בשו"ת עמק הלכה ה"א סי' מ"ג כתב מו"ז הכ"מ זצ"ל ליישב מחלוקת המג"א והגמ"י בענין קבורת נפל ביו"ט שני של גלויות, ואמר שם אשר בעיה הגמ' בגמ' סנהדרין דמ"ו ע"ב בענין קבורה אי הוי כפרה אי בזיון דלרוב הפוסקים דס"ל הקבורה מן התורה דע"כ סוגיא זו כר' שמעון אתיא דדריש טעמא דקרא, דיש קרא דקבר תקברנו והגמ' מיבעיא אי משום כפרה אי משום בזיון. וא"כ המג"א ס"ל דכיון דאגן לא ס"ל כר"ש לענין דרשינן טעמא דקרא ממילא הוי נפל כשאר מתים להקבר ביו"ט שני, והגמ"י בשיטת הרמב"ם אזיל דב"ל כר"ש כמוכח מדבריו

The new editorial staff of the Masmid 1949 has just been announced. It will consist of Matthew Katz, editor-in-chief; Norman Lamm and Bernard Ducoff, literary editors; Cy Shavrick, business manager; Alvin Krasna, photography editor; Al Morgenstern, art editor; and David Halpern, technical editor. Assisting them will be Boris Rackovsky and Chiel Simon, assistant business managers, and Erwin Ruch, assistant art editor.Work on the 1949 Masmid is already underway, and the literary section has completed its plans for the magazine. The editors intend to include a series of research articles on topics such as “The American Jewish Scene.” Volunteers are asked to contact the literary editors immediately, as articles will be assigned over the summer vacation.

“Tradition” is perhaps one of the most misunderstood and maligned words in our contemporary vocabulary. It has been misconstrued by some as the very antithesis of “progress” and as a synonym for the tyranny that a rigid past blindly imposes upon the present. For others the word evokes different associations. Tradition becomes for them the object of sentimental adoration, the kind of nostalgic affection which renders it ineffective and inconsequential, like the love for an old and naive grandmother — possessing great charm, but exercising little power or influence. What then do we mean by “tradition,” and why have we decided to publish a journal by that name in an age when man has broken the shackles of gravity and is on the verge of the conquest of the heavens themselves, an age which seems to have broken completely with the past which nurtured it?By “tradition” we mean neither a slavish adherence to old formulas, nor a romantic veneration of “the good old days” which strips the past of all meaningfulness for the present. In our conception of “tradition” we do not concentrate exclusively on the past at all. The word itself comes from the Latin tradere which means to hand down, to transmit, to bequeath. Similarly, its Hebrew equivalent masorah derives from the root מסר which means “to give over.” The focus of Tradition is, then, the future and not the past. “Tradition” is thus a commitment by the past to the future, the promise of roots, the precondition of a healthy continuity of that which is worthy of being preserved, the affirmation that the human predicament in general, and the Jewish situation in particular, are not frighteningly new, but that they grow out of a soil which we can know and analyze and use to great benefit.What, exactly, does this “tradition” consist of, this “tradition” we want to “give over” to our readers, to our future? It is the cumulative historical experience and wisdom of the people of Israel and the totality of its divinely revealed ins…

