Imagine being able to invite one of the most eloquent and insightful rabbis in the world to be a guest at your Passover seder. His presence would transform the event, adding words of wisdom that inform and inspire all who are there. With OU Press’ publication this year of The Royal Table: A Passover Haggadah by Rabbi Norman Lamm, everyone can have the distinguished Chancellor and Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshiva University at their home.
For decades, Rabbi Lamm has been mesmerizing audiences with his captivating language and compelling messages. He is a preacher par excellence, conveying a Torah message in a format that is enjoyable, edifying and uplifting. In this new Haggadah, Rabbi Lamm is true to form. His language soars and his ideas penetrate. His commentary defends Jewish faith and promotes greater fealty to the Torah’s laws, while also preaching inclusion and brotherly love. It takes eternal Torah truths and applies them to the spiritual needs of our time.
Rabbi Lamm is one of the most gifted and profound thinkers of the Orthodox community. In addition to serving as Chancellor of Yeshiva University and Rosh HaYeshiva of its affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, he was the founding editor of Tradition, the journal of Orthodox thought published by the Rabbinical Council of America, and to this day convenes the Orthodox Forum, a think tank of rabbis, academicians, and community leaders that meets annually to discuss topics of concern in the Orthodox community.
Before assuming the presidency of Yeshiva University, a position he held for 26 years, Rabbi Lamm served for many years as Rabbi of The Jewish Center, one of New York City’s most prominent and vibrant Orthodox synagogues. A prolific author in the field of Jewish philosophy and law, a distinguished academician, and a charismatic pulpit rabbi, Rabbi Lamm has made, and continues to make, an extraordinary impact on the Jewish community. With a rare combination of penetrating scholarship and eloquence of expression, he has successfully presented a Torah view of contemporary Jewish life that speaks movingly to all.
This volume was edited by Dr. Joel B. Wolowelsky, Dean of the Faculty at the Yeshivah of Flatbush and Associate Editor of Tradition and the series MeOtzar HoRav: Selected Writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Dr. Wolowelsky carefully selected and edited the material from Rabbi Lamm’s archives, turning many years of sermons into a running commentary on the Haggadah. Rabbi Menachem Genack, General Editor of OU Press, wrote a preface for the book, praising Dr. Wolowelsky’s work and Rabbi Lamm’s seminal influence on the Jewish community.
This book is the latest offering from OU Press, the recently created publishing house of the Orthodox Union that last year published The Seder Night: An Exalted Evening, a haggadah commentary based on the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. The publication of two extraordinary haggadot in successive years offers readers the opportunity to prepare for the holiday with the insights of two great thinkers. Exciting future books include a moving commentary on the Tisha B’Av Kinot based on the teachings of Rabbi Soloveitchik, edited by Rabbi Simon Posner and incorporating a new translation of the Kinot by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President Emeritus of the OU; and a new Siddur with a profound commentary based on the teachings of Rabbi Soloveitchik, accompanied by the eloquent translation of the prayers by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and the popular Koren layout.
Copies of this book, which cost $24.95 each, are available through https://oupress.org/. Those who wish to place a bulk order (at a discounted price) can contact OU Press at OUPress@ou.org.