In response to the tragic events of September 11th, the Student Organization of Yeshiva, in conjunction with the administration of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, organized a mass meeting on the night of Wednesday, September 12th. The meeting filled Lamport Auditorium, and allowed some of RIETS' leading rabbinic authorities to send a message to an emotional and attentive crowd of students.

The speakers at the symposium, RIETS Dean Rabbi Zevulun Charlop and Roshei HaYeshiva Rabbis Yitzchok Cohen and Meir Goldwicht - aimed to comfort and console Yeshiva students and offered insights regarding how one should respond to the acts of terror. "The symposium was used to show how a ben torah should react to such a disaster," said Rabbi Cohen. "Yeshiva University is different from any other university, so the words used need to be different to reflect the proper Jewish attitude."

All three speakers built upon the need for religious and personal introspection, an especially poignant message due to the attacks' proximity to the High Holidays. The key to their religious message was teshuvah, repentance - for the individual, the entire Jewish nation, and the world as a whole.

Although many students described the symposium as inspirational, a few were not completely satisfied. "What they were talking about seemed to me to be too trite and overused," one Yeshiva College Sophomore remarked. "They kept on using the same old rhetoric of patriotism that we heard everywhere else." Others were more concerned with the acoustics, or lack thereof. "We could not hear a thing in the back. I looked around at everyone else and it seemed we all had the same problem," said an irritated YC Junior.

Aside from these minor grievances, however, most deemed the symposium a success. "I think they got their point across," offered Syms Junior Yair Amsel. "Although [a large part of] what was said was clichéd, it was still important to hear from Talmidei Chachamim." Amsel also mentioned that the ensuing Tehillim recitation capped off a well-orchestrated event, a sentiment with which many other students agreed.

"It is a pity," Rabbi Cohen stated, "that Yeshiva can only get together like this for tragedies and not for normal happier events." Another rabbi commented on the program's success, stating that everyone stayed until the end, so "I guess it wasn't that bad."