Spring Dorm Talks: Looking Within Ourselves

Students poured into Morgenstern Residence Hall lounge on April 28 to attend "Spring Dorm Talks: Confronting American Culture." Coordinated by the Office of Residence Halls, the evening was part of an ongoing series of campus forums dealing with issues facing observant Jews in modern times. The sole speaker chosen for the evening was the Rosh Hayeshiva and President of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm. The forums moderator was the Mashgiach Ruchani of MYP and RIETS, Rabbi Yosef Blau.

Furnished with printed scenarios involving hypothetical halakhic and ethical challenges, the audience was asked to consider various questions relating to how an Orthodox Jew should act. The first scenario bore directly on the recent White House scandals, and how we as Jews should react to them. At issue was whether a Jew could vote for a political candidate based only on the nominee’s policy opinions, disregarding any moral misgivings they might have about the candidate. The second scenario dealt with the more mundane issue of a Yeshiva student’s confrontation of scantily clad women in the pages of The New York Times while searching for happenings in Israel. At issue was the extent to which this student should curb his exposure to such media. The final scenario examined the recent debates concerning the role of women in Orthodoxy.

Place of Virtues in Politics

Citing a Gemara in Yumah, Rabbi Lamm addressed the issue of voting for a political figure who has moral shortcomings. The Gemara states that we don’t appoint a leader of a community unless he has a pack of dead rodents on his back, so that if the appointed figure starts to feel he is special, we remind him of his backround to reduce his arrogance. Lamm asserted that our sages were trying to convey the idea that not every leader "who is responsible for leading well, is necessarily a moral paragon." Qualifying this statement, Lamm insisted that this only applies to a political leader, and would certainly not exempt religious leaders from possessing a sound moral character.

Choosing to separate fiscal responsibility from moral fortitude, Lamm explained that he only expects from our leaders a moral conscience that is consistent with surrounding society, citing the idea that "leadership will always require certain compromises" in order to "lead your fellow men onto higher goals; to greater things."

Responding to the question of voting for a candidate who lies, Lamm answered that we come to expect a politician to lie in certain circumstances, asserting that "in order to attain a higher perfection in certain goals, he must yield on some minor goals."

In reference to choosing among politicians for the Israeli government, Lamm brought up the case of Moshe Dayan, who fell far short of obtaining moral perfection. He explained that as much as it pains him, he would not expect anything more of a secular Jewish leader of Israel than a non-Jewish leader.

Lamm addressed the question of synagogue politics by saying that the synagogue is a place that represents Torah, and that he expects a "certain standard of conduct" on the part of the leaders of these institutions, whereby they are expected to "act with total loyalty to the canons of morality and to the mitzvos of the Torah."

Conceding that our society is "exceedingly corrupt," Lamm attempted to address the second scenario, in which a Yeshiva student must sift through the immorality surrounding him. Explaining that Madison Avenue has sided with the red light district, he emphasized that the word "sin" and "immoral" have become almost "irrelevant" in today’s society. In reference to the hypothetical "Yonatan" in the scenario, Lamm questioned whether there is any place that one could go in this country, and be immune from exposure to immorality.

Citing a passage from the Rambam that says one should move to the midbar, wilderness, if the entire country is corrupt, Lamm explained that there is no place to run in our world, even in Israel, where one could escape such immorality. We should "courageously step up to the plate" and "do well and do honorably, even though life is filled with such paradoxes and incongruities", according to Lamm.

In response to the question of whether one can freely peruse the pages of The New York Times, Lamm outlined a process of learning that one should go through in order to be able to exercise "self control," as mandated by the Torah. He went on to discuss the place that the Yetzer Harah has in our world, employing its capacity to prevent a totally "uninspiring and unconstructive" world. Referring to the time when he attended Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveichik’s class, Lamm related an incident where he didn’t give the answer the Rav was looking for, and the Rav asked Lamm to "bring your Yetzer Harah here (to class)." Lamm concluded that when faced with a "constant barrage of erotic fantasies, you have to fight it, and you have to understand the sublimations that work," recognizing that you can’t escape immorality by "even a walk all the way from Monsey to the Diamond District of Manhattan."

Women in Orthodoxy

The third and final scenario dealt with the heated debate concerning increasing the role of women in Orthodoxy, specifically in regard to going out with a girl who supports increasing the roles of women in Orthodox life. Lamm pointed to the advent of the shidduch "list" that treats love as if one were "going grocery shopping," and explained that couples should concentrate on the bigger issues of "getting to know each other." If one has "a situation of real love, then people will forego minor things for the major things," according to Lamm.

With reference to the situation of dating a girl who studies Talmud, Lamm wondered what could be wrong with her, noting that you would have a "permanent havrutah." Supporting this claim, Lamm cited the fact that the Rav accompanied Rabbi Lamm to the opening of the Stern Beit Midrash and gave the first Shiur in Gemara to the women there. Lamm questioned how we could allow a woman to master the "intricacies of physics" and not permit her to study Talmud.

Suprising the crowd, Lamm commented that these issues of choosing a wife based on her subscription to an increased role for women in Judaism matters "nowhere near as much as you think." He emphasized that more important things go into making a relationship. Lamm did opine, however, that he disapproves of women seeking rabbinic ordination. He considers a happy relationship as one that "consists of an exchange of vulnerabilities," which will then bring about true love. Lamm characterized many things going on in the Modern Orthodox community as "dead wrong," and that we are "cheating our young people out of experiences that are important for social maturation to prepare one for married life."

Confronting the question whether one should approach his rebbe with questions of whom to date, Lamm advised that "you really have to learn to think for yourself." He related a cartoon that portrayed a distraught boy coming home from Kindergarten, telling his mom that he had learned how to think, and it hurt. Lamm made the point that if anyone told Rabbi Soloveichik that they do whatever their Rebbe tells them to do, he thinks that the Rav would have "punched them in the nose," considering the Rav’s advocacy of independent thinking.

Lamm concluded by urging the audience to strive for a "certain degree of flexibility," encouraging those present to "learn to be sophisticated, learn to be realistic, and learn to be responsible." He advised students to acquire a "great deal of understanding" as necessary to "develop and hone your own human relationships."