Continuing The Fight Against Evil

It looks like the guys behind the Mighty Morphin' YU Rangers episode are back at it again with another super hero video set on the Yeshiva University Campus.

This one is called Kamen Rider RIETS and seems to be about a YU-themed Power Ranger of sorts.



It looks pretty interesting - especially the costume design - and they chose to include one of my favorite songs, which seems to fit nicely. I wikipedia'ed "Kamen Rider" and it turns out it's very similar to Power Rangers, but with only one or two heroes instead of a team.

This preview video came out a while ago, so I'm not really sure when the finished product will be put online, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it. The more fun YU videos the better, I say.

What do you guys think?

Who's Ready For Some Football!?

Yeshiva Unviersity recently posted a particularly clever video on youtube that advertises their upcoming homecoming event that will take place on Sunday, September 18th, starting at 9:30 AM.

I remember seeing someone post a picture of grass quadrangle (the only legitimate grassy area on campus) a few weeks ago on Facebook. I thought it was a prank of some sort, but this turned out to be quite cute.

For those readers who didn't attend a secular high school with a football team, homecoming is generally a big get-together event shortly after the school year starts in the fall where alumni, students, teachers, and their families visit their alma mater and attend a big Friday night home game. Sufficed to say, I never went to one in high school, but the notion that YU is trying to live up to the hype of a stereotypical homecoming is pretty darn funny.

The entire event looks like it's going to be a lot of fun, and a great opportunity to hear shiurim as well as visit the campus for anyone who hasn't been around in a while. More information, including a schedule of events, can be found here.

Aviv Gets Accepted To Yeshiva University!!!!

ASoG and I went to a panel discussion about Torah Umadda last night that was held on YU’s Wilf Campus. While that entire event probably deserves its own post, I’m going to hone in on one particular question asked to, and answered by, Richard Joel, the President of Yeshiva University.

The student moderator asked President Joel what he felt was the greatest problem that afflicts the Modern Orthodox community nowadays, and what we can do to solve it.

President Joel said one of the biggest problems we face is cynicism. People are too cynical – about everything in life, especially every Jewish aspect of their lives. It’s just “so fun” to be cynical, and thereby tear everything apart around us. Nothing is good – but everything is worth picking to pieces with criticism and nothing is ever validated in a positive fashion.

A young man from Beverly Hills, California named Aviv Kleinman recently posted a video on Youtube that features him, along with his mother, opening his acceptance letter from Yeshiva University and its Mechina program. Aviv is extremely excited to have been accepted, it was his first and only choice after all. Aviv attended a public high school, and based on his own growing sense of religiosity, decided that he would like to pursue his college education in the dual-curriculum environment of Yeshiva University where he can grow Judaically as well as pursue his degree.

You would think that people would be excited for this kid, and many are. Yet, there is also a rather vociferous group that have left vile comments on the youtube page and on the Facebook walls of various individuals who posted the video in their status. They speak about how Aviv is going to get “screwed over” by YU, how the experience will be horrible for him, that he’s wasting the 4 years of college, which are meant to be enjoyable, by attending YU. Basically, these frustrated, immature individuals are giving voice to their own aggravations, jumping at the opportunity to bash YU, at the potential expense of ruining the perception of an innocent person who truly believes in the good that can be accomplished by attending YU.

No one is telling you that your negative experiences weren’t legitimate, but what gives you the right to discourage someone else who is looking forward, with great optimism, to their undergraduate college career at YU? You want to make him feel awful, to discourage him, to make him think he was duped into attending a university that wastes the “best years of your life” because YU isn’t your typical co-ed college, rife with opportunities for raucous partying and whatever other physical pleasures you imagine represent the epitome of the college experience?

After reading numerous comments, from both sides – those that support and encourage Aviv, and those that disparage YU and tell him to prepare for the worst – I’ve come to an observation about the detractors. It seems to me that those that are so inherently virulent about disparaging YU, by and large, attended yeshiva high schools. Whether local (New York/New Jersey) or not, they didn’t enjoy their years spent in high school, and enter YU with a very closed mind. For these unfortunate students, who choose to limit their perspectives, YU cannot and will never be a positive experience for them. No matter how good things are, they choose to ignore the benefits that are handed to them on a silver platter, and focus exclusively on the negative aspects of their lives at YU.

