A world-wide meeting of Orthodox rabbis and laymen here is seeking ways to bring Orthodox Judaism into a closer relationship with the times. Dr. Norman Lamm, professor of Jewish philosophy at Yeshiva University in New York described the present condition of world Jewry as a “silent spiritual holocaust” and declared that Orthodox Jews must confront the problems of contemporary life and thought responsibly and forthrightly. Prof. Lamm spoke last night at the opening session of the second World Conference of Synagogues and Community Organizations. He said that all Jews must work toward “the sealing of a new covenant” as they did in Biblical days.
In another address to the 1,500 delegates, Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren of Tel Aviv called for the establishment of a special body of eminent rabbis, to deal with the problems of a modern Jewish state in the light of halacha. He said solutions should be sought employing modern means of technology for applying halacha. Israel’s two chief rabbis, Yitzhak Nissim and Isser Yehuda Untermann urged world Jewry to combat assimilation and to assist Israel in absorbing new immigrants.
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