Yeshiva University President Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm recently sat down with Commentator Editor-in-Chief Jason Cyrulnik and News Editor Shmuli Singer to discuss his impending retirement, his involvement in the selection process of his successor, and his plans for the future.
Commentator: Rabbi, why now?
Rabbi Lamm: Well, first of all, this is my 25th year as President. This is a significant milestone. My career had two parts: Half of it was as a pulpit rabbi and half of it was as President of Yeshiva University. I have been associated with Yeshiva since 1945, which is a significant chunk of time. I felt that it was time for Yeshiva to look around for fresh blood, and besides, I want to look into other things as well. I love Yeshiva and want only the best for it. But, I want to liberate myself from the daily pressures of my office and concern myself with the broader Jewish community. I also want to devote myself more to scholarship. This program is one that I cannot pursue while occupying my post as President.
Commentator: Yet you will be staying on as Chancellor. What will that job entail?
Rabbi Lamm: As Chancellor, I will not be involved in the ongoing problems of budgetary and administrative issues, but will be there to offer my guidance in a general sense. I want to see the forest of the University as well as its trees. I am not the first person to be holding this position. Technically, Dr. Belkin was Chancellor for a few months, although he was too ill to serve for long. If everything goes well with the search for a new president - I promised the Board that I would stay on if no one was found - then time and circumstance will determine what the job of Chancellor truly means.
Commentator: Speculation has abounded on the prospects of splitting your position and having both a University President and a separate Rosh HaYeshiva. Where do you stand on this issue?
Rabbi Lamm: I think it's exceedingly important that one person hold both these jobs, for a number of reasons. First of all, symbolically, Yeshiva University's president must personify Torah U'Madda. If you split the position, you no longer have a leader that symbolizes Yeshiva University as a whole. Second, if you have two "presidents" you have a built-in conflict. If you are President of both the Yeshiva and the University, however, you have a job which is a juggling act, which both sides can live with. If there are two positions, it will cause a schizophrenia that the University cannot live with.
Commentator: But if you remain as Chancellor, wouldn't such a split be feasible since the Chancellor could embody both of these ideals?
Rabbi Lamm: No. The presidency must remain the presidency as it is now and the President alone must be the symbol of Yeshiva. Of course, I am happy to have served as that symbol, and I hope to be involved with Yeshiva for many years, but I must also think towards the future and ensure that no matter what happens, the leader of Yeshiva will represent the University as a whole.
Commentator: How much involvement do you hope to have in the process of choosing your successor?
Rabbi Lamm: Technically, it's the Board that chooses the President. Will I have influence? I am certain that if people will ask for my opinion, I will tell them what I think.
Commentator: Would you care to comment on anyone you see as a potential successor?
Rabbi Lamm: Of course not. I will assure you however, that all rumors are false.
Commentator: While working on the special issue we produced in response to the announcement of your retirement, we spoke with possible candidates for the position. One of them, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, divulged that in a conversation with you last year he was offered the presidency. Would you care to comment on this?
Rabbi Lamm: Certainly. No job had been officially offered to him. Has there been probing conversation between possible candidates and myself? Yes. I am not authorized to offer anyone a job. There are no kingmakers in Yeshiva University. No one has the sole power to choose his successor. I have definitely had talks with people, probing and wondering. However, there has been no formal offer whatsoever.
Commentator: Obviously, you have been pondering your retirement for some time. How long?
Rabbi Lamm: Well, a couple of years ago, when I turned 70, I started to think about it. I felt that the responsible thing to do would be to oversee the process for as long as I am able. I truly want to ensure a seamless transition of leadership.
Commentator: Rumors have swirled that Vice President of Business Affairs Sheldon Socol has been offered a lifetime contract at Yeshiva University by the Board of Directors. Is there any truth to this?
Rabbi Lamm: I find such rumors amusing. This is absolutely false. Any vice president of Yeshiva serves at the pleasure of the President, who serves at the pleasure of the Board. Obviously, no one can be offered a lifetime contract. It is an absurdity.
Commentator: Regardless, a perception exists in the Yeshiva community that any potential president would be unwilling to accept a job constrained at the outset by Dr. Socol's strong presence. Do you think this will be a hindering factor?
Rabbi Lamm: This whole conversation is based on a bogus perception of life. Dr. Socol has an agenda, but we all do at Yeshiva. It's an identical agenda - we are here to serve Yeshiva. Dr. Socol has given his life to Yeshiva, as have all our vice presidents. Do they each have opinions? Of course. But we all have the best interests of Yeshiva at heart. In his role as Vice President of Business Affairs, he often has to make decisions that are necessary, but unpopular. It's the role of a neinsager - someone who must be controversial at times. He's out for Yeshiva's best, as far as I'm concerned. What's more, any incoming president who fears the power of his vice presidents shouldn't be in any leadership role.
Commentator: What do you view as your chief accomplishment as President?
Rabbi Lamm: It's hard to say which is most important. My work has been in many areas: academic, financial, and spiritual. Academically, Yeshiva has grown considerably. We have been a Tier One school for five years now. We have had a Rhodes Scholar. We have honors programs in two undergraduate schools. I have always tried for quality before quantity, though Baruch Hashem, we have grown in quantity as well. Financially, you know the story. Everything has been siyata d'shmaya. No one person, including myself, can take the credit for it. Some say it was luck. I say it was divine guidance. Religiously, we have grown tremendously, as well. When I came to Yeshiva, there was one kollel. We instituted the Gruss Kollel in Israel, we have two Kollel Elyons, and we have a kollel lehora'ah for yadin yadin. Most of the current Roshei HaYeshiva were appointed by me. We founded the Orthodox Caucus and the Orthodox Forum, a think tank of the premier Orthodox Jewish intellectuals. We founded the Torah U'Madda Project and publications. Most recently, we instituted the Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and High Schools. These are all things I was associated with and would like to see further developed.
Commentator: Is there anything that you feel you would have like to focused on more during your presidency? If so, do you have any plans for your closing efforts as President?
Rabbi Lamm: Azrieli [Graduate School for Jewish Education] is my next goal. The area we have not paid sufficient attention to is developing principals and teachers. I've tried to lead in the area of Jewish education. That's why we founded the Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and High Schools. I want to focus our attention on this goal.
Commentator: How would you characterize your job to any potential successors?
Rabbi Lamm: One of the most interesting and sensitive aspects of the job is the need to be a juggler. As new interests arise, the balance changes, and this job becomes even tougher. The groups to the right and left have no such problems. They are consistent, but consistency is not the way real life goes. Extremes are constant but absurd, as a former President of Columbia University once said. We represent a living, breathing community. The need to find balance and adapt to changes and pressures is what makes us alive, and what characterizes this job.