Biggest S'micha

And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. . . . Numbers 27: 18-20

Such was the first S'micha--the laying on of hands by which Jewish rabbis were ordained for more than 1,500 years. But S'micha is something more than a simple ceremony of ordination. It is conferred only upon Orthodox rabbis who 1) have devoted years to intensive study of the Talmud and the complex, exacting Jewish Law, and 2) have satisfied their rabbinical superiors as to their scholarship and piety. Without receiving S'micha, rabbis may preach, head synagogues and serve as chaplains, but for Orthodox Jews may decide no questions of Jewish Law.

In Manhattan last week, 85 young rabbis, from pulpits all over the U.S., were assembled for the biggest S'micha in the history of U.S. Judaism. All were graduates of the theological seminary at Manhattan's green-turreted Yeshiva University, the only Jewish university in the U.S. Yeshiva's seminary was also celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding. Before an audience of 1,200 distinguished Orthodox scholars, educators and laymen, the black-capped musmachim (mostly in their 20s) rose briefly as their names were called.

Yeshiva's handsome, young (35) president, Dr. Samuel Belkin, seized the special occasion to take exception to some of the methods used by "misguided zealots" to improve understanding between Jews and Christians. "The world today," he declared, "suffers from a laxity of faith and the great need of this moment is not so much the 'watering down' of particular religious beliefs but rather a greater and firmer conviction of one's own religion. . . .

"America is not a religious 'melting pot' and does not cherish a colorless uniformity of beliefs and cultural expressions. . . . We are all dedicated to the belief in the Brotherhood of Man and Fatherhood of God, but each group can and should travel on its own road in order to achieve this coveted ideal."

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