Every person is multi-dimensional. His heart and soul are comprised of multiple levels. He has thought millions and millions of thoughts, said millions and millions of words and engaged in countless acts and behaviors.
When one speaks lashon hara what he is doing is focusing on one negative facet of a person or one negative thing he said or did, thus diminishing the vast dimensions of a human soul, psyche and life into one little negative box.
The עונש? Tzaraas. Tzaraas is one little negative rash on the skin which makes the ENTIRE PERSON contaminated - even though the rest of the person's skin is clean and pure. EXACTLY what he did to the person he spoke about. Turning the entire person into the one negative aspect, forgetting about everything positive.
Yeshiva University is multi-dimensional. Millions and millions of hours of Torah and Tfilla have been engaged in in YU in the last hundred plus years. They have alumni who were very chashuv Rabbonim [including Rav Gifter, Rav Avigdor Miller, Rav Nosson Wachtfogel and many many others]. If YU DIDN'T exist most of the boys would not be in the Mir in Brooklyn or BMG in Lakewood but in secular universities. Tens of thousands of Jews would have probably been lost to Judaism if not for YU.
The Rabbeim in YU throughout the generations have been tremendous Talmidei Chachomim. Go to the YU Beis Medrash and in the back there is a bookcase filled with the sfarim of the Rabbeim that are stark testimony to their gadlus in Torah. [A special mention of Rav Shmuel Eliezer Volk and his 8 volumed שערי טהר. Not שייך....]. Rav Soloveitchik of course was on par in lomdus with just about any Gadol Bi-yisrael.
The Rabbeim today are for all intents and purposes no less Charedi than any Charedi Rav. They don't believe in changing Halacha, are completely observant and Yirei Shomayim and [to varying degrees] Talmidei Chachomim. If they are in favor of secular studies it is not a diversion from Jewish tradition. Ask the Rambam - or Chazal. ואכמ"ל.
A myseh a Charedi friend with no YU connection told me the other day. Someone wrote a book on Chumash collecting the Torah's of Rav Yosef Engel and assembling them according to Parsha. He gave a copy to Rav Schachter. A number of days later [after learning through the whole thing] Rav Schachter told him that he missed two pieces.... Not every Rebbi is on Rav Schachter's level but one cannot deny that the most influential Rav in YU knows Shas and poskim with clarity - by heart. He is also a tremendous Anav, Tzadik and Yarei Shomayim.
Again - EACH Rebbi is a Talmid Chochom and is a wonderful role model for the boys.
Are they all perfect? No. But either is every Rebbe in Chaim Berlin, Torah Vodaas and every other Yeshiva.
Is YU a perfect place? No. Far from it.
But it serves a VERY important purpose and fills a big void for Klal Yisrael. Again - no YU and some of our best and brightest are going to places like UCLA, NYU, various "party schools" and those Ivy league hotbeds of anti-semitism, promiscuity, and liberal, anti-Torah values.
Which brings me to my point.
To'eva club? No YU Rabbi or President is in favor of משכב זכור. But due to TREMENDOUS pressure they are allowing the club. Is there justification for this? One can argue both ways [I argue against]. But that doesn't completely negate YU in its complex totality.
Sweet friends - we ALL have parts of us that need fixing. We accept ourselves in all of our imperfections because we see the whole picture. We owe YU the same courtesy.
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Note - I did not attend YU [although I was in MTA - also known as the Manhattan Transit Authority - for a short and very excruciating time], do not work for YU, have never been given a penny by them and have הכרת הטוב for their platform which has spread the Torah of yours truly to I can't count how many. Baruch Hashem!!
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