A Message from Dean Karen Bacon
There are places in our lives that are “off-limits” – embarrassing moments we choose not to replay, closely held assumptions we do not intend to revisit, actual physical spaces labeled “enter at your own risk”. In my personal life, my husband’s study is one such physical space. So it was with a combination of hope and dread, that I asked him to do some summer tidying. Happily the pain was worth the gain, for during that excavation some wonderful reprints surfaced that I share with you, our students, as you begin this new academic year.
In 1956 and again in 1970, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik addressed our rabbinic alumni on the uniqueness of the Yeshiva. The Rav’s words are personal and powerful, the message clear and defining. And although he was referring specifically to the Yeshiva, the context suggests that his words are relevant to the students of the University as well.
The Rav begins by telling us who he is.
I may have very few good traits, but one trait which I do possess is my inability to imitate anyone else. I always want to be myself and to display my unique dignity of having been created in the image of God.
This message must resound loudly with each of us. For the essential function of the university is to provide a place and a space to encounter ideas and interpret them using the tools of our individual intellects and life experiences. The university is not about imitation. It is about analysis, exploration, and creativity, set in the context of a life of values. And what might be that life of values for our community and for this University? The Rav lays that out for us as well.
You will ask me, In what does the uniqueness (of YU) express itself? What is it? I will answer you that its uniqueness is an idea, or, if you wish, a faith. If you wish to say so, the uniqueness consists of an adventure. What is this idea, faith, adventure? It is the concept that the Yeshiva has proclaimed in three words: It is possible!”
For the Rav, “possible” meant the ability to be a scholar, a talmid hakham, and also to be someone “trained in all the skills and able to live in the midst of modern society and not to retreat.” For the Rav, “possible” meant to be “inquisitive, curious, and committed.”
Without dissecting each of these adjectives, I think we can all agree that to fulfill the mandate of “It is possible” requires action, not passivity. Studying the sources before attending a shiur and a lecture is action. Using the resources of the Beit Midrash and the library to struggle with unfamiliar materials speaks to commitment. Ranging beyond our current intellectual boundaries and interests reflects curiosity. And all this in pursuit of a life of Torah U’madda. “It is possible.”
So my charge to you for this year is to be an individual and to be a scholar. To let the unique foundation of this Yeshiva University leave an indelible mark on your minds and souls, even as you challenge us, your rabbeim, professors, yours peers, to join in shouting out, “It is possible.”