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The 18th of Nissan m Yosef Dov Solo knowledge an RAV thousands as s "The Idea of a " Though the Rav has and his philosop An Excerpt from a Drasha of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchick zt"l

The following essay is an edited transcript complete my twenty-ninth year as a questing - and that is exactly what all and women not only live Jewish lives, of the second part of a drasha delivered by teacher here. The Yeshiva has musmachei ha-Yeshiva have. I can testify but think in Torah categories and talk Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt"l on April accomplished something which is that the level of the shiurim delivered at the language of the Torah, and are 12, 1970 at a S'micha luncheon held at unknown in Jewish annals since the the Yeshiva reached great heights which committed to our tradition, is due Yeshiva University. The first part of the Golden Era in Spain; namely, the no other Yeshiva delivered here in directly or indirectly to our yeshiva. drasha was an exposition on the revelation combination of a talmid chacham with an America, or in Eretz Yisroel attained. Could I ever have dreamt twenty-five to Moses after the Golden Calf, and the third academician, a person trained There are boys in our institution who are part was devoted to the Rav's misgivings committed to Torah, bekollibam u-vekhol and fears regarding decisions taken by nafsham, with a fire and a passion which Yeshiva's Administration in response to is unmatched in the history of yeshivas. "If chas v'shalom, the various crises they were facing at the time. "The Yeshiva has When I see sometimes, I am reminded of The second part of the drasha is a vigorous Bialik's Ha-Masmid. They are bright and Yeshiva will close, not presentation ofthe role ofYeshiva University accomplished something sharp, and their precision and skill are only will we lose a great in American Jewish life. Minor changes of which is unknown in simply admirable. I can tell you that I sit institution that has style and syntax have been incorporated into Jewish annals since the up studying days and nights sometimes. the text in order to facilitate the reader's Many a time my son finds me asleep changed the face of understanding. However, the basic oral Golden Era in Spain; over the Gemara and it is late in the American Jewry from the presentation and style has been retained. namely, the combination of evening -- Why? It is not so much my This essay was transcribed by a young diligence, but I am afraid of my pupils. top to the bottom, but we Musmach ofRIETS and verified for aceLi racy a talmid chacham with an If I come into the class unprepared, they will lose an idea, a vision, by a nllmber of prominent Mecltanchill1. academician." will t ar m apart, and it happ ns quite oft n. Atth amctim ,a farasmodern and a faith. Orthodoxy Yeshiva University is an institution education is concerned, they are itself will be lost!" which has been opposed and challenged academically well trained on par with ~o: a~~~g',I:g ~::!: Thi o~,~p._c .....s l~·ti. ~o...n -,,,",i s~_ ..... =~':::.:2,, ~~::.....:t.:..:h :.....:t=c:h.:.:.n::..o:.::lo~g~ic:::a:..:.l --.:.a:.:n:..:,y~b:.::o: !y.:s ...:..:fT..:o~m~I.:.Ia:.:r:.....:v...:a~T ::.d ~, .-.:Y...:a:.::,.l :..:,---.:;.or:...... ______..... ofl n. Allh sam tim ,asfarasmod 'rn ano a lann. UrLnouoxy Yeshiva University is an institution education is concerned, they are itself will be lost!" which has been opposed and challenged academically well trained on par with for a long, long time. This opposition is scientifically in all the technological any boy from Harvard, Yal, r a result of the uniqueness it has in its skills. I lived many years in G rmany lumbia. And, in addili n t singular contribution to American and you probably have heard about th cholarship and know] dg , th Y hav a y ars ago that a bunch of boys from our Jewish Life. You will ask me, in what revolution which R. Samson Raphael sense a commitment to Klal Yisrael the yeshiva and oth r y hivot would does this uniqueness express itself? The Hirsch precipitated there (he was likes of which is hard to find. occupy the quarters of the Federation of uniqueness is an idea; if you wish, it is followed by R. Azriel Hildersheimer When I came to Boston thirty years Jewish Philanthropies in New York, the faith; if you wish, it consists of an zt"l) and it was a very interesting ago, I found six young men who were sanctum sanctorum of Reform Jewry and adventure. What is it? The three words, accomplishment. However, the