Dear Rabbi Lamm, I have controlled my urge to call you by phone since I know you must have been flooded with congratulatory calls. The one thing you do not need is an additional drain on your time. I have kept abreast of the long search for a suitable person to follow in the footsteps of the sainted Dr. Belkin. From the very first your name was amongst the prime candidates. I watched my father torn between his loyalty to Yeshiva, his love for the Jewish Center and his respect and friendship for you as a Rabbi and a person.You have served as the Rabbi of the Jewish Center for seventeen years and have gained the respect of all those who know you. Belda and I always admired your ability to set a goal and proceed to achieve it. We considered you as a potential head of Yeshiva University for many years. You always seemed most fulfilled and, therefore, most fulfilling in the role of a teacher.Belda and I would like to add our congratulatory wishes for your continued success. You have been elected to the highest position American Orthodoxy has to offer. The responsibility is awesome – the challenge is breathtaking.The seventeen years of our association have given us good reason to believe that you will rise to both the challenge and the responsibility. Dr. Belkin's strength was foremost in his vision and his ability to weld together the idea, the need, and the tools to bring them about.May your continued success and achievement be a source of pride to your loved ones, respect by your friends, and gratitude by the Jewish community.Congratulations to Mindy and the children who deserve some of the credit, since I am sure they have suffered some of the pain.With great personal regards,Sincerely yours,MarcelRabbi Norman Lamm 27 West 86 Street New York, New York

Dear Rabbi Lamm: I know that for many years your title has been Dr. Lamm, but to me you will always be Rabbi Lamm; my fond recollections of you as Rabbi will always take precedence over your presidential title. I read the New York Times summary of your recent talk at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue and am sorry I missed it, especially since I know how little similarity there often is between what the Times hears and what it reports. I would much appreciate receiving a copy of your address. At the recent YU dinner sponsored by KJ in honor of Jean Lindenbaum, you made reference to “Centrist Judaism, whatever you call it.” I know many have spoken to you about the need for YU to lead the way toward greater independence from the opinions of the right. No institution is better suited and no leader better qualified to become the nucleus for the development of a positive philosophy for this battered group. Such a philosophy would be a welcome change from the constant reflexive responses to pressure from right and left. Without a positive philosophy and the self-confidence that comes from true knowledge of self, we are doomed to continue looking over our right shoulders and mouthing apologetics. In my opinion, this lack of self-confidence is why the younger generation seems to be drifting rightward. The future is not necessarily with the right unless we abandon it to them. I have the distinct impression that those who would agree with me are becoming increasingly uncomfortable as discouragement replaces hope; while we have been losing many to the right, we risk losing some to the left as well. I do not intend here to repeat matters you have no doubt struggled with at length, but I wish to point out that a movement or philosophy with no name cannot be called a movement. I, for one, would vote for “Halachic Judaism” rather than “Centrist.” The definition and philosophy must be articulated by you together with other leaders. I would be pleased to join others in giving major support…