Dear Charlotte and Yaakov: Mindy and I would have been delighted to attend Daniel's Bar Mitzvah on Thanksgiving morning, p. G. Having enjoyed the last one as much as we did, we looked forward to a repeat performance this year. Regretfully (but, of course, not unfortunately), we shall not be able to attend because of other commitments to "simchas" at this very time. It seems that everybody, including close friends and members, is either getting married or having a Bar Mitzvah this Thanksgiving Day. Please forgive us then, and please ask Daniel to forgive us too. We look forward to joining you at other "simchas" in the future, and meanwhile express to you our deepest feelings of joy and our most genuine good wishes for "mazel tov," and years without end of undiminished "nachas" as he grows up into the kind of Jew and human being who will justify his parents' fondest hopes, and realize their greatest dreams for him.Sincerely yours,RABBI NORMAN LAMMRNL/fz

Dear Yaakov, I hope you will forgive me for repeating a request that I made to you some time ago by telephone. As you may recall, I told you about the many Russian Jewish families who were staying in our area temporarily, and whom our congregation is according hospitality and assistance in finding apartments and jobs. When we talked, I gave you the names of two families moving to your area. I have since been informed that at least one of them came to the Jackson Heights Jewish Center and was not received at all. Probably they were not contacted by the people you designated from your own congregation.I am sending you, enclosed, the Xerox copy of a number of people who will be moving from our neighborhood on November 1. Three of them have found apartments in Jackson Heights. I strongly urge you to contact them personally, and then perhaps assign them to responsible hosts from your congregation. What they need most of all is simply someone to guide them through the normal routines of adjustment, which prove so difficult for people to whom English is strange, and who are experiencing something of a cultural shock.Please note the first family especially. \[He] is an artist, as yet unemployed, and has suddenly taken to Judaism. His wife and daughter are not Jewish, but the parents are willing for the child to enroll in a day school and convert. The mother may ultimately do so as well.From this point on they are yours! Keep me informed. My best to your wife.Cordially yours,RABBI NORMAN LAMMRNL\:mb

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…