I’m not, in any way suggesting that life at YU is perfect. Visiting the registrar’s office has almost always been an awful experience. Administration in general can be difficult to deal with. Not every single class, or every shiur I attended was worth my time. Both my honors English seminars paled in comparison to my AP English courses from junior and senior year in high school.

But, nothing is ever perfect. I think these few negative aspects do not truly invalidate my educational career at YU. I have loved being in an environment that is flourishing in Torah, where my secular classes often directly or indirectly have some sort of impact in my general religious experience. My college experience was absolutely unparalleled when compared to any other institution I could have attended. Indeed, I turned down acceptances to other, respected universities I applied to, in order to specifically take advantage of the opportunities unique to YU.

Nowhere else could I ever have taken a class in biology where one lesson was totally devoted to going through Talmudic and rabbinic sources that discuss the notion of evolution. I could never have taken a literary methodology course where the gentile professor declared that his favorite book was “Halachic Man.” Where else could I have taken, on a lark, a course in Jewish singing (courtesy of the Belz School of Music)? I certainly couldn’t have taken courses about medical halacha, bio-ethics (Jewish and not), Jewish history, Jewish philosophy and Tanach of the caliber that I enjoyed immensely – which have also helped me develop my worldview within Modern Orthodoxy.

And all that is separate from my Judaic studies. At no other university could I have enjoyed the above courses in addition to having a serious morning seder, shiur, and night seder. At any “regular” college, you are forced to use find moments of free time to learn, which may or may not exist. And even if they do, it’s much harder to make yourself be kovea itim when everything is optional versus a situation where learning is built into your everyday schedule. Yes, it can be easy for anyone to just blow off opportunities to learn, but I speak from experience, having attended a secular high school: being immersed in the Torah environment that YU provides makes all the difference in the world.

Complain all you want about the non-coed environment. Honestly, it’s much easier to get my work done and pay attention in class when I’m not distracted by attractive members of the opposite gender. Plus, there’s no shortage of co-ed social events (kosher of course, no dances of drunken frat parties) for you to meet your potential bashert – and that’s aside from the fact that at any given time there are Stern girls in our library and new lounge.

Complain about the food in the caf all you want, but all the spoiled in-towners have no clue what it’s like to live in a place without a restaurant and suddenly be able to go get freshly prepared, (mostly) delicious food 3 times a day without fail. For salad lovers like me, relishing in the ability to enjoy vegetables and various kinds of lettuce without having to worry about checking for bugs at every meal is absolutely amazing.

You think the courses you’re taking are a joke? I guarantee you that there are more involving, challenging, rewarding courses that can fit your caliber of intelligence. Not every course is the most stimulating, but I know that there are students in every class that you find boring who are actually learning and benefitting from the experience.

To all those guys out there that feed off of cynicism and take every chance they get to criticize and bash YU, yet choose to attend YU in spite of their issues, or are forced to attend YU by their parents, I honestly feel bad for you. Why? Because clearly you shouldn’t be here. YU isn’t for everyone. President Joel himself said that. There is no one model of university education, or variation of Torah-observant Orthodox Judaism, that the inherent right way for every single person out there. My rosh yeshiva in Israel would counsel certain guys to specifically not attend YU, based on his knowledge of their personality.

You folks may be stuck going to YU because of your parents or whatever, but why revel in your misery – or choose to inflict others because you don’t feel like things are going well for you? Why can’t YOU choose to make you own life better instead of wallowing in your perceived wretched situation? It isn’t emotionally/psychologically healthy for you to be so consistently negative, and why should you lash out at others who actually find the very things you despise to be not only enjoyable, but extremely beneficial to their lives as Jews?

