What follows is a transcription of a speech given by Rav Glickman, a Rosh Yeshiva in Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchok Elchonon. Prompted by a question from his audience, Rav Glickman shelved his regular sicha and spoke extemporaneously regarding “Orthodox Paradox.” His comments are framed by the context in which they were delivered, the first day of the week in which Tisha b’Av fell.
How unfortunate it is in this week of communal mourning that a Jew has chosen to express his painful disappointment with the Jewish community in a forum so public as the New York Times Sunday Magazine. It is especially critical that we avoid responding with anything remotely resembling animosity or contempt, no matter how much anger his action or those of his defenders may provoke.I am certain that someone characterized as brilliant understands how inappropriate it is to bring a non-Jewish fiancée to an official celebration of a yeshiva. The entire raison d’etre of such a school is to produce another generation of Jewish children. When someone chooses to end his Jewish line with himself, a yeshiva cannot celebrate his decision. I am very proud that a yeshiva decided to forgo the prestige that his achievements in the secular world might bring them in favor of protecting our collective mission to ensure the Jewish future. As wonderful as his children may be, they are not Jewish. Generations of Jewish life have ended. This is something to be mourned, not celebrated.
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Rabbi Shalom Carmy
I
The premise of Noah Feldman’s article is that being an alumnus obligates your school to be supportive of everything you do. Based on this logic Democratic conventions from 1968 on should have featured celebrations of Ronald Reagan’s political achievements, a prominent Democrat for 20 years who had made good. Likewise Republicans should now be honoring Hillary Clinton, a dedicated Goldwater Girl until she switched orientations in college. These personalities have even greater right to recognition than Feldman due to their records as thoughtful and enthusiastic advocates of their early loyalties.
Feldman incredibly insists that he has, after all, tried to live up to school ideals in his own fashion, presumably meaning that the school cultivated the intellectual sharpness that has made him an acute and resourceful lawyer. By that token, Reagan and every other bright person owe something to their first training. They would not, in return, expect those whose way they renounce to happily publicize a failure to inculcate principles considered, rightly or wrongly, more essential than professional success and personal renown.
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We would like to kick off our blog with a series of responses to the recent article in the New York Times Magazine by legal scholar Dr. Noah Feldman, entitled “Orthodox Paradox.” The portrayal of Modern Orthodox Jewry in this article has caused consternation among many members of our community. Before we begin publishing responses from our own writers, and prominent members of the YU and Modern Orthodox communities, here are a few background links:
* The original article can be found here
* Rabbi Shmuely Boteach in the Jerusalem Post
* Gary Rosenblatt in the Jewish Week
* An Editorial from the Jewish Press
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This is the website and blog for Kol Hamevaser. If you don’t know what Kol Hamevaser is, see the About Us page above. The website will allow us to share our thoughts on timely issues, continue discussions started in the print edition, and publish expanded versions of our articles and interviews.
If you would like to submit a guest post, please email us at blog.kolhamevaser@gmail.com. As with the print edition, we cannot guarantee that all submissions will be posted, but we look forward to hearing from you.
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