News Briefs

Rabbi Herschel Schacter, First Musmakh of the Rav, Dies

The Yeshiva University community mourns the loss of Rabbi Herschel Schacter, a pillar of the community and father of Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter. Rabbi Herschel Schacter graduated Yeshiva College in 1938, was the first Musmakh of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and then became chaplain in the United States army during World War II. He participated in the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp and was instrumental in aiding the resettlement of survivors after the war. In 1956, he was a member of the first rabbinic delegation to the Soviet Union and escorted a transport of Hungarian refugees from Austria to the United States. Rabbi Schacter went on to serve as the director of rabbinic services at YU/RIETS, chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and lead the Mosholu Jewish Center in the Bronx for more than 5 decades.

12 Straight Weeks of Classes in Spring 2014

The Office of the Registrar has recently unveiled its Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 academic calendar. As usual, the High Holidays interrupt the first few weeks of classes. Students return from the summer for one week of classes followed by a week off for Rosh Hashana, only to return for three days of courses. The Sukkot holiday break will last for 15 days. For the first time in 113 years, Chanukah and Thanksgiving will be celebrated on the same day. Finals end January 7. The Spring academic schedule, however, is not riddled with many breaks; 12 straight weeks of class (with only one day off for the fast of Esther) will greet students after they return from winter break on January 20.

Volleyball Champs, Again

On April 11, The YU Maccabees volleyball team captured their second HVMAC championship in the last three years, plowing through both the semifinals and finals matches with straight set victories. Top-seeded YU took down No. 4-seed Webb Institute in the semifinals by scores of 25-10, 25-14 and 25-14, before moving past third-seeded Sarah Lawrence by 25-14, 25-14 and 25-15 counts. Senior Daniel Lapson was named Most Valuable Player after hitting .581 (29 k, 4 e, 43 att.) in the two matches. The tournament victory came after the team’s fourth consecutive regular-season crown. Following the match, the HVMAC All-Conference teams were announced and Lapson, along with senior co-captain Elchanan Margolis and junior setter Adam Rhodes were awarded all-conference accolades.

Joel Feigenbaum, Strikeout Machine

As of April 7th, Joel Feigenbaum of the YU Maccabees baseball squad continues to lead all NCAA pitchers in strikeouts per nine innings at a whopping 15.83 K/9. Through four outings, Feigenbaum has tallied 34 strikeouts and only 14 walks with a 1-2 record and 6.98 era, tossing 75 of 111 pitches for strikes in his first two appearances. As of April 15, the Macs are 2-15, picking up one win at home against NYU-Poly and eking out an away victory at City College. Yaniv Lautman and Adam Volk currently lead the Macs in batting at .314 and .265, respectively. The team has a busy month ahead of them, playing 14 games before April is out. Follow the Macs at yumacs.com.

Exposed, Rabbi Broyde Suspended from Beit Din Post

A feat of investigative journalism by Steven I. Weiss at The Jewish Channel, exposed the longtime alias used by Rabbi Michael J. Broyde, a Dayan on the Beit Din of America and a prominent member of the Rabbinical Council of America. Brodye fabricated the identity of a rabbi, Hershel Goldwasser, and used it to critique a rival pulpit rabbi, infiltrate a left-leaning rabbinical organization,  and post comments in Tradition, Conservative Judaism, and other publications. He also posted compliments of his own blog posts on Hirhurim and elsewhere. Broyde, a graduate of YC, Musmakh of RIETS, once frontrunner for the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, and perhaps one of the most respected halachik decisors of his generation, was granted an “indefinite leave of absence” by the RCA. Though he originally denied the allegations, Broyde later admitted to the scheme and apologized for his actions.