Dec 22, 2016 By: yunews
Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff 鈥09YC 鈥11R Discusses Evolution of the Term 鈥淢odern Orthodox鈥
On December 21, the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Honors Program and hosted the final Honors luncheon of 2016 by inviting Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff 鈥09YC 鈥11R to lead a discussion about his most recent publication, Modern Orthodox Judaism: A Documentary History.
Rabbi Eleff is the chief academic officer of the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago and the author of six books and more than 30 scholarly articles. He is also editor of Mentor of Generations: Reflections on Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a collection of primary materials related to the decades-long argument about what the term 鈥淢odern Orthodox鈥 means. 鈥淭he book is an inquiry into something that philosophers would call 鈥榠ndexical change,鈥欌 he said, 鈥渁n investigation into who is assuming the mantle of Modern Orthodoxy at any one time and why.鈥
Rabbi Eleff demonstrated the ever-shifting meaning of the term through a chronological reading of important documents, where men of renown and influence 鈥 former YU President Rabbi Norman Lamm, Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, Rabbi Irving Greenberg, and renowned philosopher and YU Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik 鈥 sparred about what the term meant, to whom it did and did not apply and who should assume 鈥渢he mantle鈥 of Modern Orthodoxy. As Rabbi Eleff showed, these arguments were both 鈥渘ebulous鈥 and 鈥渄angerous鈥 because they did not establish, and still have not established, an agreed-upon definition.
鈥淓ven though I showed my presentation slides in order,鈥 he said, 鈥渢hat does not mean that the confluence of forces is linear at all. It鈥檚 a constant shuffling back and forth because there are complex variables all around.鈥
In the Q&A after the talk, one student asked why it was important to have a title at all. 鈥淎 term like Modern Orthodoxy has shifted meaning in response to historical forces over the last century because definitions and titles matter,鈥 said Rabbi Eleff. In response to another student question, he noted that 鈥渟ometimes it seems that the arguing is more important than settling the argument鈥攍ook at the pages of our journals, which are full of struggle. But these arguments have meaning and consequence, which is why people take them so seriously.鈥
Rabbi Eleff finished his presentation by saying that 鈥渢aking a step back as a historian, it鈥檚 possible to see how religious communities always undergo change, making movements to the left or to the right鈥擨 like to look at it as different folkways competing with one another. These movements from fluidity to rigidity and back again are cyclical and dynamic, and that鈥檚 what makes it challenging, frustrating鈥攁nd a heck of a lot of fun.鈥
On December 21, the Jay and Jeannie Schottenstein Honors Program and hosted the final Honors luncheon of 2016 by inviting Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff 鈥09YC 鈥11R to lead a discussion about his most recent publication, Modern Orthodox Judaism: A Documentary History.
Rabbi Eleff is the chief academic officer of the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago and the author of six books and more than 30 scholarly articles. He is also editor of Mentor of Generations: Reflections on Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a collection of primary materials related to the decades-long argument about what the term 鈥淢odern Orthodox鈥 means. 鈥淭he book is an inquiry into something that philosophers would call 鈥榠ndexical change,鈥欌 he said, 鈥渁n investigation into who is assuming the mantle of Modern Orthodoxy at any one time and why.鈥
Rabbi Eleff demonstrated the ever-shifting meaning of the term through a chronological reading of important documents, where men of renown and influence 鈥 former YU President Rabbi Norman Lamm, Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, Rabbi Irving Greenberg, and renowned philosopher and YU Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik 鈥 sparred about what the term meant, to whom it did and did not apply and who should assume 鈥渢he mantle鈥 of Modern Orthodoxy. As Rabbi Eleff showed, these arguments were both 鈥渘ebulous鈥 and 鈥渄angerous鈥 because they did not establish, and still have not established, an agreed-upon definition.
鈥淓ven though I showed my presentation slides in order,鈥 he said, 鈥渢hat does not mean that the confluence of forces is linear at all. It鈥檚 a constant shuffling back and forth because there are complex variables all around.鈥
In the Q&A after the talk, one student asked why it was important to have a title at all. 鈥淎 term like Modern Orthodoxy has shifted meaning in response to historical forces over the last century because definitions and titles matter,鈥 said Rabbi Eleff. In response to another student question, he noted that 鈥渟ometimes it seems that the arguing is more important than settling the argument鈥攍ook at the pages of our journals, which are full of struggle. But these arguments have meaning and consequence, which is why people take them so seriously.鈥
Rabbi Eleff finished his presentation by saying that 鈥渢aking a step back as a historian, it鈥檚 possible to see how religious communities always undergo change, making movements to the left or to the right鈥擨 like to look at it as different folkways competing with one another. These movements from fluidity to rigidity and back again are cyclical and dynamic, and that鈥檚 what makes it challenging, frustrating鈥攁nd a heck of a lot of fun.鈥
