Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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The child in the cheder learning kametz, aleph, ah; the Yeshiva student questioning, pon- dering, understanding; the father studying the sidra during the long and redolent Friday nights ; the grandfather stroking his white beard, gently swaying over his Talmud... The voice of Torah which inextricably binds the generations, the promise of Torah which weds man to the Divine, the fire of Torah which con- tains the secret of Eternity... The spark which will never be extinguished, the flame which enkindles but never consumes, the fire within which is far stronger than the fires without... Torah, the quintessence of our life, the meaning of our existence, the guide by which we live and for which we are prepared to die . . . it is to Torah that we dedicate this Masmid and our lives...

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- DEDICATION Few individuals symbolize a search for truth, a desire to divest life of its hypocritical exterior and perceive its bare essence. Such a man is Dr. Alexander Litman, a Professor of Philosophy who not only teaches his subject but lives it. ( Life is a search for truth, and not the dogmatic insistence that it has already been discovered... Do you know why Elijah threw his mantle about Elisha before he went up to God ? He was trying to teach us that when we face our Maker, externals are of no consequence whatever. Only the truth counts, in its most sincere and naked form ). His lectures are presented in the form of Socratic dia- logues, for his intention is not to present information to us but to extract ideas from us. (If it takes nine months to produce an idiot child, do you expect to produce an idea in five minutes? ). The philosophic concepts he taught will, no doubt, be for- gotten by many, but few can ever forget the basic ideals he con- stantly stressed : to examine all things critically, to speak fear- lessly for the right cause, and above all, to remember our duties to our fellow man even as we are remembering our duties to God. ( There is not enough derech eretz in Yeshiva; too many people merely milk the Deity ). His smile was often cynical, but his righteous indignation betrayed an idealism which prevailed despite his realization of life ' s sham. Pursuing something for its own sake yields more benefit than pursuing something for benefit ). Education, to Dr. Litman, is the promotion of inquiry, and he would constantly encourage the inquisitive student. ( Too many students are like seals. Three o ' clock is their feeding time ; they come up from the depths, open their mouths to receive a few crumbs, and then descend once again to the depths. I want students, not majors ). Many are the Professors who left an indelible impression upon us, but few opened our minds as widely and caused us to question and probe as deeply as did Dr. Alexander Litman— true spokesman for the secular clergy. Dr. Alexander Litman Professor of Philosophy