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And now I was faced with a dilemma. Half of me yearned to learn
and teach Talmud, but the other half of my life was oriented
towards Israel. I didn’t know what to do; I remember writing out
the reasons for going to Israel and for staying in America on a
pad, side by side. It came out even! I decided to ask my parents.
My father said, “Go to Israel. We have enough rabbis here. Go to
Israel. Become a Torah scholar on your own, but go to Israel.”
My mother said, “No, don’t. Stay here.” They couldn’t help me,
because they were one against one.
So I went to a man who then was my rebbe, Dr. Samuel Belkin,
the President of Yeshiva; years later I would become his
successor. I told him, “Rebbe, I want you to tell me what to do.
But don’t give me any reasons, because if you give me reasons,
(PHOTO: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY)
I’ll find other reasons to go against it. Just tell me what shall I
Do you remember where you were on November do!” He said, “stay here,” so I stayed in New York for most of my
29th, 1947, for the UN vote? career. Many years later, I was asked to take over the presidency
I was sitting in my grandparents’ home, in front of a big radio; in of Bar-Ilan and we considered it very seriously. In fact, my wife
those days, before transistors, a radio was a piece of furniture. and I were already looking for a house in one of the towns next
We sat there listening to the UN General Assembly vote. When to Bar-Ilan. But as luck would have it, we couldn’t get along on
Guatemala voted in favor, we knew we were going to win. It was certain details and it didn’t work out. But I was almost there.
a very exciting time. We were never politically involved in this kind of Zionism or
that kind of Zionism; the politics didn’t matter to us much. We
Looking back now, 60 years later, do you have any just loved Israel – we were tzionim! My family has followed this
regrets? path. Though my children don’t live there, I have grandchildren
who do [Ed. note: Two of Rabbi Lamm’s granddaughters, Peninah
Regrets? No, nothing at all. I regard it as one of the highlights of and Bracha, founded Here Next Year, an organization dedicated
my life. I met people whom I really respected and realized that to helping young religious Jews make Aliyah]. I am blessed to
everything else was secondary to the important work that was have a family that feels very strongly about Eretz Yisrael and
being done. I’m grateful for it. It taught me that sometimes you Medinat Yisrael. n
have to do things quietly, even if it’s against the law, because
there is a higher law we have to obey. And it worked out, thank
G-d.
I always dreamt of Aliyah. When I graduated from college, I was
offered a four-year scholarship to Hadassah medical school, but
I wasn’t interested in medicine. In those days, I was interested
in something that challenges the brain, and that was research;
for me, medicine was more or less my menu for dinner. And of
course I was mistaken, because it later turned out that medicine
was very much on the front line of scientific research. Anyway,
I didn’t want to become a doctor, so I turned down the offer.
But then they offered me a scholarship to study for a Ph.D in
chemistry at Hebrew University.
(PHOTO: YESHIVA UNIVERSITY)

Toldot Yisrael is a Jerusalem-based nonprofit dedicated to recording and sharing the firsthand testimonies of the men and
women who helped found the State of Israel. 1,300 video interviews (more than 4,000 hours of footage) have been conducted
to date and are housed in The National Library of Israel, the official library of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The
interviews and several acclaimed film series are shown in schools across the Diaspora, sent by Israel’s Ministry of Education
to every history teacher in Israel, and can be viewed at www.youtube.com/toldotyisrael. More information about Toldot
Yisrael is available at www.toldotyisrael.org.

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