The first mistake that one can make when thinking about YCT is that somehow if we go a little farther left we’ll turn into Conservative Judaism. JTS and YCT are not two points on the same spectrum. Debating whether to attend arguably, the foremost and flagship Conservative rabbinical school in the world in the same conversation with any Orthodox rabbinical school does a disservice to both YCT and JTS. Regardless of the qualifying term before Orthodox, the rabbeim, teachers and men who learn together at YCT are profoundly committed to an Orthodox approach of Judaism. This approach is not limited to keeping Halacha as understood by Orthodox parameters. We are not masquerading as an Orthopraxis school hoping that at some point we’ll make everyone Conservative. Nor should one think that Conservative Judaism is simply Orthodoxy lacking observance. This does a disservice to both Orthodoxy and Conservative Judaism which have vibrant, alive and disparate theologies and understandings of how the halachic system works. My experience attending YCT showed me that we are committed to a Judaism that cares for all Jews, and all people, but decidedly, unabashedly through the lens of Orthodoxy.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 20:30:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015