Levovitz Appointed Head of Revived Kollel Elyon

Just as everyone had accepted the demise of the well-respected Kollel Elyon, it has been revived in an unexpected turn of events. An anonymous donor stepped in recently to attempt to revive the advanced smicha program, and pledged an amount of money on the order of ten million dollars to help restore the kollel to its former glory. However, the donor had specified that he wanted a more progressive and modernized trend to the Kollel. The board of trustees, well known for their strict adherence to the Torah principle of kesef kesef tirdof, readily agreed to find an appropriate replacement for the ever popular yet somewhat controversial Rav Aharon Kahn, former Rosh Kollel of the Kollel Elyon.

A Rabbinic search committee was formed to attempt to find a suitable replacement who would satisfy the request of the donor while at the same time upholding the prestigious reputation of the erstwhile Kollel. After an exhaustive search lasting almost a year, the committee settled on world-renowned Halachic authority and prolific author Rabbi Mordechai Levovitz. Levovitz originally hails from Lakewood, but gained his reputation as a community leader in San Francisco where he founded the outreach organization Kiruv Banim. After moving to New York, he began work on his seforim. His publications on halacha and Talmud include I'm Mordechai, 10 Myths about Halacha, and an in-depth halachic work on taharat hamishpacha called Sefer Sex. He also became well-known for his proud display of his Celtic heritage by being the only Rabbi to address the Siyum HaShas wearing an evening gown. After the death of Rav Joseph Soloveitchik zt"l, Levovitz also became the official posek for the Yeshiva College Dramatics Society, ruling on such controversial issues as kol isha and the use of farm animals in YCDS productions.

When Levovitz, noted for his modesty, was first asked to take over the helm of Rosh Kollel, he declined, saying, "Oh you, stop!" But eventually the Board of Trustees was able to prevail upon him to come out of the Beis Medrash and take over the Kollel. Grateful that Levovitz had accepted the position, they also conferred upon him the Zohar and Matthew Schwartz Distinguished Chair of Talmud. In his speech accepting the honor, Levovitz said, "Oh my God, thank you soooo much!"

Some more traditional voices from the YU community objected to Levovitz's appointment, saying that he did not fit the lifestyle of most of the Kollel members, and had strayed from the derech set by the previous Rosh Kollel, Rav Aharon Kahn. Rav Moshe Tendler, the YU Rosh Yeshiva most associated with brain death, said, "Levovitz is outside the Pale of Settlement, I mean Judaism." Rabbi Michael Shmidman's position on the issue was unclear, as all he was willing to say on the record was, "Blah blah, blah blah blah, good Shabbos." Rav Kahn was unable to comment, as after hearing the news, he tore his bekeshe and was seen crying, just repeating the mantra, "A E Pi, A E Pi."

But most of the Kollel members were excited about their new spiritual leader. One smicha student said, "I had been questioning whether I wanted to continue learning, but since I met Rabbi Levovitz, I've been totally turned on... to Torah."