If you have complaints, if you seen areas that could use some improvement, do something about it. Run for student office and work with the university’s administration, join or create a student group that focuses on specific issues, or even do something more grassroots based. Who knows what positive changes you can accomplish when you put in the effort? So many positive things have been done on campus at the suggestion or through the actions of students. If all you can do is sit there and mouth off, then there is little hope for you. Go talk to a tree or something that could care less, but don’t waste your energy by harming others.

Put simply: I love YU. I always have, since I first discovered it when I met NCSY advisors who went there, through my time in Israel, and especially while studying as an undergraduate here. I admire the rabbeim, teachers, and even, or should I say, especially, President Joel. I could not have gone anywhere better suited for me. YU isn’t perfect, but no college is. Deal with it. The cup is certainly more than half full at YU, it just takes the proper perspective to see it.

To Aviv: you’re going to do great. I congratulate you on your acceptance to YU and the Mechina Program. Enjoy every single moment of your time here, because it’ll be over before you know it. These WILL be the best 3-4 years of your educational experience. Savor it, don’t rush, learn as much as you can. You won’t regret it.

Another Shade Of Grey

Yirmiyahu and Vered stepped out of the elevator and discreetly ran over to their usual spot on the fifth floor of the Gottesman Library. Thankfully, no one was occupying their favorite table, which was located in a nook on the left hand wall. Yirmiyahu gently set his sefer-laden backpack down in a vacant chair and began unloading the seforim he needed to finish researching his latest Kol HaMevaser article. He carefully put the empty knapsack on the carpeted floor next to his seat. Vered chose the seat opposite her boyfriend, keen on sneaking admiring peeks at his handsome features as he went about his work.

As soon as she plugged in her laptop, Vered passed her tongue over her lips and noticed how thirsty she was. Mentally kicking herself for forgetting her Environmental Club issued reusable metal water bottle, she pushed her chair away from the table and went to get a drink of water from the fountain. When she returned, she noticed Yirmiyahu was intently scribbling what appeared to be flowers on a piece of scrap paper that another student had absentmindedly left behind.

Momentarily suppressing her curiosity, Vered ignored Yirmiyahu’s artwork and flipped open her laptop to get back to her last paper of the semester, which also happened to be the final paper of her undergraduate career at Stern. She felt stupid even writing the darn thing, particularly in light of the fact that she had already graduated several days before. Steeling her resolve, she diligently began to type away. After a few minutes her mind began to wander to her favorite thing to think about, which was Yirmiyahu, of course.

Yirmiyahu was sweet enough to reschedule his bechina with Rav Schachter to accommodate attending Vered’s graduation ceremony. Now that showed dedication. He had had to skip out on the celebratory lunch afterward with her parents and siblings at Mr. Broadway to make sure he got back to YU in time without making Rav Schachter wait for him. That didn’t really matter, though, since he had sacrificed his night seder chevrusa earlier in the week to go out to dinner to the Prime Grill with Vered and her parents.

Later that night, she made sure to call him up to verbally gush their enthusiastic approval over the phone right before she passed out from exhaustion. Her mom had even said she could easily see him as a potential son-in-law, if things kept going in the right direction. Vered’s father, ever the tall, dark, and silent type, said in his usual reserved fashion that “the boy was nice.”

“You know…” Yirmiyahu began, interrupting her reminiscing, his voice trailed off as he continued drawing.

Vered stopped typing, folded her screen down a few inches and peered over it. “‘You know,’ what?”

“I was just thinking,” Yirmiyahu made a few more pencil strokes. “It’s going to be very hard to arrange our Hebrew initials on our bentscher.”

Vered raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, exactly?”

“Here,” he spun the paper around and pointed at his doodling with his pencil. “It’s because of our names.”

Vered looked down at the somewhat rough drawings, slightly confused “What’s the issue?”

“You see, my name is Yirmiyahu Hoshea, and you’re Vered Hadassa.”

“And…?”

He leaned closer over his side of the table and continued explaining while he indicated several details with the point of his extended pencil. “Well, my initials are a yud and a heh, and yours are a vav and a heh, which happens to spell out the Tetragramaton.” Vered stared more intently at the various designs, and noticed that each monogram-flower’s bud and leaves were carefully arranged so they didn’t quite line up or touch.

