Reply To: YU’s Toeiva Discussion

From Matzav:

For a candid conversation about a toeivah lifestyle to take place at a New York City university might be commonplace. Certainly, it would be expected at any one of the liberal campuses around town.

But at Yeshiva University, a school considerably more conservative than its neighbors?

Thrust into the thick of a debate over a toeivah lifestyle and Orthodox Judaism in recent weeks, the school did just that on Tuesday night. Pushed to do so after an anonymous toeivah student wrote an article in the school paper, organizers sought to address the painful conflict of living a toeivah lifestyle in the religious world.

At the outset, Rabbi Yosef Blau, spiritual adviser at YU, stressed that the discussion was not meant to be a debate about halacha. His words were echoed by a toeivah student who addressed a packed audience.

Organized by the YU Tolerance Club and Wurzweiler School of Social Work, the event attracted hundreds of students, graduates and faculty members. Dozens were turned away and fire officials were on hand at one point when security guards said the building had reached capacity.

But not everyone felt that way. There were rumors Tuesday night that some fliers for the event were defaced. On Facebook, where the event was publicized, some published critical comments of those who would ignore the religious prohibition of toeivah.

Indeed, during a question and answer session, audience members sought to understand how the toeivah men maintained their level of observance.

YU itself has a rocky history when it comes to dealing with toeivah on its campuses. In the 1990s, the university grappled with whether to allow toeivah clubs at its law school. In the past, the school has been accused of denying housing to toeivah couples at its medical school.

Last year, the founding of a Tolerance Club, which welcomed toeivah members, was simultaneously praised by some and decried as blasphemous by others.