As I begin to read “Expanding the Palace of Jewry” by Jina Davidovich in the November 18 issue of The Observer, I nod my head and smile. I fundamentally agree with her sentiments about how Stern College has gifted her with a love of Torah, a lifelong community of supportive women, and a feeling of obligation to change the world. The article offers a rich perspective from an alumna looking back on her Stern experience, and the parts of her Stern career that she highlights as meaningful, inspiring, and life-changing are experiences many at Stern can relate to for their power and potency.
As I continue to read, however, I am struck by Davidovich’s claim that Yeshiva University has failed to interact and converse with other denominations. She states that in “an environment like Yeshiva University, tunnel vision when relating to the Jewish community is an all-too-pervasive epidemic.” Additionally, the values of intrafaith dialogue have “yet to permeate the walls of Yeshiva University, which often tend to shut out more than they let in.”
It is true that the institution, Yeshiva University, does not, to my knowledge, encourage its students to converse with other Jewish denominations. There are no roundtable discussions with Conservative and Reform Rabbis hosted in Yagoda Commons, nor are there events co-hosted with JTS or HUC. I believe that these conversations are important and necessary. But, by-and-large, Yeshiva University, as an institution, does not reach out to other denominations, nor does it encourage its students to do so.
However, there is a distinction between the institution of Yeshiva University and its student body. Davidovich argues for the imperative to converse with other denominations on a communal and individual level. She writes, “Just as an individual Jew cannot exist as an island – for whom will he bicker and argue with – the Modern Orthodox community cannot exist as an island, ignoring the other denominations and groups of Jews who are equally committed to and passionate about their Judaism.”I wholeheartedly agree. But what I disagree with here is Davidovich’s claim that the community and individuals at Yeshiva University have not accomplished this imperative. They have.
I cannot speak for the entire student body. I am sure that others have had different experiences than I have had. I can only speak for my experience within the student body, as a fourth-year student who cares deeply about my fellow students and about this university. Stern College is by no means a diverse place. We are, for the most part, female, Jewish, and white. We often hail from “in-towner” areas, and most of us define as Orthodox Jews. The stereotypes are true, and as with all stereotypes, there are exceptions.
Not everyone here defines as an Orthodox Jew. Amongst those that do, there exists a wide range of observance. From students who do not adhere to halakha at all to those who adhere toit with the utmost stringency, from those who are self-proclaimed atheists to those who believe that God dictates their every move, the pluralism at this university is astounding. Sure, there are few among the student body who actively represent other denominations in Judaism. Yet I do believe that there are students here who are just as representative of these bodies of observance as anyone publicly affiliated with the movements. To me, this is the most ideal form of pluralism: a pluralism without labels.
True, demarcations exist between students of different opinions and religious practices. But these demarcations do not strike me as walls. “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall”: the students of this institution. Amongst the students here, there is a constant visiting of the neighbor if you will, a breaching of the fence, a true practicing of the dictum “V’ahavtah l’reachah kamochah.”
For me, Stern College has been a wall-less place, a place where Jews from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences come together, united by a deep interest in their religion, be it from a halakhic or non-halakhic standpoint. In fact, when I spent this past summer at Pardes (a self-proclaimed pluralistic institution), I felt no different than I feel in the hallways and classrooms of Stern. I felt able to share the same thoughts, engage in the same conversations, and explore the same issues. Both Stern and Pardes have served for me as communities composed of a multiplicity of voices, searching for meaning.
While I have not found walls within this institution, it is true that walls are springing up within Orthodoxy beyond our doors. Denominations within Orthodoxy are becoming increasingly resistant to Open Orthodoxy. Yet within YU, I have found an open and welcoming environment here for Open Orthodoxy, all other forms of Orthodoxy, and even denominations beyond Orthodoxy. I don’t think YU is the problem in the wall-filled world of Orthodox Jewry. On the contrary—I think we have the power to bring about a solution.
As a member of the student body, I believe it is we who have made this place a palace, and an ever-expanding one. By acting in a regal, honorable way, respectful of all forms of Judaism and all viewpoints, we have created a place that it is open, and tolerant, respectful and majestic. I am proud to be part of the student body of this institution, regardless of what “The Institution” might say, or have to say publicly.
The Anat Barber quote that Davidovich concludes with actually epitomizes the experience I have had at Stern College. It is here that I feel I have learned “about the multiplicity of Jewish voices.” I have learned from those “who see themselves as ultimate truth and reject” what I believe, and thus I have been able to “refine and deepen [my] Jewish understanding regardless of [my] own religious approach.”
I am a Jew who does not “dress, think, or act” in the way that “we” do, and I can confidently say that, you, reader of this article, student at Yeshiva University, do not dress, think, or act in the way “we” do either.