“I see it now,” she nodded and angled the paper slightly. “You’re right. The bentscher people are going to have their work cut out for them.” She passed the sheet across the tabletop and went back to typing. Suddenly, she stopped mid-word. “…Wait, did you say ‘our bentscher?’”

“That would be correct, Vered,” Yirmiyahu expectantly looked over the rim of his glasses at her.

“Wait a second-”

“Truthfully, it’ll be a bigger conundrum for the invitations, since people tend to throw those in the garbage at any rate,” his eyes shifted back downward. “Rav Schachter was just telling us in shiur that even putting bet-samech-daled in the corner is problematic according to some poskim.”

“Back up a moment,” Vered put her laptop in ‘sleep’ mode and closed the lid.

“Yes?” Yirmiyahu met her alert gaze.

Vered paused, eyebrows furrowed into a V on her forehead. “You said ‘our bentscher.’”

“Yup. Didn’t we establish that?”

“…What did you mean by that?”

“By what?” Yirmiyahu replied with a certain knowing innocence in his tone.

“When you said ‘our bentscher.’”

“I think this is what they call in those old cowboy movies, ‘the jig is up.’”

“Huh?”

Yirmiyahu slid off his seat and crouched down next to his seemingly empty backpack. After a few seconds, he lifted his head and scuttled around the edge of the table.

Vered’s eyes widened. “Are you kneeling?”

“Yes.”

“Is this what I think it is?” Her breathing quickened.

“Yes.”

“Omigosh!” Vered’s voice stopped dead in her throat, and she pressed a hand to her collarbone.

“Is that a ‘yes?’” Yirmiyahu held out his left hand, palm up. Cradled within was a small black velvet box. He gingerly opened, and something inside sparkled brilliantly.

“Uh… whuzza… fuzza…” Vered stammered.

Yirmiyahu smiled his attractive boyish grin. “Yes or no will do.” Vered visibly struggled to say something. “If the cat won’t let go of your tongue, please feel free to nod.”

Vered nodded vigorously. Yirmiyahu stretched his hand out further, gesturing for her to accept the ring. Vered’s lips pursed shut, and she started hyperventilating through her nose.

Yirmiyahu chuckled. “You sound like the main attraction at a bullfight, dear. It isn’t very lady-like,” he joked. In one swift motion Vered snatched the jewelry box with one hand while she scooped up then flung his pencil at him with the other. It bounced off his chest and skittered across the table.

“That one’s going on Only Simchas,” a familiar female voice cooed.

“Well, I got it on video. Facebook, here we come!” Another one joined in. Vered’s two closest friends, Ahuva and Esther, emerged from behind a bookshelf, holding digital cameras.

“Girls, if you’ll please hug my fiancée for me, I’d greatly appreciate it.” Yirmiyahu’s smile grew ever broader. He stood up and took a step back to make room for the two squealing young women as they rushed in and wrapped their arms around Vered. It seemed like the entire floor stopped whatever it was doing and stared in their direction to see what all the ruckus was about.

“Quiet down, now! This is a library, for crying out loud!” The librarian called from the front desk, rapping his knuckles on the wooden countertop.

“I can’t believe it!” Vered announced, finally releasing her first spoken words after several minutes of star-struck silence. Esther and Ahuva gleefully screeched in reply.

The librarian tapped his little silver bell three times. “Don’t make me call security!” He angrily shook a fist in the air.

“Getting kicked out of the library wasn’t part of the plan, so can you guys turn it down a notch?” Yirmiyahu whispered to the girls, while he waved apologetically to the flustered librarian.

“Don’t forget these!” Esther and Ahuva said together, holding out a bouquet of bright red roses. Vered clutched the flowers to her chest and inhaled their sweet scent.

Yirmiyahu admired Vered for a moment. “We should probably be going now,” he made a flowing gesture with his arms. “After you,” he smiled.

Vered took two steps then stopped in her tracks as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. “Wait. You didn’t even ask me to marry you!” She exclaimed, turning to face him.

