"This is, I suppose, about as close as you can get with an academic symposium to a shofar blast," Dean Norman Adler observed, as he opened the first official Yeshiva College program in response to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. The symposium, which began at 2:45 on Thursday, September 20th, lasted almost two hours, and was attended by a wide cross-section of professors and students.

The event featured eight presentations, after which the floor was opened to discussion. The first was an audio presentation of an instrumental version of Kol Nidre, which lasted several minutes and provided a somber mood that remained throughout the duration of the event.

The first live presentation was given by Yeshiva's Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Yosef Blau, who read aloud Psalm 23, in both English and Hebrew. Blau, who indicated that this is a time during which we find "comforting words to be also quite problematic," indicated that there is no one proper course for approaching the tragedy. "The Holocaust and I know all comparisons are inadequate taught us that sin is insufficient to explain the murder of so many innocents," Blau commented, adding that, "hopefully in this dialogue we can find support."

Rabbi Shalom Carmy, opening with the comment that "this week we're all much older than we were before," spoke next, delivering a message from the Torah portions read on the two days of Rosh Hashana. From the first portion, Genesis 21 which concerns the sending-away of Ishmael from the house of Abraham Carmy indicated the strife that is part of the struggle for co-existence among differing factions. From the second portion, Genesis 22 which narrates Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac Carmy derived a message of martyrdom, making specific reference to America's loss in this tragedy, stating that "for religious and moral people, that question always exists."

Dr. Carl Feit next gave an emotionally wrought presentation in which he revealed what he witnessed from his office as the attacks occurred. Feit presented two thoughts for discussion. The first was that Judaism, "as a religion that would like to believe in the innate goodness of each human being," is sometimes forced to recognize that there are those who "can choose to diminish the divine spark and replace it with pure evil." Feit listed the names of those that fit the bill: "Pharaoh, Haman, Torquemada, Stalin, Hitler, Bin-Laden." Feit's second point was that attendees should recognize "people who opt to express the most divine aspect" of their selves, referring to the firefighters and law-enforcement officers who died while trying to save lives.

Dr. Gabriel Cwilich spoke next, decrying terrorism, which "sends a message of human bodies," as opposed to a message of "letters and words, the dialogue that builds democracy." Cwilich also expressed a disappointment with what he felt were students who didn't seem to care enough about the tragedy. Cwilich's statement regarding student apathy, understandably, drew the most heated opposition in the discussion section of the event.

Dr. Ellen Schrecker then spoke of how, as someone who doesn't subscribe to a religious belief, she felt at a loss in terms of a religious outlet for her emotions and how she felt "envious" of those who could lose themselves in ritual. Schrecker then went on to note the "universal" vigils and memorial sites at Union Square and Times Square, indicating that she felt that these activities and sites provided a specialized kind of devotion.

Dr. Nada Glick was the last faculty speaker, and she stated that the attacks are "a trauma for us all," and that, even for those without a direct connection to the tragedy, psychiatric consultation and the like should be sought.

Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, of the Riverdale Jewish Center, representing the Jewish Community-at-large, closed the formal part of the event with several points. In the first, directed towards Schrecker, he disclosed his own feelings of emotional loss when he realizes "how little comfort there is to take in ritual." Rosenblatt then continued by critiquing the stated notions of fighting a war against terrorism, saying that, "we might as well send Marines to a website." Further, Rosenblatt critiqued the Jewish community's previous "disinclination to participate in the American faith community," hoping that these tragic events would shift the American Jewish focus. Rosenblatt closed with a statement about America's "A.D.D. culture" that upholds celebrity figures and the like, and issued a message of hope that in this tragedy we can find the tools to "create a new mythology," in which "noble figures" such as the firefighters and law-enforcement officers who died, are celebrated.

When the floor was opened to discussion, many professors chose to react to Cwilich's comments regarding student apathy. One student, Yoel Oz, shared his experiences of Israel, and made a plea for having a larger portion of the discussion center around Israel. After Adler encouraged more student participation in the discussion, one student asked about blood drives on campus, another noted his pleasant sense of surprise at the symposium's having had so strong a religious orientation, while a third, Daniel Vinick, spoke of the future, hoping that "we get to see more displays of what we're holding within us right now."

Student response to the event was mixed. A relatively poor showing on the part of the student body evidenced a half-hearted effort at advertising the event and poor scheduling on the part of organizers, and limited student participation in the discussion seemed to indicate what one Yeshiva College junior felt "from the beginning," that "this event wasn't really designed with any student perspective in mind." The small student turnout could legitimately be attributed to the event's being held on the Tzom Gedalya fast day, however, at a time when few students were even present on campus.

Nevertheless, Yeshiva College Senior Steven I. Weiss expressed his dissatisfaction with "the immaturity" of the event, explaining, "If they felt that we needed to have this emotional outpouring, why didn't they do it last week? As much as I respect the emotions of our faculty, I think, 'hey, this isn't NYU, where half our campus is shut down,' so let's get over it and actually engage in some important dialogue."

Yet other participants appreciated the symposium. Explained an emotional Yeshiva College junior, "I think that people are legitimately trying to deal with this tragedy and in doing so trying to help others do the same. There is something admirable about that."