Intolerance: Sharing the Blame

To the Editors:

In more recent years, The Commentator has made an effort to reach out to students with different viewpoints to read and contribute to the “official newspaper of the Wilf campus.” I hope two examples from the last issue of this year’s volume do not indicate a regression in this trend.

The first warrants few remarks and needs merely to be pointed out. In the above-the-fold extended editorial (“Presidential Priorities”), the editors note in passing that the next president should “urge those rabbeim who support ‘Torah U’Parnassa’… to stop indoctrinating influenceable students with this type of ideology.” The inference is quite clear: it is the more religiously right-wing rabbeim who are in the habit of indoctrination and the more religiously right-wing students who are more influenceable. Although not as condescending as the flippant “Stop brainwashing our children in Israel,” the sentiment here is similar. One would hope that at least by ages 20-23, our peers and friends would be viewed as being able to think for themselves; evidently, not in the offices of the editors of the Commentator.

The second is more pernicious because it does not stink of the obvious fallaciousness of the first. In “YU’s Small Community: Integrating ‘Yeshiva Guys,’” Gavri Butler plays on the classic cliché that the frummer students at Yeshiva act more callously towards others, especially those whom they deem less religiously observant. Perhaps I was being unfair, but when I read the account of the guy who actually apologized after he found out that the author, whom he had pushed, was a “Yeshiva Guy” just like him, I first smiled and then tried to recall from which Chaim Potok or Phillip Roth story it had been adapted.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not so naïve that I think it couldn’t have happened, but – and I’m sorry I feel that I have to point this out in a university newspaper – anecdotes do not prove anything. They often just feed into hatred. And to be honest, though not to continue the juvenile game, when was the last time a non- “Yeshiva Guy” sat down in the cafeteria at a table filled with guys wearing white shirts? In my long history on this campus, not to mention New York City, I have been pushed by all types of Jews—yeshivish and irreligious, bare heads and black hatters—scurrying to get to class on time or catch a minyan. Perhaps if Mr. Butler were the RA in Morg, he’d hear different tales featuring different perpetrators. Jerks are jerks; they come in all shapes and pants styles. Surely we can agree that obtuseness is neither a cause nor a symptom of being frum. Any assertion to the contrary is vile.

Yes, there is a dangerous lack of unity on this campus. All students and every side are to blame. But singling out a specific culture or clique within our Yeshiva walls as the primary instigators does nothing to further the cause of achdus.

Shlomo Greenwald

YC 2002

The Indoctrination of Intolerance

To the Editors:
Having reviewed Gavri Butler's piece on “Integrating yeshiva guys,” I am left wondering whether Gavri placed the blame accurately. Of all people, I will be the first to tell you that growing up in New York dulls the senses and that my parents made the right decision raising me in Chicago. However, I think that the problem of “Yeshiva guys” looking down on anyone not wearing “black and white,” or something close to it, is not limited to New Yorkers and is not any more prevalent amongst New Yorkers than it is amongst “out-of-towners.”
So what is the cause? Where does this problem come from? One important possibility, not explored in Butler's piece, is that some of the MYP Roshei Yeshiva foster this elitism. Having been in the Beis Medrash for quite a few of the Wednesday Night Mussar Shmuzes (9:40 main beis). I can verify that sometimes Roshei Yeshiva do not understand the effect their comments will make. A simple joke to “Yeshiva guys” about people watching the World Series instead of learning is meant to encourage them to learn, but it also makes them think less of the people who are in fact watching the World Series. I realize that many Roshei Yeshiva feel that “the clothes make the man” (though they'll say it differently) but they have basically given their talmidim a yardstick for determining who is “frum” and who is not: just check the guy's outfit. Perhaps it's because I was raised to believe that in Judaism only God can judge man, but this really touches a nerve with me. Some of the nicest people in this University are walking around wearing jeans or sweatpants and a t-shirt, yet the third of the students who learn night seder think that they are better than them. Who are we, or our Rabbis for that matter, to judge a man based on his clothes, or even based on how much he learns? Chazal tell of Yissachar and Zevulun, of which the former learned all day and the latter worked and supported both. Had that story been revealed in modern times in the main beis, I would not be surprised to hear a Rosh Yeshiva or two chastise Zevulun for working when he could have been learning. We have students who walk around with their noses in the air because they learn yet who cheat on tests. Maybe if the Wednesday night speeches were more focused on “Bein Adam L'chaveiro” (as R' Twersky used to focus his speeches back when he gave Tuesday night mussar) than on “Bein Adam L'makom” with side comments putting people down, then a solution to the problem of “Integrating Yeshiva guys” could appear in the near future.

