> And it was that which he said justified “Modern Orthodoxy” – survival, nothing else
This is not the justification I saw in R Soloveitchik speeches and letters. Maybe there are several and I paid attention to the one that speaks to me.
This is the one I read, my paraphrase:
The world is changing very fast and we are exposed to new challenges. If we, Jews, claim that we have eternal Truth from Hashem, then we should be able to address these challenges. “Hiding in the caves” is not an adequate response to challenges that Hashem is sending us.
Re: YU, he writes, I think, in 1940s-50s, probably while considering or just after starting at YU, he proposes a goal of streamlined curriculum that mass-produces Rabbis who can lead communities: say a parsha dvar Torah, organize davening, do correct marriages and know enough of gittin to refer to more knowledgeable people. He contrasts it with Litvishe yeshivas that he knew from the old world, where people could be studying esoteric subjects for years without giving back to the community. He is not, obviously, against learning lishma, he just felt a need to produce Rabbis for multitudes of Yidden, especially those who were arriving. As he already lived in US for a couple of decades, he was probably a good observer of the social changes.
Was he able to produce Rabbis that would reach those who were rapidly assimilating? I don’t know. But the direction looked reasonable. This is about same time Chabad was starting their efforts. Separatist O had great strides in protecting and growing their own community, but I don’t think it found enough confidence to deal with other Yidden until maybe 1980s.