On September 25th, The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary held its annual Yom Iyun in the Weissberg Commons of Yeshiva's Belfer Hall. Attracting nearly 150 students, the day of learning was entitled, "Human and Holy: Equipping Rabbis and Educators to Deal with Man-Woman Relationships."

A one-day program, the Yom Iyun traditionally revolves around a topic not generally covered in the standard curriculum of RIETS students. The topics vary each year, ranging from the controversial to the mundane. After an introduction by one of the RIETS administrators and a keynote lecture, students are invited to a luncheon and a closing address from Yeshiva President, Rabbi Norman Lamm.

Over the past few years, the program has been organized by Max Stern Division of Communal Services Director Rabbi David Israel, RIETS Dean Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, RIETS Administrator Rabbi Chaim Bronstein, and Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Yosef Blau.

This year, Rabbi Israel's introduction was followed by Rabbi Charlop's overview of the subject matter. Rabbi Charlop's primary emphasis was that, despite pervasive tension in both the Torah and in rabbinic writings regarding sexuality, we all share a responsibility to consider these issues and respond to them.

RIETS Rosh HaYeshiva Rabbi Mayer Twersky then delivered the keynote address. Speaking at length about the various problems surrounding relationships and tzenius, and acknowledging that the intertwining of halacha and hashkafa is inevitable when dealing with them, Rabbi Twersky stressed the importance of chinuch from an early age.

Following Rabbi Twersky's presentation was an hour-long panel discussion with the title "Is It Appropriate to Discuss That in Public? Talking to Talmidim and Congregants about Sexual Issues."

Rabbi Blau, Stern College Associate Dean of Students Zelda Braun and Yeshiva College Bible professor Rabbi Allen Schwartz made up the panel, which dealt with a number of scenarios involving male-female issues. "Hearing opinions from three perspectives was very helpful, and I'm sure I'll use some of their advice when I discuss these issues with my students," one RIETS trainee remarked.

After the panel, there was a short break for lunch, followed by Rabbi Lamm's address to the students. The program closed with a number of workshops of varying subjects, all related to gender-relation issues.

Although officially open to anyone who wishes to attend, the annual Yom Iyun program is designed for students officially enrolled in RIETS and studying for the ultimate goal of rabbinic ordination. Thus, the topics are generally chosen to sensitize the students to certain issues that they may face as rabbis.

This year's presentation, however, drew a particularly large percentage of students who were not actually part of the RIETS program. Many traced this phenomenon to the somewhat controversial topic. "I went because you hardly hear rabbeim discussing issues that deal with sex and physical attraction," a Yeshiva College junior explained. "Learning about the Torah's perspective on these sensitive topics is very important."