כל מכירים, כי רעיון אחדות הבורא הוא אבן-פינה ליהדות ותרומתה העיקרית לעולם. רעיון זה נתון ביסוד כל השקפה וכל מחשבה בחיי היהדות ועובר כחוט השני בכל הספרות היהודית העצומה. ואולם אין לך מקום בו ניתן ביטוי עז ועמוק להשקפה זו של "ייחוד השם" כבקבלה. בתחום המיסתיקה היהודית אין לראות את "אחדות הבורא" אך ורק בחזקת אחד הרעיוגות רבי-ההשפעה ביותר, אלא כמושג שנעשה למציאות חיה, ואולי כמציאות היחידה. רעיון אחדות הבורא אינו נראה כהנחה אריתמיטית בלבד, אלא כמכלול כל ההווייה, על כל השוני הנורא-הוד שבה, כפי שהוא מתגלם באלוקים. בקבלה מסתמל רעיון זה באחדותו של אלוקים בו-בעצמו. והנה לרעיון אחדות זו, כפי שדנו בו והסבירוהו, רוממוהו ופירשוהו המקובלים למן ה״זוהר" ועד לרב קוק המנוח, זקוק העולם המודרני שלנו כלצורך דחוף ביותר. מעולם לא היה צורך גדול יותר לאשר מחדש רעיון זה, הדוחה מדעת כל ניגוד וכל שוני וכל פיצול, כבימינו אלה, כאשר עומדת האנושות מוכנה ומזומנה לפוצץ עצמה לרסיסים, אם לא בגוף ממש, הרי לפחות בנפש. במסה זו נבדוק את דרך דיונה של הקבלה ברעיון אחדות הבורא, ובעיקר כפי שהוא משתקף ב״זוהר" ובכתבי מפרשה בדור האחרון, הוא הרב קוק המנוח, שהיה הרב הראשי הראשון בארץ-ישראל (לא לתכלית מניין היסטורי), שעמד על התועלת שיכולים אנו להסיק ממנו בדרך ההוראה: את משמעותה בשביל האיש המודרני.העולם המפורדה"זוהר", מקור הקבלה, רואה את העולם הגשמי שלנו כ"עלמא דפרודא", העולם המפורד והמפוצל: את איחוד ההודיה וההתגברות על פיצול זה יש לבקש בהקמת ה״עלמא דיחודא", האחדות הנעלה שבאלוקים גופו. האחדות האמיתית, הנעלה מכל האחרות, היא זו של ה״קודשא בריך הוא״ — הקדוש ברוך הוא — ו״שכינתיה", והשכינה שלו. (עולם האחדות הוא זה של עשר הספירות שבקבלה — בניגוד לרעיון ההשפעות האלוהיות לפי התורה הניאו-אפלטוגית — אינן דרגות סטאטיות, המתווכות בין האלוקים המוחלט ובין העולם הקיים. האמת היא, שהן מצויות באל עצמו׳ והריהן כ״יקום המאוחד" של חיי אלוקים עצמו. הקדוש ברוך הוא מיוצג על- ידי עולם הספירות העליונות, ששיאן הוא "יסוד", בעוד שהשכינה מיוצגת על־ידי "מלכות", האחרונה שבעשר הספירות. הפירוד הגלוי-לעין הקיים בעולמנו, הוא האחראי למצב העגום של ענייניו. כשלון האנושות נעוץ ביסוד "עולם מפורד" זה. תפקידו של אדם עלי אדמות הוא לסייע להתגבר על "פירוד" זה ולה…

One of the high points of a semi-Sabbatical I recently spent in Israel was a visit for Shabbat to Yeshivah Kerem B'Yavneh. I had, of course, paid brief visits during past trips to the Holy Land, but this was the first opportunity to do so together with my family and for a whole Shabbat. That we were greeted with an outpouring of friendship, goes without saying. Even in a country renowned for its hospitality, Kerem B'Yavneh is distinguished for the warmth and genuineness of its welcome. The esteemed Rosh Yeshivah, whom I am honored to consider a friend and whose admirer I am, the well-known and beloved Mashgiach, the members of the faculty and administration, and the students – all were extremely gracious. But it was not only the sum of these individual encounters that left a lasting impression. All together join in forming a model Torah community, in which learning and vigor, piety and youthfulness find their fullest expressions. I do not exaggerate when I say that my family -- including young children who had never been to Kerem B'Yavneh before experienced a sense of home-coming. Kerem B’Yavneh is, indeed, the kind of ”home” on which many of us pin our hopes for Israel's future. Here, in an atmosphere in which spiritual and psychological growth is natural, one finds that rare combination: an uncompromising dedication to Torah combined-with an awareness of contemporary life and a commitment to Israel and Jewry.Most unforgettable was the Friday evening at the home of Rabbi Goldvicht. After enjoying the charming hospitality of the host and hostess, both the culinary excellence and the delightful and instructive conversation, a number of American students — almost all of whom I knew from the States -- came to visit. I was struck by the openness with which they engaged the Rosh Yeshivah and myself in the conversation. It was a frankness perfectly allied with respect and reverence -- in a way, a form of Talmudic discourse on general Jewish subjects I Opinions were freel…

