Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
DICTION AND DUTY
When teaching at the Metivta, the UTJ’s Rabbinical Program in Teaneck, NJ, which prepared young men for traditional rabbinic ordination, a student whose BA was from a third-tier, state university, wrote a paper, the diction of which was, to be generous, “inadequate”. A more precise description would be “appalling,” but “inadequate” got the job done. Trying to explain to this graduate rabbinical student that it is insufficient, i.e. “not good enough” to “get the material right,” but to communicate rightly understood material effectively, in a manner that engages the reader, and able to elicit a positive response. At JTS, Saul Lieberman taught his Talmud shiur in English, not Hebrew or Yiddish, French or German, the languages he spoke before arriving in the United States. . Given that English was not his first language and Sifre Deuteronomy 46, a canonical, Tanaitic Halakhic Midrash, requires that Torah be taught in Hebrew, the “Language of Holiness,” he reasoned that the majority of his students would be commissioned to teach Torah within an English linguistic environment
After correcting the student’s paper’s diction, I asked the student to submit a clean version for assessment. Offended that his writing was “attacked,” and by implication, his existential bona fides impugned, this sincere, honest fellow, protested to Rabbi Ronald Price, the UTJ’s Dean and, among other things, my boss.
When studying for her BA in Hebrew at Temple University, my sister Linda took a class with Rabbi Gerald Bildstein, now a leading scholar of Jewish Thought at Ben Gurion University. Some Orthodox coeds asked R. Bildstein, an outstanding academic professional, for a “break,” i.e. an easy “A,” because they were “Frum” culture insiders.” R. Bildstein replied that as Orthodox students, they [a] should be held to a higher standard, because [b] their Torah requires that they, professing religious commitment, ought to strive for excellence.
Religious excellence is not achieved by being extra strict or gratuitously parochial; it is manifest by being precise in pursuit of doing “what is right and good.” [Deut. 6:18] In order to explain Torah effectively, with kindness and passion, and, the Torah needs to be expressed precisely. Language is that tool whereby one soul talks to another. It is like a violin; its sounds can be beautiful or it can make discord. “Life and death are in the hand, i.e. power, of language” [Proverbs 18:21]. In order to touch the heart, we have to enter the ear.
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Educated and first ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Rabbi Alan J. Yuter earned additional ordinations from Yeshiva University, supervised by Rav Moshe D. Tendler, and the Israeli Chief Rav Mordecai Eliahu. He further received Yadin Yadin from Rav David Weiss Halivni and earned a PhD in modern Hebrew Literature from New York University.
A founding member of the UTJ, Rabbi Yuter served as a faculty member at the UTJ’s rabbinical school and has held multiple pulpits, including extended stints in Springfield, NJ, and Baltimore, MD.
Rabbi Yuter is a prolific writer on ritual and philosophical issues, underpinnings of halakha, Biblical criticism, and much more. His essays can be found on UTJ’s Viewpoints . He is also a frequent contributor for The Institute of Jewish Ideas and Ideals.
In addition to his activities with the UTJ, Rabbi Yuter teaches at Torat Reva in Jerusalem and is associated with the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding, affiliated with Ohr Torah Stone in Efrat.
Rabbi Yuter and his wife Linda reside in Israel.