I read “Group Of YCT Grads Protest Partnership Minyan” (July 29) and it was the first time I found out about the publication of this letter. I am an alum of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) Rabbinical School and a member of the board of directors of the International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF).
I think it is important that your readership knows that this letter was not produced in consultation with the broader community of YCT alumni and is the sole product of the 11 signatories.
Personally, I would welcome the opportunity to affirm a commitment to Torah miSinai, the Divine authorship of the Torah, but I do not agree that the question of whether women receive aliyot in synagogue or lead parts of services can be equated to a fundamental tenet of Jewish belief.
Furthermore, I am disappointed that this statement was released the same week that one of the last and highest glass ceilings in the United States was shattered with the nomination of Hillary Clinton for president. There is a time, place and way for everything and this is not the time or the place for this statement, and it certainly was not produced in a way that modeled bringing people together.
Bronx
