My dear Rabbi Lamm נ"י, When I read your article, "The Religious Implications of Extraterrestrial Life" in the l965/66 Vol.7-8 issue of Tradition it came to my mind how Gabirol in his כתר מלכות tried, in his own way and partly, based on the available knowledge of his time, to "penetrate" the great mysteries of the Universe. It was my intention to write to you soon after I had tried (to use the same word) "to penetrate" and to understand your 'flight' into outer space. But, as it happens so often, my letter then to be written to you, remained unwritten – until now.I was, however, reminded of that intention when I happened to see, in a recent New York Times Sunday edition, an article about Saturn and its "rings" and "moons".(All this is completely beyond the scope of my knowledge. Young students may learn and know more about such phenomena than the older generation to which I belong).I opened Gabirol's great hymn of which he wrote in his introductory words: ספרתי בה פלאי אלי חס and I wondered whether it would not be worthwhile, in connection with your above-mentioned essay, to present to the readers of Tradition an analysis of כתר מלכות, both his amazing insight into, and interpretation of, extraterrestrial areas, but also his brilliant, though somewhat flowery effort to cross the bridge from our human-Jewish existence to the mysteries of G-d's creation...לב הסודות אשר לא יכולים שבח ורעיוןI thought the idea might interest you. Since you wrote the article about "The Implications etc.", I could think of no one who would be better qualified to write, so to speak, a continuation of that venture into the Unknown, just as Gabirol did in his own days.We had the custom to read at least part of כתר מלכ' at the very end of the כל נדרי Service, The Rodelheim Machzorim have it preserved for those who still want to find in it a source of inspiration. And is it not indeed in a way closer to us today in our "famous" age of space exploration?...I suggest that such an article on Gabi…

Dear Mr. Rossman, The introductory course to the Kabbalah that I offer in the Erna Michael College is, because of the nature of the material, rather esoteric. There is not too much that you can read on it in English. Nevertheless, I might recommend, in addition to Gershom Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, the book "The Kabbalah" and the Zohar by Christian Ginsburg. However, the latter book has already been superseded by the former, which remains the classic in the field.For Hebrew, the best introductory volumes are the introductions by the late Rabbi Ashlag to his commentary on the Zohar and on the writings of the Ari. Both have been reprinted recently, and are available from any bookseller.In addition, you might try two classical introductions to the Kabbalah, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero's *Pardes Rimonim* and Rabbi Joseph Irgas' *Shomer Emunim*. Frankly, I do not know if they are available for sale from the University Library, but any of the booksellers in the Lower East Side of Manhattan would have them.You might also try to obtain from the same booksellers a copy of Hillel Zeitlin's *In the World of the Kabbalah* (*Be-Olam ha-Kabbalah*).The end of the volume by Cordovero does contain a kind of glossary of Kabbalistic terms, but in order to understand it you already have to know something about the Kabbalah.I hope I have been able to answer your letter at least to some degree of satisfaction.Sincerely yours,Rabbi Norman Lamm

I am grateful to you for sending me a copy of your new book, Metaphysical Drift: Love and Judaism. I read it through during the Pesach holiday and was absorbed by it. Since you solicit my reactions, let me tell you that I was gratified, angered, puzzled, piqued – all these, but also enlightened and instructed by your book. Because of the unusual combination of philosophical thinking and intimate, uninhibited autobiographical details, I feel that I know you personally more than I ever had before. While I did not at first quite understand your dichotomy between interestedness and intraestedness, in the course of reading I think – if you will excuse the pun as well as the adolescent lingo – I catch your drift. I sympathize with you and relish those rare moments of intraestedness, though I wonder if they warrant new nomenclature and such philosophical weight. I was somewhat taken aback at the passion of your protest against the rabbinic ideal that “all your actions should be for the sake of Heaven,” since the emotional intensity seems disproportionate and perhaps rooted in psychological rebellion against parental control. To me, that dictum is an inspiring agadic ideal rather than a stifling halakhah, and especially in its Hasidic interpretation it can unite all of life’s fragments into a meaningful whole without denying joy, freedom, or intraestedness. In your book, at times you impute to Judaism excessive control where I see little evidence of it, and yet I appreciate the honesty and integrity of your pathos-laden reflections. I especially value your trenchant comments on lishmah, though my address on the issue is secondary to Maimonides himself, and I must add that your occasional tone of faithlessness suggests not finality but a continuing, unfinished spiritual journey – one that I hope and pray will yet bring you back to your origins in a deeper and wiser form. Out of respect for you, your work, and your family, I extend my warm regards, together with thanks for a…