Ira Karoll
YC ‘04

Giving Honor Where Due

To the Editors:

I am pleased that the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva College, the subject of Zalman Abramchik’s article, “Lee Heads Honors Program,” is successful. I have no doubt that the seven students mentioned in the article who graduated last May are talented young men who benefited tremendously from the program. In the interest of accuracy, I would like to point out an error in the article’s final paragraph. The concluding sentence of the article reads, “In the words of the Middle States Accreditation Report of April 2002, which singled out the Honors Program as a significant factor in the strengthening of Yeshiva, ‘Extraordinary success and improvement have been gained through the Honors Program.’” The Middle States Accreditation Report actually states, “Extraordinary success and improvement have been gained through the Honors Programs, offered on both campuses . . .” As director of the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program at Stern College, I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of the exceptional young women who are currently participating in Stern’s honors program and of the sixteen students who graduated from the program last year. I hope that members of the SCW and YC communities will have many occasions in the future to applaud again the achievements of both honors programs. Sincerely, Dr. Cynthia Wachtell

A Lesson in Derech Eretz

To the Editors:

Regarding your article, "A Lesson in Journalism", or, should I say, regarding Shai Barnea’s article, the author (and editors who helped write the article) acted in a disgusting manner. One who writes an article should have his own say- not one that is interrupted for grammatical errors every four lines. It doesn’t matter who wrote the article or how much you hate him. You think you have power over things you don't. You don’t control anything. Surprise! No one cares what you write! Except when you blatantly go against derech eretz by not letting someone express his opinion in the manner that he requested. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

David Goldstein
RIETS 2000

Response Please

To the Editors:
We have noticed a disturbing trend in our newspaper and request that it be rectified. The Commentator is supposed to serve as an intellectual arena, a battleground for confronting the pressing issues that face us, particularly as students of Yeshiva. By using it as a forum to wrestle with these issues and question our notions and biases, we are privileged to tackle these matters with honesty and rigor on a public stage: to reach a more complete awareness of their importance and, hopefully, a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of our own beliefs and values.

Such being the case, we find it disappointing that Zack has been squandering this wonderful opportunity. While Zack's opening Letter from the Editor's Desk has yielded much response, the response has remained unanswered (one who carefully inspects Zack's second letter will find that he did nothing other than to acknowledge his original remarks and then restate them). Whether to admit error or defend his position is obviously not up to us. It is a decision that he must make, not only as an editor, but, more importantly, as the opinion's purveyor. But to not respond at all is cowardly and does not benefit our search for understanding.

As the ultimate navigators of the newspaper's intellectual voyage, please continue to raise and address pertinent and meaningful issues, controversial if they are. However, do not stop there; boldly respond to and thoughtfully engage the ensuing discussions. Reestablish The Commentator as a serious forum for academic debate.

Tuvia Lazar and Shmuel Honig
Yeshiva College, '04

`Thanks From Coach King`

To Yeshiva University Faculty and Students:
In the year 2000, I came to Yeshiva University to assist in coaching the men's varsity basketball team. Many people thought this would be a bad coaching move, for who would go to Yeshiva University to coach basketball? All of those people were wrong in their assessment. My two seasons at YU were an incredible experience. On a personal level I received my masters in psychology and I am still enrolled in Ferkauf as a Ph.D. student. On a professional level I was able to learn from Coach Halpert, who opened up my eyes to the way the game is played offensively. His love for his players, the game, and the University is something I will always remember and try to follow as my coaching career continues to blossom. For that and the opportunity you presented me with I thank you, Coach. The best part about my experience was being around my players. It did not matter if you were the best player or the last man on the bench; I loved all my guys. I thank you especially for your effort during my first season and second seasons, when you gave me your absolute all. I am proud that I brought a different attitude and mindset to Yeshiva basketball. I have now moved on to Southern Vermont College. This is an enormous opportunity. We were picked to finish second in the conference in our Preseason Coaches Poll and I am very excited about the possibility of a great season ahead. Thank you for a great two years. I hope that one day I will get to roam the sidelines one more time at the Max Stern. I wish you the best this upcoming season.

Yours Truly,
Coach King

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