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CSLR Reflects on the Life of Rabbi Norman Lamm
By CSLR | Emory Law | Jun 7, 2020 12:06:00 AM

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Mourning the Loss of Rabbi Norman Lamm (1928 – 2020)

The Center for the Study of Law and Religion mourns the loss and celebrates the life of Rabbi Norman Lamm (1928–2020). Rabbi Lamm was a Modern Orthodox rabbi, author, master orator and communal leader. He served as the head of Yeshiva University for nearly three decades, rescuing it from bankruptcy in the 1970’s and expanding its resources to students. His scholarship advanced the study of several fields, including Jewish law, literature, and philosophy. He wrote ten books and edited more than twenty volumes during his lifetime. He also appeared before the United States Supreme Court as an expert witness with respect to rights of suspects before courts of law and spoke in Israel as a voice of moderation.

As former Emory President William Chase once said, Lamm was a “scholar, leader, a wonderful fundraiser and a learned man.” The Center for the Study of Law and Religion was fortunate enough to host Rabbi Lamm in 2002, where he and Dr. Deborah Lipstadt discussed Holocaust denial, reparation for Holocaust survivors, and the silence of Great Britain during World War II.

"I was so sorry to see this sad news about the great man, Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm. My deepest condolences to the many who loved him.  – John Witte Jr.

“Rabbi Lamm believed that the truth resided in the shades of grey—or in the green, blue, orange, and purple that were manifest in the world. He stayed away from black and white solutions to complicated problems.” – Michael Broyde