very uncertain especially because of financial considerations, i.e., each of us will incur a fare expense much higher than we anticipated. In addition to the titles I already sent you, I will be prepared to speak on the following themes:"Who Is a Jew?""Hassidism and Its Relevance Today""Why Should a Young Person Be Orthodox""Current Trends in American Orthodoxy""The Space Age and Judaism" (or: "Life in Other Worlds").In addition to the above, I would be prepared to speak on such subjects as שבת, כשרות, טהרת המשפחה. Do be kind enough to let me know in advance, if at all possible, what themes have been chosen for mv various lectures. Incidentally, I may want to use some of my spare time for my own work, and to that end I am taking along a number of microfilms. Do you think there will be any microfilm readers in nearby library? Is it possible to rent one of the new and rather small machines currently being produced? This is not crucial, but it could prove quite convenient to me.I trust that as time goes on we shall be getting more details from you, such as a firmer itinerary, including postal addresses so that my family and office will know where to reach me.All best wishes.Cordially,Rabbi Norman Lamm

Dear Rabbi Lamm, Very many thanks for both your letters of 30th April and 2nd May, which I received this morning. I apologize that I had not realized that you were coming from Fiji which is on the Australian side of the date line and therefore should not present any difficulties, except if one considers the alternate line opposite Jerusalem. Anyhow, we look forward to meeting you at the airport. Now we shall try to finalize your itinerary here, but we declare that if you feel like changing the flight to two days earlier, arriving here on the Friday, you are most cordially welcome, and we promise you, if desired, a restful Saturday at our home. Regarding your proposed departure, I regret to advise you that you may be in strife as you will only gain the day after your arrival at the first Yishuv (after crossing the date-line) Possibly you could give us that weekend and leave only on the Monday, 13th August, which would eliminate this difficulty.I regret that I am not conversant with micro film readers.Regarding the Rabbi in New Zealand, I shall make enquiries and advise you.Your new topics are challenging and will attract great Interest.Kind regards.Yours sincerely,

Dear Mrs. Weisberger, thank you very much for your letter of 31st May. We assume that Rabbi and Mrs. Lamm will prefer to stay in a motel rather than at private hospitality which is offered to them, and unless we hear from you to the contrary we shall make such arrangements, except for Friday night when we assume that Rabbi and Mrs. Lamm will accept private hospitality in order to be as close as possible to synagogues and places of Jewish activities. As soon as we get confirmation of the above, we shall advise you of the special phone numbers and addresses. Meanwhile, during business hours c/– the above and c/– 6 St. Aubins Avenue, Caulfield, Vic. 3161, phone number 52.5523 will suffice for contact points. We previously received biographical details of Rabbi Lamm and hope we will get some publicity next week in the Jewish press. However, notes of interest or short articles which you may have available would be appreciated so that additional publicity can be obtained. Kind regards, yours sincerely, H.A. Bachrach

Dear Mr. Bachrach: After finishing the enclosed letter, Rabbi Lamm received your letter of June 14 and he has asked me to respond to you as follows: He will be pleased to accept the invitation of Rabbi Gutnick and the president of the Caulfield synagogue to occupy the pulpit on the Shabbat he will be spending at Caulfield. He does not believe it necessary to give a subject for his talk. Perhaps it would be just as well to announce that Dr. Lamm will preach the sermon, and leave it without a title.He accepts your suggestion to decline Rabbi Rapaport’s invitation to speak at his synagogue, and he will be delighted to accept the invitation to meet with all the Orthodox rabbis at lunchon on Monday, July 17.Rabbi Lamm asked me se send you his warmest regards.Sincerely,Miss Chanie Weisberger

Dear Mr. Bachrach: This note is in response to your request for more material on Rabbi Lamm which you may want to use to stimulate interest in his visit. I enclose a few excerpts of reviews of two of his books. I hope this will serve the purpose. I trust that we shall shortly receive from you the name, address, and phone lumber of Rabbi Lamm's motel in Melbourne, as well as a fuller itinerary as soon as it becomes available. Sincerely yours, (Miss) Chanie Weisberger, SecretaryA HEDGE OF ROSES: Jewish Insights Into Marriage and Married LifePhilipp Feldheim, Inc.Reviewed by Jerome M. HerzogBlessed with felicity of language. Rabbi Lamm, in this concise volume, discusses family purity in a manner and style particularly suitable to the modern Jew. Employing the modern idiom, he forthrightly and uncondescendingly addresses the Jew of our age who is as much a product of his secular environs as he is of his Jewish background. Where few have ventured to tread previously Rabbi Lamm has admirably succeeded ...”A Hedge of Roses” is an important contribution to a generation that is in dire need of an intelligent appraisal of the tenets and practices of our faith. It is hoped that this tract is made available to every couple entering into marriage as well as those who already are married.As a practitioner of the written word, Rabbi Lamm is a skillful artisan. He has presented us with a lucid, rational, and masterful exposition of the purpose of the laws of family purity. For this, therefore, I have no reservation in extending a bouquet of roses to the author of A HEDGE OF ROSES.FAITH AND DOUBT: Studies in Traditional Jewish ThoughtKtav Publishing House, 1971.Reviewed by Michael WyschogrodNorman Lamm, Professor of Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva University, Rabbi of The Jewish Center in New York and founder and first editor of TRADITION, is an uncommonly hard working individual.Norman Lamm reads widely, keeps in touch with developments on many fronts and he marshalls his forces in t…

