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Kol Hamevaser 3.7-Halakhah-And-Minhag May 2010.Pdf (1.445Mb) Kol Hamevaser Contents Kol Hamevaser Volume III, Issue 7 The Jewish Thought Magazine of the May 17, 2010 Yeshiva University Student Body 4 Sivan 5770 Opinions Chana Cooper 3 Aseh Lekha Rav : Opening Channels of Staff Communication to Stern Students Editors-in-Chief Seth Herstic 4 Degrees of Separation: A Farewell to Sarit Bendavid Yeshiva College Shaul Seidler-Feller Associate Editors Jonathan Ziring 7 Kol Hamevaser : Creating a Torah Commu - Ilana Gadish nity Shlomo Zuckier Halakhah and Minhag Layout Editor Chaim Cohen Dr. Lawrence H. Schiffman 8 History and Liturgy: The Evolution of Mul - Copy Editor tiple Prayer Rites Benjamin Abramowitz Editor Emeritus Shlomo Zuckier 11 Ha-Mahamir, Mah Tavo Alav? : Religious Alex Ozar Stringencies and Their Psychological Con - siderations Staff Writers AJ Berkovitz Rabbi Dr. Richard Hidary 12 Minhag and Halakhah in the Talmuds: A Chaya Citrin Cross-Cultural Study Jake Friedman Nicole Grubner Nate Jaret Daniel Fridman 15 Collective Memory and Haroset Ori Kanefsky Alex Luxenberg Jonathan Ziring 16 Halakhah: More than Just Exegesis Yossi Steinberger Jonathan Ziring Ariel Pinn 19 The Synthesis of Heritage and Personal In - novation Webmaster Ben Kandel Staff 21 An Interview with Rabbi Hershel Schachter Cover Design Yehezkel Carl Shlomo Zuckier 25 Creativity, Not Formalism: Towards a Sur - vey of Rav Yoel Bin-Nun’s Halakhic Business Manager Methodology Saadia Fireman General Jewish Thought About Kol Hamevaser Kol Hamevaser is a magazine of Jewish thought dedicated to sparking Shlomo Zuckier 27 An Interview with Chief Rabbi Lord the discussion of Jewish issues on the Yeshiva University campus. It Jonathan Sacks will serve as a forum for the introduction and development of new ideas. The major contributors to Kol Hamevaser will be the undergrad - Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik 28 A Yid iz Geglichn tzu a Seyfer Toyre uate population, along with regular input from RIETS Rashei Yeshivah, YU Professors, educators from Yeshivot and Seminaries in Israel, and outside experts. In addition to the regular editions, Kol Hamevaser will Periel Shapiro 30 The Forgotten Torah be sponsoring in-depth special issues, speakers, discussion groups, shabbatonim , and regular web activity. We hope to facilitate the reli - gious and intellectual growth of Yeshiva University and the larger Jew - ish community. This magazine contains words of Torah. Please treat it with proper respect . 2 www.kolhamevaser.com Volume III, Issue 7 Halakhah and Minhag Opinions Aseh Lekha Rav :i Opening Channels of Communication to Stern Students BY: Chana Cooper by various recent changes at Stern, including gives a weekly shi’ur on the Beren Campus, able in the religious world and willingly submit the creation of the daily Beit Midrash track for but he is the only Rosh Yeshivah to do so. Ad - themselves to its rabbinic authority, women n a recent interview with Kol Hamevaser ,ii Judaic courses and the introduction of a Night ditionally, the Torah Scholarship Series brings must have the sense that the rabbis truly under - Rabbi Yaakov Neuberger expressed his op - Seder program. Nonetheless, the Torah learn - Rashei Yeshivah to Beren for one-time stand their position, especially when the issue Iposition to the institution of yo’atsot Ha - ing opportunities available at Stern are still shi’urim, enabling students to have the privi - at hand is specifically a women’s issue. With - lakhah (halakhic advisors on issues of Family lacking. While YU’s undergraduate men are lege of hearing from these rabbanim at Stern. out this level of trust, their dedication to reli - Purity), asserting that allowing women into po - blessed with Rashei Yeshivah who are talmidei These shi’urim are very popular among Stern gious practice and respect of religious sitions of halakhic authority would drive a hakhamim of the highest order, Stern students students and are well attended. Batya Matla authority is most likely severely weakened. wedge between female congregants and their have minimal opportunities to learn from them, Herzberg, the creator of the Torah Scholarship There is much to be done in order to in - communal rabbi. He stated further that rabbis which is both unfortunate and, in my view, un - Series, developed the program with two goals crease the presence of Rashei Yeshivah on the “are and want to be very involved in the full fair. As an institution, Yeshiva University is in mind: “Firstly, to allow Stern girls the op - Beren Campus, affording Stern students more needs of the community, including women’s is - dedicated to the intellectual and religious de - portunity to learn Torah from some of the opportunities for learning Torah, seeking ad - sues,” and that it is necessary to “create venues velopment of students in of all of its under - greatest Torah scholars Yeshiva University