Sabbath observers. The rest did not make demands boldly and proudly! You "It is possible" which is the motto of accomplishment consisted of combining observe the Sabbath, or observed it also will see those "priests" of the sanctum Yeshiva. Whatis possible? To be a Jew, academic training with piety. I had a on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday sanctorum giving in to those young boys professor at the University of Berlin, Oigen -- and the same thing is happening in Mitvoch, who was an ehrlicheryid. He used Boston. All this is due directly or to come on Tish'ah B' av to the Oriental "I am afraid of my pupils. indirectly to our Yeshiva. It is responsible "The uniqueness is an Seminar at the University of Berlin (and for the renaissance of Orthodoxy, and I idea; if you wish, it is Berlin was not New York) in sneakers! Yes, If 1 come into the class am not exaggerating. For the Yeshiva is in Germany I witnessed the combination of unprepared, they will tear not just an institution or a s~hool; it is a faith; if you wish, it merger of academic modem training with movement, an idea, a challenge, it is a consists of an adventure. piety, with legal observance. me apart, and it happens faith and an assurance that Torah can What is it? The three However, what the Yeshiva did is quite often. At the same blossom and flourish in the Western something else. The Yeshiva was more time, as far as modern hemisphere, close to the skyscrapers of words, "It is possible" ambitious and more bold. It had New York. The Torah can be cultivated, which is the motto of proclaimed the higher goal, the education is concerned, taught and propagated in all societies combination of academic modern they are academically well and eras, no matter how staggering the Yeshiva." training with lomdus, with rigorous task, no matter how powerful the scholarship at the highest level. The trained on par with any opposition, and no matter how alumnus of the Yeshiva, whether he is a boys from Harvard, Yale, unfriendly the circumstances may be. a loyal committed Jew, living a Jewish rabbi or a merchant, a lawyer or a doctor, or Columbia." If chas v'shalom, the Yeshiva will close, life, to be a talmid chacham, a scholar, a is a talmid chacham in the sense (and I am not only will we lose a great institution Jew committed to Torah she-be'al peh, very careful and cautious about my that has changed the face of American and Torah she-bichtav, a Jew committed statement) that he is interested in Kezos Jewry from the top to the bottom, but we to the past, present and future of Jewish or a Rambam, in a Hiddeshei Rabbenu because they were octogenarians. I must will lose an idea, a vision, and a faith. history, a Jew committed to the Hayyim Halevi. He has the curiosity. tell you that three of those young men Orthodoxy itself will be lost! Many eschatological vision of acharit ha-yamim The sign of a scholar is not so much the are now my brothers-in-law. Now, schools and high schools will close their and, at the same time, to be a member of amount of knowledge he has, but the Boston which was called an ir ha­ doors for the simple reason that there modem society, a useful member trained inquisitiveness, the curiosity, the quest, nidahasas far as Orthodoxy was will be no inspiration for them to in all skills, able to live in the midst of the interest, the commitment. I saw concerned is today a stronghold of continue. The Yeshiva is the loadstar modem society, not to retreat, but to many scholars with almost unlimited Orthodox living and questing. In my which our boys and girls of the third, take pride in the singularity and erudition but I have always doubted shul, at , the average age of fourth, and fifth generations will follow. uniqueness of . It is that idea their scholarship; they were similar to the worshipers is twenty-one! I am the If, chas v'shalom, disaster will strike and that the Yeshiva has proclaimed in three that the Ramban called, chamor nosay oldest, the oldest in years. I mention the Yeshiva will cease to exist, then words, "It is possible," and it is to that seforim -- a donkey loaded with lots of Boston simply because I live there, but Orthodoxy will be destroyed. Yes, you motto that we especially cling now. books. The real criterion of a scholar is you will find the same is true in New will have Orthodox groups, "sects" as I have been a teacher at Yeshiva for commitment, curiosity, inquisitiveness, York, which is a much larger city as well. Dr. Belkin calls them, here and there, twenty-nine years. Next May, I will a restlessness in exploration, steady The fact that thousands of young men but we are not for sectarian Orthodoxy. 7 Nissan 5754 page 9 ------~a I Z..:::...._

