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| One of YU's Roshei Yeshiva, R' Mordechai Willig |
Yeshiva University (YU) has become Charedi! That is new description of YU that has been
bandied about by some people in the Modern Orthodox world. Mostly by those on the left.
I do not attend YU and never have. But based on my
admittedly limited observation of what is going on there, I reject that description.
YU is clearly not Charedi.
No Charedi institution would host Yale University Professor of Religious
studies, Christine Hayes. As noted in its Revel Events Calendar she will be delivering a seminar on Ancient Jewish History. Having received her PhD in Talmud and Judaic studies from Columbia University, Professor Hayes is considered a foremost expert on the
Academic study of the Talmud and in ancient Jewish history.
(For those not familiar with the Academic study of
the Talmud, it is not about learning Gemarah. It is about studying the history
and culture of the period and its people using modern academic methodologies. It
is not by any means an in depth study of Gemarah and Rishonim of the type
studied by a student in a Yeshiva. The idea that Professor Hayes is some
kind of Talmid Chacham should be dismissed from anyone’s mind. A PhD in Talmud does
not in any way make one a Talmid Chacham.)
The university side of the Yeshiva is yet another
clear indicator that YU is not Charedi. No Charedi Yeshiva would even entertain
the idea of having any kind of university program on its campus. Nor would they
even support the idea of attending a university except (in some cases) for purposes livelihood. And even
then, not as part of the Yeshiva and certainly not on campus.
So what is all this talk about YU becoming
Charedi? I believe it is based on the fact that the Roshei Yeshiva there tend
towards a similar view of Halacha and Hashkafa as does the Charedi world. Except
for the University issue, there is not that much difference between a YU Rosh
Yeshiva and a Charedi Rosh Yeshiva. At least in terms of Psak Halacha and Hashkafa. This
is the Yeshiva part of YU - The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS).
When most of us refer to YU, we mean RIETS.
I have been in YU’s Beis Hemdrash many times. It looks like any Charedi Beis Hamedrash in
terms of the Hasmada (diligence) and the ‘Kol Torah’ (the sound of Torah) emanating
from its halls. You will not see any difference in the intensity of study between the
two. The only differences are really the following: the students generally do
not wear the black and white ‘uniform’ of the Charedi world (although some do).
Their dress is more casual in most cases. Many cover their heads with knit Kipas
(Yarmulkes). Most see the modern State of Israel in a more positive light. And all (or most) attend the University
side of YU.
The fact is that the Roshei Yeshiva at YU are role
models for the students there. And the students there are as meticulous in Halacha
as any of their counterparts in the American Charedi Yeshivas. Their Hashkafos are molded by their Roshei
Yeshiva. Which is why most of them tend to be on the right wing of Modern
Orthodoxy (Centrists). And most, if not all the Roshei Yeshiva reject the
innovations of the far left.
This has been the case for quite some time. Which
the left has reacted to quite negatively. And why Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) was
formed. It was in response to the right wing Centrist Hashkafa they see dominating YU.
Which they say has veered from the path of a Modern Orthodoxy they say has
always been more open to the Modern side of its Hashkafa. (Hence, the original
term - Open Orthodoxy – which has now
been abandoned.) The left wing of Orthodoxy insists that it is they who carry on
the tradition of modern Orthodoxy and that YU has abandoned it to join the ranks
of the Charedim.
Well, as noted above, they haven’t. What is more
likely closer to the truth is that the Hashkafos of YU are not all that
different from the Charedi Hashkafos - but with the important distinctions mentioned
above that make them modern. Both communities place high value on Torah study and study it the same
way; both are meticulous in Halachic observance; and both place a high value on
Mesorah – seeing it not to be abandoned so easily with the winds of societal change.
As does the far left of Modern Orthodoxy.
The fact that there is more of a right wing
attitude there now may also in part be due to the very creation and success of YCT.
Left wing oriented students that might have attended YU for lack of choice –
can now find a home at YCT. Leaving a more right wing student body at YU.
There are some in YU that will say they can now
focus their energies on promoting a Hashkfa more in line with the mainstream
and ‘good riddance’ to the left. But I am not one of them. I would have preferred
that the more left wing oriented students had some exposure to the
Hashkafos of the YU Roshei Yeshiva. Instead of what they have now – which is
exposure only to views of the far left. But
it was not meant to be. Which in my view has caused much divisiveness in recent
years.
Be that as it may, I am in complete support of the
type of institution that YU is. And I support what its Roshei Yeshiva try to do
as well. It is the current product of the YU that I believe to be the real
future of Modern Orthodoxy. (If it has a future at all). And it is this very
same product that is currently melding with the mainstream moderate Charedi
world to form what I have called the new centrism. Which is not based on Centrist
Hashkafa (which differs from the Charedi Hashkafa) but rather on lifestyle – in
which the two worlds hardly differ at all.
