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| Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rosh HaYeshiva of YCT |
1. Rabbi Weiss has created and supports Yeshivat Maharat
that ordains women for the rabbinate. He has stopped short of calling them
rabbi (or rabba as he did with his first odainee) at the request of the RCA who
threatened to expel him if he continued. But calling them Maharat does not
change the fact that he considers them rabbis.
The material these women study
is the same as men who study for the rabbinate and they are tested on it
the same way. Calling them by another name changes nothing. Outside of Rabbi
Weiss and his schools, Orthodox opposition to female rabbis is universal. I
have discussed why this is the case in the past. But it is beyond the scope of
this post.
2. Open Orthodoxy goes way beyond loving the sinner and
hating the sin when it comes to homosexuality. I have no problem with same sex attraction
and neither does the Torah. But I do have a problem with acting on it in ways
which the Torah tells us is a capital offense. This does not mean I can’t have
sympathy for those who sinfully succumb to their desires. But Open Orthodox
rabbis practically permit it. Or at least claim that Torah would consider such
acts involuntary and therefore not subject to the prohibition (Oness Rachmana Patrei). This kind of thinking turns the Torah on its
head and virtually permits a clearly stated forbidden act.
3. YCT is too easy on those within their own movement that
question whether the events at Sinai ever happened. Even though YCT does not
question it, they tolerate those who do. That takes being Dan L’Kaf Zechus to
an absurd degree, in my view.
4. And then there is their public engagement with non Orthodox
rabbis in theological matters. There too they have gone astray. By publicly
embracing them in religious contexts they are in effect being seen as legitimizing
theologies that are illegitimate. This is something that Rabbi Weiss’s mentor
Rav Soloveitchik prohibited. I agree with him.
I will however say that on this last issue I am sympathetic
even as I disagree. I understand that they see this as a form of reaching out
to secular and non Orthodox Jews in order to try and stop the hemorrhaging of Jews
out of Judaism via apathy and intermarriage – a fact documented by various
surveys to one degree or another.
Because of this I do think we ought to re-think whether we should
interact with non Orthodox rabbis and movements. But I believe we need more
input from a broader base in Orthodoxy than just the left in how to go about
it. But I digress
These are just a few of my problems with Open Orthodoxy, YCT,
and Rabbi Weiss. And yet, I am opposed to
the suggestion by some that advocate throwing him and his Yeshiva out of Orthodoxy. As I’ve
said many times, even with all of the serious issues I have with him, Rabbi
Weiss has never advocated violating Halacha. His ‘sins’ are all Hashkafic or
deal with matters of public policy.
I believe in Achdus, with both the right and the left. As I
recently said, we have more that unites us than divides us.
Apparently I am not
the only one who thinks this way. There are prominent people on the right who
do as well. The Spinka Rebbe (not the one who was imprisoned for money laundering
and fraud – there is more than one Spinka Rebbe) is one of them. Or at least his Gabbai is. I’m sure he
has the same problems if not more with the Hashkafos of OO, YCT, and Rabbi
Weiss. And yet he embraces them in the spirit of Achdus. The following is from Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rosh
Yeshiva of YCT:
Last night, we ended our week with a kumsitz and had the special zchut of experiencing a truly uplifting moment. Just as the students were about to leave for the night, Rav Avi entered in to the yeshiva arm and arm with a chossid. Rav Avi had made a shiva call in Williamsburg to the family of Menachem Stark, a Satmar chossid who was brutally murdered, leaving behind 7 children.
As he was leaving the shiva house, the gabbai of the Spinka Rebbe asked him if he needed a ride. Rav Avi asked to be taken to the train, but the gabbai wouldn't even consider just driving Rav Avi to the train. Instead, he drove Rav Avi all the way back to Riverdale (and would then have to drive back to Brooklyn for a dinner he was chairing to support the poor).
The two of them joined the Winter Learning students in song and dance. The gabbai of the Spinka Rebbe gave the students an inspirational bracha and then was on his way. It was amazing to experience this unifying moment, and it was a great way to cap off an invigorating week.
