Class 1 of 2 –Recorded 5/3/04 Here, Rabbi Labaton shares his personal reflections on his Rabbi and teacher, the Rav/Rabbi Soloveitchik (1903-1993). He received his smicha/Rabbinical Ordination from the Rav/Rabbi Soloveitchik at Yeshiva University REITS.
He asks the following questions: “Why do we have to know about the Rav/Rabbi Soloveitchik?”, “Why should we care about you/Rabbi Labaton’s personal reflections?”
“I would say, though he of course would not agree with this statement, that he was the ideal Jew from my point of view. I would say he was the ideal Jew period without any qualifiers. Although of course, he would without question frown at such at what I’m going to call an absurd statement. And I will admit to you that it is an absurd statement that makes very little sense to many people, however for some strange reason I’m going to stand by that statement and going to defend it in the course of our discussion. And I would go further to say that a Jew of this type comes along once every 1,000 years. Also, perhaps an absurd statement, but still nevertheless I think true. You should want to come to know a Jew of this type, what does he offer, what does he communicate, what does he represent, why should one want to know a person of this type? ” (2:28-3:21)
“Sometimes personal reflections will communicate a dimension that the official biography cannot communicate whatsoever . I am not concerned with it, but I will give you access to it as you will see as we go along. What I want to achieve this evening, is for you to come to know the person/ the man, not the historical background that actually produced the person/ the man. In fact from my point of you, it’s not only that I want you to come to know who the Rav/Rabbi Soloveitchik is, I would say in many ways that I am desperate that you know the man. To me this is not simply a class to give, but is almost an obligation that I have that I have to communicate the information of who and what the Rav/Rabbi Soloveitchik was all about. I would say to you, that the knowledge of him is a gift that I would like to share with you this evening, an important gift, and in a word I would say to you that simply knowing and studying with the Rav/Rabbi Soloveitchik has immeasurably enriched my life. Intellectually, Emotionally, Existentially, Experientially and in every which way you could imagine. It was an overwhelming experience and I would like to share that wealth with you, by whatever measure I can. We should all try to engage in those things in life that enrich. The Rav/Rabbi Soloveitchik enriches.” (4:08-5:45)
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