Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

Many of us were saddened to learn on Sunday that Rabbi Norman Lamm passed away at age 92. Tragically, he had lost his wife a month earlier to complications from Covid-19.

For those who do not recognize his name, Rabbi Lamm was the head figure of Yeshiva University (Y.U.) for decades. After the Rav, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchhik, Rabbi Lamm was probably the most well known scholar associated with Y.U.

Regardless of one's denominational or ideological orientation, one should come to understand the contribution of Rabbi Lamm to contemporary Jewish life. He was one of the true exemplars of Modern Orthodox Judaism. He exemplified the principle of "Torah U'Mada" - that one could study traditional Judaism and modern science.

While I did not personally study at Yeshiva University, the Maimonides Day School I attended as a youth was modelled after the same principles, which have continued to inspire my approach to Judaism to this very day.

Some twenty years ago, while vacationing in Manhattan, I heard Rabbi Lamm deliver a sermon on a Shabbat morning at the Jewish Center, a Modern Orthodox shul. He was addressing young single men and women. He spoke against what he called the "frumometer." Rabbi Lamm was concerned that young observant Jews were neglecting the attributes of "Chesed - Lovingkindness" and "Rachamim - Compassion" and were over emphasizing the extra legal minutia of Jewish Law.

Given some of the extremism shaping Judaism nowadays from various perspectives, we desparately need the voice and vision of Rabbi Lamm on Jewish and worldly issues. "Yhi Zichro Baruch - May his memory be a blessing."

Rabbi Howard Morrison