Yeshiva University’s Rabbinical school appears to be helping students who are getting their ordination far beyond the mere realms of their education. Through internships and leadership positions given through RIETS, a number of those receiving their ordination this year have found their eventual soul mates.
On hearing of the statistics, several YU-ordained local rabbis said they were stunned by the move. “I think it’s a wonderful thing,” said the Rabbi of a large congregation, who wished to remain anonymous. “This is the perfect way to handle the situation.”
In a letter to the RIETS students, Rabbi Menachem Penner, acting dean of RIETS, asserted that “not all individuals given the title of ‘rabbi’ are equipped to serve as husbands in a Jewish home.” The letter says this is “especially true when breaking new ground in areas unforeseen to earlier generations. We can put people in situations where we can see if things are shayach (appropriate) beforehand, and let it go from there.”
However, for many young rabbis, being a student at RIETS has proved the perfect opportunity to snag a mate. This, of course, does not mean that students only enter RIETS in order to make themselves more eligible bachelors. While some may suggest a conflict of interests, it is most certainly not true. “It’s all about passion for the rabbinate,” asserted one semicha student emphatically. “And, if it happens to impress the ladies, so be it.”