This fall, nineteen students from Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women, and the Syms School of Business were accepted into the newest project of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought, The Straus Center Undergraduate Fellowship. Straus Center director, Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, leads the fellowship, and Assistant Director, Dr. Stu Halpern, coordinates it.
The fellowship is a multi-faceted program with an extensive and rich list of renowned scholars who are participating in its various programs. The first aspect of the fellowship consists of private monthly gatherings with authors of prominent new books. Not only is this an opportunity for the fellows to learn and engage in these new works, but it is a unique opportunity for them to meet and converse with some of the young and most gifted political thinkers of the current generation. Most recently, the fellows heard from former Deputy Secretary of United States Department of Health and Human Services, Tevi Troy, regarding his new book, What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House, and his experiences as Orthodox Jew in the White House. Later this year, the fellows will meet with American political analyst and journalist, Yuval Levin, to discuss his new book, The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Left and Right
The next component of the fellowship involves the fellows learning with Rabbi Soloveichik and Straus Center Resident Scholar, Professor Matthew Holbreich, an expert on Tocqueville. Lastly, the fellows will be invited to smaller gatherings before larger public Straus Center events. There, they will meet and learn with the various public figures the Straus Center hosts. Such speakers include United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Douglas J. Feith, the former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy for United States President George W. Bush. All events will be paired with preparatory and follow-up sessions.
In an interview with The Observer, Rabbi Soloveichik explained the purpose of the fellowship within the context of the greater mission of the Straus Center. “The goal of the Straus Center is to help create a student body which is even more engaged in the world of ideas, engaged as Americans and as Jews. We are meant to be a nation as a part of the world.” He continued, “With this fellowship, the goal is more specific to expose the students to important new works, and political thinkers commenting on world affairs, and to connect that to their identities as Jews, the body of Jewish wisdom, as well as some of the classical works of political thought, specifically Tocqueville’s commentary on America.”
Many of the fellows have participated in previous Straus Center classes and events with Rabbi Soloveichik. Tali Ausbel, SCW ’15, explained that she applied to the fellowship “because I really enjoyed Clubburah with Rabbi Soloveichik as well as other Straus Center events. I love the thinking and discussions involved which typify Torah u’Maddah. The fellowship is a great way to be part of an intellectual cohort that is focused on Judaism, American society and democracy and the interplay between the two.”
Many of the fellows have expressed similar sentiments and are extremely enthusiastic and impressed with the program. Adam Rosenberg, SSB ’15, commented, “While I have studied American politics extensively throughout my life, the Straus Fellowship has taken my understanding to a whole new level. This program, which has provided me and my colleagues with the special opportunity to delve into the underpinnings and philosophies that have shaped this nation over the past two hundred plus years, has likewise taught me how those principles blend in with an even more venerable set of even statutes: those of Jewish Law. As observant Jews, it is imperative that we understand the moral code of our religion, and as a citizen of society, it is our duty to immerse myself in our country and her laws. I look forward to many more intellectual discussions, scholarly mentorship, and most importantly, synthesizing the Torah aspect of my life with its Madda counterpart.”
Most of the fellowship events are held at Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue. Founded in 1654, it was the first Jewish congregation established in North America. Rabbi Soloveichik currently serves as the congregation’s rabbi, and it is no coincidence that the events are held in such a historic building. Rabbi Soloveichik explained, “The fellowship is one of the many ways in which my work at the Synagogue and in the Straus Center dovetail directly. The Synagogue embodies the history of Jews in America and believes in the deep link between Judaism and the American idea. One cannot help but feel this when you walk through the walls, especially the walls of the small synagogue. So to be doing a Straus Center initiative about Jews in America and to have events in the Synagogue is an incredible synthesis of two parts of my life.”
As of now, there are no concrete answers regarding the future of the program. However, the Straus Center is delighted by the success of the fellowship thus far, and is extremely hopeful about its growth.