Dear Norman: I hope you and family are well. I was indeed pleased to hear from Aaron Krumbein that you have agreed to serve as a member of the Board of Governors of A.O.J.S. We will send you a copy of the revised constitution and an official letter shortly. Meanwhile, however, I would like to invite you to attend a meeting of the Board of Governors to be held in a suburb of Philadelphia for which the invitation and further communication is enclosed. On account of the short notice you are receiving for the meeting, it may not be possible for you to attend. However, I hope that you will be able to attend the following meeting when it is called.Best regards also from Esther.Sincerely,Elmer L. OffenbacherELO:jdEnclosure

Dear Elmer: You may be able to do me and someone else a favor without much effort. A very fine woman recently attended services at my synagogue. Her name is [redacted]. She is an Iraqi Jewess from India. She has a Master’s Degree in Botany and Taxonomy from Calcutta University and is presently teaching at the University of Missouri. [Redacted] is a devout Orthodox Jewess. She has a 11½ year old son with her and is very concerned about the lack of proper Jewish atmosphere in their community. She would like to find a position in or near New York, or some other large community where she would be able to obtain a position as teacher or do other scientific work.I would very much appreciate it if you would let me know whom she could contact from amongst the members of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists. It would be a great mitzvah indeed.Best regards to your wife.Sincerely yours,Rabbi Norman Lamm

Dear Elmer, Just a note or two about the Hebra Kadisha: (1) Rabbi Wermuth told me that Mr. Dorfzaun and you had raised some questions about the coffins that we permit for burials which take place under the aegis of The Jewish Center. I would like to inform you that we do not insist upon the very cheapest pine box. As long as there are no halakhic violations, we like to give the family some area of choice. The Riverside people therefore know that there are three boxes of which we approve.In the next few weeks, I will be making up the schedule for the three lectures that had been requested by the Hebra Kadisha. At the suggestion of some of the members, these will be kept restricted only to members of the Hebra. My present plans call for one lecture on , one on (these two to be given to the men's and women's Hebra Kadisha together), and one, to each group separately, on the practical techniques. The last lecture should be more in the form of a seminar by the older members to the newer ones. If there are any questions, they should be submitted to me in advance by the individuals who will be leading the discussion.I would like the Hebra Kadisha to consider the following idea, which I propose tentatively. At present, our tasks seem to be exclusively related to taharah. As you yourself had indicated, we ought to broaden the scope of our activities. My thought is that if that is the case, we ought to enlarge the Hebra and invite participation even by those who may be too squeamish to participate in a taharah. We might, for instance, set the number of 18 members for each group, knowing that there are at least half of each group that we can count on for taharot. The others could be assigned specific duties, such as telephoning. But much more important would be the following two areas: men members of the Hebra, especially those who do not volunteer for taharot, would be expected to attend minyanim of families sitting shiva, so that there never be any problem of a family of Th…

I do not believe we have to be excessively worried about a shomer who must take time out from his duties for personal needs. I assume, of course, that these absences from his duties do not last more than a very few minutes. Under such circumstances, there is no reason to be stringent. 2. With regard to the conduct of the shomer during his duties, it is traditional that the shomer recite Psalms. At present, I think it would be too radical a departure from custom to allow the shomer to engage in other pursuits, such as secular studies. I would prefer that the yeshiva students whom we are considering as shomrim be instructed to stay with Psalms – preferably those items which are studied during the “Nine Days,” such as מסכת מועד קטן or פרקי ירמיהו, special chapters of Jeremiah, איכה, etc. If the student feels that he must devote his time to other areas of Torah study, then I would not object to it. 3. I am studying the question of a Sefer Torah to be used exclusively for the mourners’ homes, and will inform you when I’ve arrived at a decision.

This is in response to your third query, whether it is permissible to set aside a sefer Torah to be used exclusively for the home of the mourners, even if the Torah will be used less than three times at each home. My answer is that I prefer that this not be done. I am told that others do permit the Torah to be used for such purposes, but I am reluctant to permit it.

Dear Elmer: I think it would be a good idea to persuade all male members of the Hevra Kadisha to wear the kittel on the High Holidays. I have been trying for some time to popularize this beautiful custom amongst our membership, and while I cannot expect all of them to abide by it, I certainly think that the Hevra Kadisha are the appropriate “pioneers” in this matter. Do you think we should contact them by mail, or is it perhaps best to leave this to a personal message from you as the Chairman? All my best – and good luck on your forthcoming simcha. Cordially yours, Rabbi Norman Lamm