By Aliza Feldman
I came to Stern at the beginning of the Spring 2024 semester eager to find my place in my new beit midrash and integrate my learning from Seminary into my new life at college. I felt so lucky to be able to attend a college that champions its opportunities for students to be involved in Talmud Torah alongside their degree. I really enjoyed coming to the beit midrash every morning. I was inspired by the women in the GPATS program who learned alongside us every morning and comforted by the familiarity of the vibrant echoing voices of girls engaging in meaningful discourse with their chavrusas.
One day towards the end of last semester, my chavrusa and I began learning as usual, continuing our chazara (review) from the day before. The beit midrash was a little bit quieter than usual, due to the fact that it was finals week. Suddenly, we heard a loud “shhhhh” coming from a group of girls behind us. I was confused, but proceeded to talk to my chavrusa at a slightly lower volume. Again, the girl behind me reminded me to be quiet. “We are trying to study for our final and we can’t focus!”
I was shocked. Since when did the beit midrash become a library?
Many of my rebbeim in the past have discussed the importance of this exact distinction. A beit midrash is quite the opposite of a library. A library is a silent space for independent study, while a beit midrash is a place for vocal engagement with the text, for lively collaborative discourse and for heated and passionate machloket (debate).
Instances like these raise the question: what purpose does Stern’s beit midrash serve for its students and faculty?
The beit midrash is often used for speakers, davening on Rosh Chodesh, and other similar events, which in itself is not a problem. Stern has long positioned its beit midrash at the forefront of Jewish life on campus. In theory, this is a very nice idea; Jewish communities in fact should be built on a strong foundation of Torah study.
However, stuffing every event with a Jewish focus into the beit midrash oversimplifies its purpose and overshadows its role as a designated place for learning. Students who are learning b’chavrusa (with other students) or independently in the beit midrash are often forced to find a different place to learn when programming occurs. For example, on Rosh Chodesh Elul, davening in the beit midrash ended at 8:50 and the students who had class in the beit midrash first period were forced to start their regularly scheduled learning 35 minutes late.
Additionally, evening speakers in the beit midrash force students who are learning to relocate. At Wilf, there are scheduled speakers or sichot in the Glueck Beit Midrash and Fischel Beit Midrash too, but the difference is that there are multiple other batei midrash on campus where Wilf students who would like to learn independently can go to and study. In Stern, that is not the case. Perhaps speakers and other scheduled events that do not require the use of the beit midrash should be relocated to the Koch Auditorium or another designated room, which would then allow the beit midrash to remain a space designated for small chaburot and chavrusa learning.
Stern’s habit of confusing the roles of its religious spaces extends to its Jewish studies classes as well. In some classes, teachers take the opportunity to talk about Jewish historical events or to give shiurim related to different topics due to an upcoming holiday or event. It is not a problem for a teacher to take time to note the gravity of a day or to commemorate a certain event and designate the day’s learning in memory of it, but consistently deviating from the curriculum undermines its focus and integrity as a college level course. This also puts too much pressure on our Torah classes to be responsible for addressing everything related to Jewish life and spirituality, which as a result, doesn’t give each event or topic of discussion their own designated focus that they each deserve.
Chavrusa learning, speakers, Tehillim gatherings, chessed, and Judaic studies classes all play a role in cultivating Stern’s identity as the Torah centered school that it is. But by putting all of its eggs in one basket and confusing the roles of each of its separate departments, Stern risks oversimplifying each important aspect of its Jewish life on campus.
In light of these issues, we must reevaluate the way we utilize our beit midrash. By using our spaces that should be designated for Torah study as a library, or on the other hand, as a hub for anything related to Jewish life, we risk diluting their primary purpose as sanctuaries for Talmud Torah.
Photo Caption: The Beren campus Beit Midrash
Photo Credit: Emily Goldberg