Taken aback, Yirmiyahu fumbled for a response. “Well, it was pretty clear what was going on when I-”

Vered didn’t let him finish the sentence and interjected with a raised hand, fingers splayed. “No way. Not cool.” Vered slipped the ring off and carefully sat it down on the table next to the roses.

“What?” Yirmiyahu asked in alarm. “Are you rejecting the proposal?”

“There wasn’t one to reject, dummy!” Vered retorted. “I’m not putting that back on until you do it right this time.”

Yirmiyahu smirked and lifted the ring aloft between his forefingers and thumb. “Vered will you-”

She crossed her arms over her chest, gave him a fiery look and cleared her throat. “On one knee.”

Yirmiyahu lowered himself onto one knee. “Vered, will you marry me?”

“YES!” She delicately picked up the ring, replaced it on her left ring finger, and once again cradled the bouquet in the crook of her arm.

Yirmiyahu laughed quietly to himself, “Come on, let’s go.” He started walking toward the front desk and Vered playfully skipped next to him.

Vered hesitated as Yirmiyahu stepped into the waiting elevator. “What about our stuff?” She craned her neck to look back at their table

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll pack up for you!” Esther called out, busily stacking up Yirmiyahu’s seforim.

“We’ll meet you there in a minute!” Ahuva added. Satisfied, Vered entered the elevator. The doors slid shut with a clank and she admired her new diamond ring all the way down to the lobby level. As soon as they arrived, Yirmiyahu set out moving quickly.

After a handful of steps, Vered stopped again. “Where are you taking me? Don’t we have some obligatory phone calls to make?!” She raised her hand to her ear, fingers bent in the shape of a phone.

“Nope,” Yirmiyahu turned around, walking slowly backward. “Everyone’s waiting for us in Rubin shul. Your family, my family, and everyone else you can think of, from your MMY roommates to crazy great-aunt Faygel.”

Vered paused, a grin spreading across her beautiful face, “You’re good.” Vered hopped through the security gate and beamed at her fiancé.

“I know,” he beamed back. A friend of Yirmiyahu’s noticed the pair and quickly held the door open for them.

Together, Yirmiyahu and Vered stepped into the shining sunlight.

A Time To Be Single, A Time To Wed

Note: I originally started writing this on December 28th, but was swamped by finals - and that explains the slightly dated other blog postings I make reference to.

The third chapter of Koheles is famous for its list of parallel "times" that mankind experiences in our earthly existence, and in fact starts off by declaring (in 3:1): "Everything has an appointed season; and there is a time for every matter under the heaven." Of all the parallels mentioned here, one can come to wonder why a coupled mention of "A time to be single, a time to wed" wasn't one of them. Then again, this may just be something that bothers us still single, "in the parsha" people.

A recent discussion begun by ProfK over at Conversations in Klal, and continued by bad4shidduchim really got me thinking. The issue is basically: the conflict between the desire for, or push toward marriage and how that can conflict with the fact of inexperienced youth making major decisions, and the impact this has on their educational careers and life in general.

So for what it's worth (and I will take the honest, humble road and venture to say my opinion isn't the most valuable or experienced one out there), here are my thoughts on the topic.

I definitely agree with ProfK's concerns based on her own extensive experience (being married and watching youngsters struggle with the dating/marriage process) that marriage is without a doubt a life-altering experience, which in many ways limits personal exploration and unconfined growth. Everyone needs time to figure themselves out, not only when it comes to their personal avodas HaShem (meaning hashkafa, the focus of their learning, what sort of religious community and Rav fits them best) but what their individual tachlis (essence or perhaps goal) is in life. Getting married severely limits one's ability to properly focus on oneself, in a "selfishly positive" way, to quote on of my rabbeim in Israel, and to figure out just who you are and what you're about.

