Community Magazine March 2016

co mm unity HIGHL IGHTS Ma’or Yeshiva’s basketball team has managed to pull off a rare feat. In their first year under the direction of new coach Al Roma, the Ma’or Mavericks went 5-5 during the regular season, just barely earning them the 6th seed in the first round of the MYHSAL (Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League) playoffs. Many of those losses came as a result of working out the bugs in a new system. Ma’or was better than their .500 record, and in the first round they proved it. In a leaguewhere a 6th seed upset of a 3 seed is rare at best, Ma’or did just that.  JEC (Jewish Educational Center – Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy in Elizabeth, NJ) brought a 7-3 record onto their home court, confident they could take a Ma’or squad that they had already beaten once this season.  Ma’or Yeshiva showed up en masse to support their team. The overwhelming majority of students and faculty were there to cheer them on. Many alumni and friends came too. It was hard to tell who was home and who was away! In the end, tenacious defense and clutch shooting helped Ma’or take down JEC 55-45. Ma’or is looking forward to another upset as they take on 10-0 DRS (David Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys – Hebrew Academy of Long Beach) in the next round. Every winter Rabbi Yaakov Marcus hops on a plane to Eretz Yisrael to visit his graduates who are learning there after high school. The boys can’t wait for him to come (not just for the care packages that he brings them from home),  and they talk about his visit for days after. In the 5-6 days that he spends there not a moment is wasted. He visits all the yeshivot that his boys are in, speaks to their rabbis to get first hand reports, takes all the boys out to eat, and speaks to them one on one, giving them guidance. This trip he spent Shabbat in Ramat Shlomo and was the guest rabbi forMikdashMelech Jerusalemwhere nineOr Hatorah alumni are learning. He ate seudat shlishit with the yeshiva, sitting together with “his boys” in the dining room. He delivered divrei Torah to the entire student body. We wish the rabbi continued hatzlaha with his prestigious Community Yeshiva Elementary and High School, and continued nahat from all his students. Ma’or Yeshiva High School Basketball Team Pulls Off Major Upset in Play-offs Rabbi Yaakov Marcus, Rosh Yeshiva Yeshivat Or Hatorah, Visits his Students in Israel (R-L) Yitzhak Katach, Rahamim Ballas, Haim Basso, Aharon Chalouh, Shimon Chalouh, Rabbi Marcus, Yehuda Chkalo, David Saadia, Ariel Kohenteb, and Yitzhak Fallas. Nestled in the idyllic town of West Long Branch is a school where every student feels at home. Walking through the vibrant hallways of Bet Yaakov of the Jersey Shore, you see happy students who feel challenged and inspired daily. BYJS is led by the very devoted Rabbi Shmuel Choueka, along with his amazing staff of highly trained professionals. BYJS combines loving, traditional hinuch with an up-to-date, hands-on creative teaching approach. BYJS hosts an array of programs geared to the enrichment and wellbeing of each student. Fun and exciting programs include Middat Hashana, Parasha Chidon, Berachot Bee, Hesed Programs, and more.  The preschool, well-known for its multi-sensory teaching approach, is in the midst of a super-sized thematic learning experience called Project Shabbat. Peeking into the classrooms, you can see full scale models of a beit knesset, sifrei Torah, an aron kodesh , a decorated Shabbat table and more – created by the students themselves. You may also spot the preschoolers, clipboards in hand, around town on field trips to local shuls, bakeries, and stores, interviewing the proprietors about their Shabbat related businesses. The Bet Yaakov spirit and achdut can be felt most strongly in the hallways of the high school. BYJS High School is the choice for girls looking for a traditional Bet Yaakov education in a warm, accepting atmosphere. There the girls prepare for life after graduation, as they garner the tools needed to create a thriving Torah home and to become successful in the workplace. Girls also develop a commitment to giving back to our community. At BYJS High School lasting friendships develop between students and teachers. BYJS also boasts a high acceptance rate to top seminaries here and in Israel. There is yet another reason that Bet Yaakov is the choice for community families – there is no tuition crisis! In an effort to ease the burden of the high cost of tuition, BYJS is introducing a new innovative solution for the coming year. All families will be charged a flat tuition, but on a new, more reasonable scale. The preschool tuition will be $4,000/year and grades K-4 will be $5,000/year. In the future, with Gd’s help, tuition will be lowered for students in fifth grade and above as well. Step into Bet Yaakov and find out why the school is the hidden jewel of the Jersey Shore. For more info contact Richie Shalom at 732-241-1212. Bet Yaakov of the Jersey Shore Introduces an Innovative Solution to End the Tuition Crisis 82 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE