Fall Dorm Talks: NCSY and the Starr Report-The Choices We Face

Enticed by topics of discussion dealing with the Jewish approach to the Starr Report, the oversleeping roommate, visiting a Conservative Temple, and the NCSY Kiruv bug, dorm residents trickled into Morgenstern Hall lounge for Fall '98 Dorm Talks. This first Dorm Talks event of the year, held on Wednesday, October 21, drew a sizable crowd that came to hear Rabbi Dr. Bernard Rosensweig and Rabbi Dr. Moshe D. Tendler, the two panelists for the evening, grapple with the scenarios constructed by Rabbi Gedalya Berger.

Rabbi Rosensweig is currently a professor of Jewish History at the James Striar School of Judaic Studies and at Yeshiva College. He is also Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Adas Yeshurun in Kew Gardens. Rabbi Tendler, a Rosh Yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and a professor of Biology at Yeshiva College, is a world-renowned medical ethicist. Rabbi Yosef Blau, Mashgiach Ruchani at RIETS, moderated the event, coordinated by Rabbi Joshua Cheifetz.

Describing a YU student with a rigorous schedule, the first scenario portrayed a student who could barely "keep his head above water" while he tackled his dual curriculum in his first few weeks of college after returning from two years of study in Israel. This student, lured by NCSY outreach representatives, is faced with the dilemma of deciding his level of involvement in the organization while in college. Comparing the student to a "juggler," Rabbi Tendler cracked that maybe this scenario requires one to save this person as he is seemingly "drowning" in his commitments. Tendler related that his father-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, often said that time is money in American society, meaning that you have to "tithe" your time as well as your money. You have to decide "who the recipient should be and how it should be done" when giving of your precious time. In response to the question of whether the NCSY shabbaton atmosphere is consonant with a "yeshiva" lifestyle, Tendler pointed out that it can be a paradoxical, Red Heifer-like situation, in which the person helping others might become tainted by helping others return to their roots, citing Michtav M'Eliyahu which teaches that "it is hard not to get dirty" when doing outreach work. Tendler doubted whether it is appropriate for a young yeshiva student, with limited experience and dealing with a heavy schedule, to be "exposed to that problem" of the possible negative effects of performing outreach work. Tendler qualified his warning against outreach work by commenting that we need to improve the quality of outreach, and to "put on a show; make believe you're a Talmud Chacham" is not real outreach, emphasizing that students are "not the one's who should be doing it." Tendler concluded, that Yeshiva University will not make us Talmidei Chachamim, but will give us the "keys" to attain greater knowledge in our later lives as long as we take the time to "open the door" while in college.

Responding to the first scenario, Rabbi Rosensweig pointed out that we all have to struggle with the conflict "between self-perfection on the one hand, and the need to share with others on the other hand." Rosensweig, who claims to have spearheaded much of Canadian NCSY, mentioned that we can strive to share our experiences with others, showing others "living exemplars of what a Torah Jew is supposed to be." Contrary to Tendler, Rosensweig considers giving up a shabbat at home or in yeshiva a worthwhile endeavor, maintaining that often the "result of our participating in these programs affords us an opportunity to appreciate what it is that we have really achieved."

Turning the crowd's attention to another pressing concern among Yeshiva students, the next topic considered a student confronted with the prospect of visiting a conservative temple and his dilemma in deciding his degree of participation in the services of such an institution. Opening his remarks with the comment that "a Jew is a Jew" and that we have to have concern for all Jews, Rosensweig opined that we are not obligated to "love everything that every Jew does." He continued, saying that there is a clear difference in kind between Torah Judaism and Reform Judaism, while the difference between Reform and Conservative movements is one of degree. Rosensweig, a previous president of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), cited Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik as the "guiding spirit" of the RCA and the guidelines that he set down in dealing with the Reform and Conservative movements. With his commitment to the concerns of the Jewish community as a whole, the Rav felt, according to Rosensweig, that there may be "no divisiveness in this area" and that we must be united. However, in matters of schools, synagogues, and like spiritual matters, Orthodoxy should remain separate from groups that "deny the foundations" of Torah Judaism.

Expressing his angst at the problem that the Conservative and Reform movements pose for Torah Judaism, Tendler expressed his belief that these liberal movements are "no longer part of the stock; no longer part of the tree of Judaism" in light of their "aggressive" attitude in claiming that Orthodox Jews are outcasts and that they now represent "true Judaism." According to Tendler, Reform Judaism is "no longer a Jewish faith," and Conservative Jews "don't know who they are" by denying the halakhic process. Tendler went on to caution that it is inappropriate for Torah Jews to participate in Conservative prayer services, fearing that it might lead to legitimization of their dogma.

Regarding the question of whether it is appropriate to read such things as the Starr report in its lurid detail and keep abreast of current politics, Rabbi Rosensweig stated that if you "close your eyes" to issues such as Judge Starr's report, you might as well "sit in your house and never walk out the door," considering the issues that you confront in every day life. Citing the sages, Rosensweig explains that everything we see is not always in our control, but what we do with what we see is "the key to how we live as Jews." We need to belong to the rest of the world around us, and confront the Starr report and other such events, according to Rosensweig, and we should be "sophisticated enough to be able to distinguish and to bring our own value judgements to bear on all of these things."

Playing on the very title of the event, Tendler suggested that it is not only that we have Dorm Talks, but that we should consider exactly how the "dorm talks," referring to the need for us to be more careful with our words in this institution. Tendler expressed his opinion that anyone who read the Starr Report violated halakha, "no doubt about it." In regards to the dilemma whether to read the New York Times and the like at all, Tendler feels that we have to know what goes on in the outside world, encouraging us to utilize our own discretion in what we read, concluding that at times we must be different in our efforts to live up to the "chosenness" which has been bestowed upon us.