{Originally posted to the author’s website, Emes Ve-Emunah}
Even though I did not attend the school, if there is one institution that most reflects my worldview, it is Yeshiva University (YU). While our Hashkafos may not be identical, YU’s Hashkafos are by far the closest to my own. Not that there aren’t some problems at YU. There are. No institution is ideal. Not YU and not BMG (Lakewood). Although their problems are certainly not the same – they all have problems that need to be overcome. But that is beyond the scope of this post.
The reason YU is my Hashkafic home is because it stands for Torah U’Madda. Which in a very general sense means that they support and value both the study of Torah and of worldly knowledge – placing the greater importance on Torah.
To illustrate this fact, I was recently told of an anecdote about YU”s president, Richard Joel. He was a scholar in residence one Shabbos in a popular West Rogers Park Shul in Chicago. A while back – the Lakewood trained Rav, there, Rabbi Zev Cohen coined the phrase ‘Torah is the Ikkar’– meaning that the main thing (in life) is Torah. He repeats that phrase to his congregants at every opportunity.
Having been informed of this Richard Joel began one of his addresses that Shabbos with the following line. ‘In YU we have a saying, ‘Torah is the Ikkar’. That drew a bit of approving laughter. The point, obviously, is that at YU, Torah is indeed the Ikkar. But Mada is a not too distant second which is to be valued and studied. That is indeed YU’s motto. And it is mine.
Richard Joel has recently announced his retirement. It will be taking effect at the end of his current term in 2018.
So the speculation begins. Who will replace him? Joel’s tenure has not been without controversy. He was chosen despite the fact that he was not as learned in Torah as his predessors. There was a lot of criticism about that at the time. But the YU board felt that they needed someone at the helm that could raise money. They believed Richard Joel was that man. When he took office. YU was in the black. They had a surplus of funds.
That was due to Joel’s immediate predecessor, Dr. Norman Lamm who took over a deficit budget and turned it into a surplus. Dr. Lamm’s Torah credentials and academic credentials were equally impressive. He had written many essays and books on Torah and on Jewish thought. It was his work on Torah U’Madda that actually crystallized my own views on the matter. Although there was some controversy during his tenure including some disagreements with Rav Soloveitchik, I believe he was the last great leader of YU.
Richard Joel has not fared so well. His trust in Bernie Madoff cost YU tens of millions of dollars. YU went from a surplus to a deficit under his tenure. I’m not sure he can be entirely blamed for that. A lot of wealthy investors trusted Madoff and lost all of their money. But the fact is that it was under his watch that it happened. So bad is their financial situation that they had to sell off their prestigious Einstein Medical School.
So… who should the board now turn to?
Before I get into that, it is important to recognize some realities about Modern Orthodoxy. There was a time where YU hosted the entire spectrum of the Modern Orhtodox world. One could find in their faculty Rabbis Joseph and Ahron Soloveichik; Aaron Rakeffet; Aharon Lichtenstein; Hershel Shachter as well as Rabbis Saul Berman and Avi Weiss.