Dear Rabbi Lamm, I hope you are well, and enjoyed your summer. Just a brief fax regarding our discussion on the sefirot: I hope you received my letter dated 17th Tammuz, to which a serious reply I await. (Unfortunately, in many circles, especially those which I mentioned in my first letter, there is no serious discussion of anything, since the mere possibility that the rabbi may have erred will destroy their entire world view. Of course, the Torah does not have this problem, and in fact in Avot, ch. 5, the Mishna brings intellectual honesty as a necesarry prerequisite for a Hacham – and dishonesty for a Boor).One further source which I came upon, which I trust will be the final nail in the pantheistic coffin of the Tanya, is a book entitled "Hoqer U Mequbal” by the peerless Ramchal. The Vilna Gaon described this sage as having acquired the highest understanding of Torah which is humanly possible.It is quite coincidental that the opening discussion between the philosopher and the kabbalist is precisely the subject of our discussion – the sefirot, and their deification. The Ramchal states that if the sefirot were divine, they would be "Elohim Acherim" – a position which is antithetical with that of the Tanya, and which you mistakenly claim is shared by everybody. Furthermore, Rabbi J. David Bleich, your esteemed Rosh Yeshiva, has also argued in favor of Ramchal's position, in his book "With Perfect Faith," stating that praying to the sefirot [which are other than G-D] would be tantamount to idolatory.Dr Dale Gottlieb, now at Ohr Someach claims that "G-D is identical to each of the sefirot" even though he concedes that in our world view they are ten distinct entities. One only has to open a Siddur to see that they are in fact distinct and different – by very definition. There are even trinities eg. Habad, which are euphemistically referred to as triads "Partsufim".You have on many occasions bemoaned Rav Chaim Volozhiner's "intellectual ascetism." I put it to you that …

Dear Rabbi Lamm, Hi! I thought you might be interested in the below. It's part of a correspondence I have had with a Rabbi Dr Natan Ofir. He is a graduate of YU. Was chaplain in HU and now head of a Jewish meditation centre in Jerusalem. He contacted me for his research into nigun ect. I am not an academic nor the son of of an academic... but it's good to see that the seminal idea of Shir-taev in its kabbalistic context. MikeThank you for the lead to Sefer Hanigunim of Habad. That sounds really important.שיר תאב AboutI wrote about it in an article that I published as an introduction to Torei ZahavThe book entitled Torei Zahav begins with a 200 page kabbalistic commentary on ShirHaShirim (The Song of Songs) composed in Mainz 1814.The source is actually Tikunei Zohar 10, and was elaborated on by R. Naftali Herz Scheuer in Torei Zahav.תראיין, שם, עמי כח מצטט את 'תיקוני הזוהר', בתיקון העשירי כתוב 'בראשית, שיר תא״ב, והאי איהו שיר משוב מכל השירים, תאב כל השירים', ראה תקוני הזוהר, מהדורת ראובן מרגליות, ירושלים, דף כד, ע"ב (עמי 48).The book entitled Torei Zahav begins with a 200 page kabbalistic commentary on Shir HaShirim (The Song of Songs) composed in Mainz 1814. The primary author, Rav Avraham Naftali Herz Scheuer, 1753-1822, (hereon referred to by the acronym Maharan), was a leading Rabbi in Germany. His grandson and successor in the Mainz Yeshiva. Rabbi Shmuel Bondi published Torei Zahav in Mainz in 1875. This is the last kabbalistic work known to have been printed in Germany and is a rich source of Torah and spirituality.For the printed version, R. Shmuel added many comments and expositions, incorporated several original exegetical and homiletical works and collated halachic responsa. Thus the book is the most important record available to preserve a taste of the rich learning, thought and interests in Mainz of the 18th-19th centuries. Long out of print, the reprint by Feldheim publishers is a welcome milestone. Now readers can easily explore, enjoy and analyze the …