Modern Orthodoxy, Z"L

For anyone who thought that the much-discuessed Gedolim (tm) Visit To Teaneck was part of an agenda of being open-minded, wanting to hear all parts of the spectrum, expanding horizons, etc., the following passage from Hirhurim (not written by Gil) will set you straight:

We all waited in anticipation as more and more people arrived. Soon spare chairs filled the aisles and many found an area to stand. The excitement built and around 7:45 the speakers entered. Rav Ahron Schechter, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, followed by Rav Ahron Feldman, Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisrael in Baltimore and Rav Matisyahu Soloman, the Mashgiach Ruchani of the Lakewood Yeshiva. The crowd burst into spontaneous song "Yamim al Y'mei Melech... as the dignitaries made there way to the dais.

Let's put it this way -- if a crowd ever started singing that to, say, Rav Amital when he walked into a room, I get the feeling that he'd not only stop them, but also spend the next 20 minutes yelling at them. In fact, he once gently rebuked two friends of mine for interrupting their learning to stand as he walked by them on his way into the Beis Midrash in the morning. Nobody sang for R. Nosson Kaminetsky when he lectured at YU. The Kollel Yom Rishon crowds don't sing for Rav Schachter when he walks into the room, either. The Teaneck crowd was either getting their kicks by playing frum, or actually are really frum. Either way, it's worth a moment's thought, at least until the point of head-shaking and sighing.