has vice from our leaders, and developing a sense and formats” in which women can feel com - graduate programs, both the men’s and to offer, and secondly, to increase the dialogue of mutual understanding between YU’s women fortable discussing any issue with their rav .iii women’s colleges. To allow one college max - with the Rashei Yeshivah to give students the and its Rashei Yeshivah. Weekly classes given sense that our leaders are in touch with all parts by the Rashei Yeshivah similar to Rav Gold - “While YU’s undergraduate men are blessed with of the community, including Stern.” iv After one wicht’s would be a very welcome develop - such shi’ur given by Rabbi Herschel Reich - ment. An expansion of the Torah Scholarship Rashei Yeshivah who are talmidei hakhamim of the man, Herzberg recalled, students lined up to Series would also be well received, so that in - ask questions pertaining to many different stead of giving one-time shi’urim, rabbis could highest order, Stern students have minimal opportu - areas of Jewish interest, extending well beyond deliver a whole series of shi’urim in install - the topic of the shi’ur. “There is a genuine ments throughout the semester, allowing these nities to learn from them, which is both unfortunate thirst for more Torah at Stern and the Torah lectures to take place both more often and be Scholarship Series is a great way to partially more in-depth. Additionally, Stern has many and, in my view, unfair.” satisfy that,” said Herzberg. However, these wonderful shabbatonim which would greatly occasional shi’urim by definition cannot be benefit from the presence of the Rashei I do not wish to address the issue of yo’at - imal access to the greatest Torah resources of very in-depth, and thus the amount of Torah Yeshivah (currently, a few selected Rashei sot Halakhah and female rabbinic leadership YU and the other minimal access is not in ac - Stern students can learn on these occasions is Yeshivah come down to Stern only a couple in this article, but rather would like to focus on cordance with the principles of our institution. limited. The infrequency also means that stu - times a year for shabbatonim ). The ideas listed the women-rabbi relationship that Rabbi Neu - Providing Stern students little access to dents who want to ask religious questions here are just a few of the ways to increase the berger discusses. In Stern College, the women- the rabbinic leaders of our community not only rarely get the opportunity to do so. number of interactions of the Rashei Yeshivah rabbi rift is not a theoretical one. The venues deprives those seeking to learn more Torah, but The desire to have access to the rabbinic with the women of Stern College, but there are that he discusses offering opportunities for in - also precludes the opportunity for them to seek leaders of the Yeshiva University community certainly many more. Hopefully, these changes teraction between students and the rabbinic advice and ask questions from these leaders. is not merely driven by the eagerness to learn will expand the dialogue between the two par - leaders of our community are currently very Stern does have mashgihim ruhaniyyim (spiri - from the best Torah resources in YU and have ties and allow them to work together in mini - limited at Stern College, and the sense that the tual counselors) who are available for students the opportunity to ask them questions on nu - mizing the women-rabbi rift. YU’s Rashei Yeshivah are and want to be in - to turn to for guidance. They are very active in merous areas of Jewish life. It is also essential volved in the needs of the next generation of the Stern community and their presence is a that rabbinic leaders have a thorough and true women is not strongly felt. While this senti - tremendous contribution to the Beren Campus. understanding of the perspectives and needs of ment may not be accurate, there is little dia - However, although their leadership is greatly all of a community’s constituents in order to Chana Cooper is a junior at SCW major - logue between the rabbinic figures and Stern appreciated, the desire to speak with the ha - render the best possible decisions for that com - ing in Physical Sciences. students to assure them otherwise. The lack of lakhic and hashkafic leaders of the YU com - munity. Without much dialogue between the access to the great rabbinic leaders of Yeshiva munity is still strongly felt. In accordance with women of the community and the rabbis mak - for those on the Beren Campus is a tremendous Rabbi Neuberger’s words, the Rashei Yeshivah ing the decisions, their halakhic rulings will loss for students who yearn to learn more should be available to all members of the com - more likely be ineffective or misplaced. Not Torah and wish for the opportunity to ask them munity, including women at Stern. only is it important for our rabbis to relate to i Avot 1:6.
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