Dr. Norman Lamm – at age 48 the newly elected President of Yeshiva University – brings to office the vigor of Jewish tradition nurtured in American soil, a profound scholarship in Torah, philosophy, arts, humanities, and sciences – as a chemist turned rabbi – combined with an eminent ability to relate his erudition pertinently to problems of contemporary life. Rabbi, philosopher, teacher, and author, his appointment is the culmination of an 8-month endeavor of the 50-member Presidential Search Committee – comprising YU faculty, administration, alumni, students, and community and academic leaders – to find a successor worthy of the revered Dr. Samuel Belkin z”l and his distinguished predecessor Dr. Bernard Revel. In books such as The Royal Reach: Discourses on Jewish Tradition, Faith and Doubt, and A Hedge of Roses: Jewish Insights into Marriage and Married Life, Dr. Lamm earned international distinction in bringing the perspective of traditional Judaism to a wide range of themes – including ecology, laboratory-created life, space exploration, extraterrestrial life, violence, privacy in law and theology, and the effects of social change on marriage and family. Twice cited by the U.S. Supreme Court – once by Chief Justice Earl Warren and once by Justice William O. Douglas – and called upon as an expert on Jewish law by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dr. Lamm also emerged as a respected voice in bioethics and medical halakhah. A founding member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and a member of the Halakhah Commission of the Rabbinical Council of America, he has served on numerous communal boards and lectured in nine countries across five continents, including Israel, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. He received his BA summa cum laude from Yeshiva College in 1949, pursued graduate studies in chemistry at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, was ordained at RIETS in 1951, and earned his PhD in Jewish philosophy from the Bernard Revel Graduate…

Wednesday, August 4, 9 a.m. The President's Suite on the fifth floor of Furst Hall came to life. A vibrancy of actions, motion, ringing phones, footsteps reverberated through the hallways, sending waves of movement and energy throughout the YU complex. Dr. Norman Lamm, 48 years old. American born, alumnus, moved into his post as third President of Yeshiva University. Major changes in any institution just don't happen overnight: months of planning, days and nights of work, and countless hours of effort went into choosing a new chief executive officer and pre­paring for his taking office.On July 13 the Presidential Search Committee delivered its report to the Board of Trustees as charged. On August 3 the Board’s Presidential Search Committee in turn reviewed the University­wide Committee's recommendation at a special meeting. After its approval, the full Board voted unanimously to elect Dr. Lamm President."Yeshiva University, with its 7,000 students, needs the vigor of mind and spirit of Dr. Lamm,” said Max J. Etra, chairman of the Board of Trustees, in making the announcement. "Of the people under serious consideration, all men of achievement, intellect, and accomplishment, the Committee leaned towards a younger, dynamic leader who would provide long term leadership for the institution and who would be able to confront the pressing problems of higher education today."We enter our tenth decade with the conviction that with the help of the Almighty our new President will continue in the great tradition of his distinguished predecessors, Drs. Bernard Revel and Samuel Belkin, and guide the University to new heights of service and excellence," Mr. Etra said.Introducing Dr. LammDr. Norman Lamm brings to office the vigor of Jewish tradition nurtured in American soil and a sensitivity to YU's strengths and needs gained as analumnus and faculty member. He combines a profound scholarship in Torah, philosophy, arts, humanities, and sciences — as a chemist turned rabbi — with t…

Student Council elections were held on Wednesday and Thursday, September 29th and 30th 1976, under the supervision of the Canvassing Committee and G.O. advisor, Rabbi N. Goldstein. In the election for the Senior Class Council, Seth Moshman defeated Neal Weissman for President, and Eddie Lowenger ran “unopposed” for Vice-President. In the Junior Class elections, the only elections in which all the candidates running were not unoppposed, Moishe Schwerd defeated Ira Kalfus, Mark Young and David Strulowitz for the office of President! In the race for Vice-President, Robert Mendeles narrowly edged out Mark Hirsch, Stuart Kaplan and Gerald Mayerhoff. In the Sophomore class, Steven Kadish ran unopposed for President, while Doni Israeli who also ran unopposed, became Vice-President. In the two uncontested races for the Freshman class, Michael Tarigan was elected President and Arnold Kronengold was elected Vice-President.PRESIDIUM — In previous elections held last June, Michael Teicher and Hillel Suna were elected to head the Presidium of the Student Organization, while Gary Simon was victorious in the race for Secretary General. The election was conducted under the leadership of Daniel Berman and Steve Kronengold and the supervision of Rabbi N. Goldstein. Mr. Teicher squeezed by Dov Laks while Hillel Suna defeated Gary Katz. In the voting for Secretary General, Mr. Simon defeated Josh Einzig and Rand Apfelbaum.Editors-in-Chief Weinberg and Blass Opinions Requested “The Academy News is the Students’ paper,” stated Mr. Weinberg. “We want all members of the student body involved with its views, its aims, and its causes.” The editors have said they will print all qualified opinions and suggestions in their “Letters to the Editor” column. In many cases, these opinions, which should be placed in the Academy News mailbox in the high school office, may spark editorials which will get action.RABBI NORMAN LAMM: Seniors Elect: In elections held on Thursday, September 30th, the Senior…