ks the first yahrzeit of 7eitchick, the bastion of I leadership known to qlply "The Rav." RAV

~ssed on, his teachings .icallegacy live on. Hundreds Attend SOY Hachnasas Sefer Torah

We want Orthodoxy to be a popular by Moshe I. Kinderlehrer According to Lavi Greenspan, SOY the Sefer Torah Project dedicated to the movement, to infiltrate and penetrate President, the response was excellent Rav. Its purpose, he noted, was "to the American Jewish society. We want Amidst singing, dancing, and divrei and greatly exceeded the final cost of the eternalize the Rav with his Torah, it to carry the torch of our tradition, of Torah by various Roshei Yeshiva, SOY Torah. SOY received over one thousand through his Torah." He then thanked all our Torah, proudly and boldly. This held a Hachnasas Sefer Torah this past responses for the commissioning of the those involved in the dedication. type of Orthodoxy will be lost if the Sunday afternoon, March 20, dedicating Torah. All surplus funds, he explained, After a short break for Mincha, the Yeshiva will close its portals. a Sefer Torah commissioned in the went to pay for the this past Sunday's Rav's brother, Rosh Yeshiva Rav Aaron Cynics may poke fun, but, thank God, memory of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchick event. Soloveitchick, arriving late from the the American Jew is not a cynic. He is a zt"[ (the Rav), who passed away almost The Hachnasas Sefer Torah began a airport, addressed the audience. After dreamer, and he is questing for something. a year ago, on the eighteenth of Nissan. little after twelve noon, with a short his address, in which he recounted stories The search quite often brings the young The event, which commenced in introduction by Ephraim Gopin, the Co­ from his earlier years with the Rav and man or women to Yeshiva or Stem College. Weissberg Commons and concluded in Chairman of the SOY Sefer Torah Project pointedly described various aspects of Let me take this opportunity to tell Mr. the Main Beit Midrash, drew over three and the Master of Ceremonies for the his brother's personality, Mashgiach [Max] Stern that his contribution to hundred attendees. occasion. Afterwards, YU President Ruchani Rav signed the last American Jewish education and history is The Torah, which was written in Israel Rabbi , spoke for fifteen letters of the Sefer Torah. unique and singular, for such an institution by Rabbi Heshy Pincus, cost minutes, and Assistant Dean of RIETS The Torah was then handed to Dr. as Stem College was unknown throughout approximately twenty-five thousand Rabbi Bronstein led the gathering in Israel Miller, the retiring YU Senior Vice the ages, and it saved and saves thousands dollars. The SOY Sefer Torah Project reciting a short Tehillim. He was followed President, for the two block walk to the of girls who come from all parts of the was conceived last year, a short month by RIETS Dean Rabbi Main Beit Midrash. The procession,led by United States, I do not say that Yeshiva is after the Rav's death. To raise money who spoke spiritedly about the Rav's virtually all the Roshei Yeshiva, danced to perfect, who is perfect and what is perfect? for the project, SOY sent ads early this life and linked the Rav's death with music provided by Neshoma Orchestra. Only God is perfect. However, its impact year to every student on the campus, as Pesach, the holiday on which the Rav The procession, which attracted many I on American Jewish Life is stupendous... well as mailings to all YC/RIETS alumni pass d away. strange glances as it made its way up '1 Let us understand that the Yeshiva in the New York-New Jersey area. Signs After Rabbi Charlop concluded, SOY Amsterdam Avenue, took fifteen minutes to rea h th M;!in _·t M;rl.."d. 0.,."",,__ _ finds itself at the Crossroads of ewish werealso utu inshulsthrou houtthe Treasurer and O· oftheSe£ ;r----"---.- - --.