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OTS Newsletter - Winter/Spring 2005Connected on CampusAlumni of the Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary are providing stimulating Jewish leadership on university campuses in England and the USA. Promoting Jewish identity, energizing Jewish commitment and engaging Jewish students, Straus graduates are helping to ensure the future of the Jewish people.
"Any text, any time," is the motto of Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary-ordained Rabbi Uri Cohen who, together with his wife, Dr. Yocheved Cohen, co-directs Jewish Education at Princeton University's Center for Jewish Life. The couple arrived in Princeton this year under the auspices of the Jewish Learning Initiative (JLI), an independent joint project of the Orthodox Union, Hillel and Torah MiTzion, founded and directed by Straus Seminary faculty member Rabbi Menachem Schrader; their job entails strengthening the "few dozen" Orthodox students at Princeton while also reaching out to the diverse mix of Jewish students on campus. "We're here to work with everybody," Uri maintains. "As Torah educators, our goal is to raise the general level of knowledge out there while accepting everyone for who they are." This Straus Seminary-style of teaching - with its emphasis on making Jewish knowledge accessible and relevant to Jews of all walks of life - is evident in the teaching styles of other Straus couples serving university campuses in England and the USA. "The significant level of intellectual openness which characterizes the Straus Seminary is proving to be a tremendous asset to me now," attests Rabbi Yitzchak Falk, JLI Educator at the University of Illinois. "I learned from my rabbanim at the David Falk Kollel to relate to students of all backgrounds and to really make the effort to understand their mindset." Rabbi Jason Rappoport, a graduate of the Straus Seminary's Amiel - Rabbi Emanuel Rackman Practical Rabbinics Program, agrees. "At Amiel, we were imbued with a broad communal perspective and a feeling of responsibility toward all of am yisrael. We understand that different things work for different people at different stages of their life; we take them where they are and work with them on their terms" - a philosophy that is serving him well in his tenure as campus rabbi, posek, mashgiach and JLI director at Yale University. Adds Straus-ordained Rabbi Josh Ross, who co-directs the JLI at Cornell University with his wife, Rivky, "The Straus experience also communicated to me the art of listening and the importance of patience. Our rabbanim sat every day with people who knew so much less than them. They answered the same questions over and over. But they always remained warm, enthusiastic and motivated." Practical Advice After two-and-a-half years at Cornell, Josh and Rivky have established themselves firmly as an integral part of the non-Jewish, secular university. "I received a wonderful piece of advice from Rabbi Riskin," Josh relates. "He said, 'If you wait for others, it won't happen. You've got to make it happen'" This pearl of wisdom continues to inspire Josh; he and Rivky take a proactive approach toward their work which, paired with the the couple's open-minded approach, has led the Cornell administration to support their efforts to promote Jewish issues on campus. "For example," reports Josh, "last year, we were able to host the largest Pesach Seder in North America, with 950 students and their visitors singing Ma Nishtana in unison." Rabbi Ori Fisch, Jewish Chaplain of Cambridge University in England, is also grateful for the practical knowledge that the Amiel program provided him and his wife, Yonit, prior to their foray on campus. "For starters, Rabbi Riskin is the role model par excellence for this kind of work. But in the Amiel program we were also exposed to many others who had successfully gone before us. Often, one finds oneself facing a dilemma in which the answer really isn't black or white, because there are so many different ways of looking at the Jewish world," he reveals. "But we had the benefit of learning from their experiences and stories, in addition to focusing in depth on many of the thornier subjects facing Jews in the Western world today."
JLI educator-couple at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, Aharon and Adena Frazer, affirm that the Amiel program imparted to them the information and opportunity needed to really develop their educational method in a deliberate manner before heading out into the field. "We gained a thoroughly professional approach," says Aharon. "In particular, Amiel made us far more conscious of the interpersonal dimensions involved in Jewish education and communal leadership, which has been incredibly helpful in our work. Beyond our formal roles, we strive to also maintain social relationships with Jewish students on campus, guiding them through tragedies and various life cycle events." Jason Rappoport and his wife, Meira, gained tremendous experience during their previous three-year stint in Oslo, Norway, where Jason was the community's spiritual leader. "But Amiel also prepared us very well," Jason says, "with a serious training program for both men and women." Now in their third year at Yale, Jason reveals, "It's a real family effort. Meira is very definitely my partner in communal responsibility as well as all educational efforts. We're serving as role models of Jewish family life, strengthening the Orthodox Jews on campus while at the same time dispelling prejudice and ignorance amongst those unfamiliar with a Torah-observant lifestyle. Our goal is to break down the barriers and strive toward unity; even our five children understand that they are an integral part of this endeavor." In fact, the practical training Straus students receive continues even while they are on the job. "I'm really looking forward to recharging my batteries and trading tips at the upcoming Rabbinical Conference for the Straus rabbis in Europe," shares Ori Fisch. "It's so important to me to know that I have an ongoing support system. The Amiel staff sends me regular emails and knowing that I can contact them if I ever need to gives me an added level of confidence in my work," he reveals. Yitzchak Falk maintains regular contact with the yeshiva, consulting with Rabbi David Fink, Rabbi Shuki Reich and Rabbi Schrader on Halachic matters. "I feel lucky to have this ongoing resource of rabanim who are truly talmidei chachamim and who continue to offer their support," he says. Tools of the Trade "As a David Falk Kollel student, I was strongly influenced by Rabbi Riskin and of course by Rabbi Schrader to go out and make a difference to Clal Yisrael," relates Yitzchak. "At the same time, the Straus Seminary also gave me the tools I would need to use out in the field. First of all, the ability to learn well is a vital prerequisite to teaching," says the Chicago native. "But Rabbi Brovender also gave me the opportunity to do some teaching in my final year of studies. That was a tremendously helpful hands-on experience; the interaction with real students helped prepare me for a lot of my current work." Rabbi Brovender's influence is keenly felt by Josh Ross, as well. Both at Yeshivat Hamivtar Orot Lev, where he began his studies, and later, as a David Falk Fellow in the Straus Seminary, Josh had the privilege of 'learning how to learn' via the infamous 'Brovender method.' "When you grapple with a text until you grasp it, struggling with a dictionary, no cheating, no English translation - only then have you mastered the skills necessary to discover and learn on your own forever. That's what I'm now seeking to impart to my Cornell students," he reveals. "Some of the students here are learning Latin and Greek to study the classics in the original; one undergraduate went to Germany for six months just to learn the language so he could better understand his philosophers. I'm here to encourage them to devote that same type of industry and investment to their Hebrew and Aramaic skills, so they can study in the original the works that ultimately affect our entire existence." As they lecture on topics ranging from Talmud, halacha, Parshat Hashavua, Jewish philosophy and women's issues in Judaism; as they devote hours to chavruta studies, personal counseling, enhancing prayer services, organizing mini-courses, lectures, experiential social programs and Shabbatonim, these Straus graduates are imparting unique OTS values to hundreds of university students on campus. "Ultimately," concludes Ori, "our goal is to strengthen their Jewish identity not solely through classes and learning, but through being engaging role models of successful Jewish living."
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