Chag HaSmikha Celebrated

Ne'eman's Visit not Publicized

In a ceremony described as "moving and inspirational," one hundred and thirty three rabbis celebrated their formal rabbinic ordinations on Sunday, March 22, at the quadrennial Chag HaSemikha (ordination ceremony) of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS).

Over 1300 people attended the Chag HaSemikha in the Main Building's Lamport Auditorium on a day that saw the first serious snowfall of the year, in order to witness the ordination of the RIETS classes from 1995-98. They heard speeches and presentations from various rabbis and laypeople, including a surprise address from Yaakov Ne'eman, the Israeli Minister of Finance. The musmakhim themselves varied in their backgrounds, ages, geographic locations and professions, and included several sons of YU rabbis and Roshei Yeshiva.

"RIETS is the oldest and largest Orthodox seminary in North America," said Rabbi Norman Lamm, President and Rosh HaYeshiva of RIETS. "Since its founding over 100 years ago, RIETS has ordained more than 2,500 rabbis. They occupy a significant majority of Orthodox pulpits in North America, and are helping to assure that Jewish values and tradition are perpetuated and preserved."

The ceremony began with Rabbi M. Mitchell Serels, director of the University's Sephardic Community Programs, serving as Herald and ushering in the rabbinic faculty of the various schools, the honorees, and the administrators and the newly minted rabbis .

Rabbi Judah Feinerman, the chairman of the RIETS Board of Trustees and a YU musmakh, served as the convocation chairman. He opened the ceremonies by asking all present to rise for the national anthem and Hatikvah, sung by Cantor Bernard Beer, Director of the Belz School of Jewish Music.

The Vice-President for Administration and Professional Education of RIETS, Rabbi Robert S. Hirt, welcomed all the participants, and delineated the role of a yeshiva by quoting from the speech given by Rabbi Dr. Bernard Revel at the inaugural Chag HaSemikha in 1919. "For the Yeshiva is the very lifeblood of Israel's existence, the sanctuary of the Jewish soul, and the nursery of the Jewish spirit, where it was nurtured, and were it found solace and comfort during untold generations."

Hirt then proceeded to introduce Rabbi Marc D. Angel, President of the Rabbinic Alumni of RIETS, who presented an award of recognition on their fortieth anniversary homecoming to the semikha class of 1958. Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, rabbi of Kahal Jeshurun and principal of the Ramaz Hebrew Day School, accepted the award in the name of his entire class of musmakhim. Both Rabbis Angel and Lookstein were present not only as rabbinic participants, but as proud parents as well, with their sons included in the current class of new musmakhim.

Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, Dean of RIETS, presented the newly minted rabbis to the public, reading off their names one by one. The rabbis rose individually upon hearing their names, and at the culmination of the list thunderous applause rippled through the hall as parents, friends and associates of the rabbinic graduates acclaimed their accomplishments.

Speaking for all of his fellow musmakhim was Rabbi Ari Berman, an assistant rabbi at the Jewish Center of New York City, and a fellow in the Gruss Kollel Elyon. A graduate of MTA, YC, Revel, and RIETS, Berman thanked his rabbis and teachers saying "The rabbeim here do not act as aloof academics or remote rabbis, but treat us, their talmidim, with care and devotion....all are treated with almost parental concern."

Rabbi Herbert C. Dobrinsky, Vice-President for University Affairs, then introduced the philanthropist Jacob Glueck, who was presented by Rabbi Lamm with the Etz Chaim award, the highest honor bestowed by RIETS. Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel, was the recipient of the inaugural Rabbi Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik Aluf Torah Award.

Israeli Finance Minister Honored

In a gesture that was previously unannounced and unpublicized, Rabbi Israel Miller, Senior Vice-President Emeritus, introduced Yaakov Ne'eman, Minister of Finance of the State of Israel, who received the Ne'eman Yisrael award from Rabbi Lamm.

Ne'eman is the cabinet minister who headed the commission empowered by the Netanyahu government to prepare a proposal concerning religious conversion in Israel and what role, if any, is to be played by the Reform and Conservative denominations in the process. The commission's proposal is the source of much contention and controversy within rabbinic circles, with R' Lamm endorsing the proposal, while many YU rabbis are in vehement opposition.

Ne'eman's appearance at the Chag HaSemikha was not widely publicized beforehand, with no mention of his name in either the official YU publication YU Today or the special supplement given to participants in the event, leading many to wonder why this was so.

Notably absent from the proceedings was MYP and RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel Shachter. Some speculated that this was out of protest at the perceived institutional endorsement of the minister and his commission's proposal. Asked by The Commentator why he was not in attendance, R' Shachter replied "I was not feeling well."

When asked by The Commentator who invited Mr. Ne'eman to address the Chag HaSemikha, R' Lamm answered "I did." He also indicated that the invitation was tendered well in advance, and knowledge of Ne'eman's scheduled appearance was had months prior to the ceremony. So why was there no publicity? "Because of security issues," said the president. "We did not want protesters, demonstrators and crazies like there have been at other events." R' Lamm was referring to the Orthodox Union dinner, where his acceptance speech of the Ohev Hashem award was interrupted by a vocal heckler who had to be escorted from the premises.

When further queried by The Commentator if there was opposition from any of the YU Roshei Yeshiva to the Ne'eman invitation, R' Lamm said "None that I heard of. I am the Rosh HaYeshiva, and this is my province."

Hirt concurred with the security rationale as a reason for the lack of prior publicity concerning Ne'eman's appearance, but also stated that political considerations played a role. "We did not want anyone to utilize the event for a particular political agenda. The focus should be on the torah nature of the event, not the politics." Citing the historic fiftieth anniversary of Israeli statehood as the reason for Ne'eman being invited, Hirt said "There is no political message in his presence here [at the Chag HaSemikha], but there is a Klal Yisrael perspective which is expressed by his presence."

Hirt also cited Ne'eman's longstanding personal attachment and involvement with YU. According to Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Yosef Blau, Ne'eman was a student in YU during the 1955-56 school year, when they were both members of Rabbi Yerucham Gorelick's gemara shiur. A personal friend of YU Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, Ne'eman learned b'chavruta with R' Goldwicht in the main Beit Midrash, during a sabbatical year when he was teaching at New York University Law School.

Some in the University speculated that a deal had been made between the Roshei Yeshiva and the administration, with the rabbis agreeing not to boycott the event if there would be no publicity concerning Ne'eman's appearance. This would give the rabbis plausible deniability, and their presence at the ceremony would not be construed by any as an endorsement of Minister Ne'eman or his commission, tacit or otherwise.

"Absolutely false," said Hirt. "There was no deal. None. There is no basis for that supposition." Hirt said that all members of the rabbinic faculty were aware of Ne'eman's scheduled appearance, and produced the minutes of a joint meeting of the RIETS Rabbinic Alumni Executive Committee that had been mailed out to all rabbinic alumni and Roshei Yeshiva to support his assertion.

The minutes are dated Wednesday, December 10, 1997, and state "The Aluf HaTorah award will be given to the first recipient Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein at the Chag HaSemikha, and Finance Minister Yaakov Ne'eman, who learned for a year in our yeshiva, will receive an award at the Chag HaSemikha."

The keynote address was given by R' Lamm, in which he congratulated the musmakhim on their attaining the rabbinate and charged them with leading the way into the twenty-first century for future generations of Torah Jews.