Community Magazine April 2012

Flatbush High School Trip to New 9/11 Memorial The trip was moving and inspiring, and as Assistant Principal Rabbi Joseph Beyda told the senior class, they “made us proud in the way they handled the responsibility, challenge and opportunity of the moment.” In a year filled with a flurry of fun activities, Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School seniors stepped back from the giddy excitement to visit the newly completed National September 11 Memorial and Museum, a place dedicated to memorialize America’s worst terrorist attack. With the buildings finally nearing completion after years of controversy and planning, it is a place the students found filled with inspiration for living life to the fullest, a place where it is important to remember the past, yet imperative to move on from it. The students, who were only 6 or 7 years old at the time of the attacks, were given assignments to strengthen their connection to the memorial grounds. Each student was given the name of a victim to research. They were referred to websites and magazine articles to gather data and insight – where they worked, their nationalities, their family, their nicknames, their histories – not only respecting the legacy of each of the departed, but recognizing what each had contributed to society. The Yeshivah was also personally affected by the attacks as two faculty members lost close relatives and senior David Nachmany lost his great aunt. As they stared solemnly at the twin reflecting pools in the place where the grand towers once stood, some of the students, who ten years ago were too young to understand the enormity of the attack, remembered the floating debris and grayish skies that could be seen for days afterward. Visiting the memorial site brought back memories while creating new ones of a day spent together, dedicated to remembering all that we lost. The trip was made possible thanks to the help of Rabbi Yitz Rosenblum, Assistant Principal and Senior Grade Advisor Rabbi Joseph Beyda, and 9/11 Memorial Committee members David Dweck, Sherry Grego, Ezra Hochman, Ginette Idy, and Jacob Jerome. – Michelle Olveira Donate Your Hamess to the Needy In an effort to help the poor and needy, Sephardic Bikur Holim will be accepting food donations – including hamess – before Pesah. The hamess will be sold during the holiday and distributed to the needy afterwards. Donations can be brought to 425 Kings Highway, or pickup can be arranged by calling 718-787-1100 ext.356 or by email: contactus@sbhonline.org. Ma’or Yeshiva Makes Torah Bowl Playoffs The competition is stiff, pitting 20 Jewish boys’ high schools against each other for the annual Torah Bowl contest. This year, Ma’or Yeshiva of Deal, participating in the Torah Bowl competition for the very first time, won each of the four contests it played against other schools. After this remarkable run, Ma’or is now set to compete in the final round of the playoffs on April 24th against Ateres Yaakov, MTA and HANK. The players from Ma’or are Zev Benedek, Josh Rifkin, Joseph Shamah, Aaron Stoner, Max Hollander, Adin Bodzin, Asher Beniflah, David Shimunow and Sammy Gindi. The boys are coached by Rabbi David Semah and Rabbi Yitzchak Semah. In the initial games of the comprehensive competition on Torah topics, the students were quizzed on the text of three parashiyot along with Rashi’s commentary, as well as several chapters of Navi. As soon as the question is stated, players from each team must quickly “buzz in” their answers. The final playoff will feature questions from throughout the Book of Vayikra and Rashi. The Torah Bowl event is organized each year by Rabbi Meir Warlofsky, Principal of Shalom School in Morgansville, NJ. Rabbi Escava Joins Mikdash Melech The post-high school division of Yeshivat Mikdash Melech is pleased to announce that Rabbi N. Escava will be joining its staff as Mashgiah Ruhani for Second Seder. Rabbi Escava delivers a bi-weekly siha (discussion) with the boys, touching upon a variety of important topics including methods of learning, dating, and general yeshiva-related issues. Yeshivat Mikdash Melech, with a current enrollment of 40 students, serves boys aged 18-24 from throughout the broader Sephardic community. It is run under the auspices of Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Haim Benoliel, and led by the other Roshei Yeshiva, Rabbi David Lopian, Rabbi Yeruchum Kaplan, Rabbi Yaakov Koenigsberg and Rosh Kollel Rabbi Hillel Strouse. The yeshiva aims to provide its students with the highest standards of Torah education and inspire them with the splendor and beauty of our Sephardic traditions and customs. It offers post high school boys from a variety of backgrounds a quality education with the aim of molding them into Torah scholars and leaders of our community. Community Chest Students searched for names of the specific victims whom they were given to research so they could make a commemorative rubbing to take home. 94 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE