Volume 67, Issue 7

Respectful Coverage of Rabbinical Seminaries

It is difficult for us to voice criticism of RIETS. The RIETS Roshei Yeshiva provide us with the critical Torah perspective necessary to confront the challenges of a Modern Orthodox lifestyle. It should go without saying that we genuinely intend in all our coverage of RIETS to further the welfare of our rabbinical seminary and its students.

Ultimately, though, we are not responsible for the situation that has prompted our frank analysis of RIETS’ strengths and weaknesses vis a vis Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Competition has forced questions that were once evadable to the forefront. Deprived of its monopoly, RIETS must now define its core values clearly for the entire Yeshiva community. It must redouble its efforts to produce outstanding Jewish leaders committed to those values.

A comparison of the mission statements of RIETS and Chovevei Torah reveals the former to be abstract, uninspired, and patently self-congratulatory. While we are capable of voicing concern about Chovevei Torah’s ideology – appropriate or not – we cannot even begin to discuss RIETS’ ideology, since nobody knows what it really stands for.

One thing RIETS should never stand for, however, is elitist, exclusionary politics. Disagreement with a competitor never justifies sabotaging its students’ careers. While we respect the need for our rabbinic leaders to demarcate their lines clearly, we call upon them to do so with respect and dignity for all involved. We hope that our own treatment of this potentially explosive topic has likewise met these guidelines.

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