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April 13, 2001

The Very Model of a Modern Orthodox Jew (2001)

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Leader of Modern Orthodoxy Speaks to Students (2002)

An unusual silence pervaded the Isaac Levinstein Synagogue as formally dressed students and faculty stood anticipating the arrival of Rabbi Norman Lamm, the leader of Modern Orthodoxy and president of Yeshiva University. A sign posted on the stage read, “Your eyes should follow your teachers,” and indeed the students’ eyes did just that as the entire Judaic faculty escorted Rabbi Lamm into the room. After greeting the Frisch community, Rabbi Lamm proceeded to address a question that the Modern Orthodox community tackles daily: How do Jews take the best of Western culture and science—Madah—and connect it to Torah? His speech offered new insights and confirmed old ones for students, stimulating further discussion throughout the Frisch community. Rabbi Lamm explained that before one can achieve an integration of Torah, “the center of Jewish life,” and Western culture and science, one must first master the basics of each independently. He emphasized that if Frisch students integrate their Judaic and general studies, utilize Torah and Madah, respect other denominations in Judaism, and behave with dedication and integrity, they will be a source of pride and pleasure to the Jewish nation. Dr. Kalman Stein expressed his satisfaction that Rabbi Lamm chose to speak about the importance of linking secular and Judaic studies, noting that the school must “give students the opportunities to think about Torah and Madah in an integrated way.” According to Tali Fishel (’04), Rabbi Lamm’s speech “put into perspective the fact that the Torah we learn every day in school and elsewhere does not contrast with or limit our lives—it simply provides guidelines by which to live them.” Dr. Stein added, “The real challenge is not learning Torah and Madah separately, but figuring out how we can be part of an exciting world while deciding which of its attractions can be kept and which need to be filtered out.” To help Frisch students accomplish this integration, Dr. Stein announced plans to es…
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Passing the Torch (2001)

When Norman Lamm, president of Yeshiva University, announced earlier this year that he would retire in the summer of 2002, he set off a maelstrom of speculation about who from within the ranks of an increasingly fragmented Orthodox world could take the helm of an institution that, in its effort to be the standard-bearer of Modern Orthodoxy in the U.S., seeks to be at once a yeshiva and a university. Well-aware of naysayers who warn that YU will not be able to find someone who can be both university president and rosh yeshiva (yeshiva head), and will need two directors, Rabbi (Dr.) Lamm says, “You can't separate ‘Yeshiva’ from ‘University’ without damage.” It would be a “schizoid existence,” he said in a speech at YU’s annual dinner in June. He urged his supporters to keep faith in YU’s dual mission, Torah U’Madda — literally, Torah learning and scientific or secular learning. “I plead with you,” he said. “Do not believe that we are the last of the Mohicans… We will continue, we will rise, and we will conquer.” As YU’s selection committee narrows down its list of candidates for the presidency, the 70-year-old Lamm is taking stock of his 25 years at YU, 50 years in Jewish communal life, and the future of both the school — which this year reported its largest undergraduate enrollment ever — and Modern Orthodoxy. He recently sat down to share some of his thoughts. Excerpts from the interview follow. Q: How has Yeshiva University changed in your quarter-century tenure? A: We have a closer relationship with Israel, where every year we have hundreds of our students in the S. Daniel Abraham (freshman-year-in-Israel) program. As a matter of fact, this year, with all that’s happened in Israel — with all the problems of terrorism — when one of the Jewish newspapers announced that less than 50 percent are coming to Hebrew University and to other universities — we maintained an identical number to last year, not counting shana bet (those who return to Israel for a second year …
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Recollections and Reconsideration: Revisiting the Path of Rabbi Norman Lamm (2007)

To commemorate and reflect upon a legacy that included 27 years as YU's President, many authored works and countless lectures and sermons, The Commentator sat down with University Chancellor Norman Lamm. In the following are a series of questions and responses, Rabbi Lamm graciously took the time to reconsider various positions and turns taken over the course of his career. The Commentator: Still serving as Rosh HaYeshiva of RIETS but with a heavy background academia administration and as an administrator, how do you perceive your relationship with the other Roshei Kollel and Roshei Yeshiva? Norman Lamm: I have very good relations with them. Most of them were appointed by me. There are very few left who were appointed by my predecessor. I know them, I respect them, we don’t have to agree on everything but any two intelligent people will find things to disagree upon.TC: How exactly does the decision making process work in terms determining policy for the Yeshiva? What type of synthesis is there between you and the other Roshei Yeshiva in that area? NL: I established this policy a long time ago. If a student asks an individual Rosh Yeshiva about his own life or that of the students in his shiur, the Rosh Ha-Yeshiva is authorized to speak. But if they ask about policy for the entire Yeshiva, only I am authorized to speak, no one else. In terms of decision making it's a little more complicated now because there is also a President. Anything that deals with halakhic policy goes through me. Do I consult others? Do I listen to other peoples' opinions? Of course! Do I obey them? Not necessarily. When it comes to policy for the entire Yeshiva, however, it has to go not only through me, but also through President Joel. TC: Several of the RIETS Roshei Yeshiva have spoken disparagingly toward the philosophy of Torah u- Madda. When has a RIETS-MYP Rosh Yeshiva gone too far when they speak against the broader ideology of the university and the Yeshiva? NL: As far as I know, none…
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