Tradition

The hashkafah or world-view of the Metivta includes the notion that all aspects of the universe are part of the Torah. Nothing is outside that purview. As traditional halakhic Jews, we need not fear any intellectual pursuit or avenue of study. We not believe that God put us on this earth to see how much of our minds we could close. Rather, the test is to see how we use our intellect to understand and participate in the world as God has given it.

The argument is made that modern rabbis need to study more counseling and less gemara to function as ministers in this post-modern era. I believe that to prepare a rabbi adequately for the challenges of the 21st century, more, rather than less of both rabbinics and science are necessary.

If a rabbi is to represent the Jewish view of the world, he must begin by having complete command of classical biblical and rabbinic/halakhic literature. Therefore, the rabbi in training must be required to be able to access and use more information than in any other generation. He must begin by learning all that rabbis of past generations have been required to know in order to receive semikhah (rabbinic ordination). He must have the ability to read and understand Tanakh, Talmud and the halakhic literature. The laws of forbidden mixtures in kashrut, meat and milk, family purity, Shabbat, laws of mourning all are still necessities. They include relevant information for Jewish living and the rabbi must be competent to render halakhic decisions about them. These classical areas of rabbinic study include language and jargon that is reflected throughout rabbinic and even in modern Hebrew literature.

Rabbinical students msut also be educated with a variety of study methodologies in order that they appreciate the Torah of different religious communities. In addition to the approach of our founder and teacher, Rabbi David Halivni, Metivta students are exposed to faculty of different backgrounds; that of Brisk, Telz and Mir, as well as to traditional Sefardic text study.

Modernity

All this learning, however, is only the first, albeit essential, step toward becoming an authentic becoming an authentic posek (Jewish legal decisor) and rabbi in the 21st century.

The rabbinical students must know about and appreciate what is happening in the world and the challenges faced by the community. The requirement for a degree in secular studies, be it in the sciences or the humanities, is more important today than ever before. As many in the Orthodox community draw away from any but the most unavoidable contact with secular world, we must dive into it, for that is still where most Jews live. The secular world itself contains elements of sanctity waiting to be found. For example, Metivta students today are helping to develop a program entitled, "Taking the MTV Challenge". We are certainly the only halakhic rabbinical school which requires our students to be aware of what children and adults are watching on television, in order to be able to effectively counter (or support where appropriate) the values being taught through the media.

Our students study all of hilkhot bikkur holim (laws pertaining to visiting the sick) prior to going on rounds with a psychiatrist in a hospital. They compare modern counseling methods with the halakhot brought in the Shulhan Arukh and commentaries. Rabbinical students must have as part of their curriculum (as does Metivta) Jewish medical ethics (living wills, euthanasia, abortion, etc.).

The rabbinical student must further learn that no Jew can be off-limits. Our rabbis, though halakhic in thought and practice ("modern Orthodox" to some, Traditional to others), are trained to work and learn with all Jews and rabbis of all denominations. Our goal is to seek out those areas where we can work together for the betterment of the community, including the development of Jewish values programs in our Federations, and support of the State of Israel, rather than focusing on our ideological differences. Though we may disagree with the ideologies of liberal movements, as well as those to the right who make unnecessary decreese, our rabbis will show respect to all. That alone makes us unique on the Jewish scene. We hope that because of the broad-minded approach to community, combined with full commitment to the halakhic life taught at the Metivta, our students will be at the forefront of solving the painful agunah crisis and will not shy away from women's issues in the context of halakhah.

Humility

Most importantly, through the selection of appropriate faculty models, the rabbinical student must learn humility, before God and fellow Jews. While this may seem apparent, it is only so in print. In reality, far too many American rabbis become pompous and selfish. I believe that when this happens it is the result of the individual having forgotten that the respect shown the rabbi stems not only from his person, but from the fact that he represents more than 2,000 years of Jewish law and tradition; that from his lips are anticipated words that instruct the Jew about how God expects us to behave.

The rabbinical student must be inculcated with mesirut, a willingness to sacrifice in order to be worthy of the keter shel torah, the crown of Torah and the mantle of the leadership. Contrary to the attitude in most modern rabbinical schools, the rabbinate should not be viewed as a profession. It is a responsibility that once undertaken must change the individual and those close to him forever.