There is only one Yeshiva University. There are many ‘Lakewoods.’ I have no issue with Charedi Yeshivos like Lakewood whose purpose it is to learn Torah only. My criticisms are only about how widely that is implemented in the Charedi world. I disagree that all Charedim should strive to do that to the exclusion of all else. But certainly such institutions should exist. There is nothing wrong with focusing on your area of expertise. Whether one should also be well versed in other subjects for their own sake (Torah U’Mada) or only to enhance one’s Yahdus (TIDE) is what separates us from Charedim who do not place much value on Mada at all except for utilitarian purposes.
The fact is that Yeshiva University is a Yeshiva that has both a Yeshiva and a university on the same campus and encourages its students to study both. Its motto is Torah U’Mada. That is in contrast to the Charedi worldview where very few Charedim seek secular education beyond high school in America (and at all in Israel). That some go on to become professionals via a higher education is not a function of any value they place on secular studies. It is solely a function of getting the education required to make a decent living.
There is nothing wrong with studying Mada for parnassa purposes. That’s what Touro does. Their education is geared towards Paranassa. I am a big supporter of that. But YU actually values secular studies per se. They take seriously the Gemarah’s statement ‘Im Omar Lecha Yesh Chochma BaGoyim, Taamin.’ If someone tells you that non Jews have wisdom, believe them.
YU’s goal is to seek out that wisdom and teach it to its students. It is the only Yeshiva to do so L’Chatchila beyond high school . Those who study in the Yeshiva program – the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS, which is what YU is really all about) are typical of those who place primary importance on Torah study but place great value on Mada too. There are plenty of Masmidim there. One can go into the Beis HaMedrash at YU at any given time and find it filled with students learning B’Hasmadah Rabbah (with great diligence). Some into the wee hours of the morning. And they do not neglect their study of Mada at all – succeeding at those studies with similar degrees of excellence.
I bring all this up in light of the recent report* about the financial straits YU is going through. Apparently YU’s board of directors approved risky investments that went south to the tune of a billion dollars. I cannot image any Yeshiva having those kinds of funds to invest, let alone to operate with. That is some serious money. That’s 1000 million dollars. They lost it all, it seems.
A lot of people blame YU’s president, Richard Joel. He is after all the CEO responsible for, among other things, YU’s financial welfare (and being handsomely paid for it). But I am not one of them. He consulted with the board about those investments and they must have approved it. He did not just blindly go into the market and invest in penny stocks. He consulted with acknowledged experts in the field of financial investments and if I understand correctly followed their recommendations. When the economy tanked a few years ago, so did those investments and apparently they did not recover when the economy started rebounding.
But… I understand that Mr. Joel is getting the blame for all this. He is the man in charge. He is the man at the top. The buck stops there. So if he gets fired, it is just as understandable as when a Cubs manager gets fired. If the team is doing badly you don’t fire the team. You fire the manager. Even if he is a proven winner in his past engagements with other teams that have won pennants under his leadership. That’s just the way it is. Richard Joel will land on his feet. I’m pretty sure he put away piles of money from the very generous compensation he received over the years as CEO of YU (unless he put that money into risky investments too. I hope not).