"My mother, whose family was heavily rabbinic, said she wanted me to continue the family tradition in the rabbinate. My father said he wanted me to be a scholar of the Talmud, but he wanted me to make my living in science"
About this Quote
The subtext is a distinctly 20th-century Orthodox strategy, especially in America, where prestige and security increasingly lived outside the beit midrash. Lamm isn't describing parental disagreement so much as a division of labor between identity and economics. Rabbinic authority is a family tradition; scientific vocation is a hedge against the volatility of communal jobs and the precariousness of depending on congregational life. There's also a quiet psychological realism: study is non-negotiable, but the specific public role is negotiable.
Coming from an educator who would become one of Modern Orthodoxy's most influential leaders, the quote reads like an origin story for synthesis: Torah as core literacy, science as social fluency. It's not a compromise so much as a blueprint for belonging in two worlds without pretending either one is enough on its own.
Quote Details
| Topic | Family |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lamm, Norman. (2026, January 15). My mother, whose family was heavily rabbinic, said she wanted me to continue the family tradition in the rabbinate. My father said he wanted me to be a scholar of the Talmud, but he wanted me to make my living in science. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-mother-whose-family-was-heavily-rabbinic-said-160640/
Chicago Style
Lamm, Norman. "My mother, whose family was heavily rabbinic, said she wanted me to continue the family tradition in the rabbinate. My father said he wanted me to be a scholar of the Talmud, but he wanted me to make my living in science." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-mother-whose-family-was-heavily-rabbinic-said-160640/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"My mother, whose family was heavily rabbinic, said she wanted me to continue the family tradition in the rabbinate. My father said he wanted me to be a scholar of the Talmud, but he wanted me to make my living in science." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-mother-whose-family-was-heavily-rabbinic-said-160640/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
