We Need a Man of the People

To the Editor:

As a former SCW student (I transferred out in 1996), I would like to praise Noah Streit for his gutsy critique of Rabbi Norman Lamm. I read Rabbi Lamm's book, Torah U'Maddah, before I attended Stern. I appreciated its principles and wanted to be in a school that used the book's title as its motto. Yet as I attended Stern, Rabbi Lamm always seemed to me like his book--a concept that I had read about. I never saw him on campus, and hee always seemed like a distant mystery--unapproachable and not wholly concerned with the immediate welfare of the students.

I remember I once saw him at a YU function and took the initiative to introduce myself to him, despite the surprise and warnings of my friends who were too timid to join me. Of course Rabbi Lamm was cordial (and maybe even somewhat shocked that a Stern student would approach him in that way), but a student should not have to feel awkward speaking to him. It struck me that he did not seem to take active interest in finding out more about my or my peers' experience at Stern, which at the time was filled with questions regarding the direction of YU, particularly the direction of Torah U'Madda (which is one of the reasons why I left.)

Of course the apparent indifference that university leaders demonstrate toward their students' well-being and concerns is not exclusive to Yeshiva University. However, as a center for religious study that grapples with critical issues such as spirituality, ethics, and the students' lifestyle, YU's leader and rosh yeshiva must be more accessible, user-friendly and readable. Rabbi Lamm should not be too busy to display active interest in the immediate and palpable concerns, questions, and problems raised on the YU campus. In fact, that should be his job. Probably the most grave consequence of this apparent unconcern is that his followers--students, teachers, and administrators--will take his lead, and only a few will be left to really effect change, both within the YU campus and within Judaism, when change is necessary. I only hope YU continues to mold and attract such dynamic people.

Orit Arfa

SCW, 1995-1996