Dear Rabbi Lamm, Thank you very much for your letter of 11th June. Naturally, you can use my cable address which is "Bachrac Melbourne" and for telex the Leibler family have made their Astronaut Travel Service No. 31838 Melbourne available to you. My wife and I wonder whether it would be best for you to proceed from the airport to a motel or straight to our place. Considering the time factor and the early beginning of Shabbath our suggestion would be that you come to our place, where we are sure you will be comfortable. I accept your wish to leave the subject blank for as many appearances as possible and have told the people responsible that questions directed to you might be a most stimulating experience for members. The ladies of the community naturally would like to show Mrs. Lamm some of the local attractions and we wonder whether, on visits to schools, Mrs. Lamm would like to accompany you or whether we should try to make other arrangements for Mrs. Lamm.If there are mixed audiences, we assume that Mrs. Lamm would like to join in a number of the functions which you are attending.for the 300 boys and girls of about 16 years of age the Head Master of Mt. Scopus has reserved the time from 9 - 10.30 a.m. and for the 300 17 year olds the time from 1(145 - 12 Noon on Thursday, 19th July. If you feel inclined to be earlier at the school and join those volunteers who come for early Tephila, then they would be very happy for you to join them tor breakfast prior to the sessions outlined above.Please be good enough and advise when you will be leaving America and what your last stop and contact point will be prior to arriving here.Kind regards,Sincerely yours,

Dear Mr. Bachrach: Rabbi Lamm's travel agent just called me to inform me of a slight change in his itinerary. Rabbi Lamm's last contact point before reaching Melbourne is Nandi, and there he can be reached at the Flagship Beach Comber, not the Fijian Hotel. There will only be one stop before Rabbi and Mrs. Lamm reach Nandi, and that is in Honolulu. There they can be reached at the Hilton Hawaiian Village from July 8-10.All my best wishes.Sincerely,(Miss) Chanie WeisbergerSecretary

Dear Rabbi Lamm, I am delighted to know how well your Melbourne lectures are going and I look forward to a similar success story in Sydney. I have, as requested, pruned the Sydney itinerary to the barest minimum to allow you time to see the sights and relax, and I enclose a copy of the programme as it stands at present. Accommodation and meals are being arranged at the moment and I should be able to send you details very shortly. Concerning the subjects for your various addresses I suggest that, if possible, we adhere to the titles listed on the draft programme as these have been either requested or approved by the respective organizers. On the Sunday evening in particular it is important to have a subject which links Israel and Judaism.At the communal welcome it might be an idea to speak very briefly about something provocative like "Jewish Responsibility" or "Difference and Indifference," as this particular gathering will certainly act as a shop-window for the rest of the Sydney programme.Looking forward to seeing both you and Mrs. Lamm, and with all good wishes,Yours sincerely,Raymond AppleRabbi Dr. Norman Lamm,c/o Mr. Hans Bachrach.

Dear Dr. Bachrach, The Melbourne Jewish Community appears to have experienced a Cultural re-awakening as a result of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm's recent visit. The lectures given by the U.S. scholar have given the Melbourne Jewry an impetus that will be long felt in our midst. My Committee, together with the rank and file of the Mizrachi Organization, joins me in congratulating you on your most commendable foresight in being instrumental in Rabbi and Mrs. Lamm's visit to these shores. The instant re-action and the attendances at his lectures were unbelievably successful.

Dear Mr. Stern, Rabbi Norman and Mrs. Lamm have stimulated, electrified and greatly influenced a fair section of our Melbourne community. We were delighted with their visit and we only hope that the heavy schedule which they undertook in this city will be offset by a few days rest before their return to the United States. I'm sure you will be delighted to hear that out of an overall total Jewish population of 35,000 in Victoria, Rabbi Lamm will have addressed at least 4,500 during his stay here. Allowing for the fact that a number of people attended more than one lecture, the Rabbi has had at least 2,000 different people listen to him who will long remember his visit. Most likely you have heard the Rabbi explain that our great Teachers are known by their works rather than by their names; our Teachers and their Book form an identity. Similarly, Rabbi Lamm's lectures were the mirror of his personality and Melbourne loves him for it. We, here in Australia, are grateful to the Jewish Center for allowing the Rabbi sufficient "holidays" for this visit. The Jewish Center is blessed with a great jewel. Please continue to encourage the Rabbi to visit outlying areas and allow him to share his time and energy with Jewry in the rest of the U.S.A. and with us in Australia. Your congregation will be blessed by all the Jews who come in contact with your remarkable genius. In deep gratitude to you and to your congregation, I remain, Sincerely yours, H.A. Bachrach