A Sabbath of Consecration, Rabbi Alex Weisfogel and Cantor Richard C. Blum officiating, You are invited to worship with us during our service. Yahrzeit plaques: Ready to be installed on the new Yahrzeit tablets in the chapel will be consecrated. Those to be memorialized are Max Baker, Edward Lavene, Harry Heidenreich, Gottfreid Levi, William Hettinger, Selma Levi, Ida Lannon, Anna Shlaferman, Milton Lannon, Max Shapiro, David Lashin, and Joseph Tarsky.The plaques will be displayed on the bimah.Services: 8:45 a.m.Sermon and consecration: 10:45 a.m.Kiddush will follow the servicesCome and join usOur house organ: With this issue, we commence a new year of synagogue activity and we trust your summer has been pleasant. Throughout the year the Kodimoh Bulletin will serve, primarily, as a house organ to bring to your attention the activities sponsored by Kodimoh’s various branches and taking place within the synagogue. It is our sincerest hope that you will take careful note of the bulletin and mark all events on your own personal calendar.At times, unfortunately, by reading the bulletin one forms the wrong impression of Kodimoh’s priorities. Headlined are the current activities, a special event of the week or an innovation that we are anxious to bring to your attention. By scanning a particular issue of the bulletin an outsider might form the opinion that at times we give a higher priority to a social function than to our religious services.We hope that Kodimoh members will never subscribe to that view. First and foremost in importance are our religious services. This always has been true. It always must be true. It is the elemental justification for our existence.To you our readers, it means that no matter what else you might participate in, you will have missed the very essence of Kodimoh if you do not join us regularly at services. This year may attendance at services be a priority commitment with you. We are confident that if it becomes so, you will also find more me…

Trustees’ Selection Of Lamm Ends Search Committee Role: The naming of Dr. Norman Lamm as the third President of Yeshiva University culminated a long and difficult process of selection by the Presidential Search Committee, headed by EMC Dean Jacob Rabinowitz. During, the eight-month search, the fifty-member committee screened fifty-seven nominees before submitting its recommendations to the YU Board of Turstees.. These recommendations led to the Board’s unanimous selection of Dr. Lamm.The fifty members of the Com-mittee represented the various un- dergraduate and graduate divisions of the university, and outsiders chosen to present perspectives on the needs of the university in the area of communal services. A smaller fifteen member work com- mittee, chosen from the full Search Committee, undertook the difficult task of advising and setting guidelines for the main committee.To profile the president Yeshiva needed, the work committee pre- sented the full committee with a list . of thirty-five possible quali- fications for a YU president and asked the members of the full committee to signify the im- portance which they accorded each by ranking each on an “A" to “F” scale. “A” represented absolutely essential qualifications, and “F” represented those of no import- ance. Although the thirty-five-item list included such criteria as scholarship, academic position, and contacts in the Jewish and sec- ular world, over ninety percent of the committee’s members designat- ed dedication to academic excel- lence, concern for the religious cen- trality and tradition in the Univer- sity, leadership qualities, and sen- sitivity to moral issues as either ab-solutely necessary or extremely im- portant qualifications.״Fund rais- ing, interestingly, was not con- sidered to be of major significance.Rabbi Rabinowitz stressed the fact that the Board of Trustees took no part in the selection until they received the committee’s recom- mendations on June 30. He said that, “At no time did the…