It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Dr. Seymour Lachman z”l, a pivotal figure in New York politics and one of the first frum Jews to enter the political world in the tri-state area. He was 91 years old.
Dr. Lachman was born in 1933 in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood to Louis and Sarah Lachman, Jewish immigrants who arrived in America between the two World Wars.
Reflecting on his family’s past, he once shared in an interview with Mishpacha, “Back in Poland, my father had been a talmid chacham, someone who spoke six or seven languages. But when he came to America, my earliest memory of him was working for the WPA digging ditches after losing his candy store during the Great Depression. I asked myself, ‘How could this be? This is a great nation, where anyone can do anything.’ And I told myself that I would try do something to benefit not only the Jews of America but all Jews. Although I never explicitly stated it, that was always behind everything I did.”
Dr. Lachman went on to serve in various key roles, including in New York City’s Board of Education, and later as a New York State Senator. He also authored several books and was known for his efforts to be mekadeish Sheim Shomayim wherever he went.
Rabbi Yeruchim Silber of Agudath Israel of America expressed his sorrow, writing, “I was saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Seymour Lachman, president of the NYC Board of Education in the 1970s and later as the first Orthodox Jew to serve in the New York State Senate. He worked closely with Agudath Israel of America and its president, Rabbi Moshe Sherer, on many important initiatives.”
Rabbi Moshe Sherer viewed Dr. Lachman not just as an ally in the Agudah’s efforts to protect and advance Orthodox Jewish interests, but also as a valuable resource in improving the image of the frum community. In 1975, Rabbi Sherer worked tirelessly, though unsuccessfully, to lobby Governor Carey’s administration to appoint Dr. Lachman to the New York State Board of Regents, writing that in light of the “recent blemishes on the public Orthodox Jewish image, it is imperative for us to focus a spotlight on an openly Orthodox Jewish personality in high public office.”
Dr. Lachman’s levayah was held today at Shomei Hadas Chapels in Boro Park.
He is survived by his wife, Dr. Susan Lachman, and their two children and their spouses, Rabbi Eliezer and Sarah Lachman and Sharon and Aaron Chesir.
Shivah will be observed starting Motzoei Shabbos and continuing on Sunday morning at 215 East 68th St. Apt 2F, New York, and Sunday afternoon at 227 North 8th Avenue, Edison, NJ.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com}