The Paschal Rabbi Lamm

With Shabbos Hagadol now upon us, I thought it would be worthwhile to bring attention to a Shabbos Hagadol sermon delivered in 1962 by one of American Jewry’s most gifted thinkers who in his longtime capacity as rabbi of The Jewish Center in Manhattan delivered some of the most eloquent and meaningful d’roshos. Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm delivered the towering speech that went right to the heart of the Jewish predicament of that day, unfortunately remains relevant in our own time.

Rabbi Lamm’s “The Sabbath of Greatness” begins with an historical survey of what motivated the establishment of this great day of the “nes gadol.” Rabbi Lamm details his opinions of what was the shocking behavior of an American political personality who was venerated by most American Jews. Keeping in mind that Rabbi Lamm was no political personality these remarks, especially when considered in light of contemporary events, should give us pause.

Consider the following :

“The big powers all want to appear great and acceptable in the eyes of the uncommitted bloc of Afro-Asian nations. It is a national policy of our government to try to gain in popularity amongst the new nations. It is not for us here to decide the validity of this principle. But I know that many Americans were saddened when Adlai Stevenson, the American ambassador to the U.N., this past week chastised the State of Israel for defending itself against Syrian attacks.

“He seems to be afflicted with what has become a traditional liberal blindness – the inability or unwillingness to discriminate between the hooligan’s attack and the victim’s defense. It is of one piece with a popular liberal attitude that expends much more energy and sentiment in defending the murderer from punishment than in preventing the victim from having suffered in the first place.”

This observation made in 1962, on Shabbos Hagadol was recently published in its entirety by The Orthodox Union Press, and RIETS/Yeshiva University Press and distributed by Ktav Publishing, in a volume titled, “Festivals of Faith : Reflections on the Jewish Holidays”.

As we read Rabbi Lamm’s words of a half century ago we must consider that the military confrontation between Israel and Syria happened in terms of a self-defense action by Israel. At that time, five years before the Six-Day War, the Golan Heights was still in Syrian hands. The so-called territories of the West Bank and Gaza were still occupied by Jordan and Egypt respectively. Yet, even without these issues, violence was the norm by Israel’s Arab neighbors.

What prompted the initial Syrian attack can only be attributed to the inherent hatred by the Arab war machine, surely no different today than in that era. Both the hatred of Syria toward Israeli interests, and the American liberals’ indifference to those interests, have unfortunately not changed much over the course of the past five decades.

Thus, it can surely be stated that Rabbi Lamm’s astute observations have not only stood the test of time but deserve a wider audience than it previously enjoyed at the Jewish Center in 1962. These past incidents and policy missteps by our adversaries and by American policy makers should serve to school us better in our response to adversity in the days ahead.

Pesach is a holiday that is permeated with historical meaning. Its very spirit bespeaks of history, both in terms of events and of the personalities who inhabit them. The great miracle of Shabbos Hagadol, wherein the Egyptians stood by in silence as their deity was sacrificed and its blood placed on doorposts, should resonate within us and inspire us to better appreciate those great events as detailed in the exodus saga.

The over 40 pages of sermons dealing with the exodus will surely make for some excellent reading both before and during the Pesach holiday thanks to Rabbi Lamm.