Upon getting married, you're thrown into a set framework of responsibilities that continue to build - the developing relationship with your spouse; household duties; having, caring for, and raising children. The amount of free time you'll have to sit down and think, or to use ProfK's words "you cannot decide to say to hell with what I have to do today, I'm heading for a museum and enjoying myself," are far more limited than you once had. I don't think the average "fresh-back" from the year(s) in Israel can handle such immediate stricture - especially when they need to focus on adapting their newly gained, lofty perspective to the more mundane and challenging reality of being back in America. True maturity is necessary to approach such a serious decision as choosing a spouse, and the ongoing growing process that a young man/woman undergoes living on their own in college (not to knock those who live at home during this time) certainly adds a lot to one's overall perspectives. The self-exploratory process doesn't end in Israel, and some critical "freezer" time (as they say in Lakewood and elsewhere) really enhances one's views on life and what he/she wants out of marriage and his/her future.

Even so, I also empathize with what Bad4 says regarding the built-in lack of desire to get married while in college. I know with my own schedule from the past 3 semesters that I had basically no time for a real ongoing relationship, kal v'chomer being married. One person I went out with very frustrated by my inability to have lengthy phone conversations or dates at certain times because of my very busy academic schedule. But, as my parents have mentioned to me, that's simply how life works. If you can't handle the pressures coming from every direction while in college, the multitude of responsibilities and demands that build up during marriage (and don't end when that last paper is turned in for the semester) will very much overwhelm you. You have to be grateful for the time you are able to spend with your spouse, and find the small chunks of time where you can voluntarily and totally set aside everything else to focus on your him/her. I think that the inability to work within that sort of fluid framework - of being appreciative for those sometimes brief moments, and remaining intently dedicated to making sure they happen - is an indicator that one isn't quite ready for the often un-glamorous realities of married life.

But as Rav Goldvicht says at his annual dating schmooze - one shouldn't put off dating and marriage for college alone. I would add: especially as you get toward your later years in undergrad, when the class load will hopefully be a bit lighter (this is entirely based on how you pace yourself with requirements, fulfilling a major, things like pre-med/dent requirements). Specifically with regard to YU (which could be applicable elsewhere), Rav Goldvicht says that spending the first year of marriage in the yeshiva environment can be a really wonderful thing. Living in an atmosphere of Torah is inherently beneficial, and the opportunities for growth are more present than if you're already stuck in the "real world" or graduate school elsewhere.

I've had friends get married while still in undergrad, and their formerly busy academic schedules still stay ever-so-busy, but now things like class scheduling become a major consideration. No longer can you simply think about trying to load up all your classes on one or two days, staying in school until 9 PM just to have one less day of class each week; your significant other's opinion and need for time to spend with you carry major weight. The option of Friday morning class/labs are now also basically off limits - since you need to be able to help get ready for Shabbos and have the ability to go out to visit parents and in-laws, etc. Night Seder, which is often a struggle at any rate, is non-existent during Shana Rishona (and with good reason, obviously), but former chevrusas (like yours truly) get shafted in this annoying, yet necessary, and even rabbinically approved/mandated course of action.

Having said that, I know I could not have handled being married with the coursework I have had recently, there still exists an inner turmoil that attempts to balance out between being academically functional and dealing with the increasing feelings of loneliness that stem from seeing friends (both my own age, older, and even younger) getting engaged and married.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy as can be every time I hear of a new simcha among my group of friends (I tend to get injected with a new burst of positive energy with each bit of good news), and I often breathe a sigh of relief after I pull a really late night to finish some assignment without having to worry about putting unnecessary strain on a "better half," but I definitely feel like I am missing something very important in my life. At some point, the "need for freedom to work and do what I want to do" rationale simply gives way to the greater emotional tug of not having that certain other person there - a best friend better than any of my guy friends can be... Perhaps this shift in priorities is a bit different for someone who is further along in their undergraduate studies versus someone just starting out, with another two or three years ahead of them.

Looking ahead toward next year and (hopefully) grad school, I will admit that I am honestly a bit worried that I need to find that particular person before I become enmeshed in all the trials and tribulations that next step in my education will bring. So many people have mentioned to me that having someone there to support you in those often difficult situations really makes a world of a difference. Knowing that no matter what, you won't have to face these trials alone, is certainly a comforting thought.

Here's hoping this conflict doesn't last much longer... for me, or anyone else facing this dilemma.