----. Oru--y-God~-is-pe"'rC-f-ect-. -H-o-w-e-v-e-r,-its-r-im-p-act~-y-ear~t:-o-e-v-e-ry--:stu:---;d;-e-n7"t -on---;";th' e- c-am- p'us, as Pesach, the holiday on which the Rav The procession, which attracted many on American Jewish Life is stupendous... well as mailings to all YC/RIETS alumni passed away. strange glances as it made its way up Let us understand that the Yeshiva in the New York-New Jersey area. Signs After Rabbi Charlop concluded, SOY Amsterdam A venue, took fifteen minutes finds itself at the Crossroads of Jewish were also put up in shuls throughout the Treasurer and Director of the Sefer Torah to reach the Main Beit Midrash. Once America. It reflects the entire, colorful metro area and ads were taken out in Project Benjy Taragin took the podium inside, the Torah was installed in a recently spectrum of the American Jewish The Commentator and Hamevaser. and explained the motivation behind refinished Aron Kodesh. community. The boys and girls come r \ from hasidic homes, from working class ) " ~:r;::~~:~~n:ts~~ro~h:lie~~~e; a:1 Two Books Commemorate First \ assimilated circles. Some come from the homes of kana'im while others come Y: h · f h R from the homes of goyim gemuri'm and a rzeltot e av

"For the Yeshiva is not by Moshe I. Kinderlehrer of RIETS Rabbi Charlop, Rav were given out at the Chag Schachter, Rav Kahn, and Rav Willig, HaSemikha dinner, but the sefer was ~n just institution or a In honor of the first yahrzeit of Rabbi as well as articles by Rav Aaron not formally dedicated until this school; it is a movement, Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, RIETS has Soloveitchik and Rabbi Menachem past Sunday's Hachnasas Sefer an idea, a challenge, it is a published the fourth edition of the Beis Genack. Torah held by SOY. Yosef Shaul and plans to issue a second Approved By the Rav . The Second Sefer faith and an assurance sefer in the near future. A highlight of this sefer is a transcript A second sefer, also dedicated to the that Torah can blossom The Beis Yosef Shaul, first distributed of the aggadic portion of one of the Rav's Ravbut unnamed as of yet, is scheduled at the RIETS Chag HaSemikha dinner most celebrated Yahrzeit dtashot, to be printed by RIETS in the weeks and flourish in the two weeks ago, was put out by the accompanied by a recently completed following his yahrzeit. Two RIETS Western hemisphere, close Fellows of the Caroline and Joseph S. Hebrew translation of the drasha. The s'micha students, Abie Shmidman and to the skyscrapers of Gruss Kollel Elyon of RIETS. The drasha, delivered by the Rav in 1959, , former editors of the volume also bears a second dedication, illustrates the deep connection between Beis Yitchak, are co-editing the work. It New York." in memory of Joseph S. Gruss, the a human being and a Sefer Torah. It was will be a "memorial volume" composed namesake of the Kollel, who passed originally transcnbed by the Yiddish of articles primarily written by students away earlier this year. In the first article journalist, Dr. Hillel Seidman and of theRav. happened to attend a youth conclave of the sefer, entitled "HaSofer printed in the Yiddish weekly Der "The basic aim of the publication," [Torah Leadership Seminar] sponsored VeHapames," Rabbi Norman Lamm Yiddishe Voch. This particular explained Shmidman, "is to show that by the Yeshiva. We do not appreciate describes the special nature of the transcription, Rabbi Adler explained, the Rav endowed in his talmidim a koach how much these youth conclaves relationship between the Rav and was actually reviewed and approved by hachiddush." In addition to articles by sponsored by the Yeshiva have Joseph Gruss. the Rav. Rabbi Adler further noted that students of the Rav, several of his accomplished. The sefer, which was edited by this particular drasha garnered a colleagues have been approached and In short, if you want to be acquainted Rabbi ElchananAdler, a member of tremendous amount of attention and asked to write for this volume. with the heterogeneous American the Gruss Kollel Elyon and a Bible discussion at the time the Rav delivered The idea for the sefer was Jewish community, come by the Yeshiva Instructor in JSS, deals almost it, and that until now it had never been conceived of shortly after the Rav's and you will find representation from exclusively with the chiddushim of completely translated. Rabbi Sholom death last year. In searching for every nook and comer... The Yeshiva is the Rav in the area of Inyanei Stam­ Carmy, currently an Assistant Bible contributors to the sefer, Shmidman not only a makom Torah where lomdim - matters concerning the Sefer Torah, Professor at YC and a student of the Rav, noted, "we [the editors] tried to get are trained, it is also an ir miklat, a refuge Tefillin, and Mezuza. Contributors translated the Yiddish transcription into a sample representation of the haven where young men and women to the sefer include Rosh Hayeshiva Hebrew. students who learned with the Rav find the Ribono Shel Glam. and President Rabbi Lamm, Dean Four hundred copies of the sefer throughout the decades."