Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 16 text:

However, doesn ' t this mean that Yeshiva has strayed from the path that Dr. Revel had charted for it? Not necessarily, if one looks closely at what Dr. Revel really had in mind for Yeshiva. When the great depression hit, Yeshiva College felt the crunch. To weather the storm Dr. Revel reached out to Albert Einstein, asking him to use his influence to help keep Yeshiva above water. In a letter to wealthy acquaintances, Dr. Einstein appealed for support for the school, and in one phrase succinctly captured the essence of what Yeshiva University has always been about: plead the cause of Yeshiva College with all my heart, he wrote, because it has a higher purpose as the protector of the Jewish tradition.

Page 15 text:

When Dr. Belkin retired in 1976, eight months before his death, it became time to look for a successor. For the first time in its history, Yeshiva was able to have as its president one of its former graduates. Dr. Norman Lamm YC ' 49 was invested as Presi- dent of the University in 1977 and has since carried on the work begun by Dr. Revel and pursued by Dr. Belkin. Under Dr. Lamm, Yeshiva has continued its growth with the opening of the Cardozo School of Law, an extension of Dr. Belkin ' s dream. The academic excellence which YU has come to be noted for is noticeable in many ways. The graduate schools, in particular the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, are all of notable quality, and either have or are gaining the prestige that accompanies such excellence. As of 1977, YU ranked thirteenth in the United States in the number of research awards granted by the National Institute of Health, and in New York State, ranked second only to Columbia University. That is quite a long way from the simple alter- native to secular colleges that Bernard Revel had established.

Page 17 text:

The Jewish tradition has always emphasized scholarliness in worldly matters, in addition to Torah, in order to be a complete Jew. Maimonides, one mustn ' t forget, was also one of the greatest medical doctors of his day. The great beacon of Torah at YU today, the Rav, Rabbi Dr. Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, in addition to being one of the Gedolai HaDor has a tremendous store of knowledge in secular matters. He has completed a doctorate at the University of Berlin in epistemology and metaphysics. And so, acquiring secular knowledge together with Torah learning is in no way a deviation from what is halachically proper, even in the most ideal situation. That is why in 1928, it was sufficient to have a Yeshiva College as it was: the need was to keep rabbinic students from disrupting their learning to go to college. But today the need is greater than that: as the protector of the Jewish tradition, YU has to keep its eyes open as to what are the dangers to that tradition and act accordingly. In the American scene today, the danger to that tradition can be capsulized in the word assimilation. Thus, it is incumbent upon Yeshiva University to battle that demon. Many are the Jewish youth who have lost touch with their heritage and tradition through what they were exposed to on today ' s American college campus. And so YU in keeping with the higher purpose of its existence is obligated to present a suitable alternative to those same secular colleges.