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The Weekly Newsletter of
Weinbaum
Yeshiva High School
Parshat Acharei Mot and Kedoshim
Friday, April 27, 2007
Shabbat begins in Boca at 7:32pm
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From the desk
of
Rabbi Perry
Tirschwell
Should our school create opportunities for our
students to interact with teenagers who do not have a
yeshiva background? Are all such programs
created equal?
It is crucial that we inspire our students to be active
participants in the broader Jewish and American
communities. They have so much to offer others who
have not been afforded the same education and
raised with the same values. They also have much to
learn from the sense of wonderment and respect of
those to whom our lifestyle is not pedestrian. Most
important perhaps is the educational message that
we are all one people.
On the other hand, teenagers have vastly different
pressures on them than adults. Most adults have
spouses and careers and are relatively secure in their
identity. Most teenagers, however, are trying to figure
out who they are, where they stand in relation to
others, and what their principles are. Teenagers
understandably have a deep desire to be "normal" (if
not cool) in the eyes of their peers.
How do we resolve our seemingly contradictory goals
of interaction with the broader community and
exposing them solely to positive peer pressure in
terms of our values? I believe that the answer is
creating venues for interactions that will inspire and
not weaken our teens.
This week's Yom Haatzmaut Celebration was
one. The day schools of South Palm Beach County
marched as schools, followed by the community and
yeshiva high school students celebrating together and
listening to an important message. The message
was that we unite with our fellow Jews to support
Israel, in good times as well as bad.
The Jewish Roots / Kiryat Bialik program is another.
Some of our most deeply committed students meet
with local non Yeshiva teens and (via
videoconference) hiloni Israeli peers to
understand each other's perspectives. For one week
each year, we send students to Israel with a faculty
mentor to actually live in the homes of these Israelis,
and they reciprocate for a week as well.
The lifestyle that we preach to our children is both
empowering and restrictive. Kashrut, non-
physical relationships between boys and girls,
kipot, tzniut, and tefila frame what
a child eats, wears, and does. For teenagers, who by
their nature test limits, an observant Jewish lifestyle is
a tall order. We ask a lot.
Programs which do not have our standards or level of
supervision are unfair challenges to expect a high
school student to withstand. This is doubly true if they
are lengthy.
Our Religious Zionist worldview requires us to walk a
tightrope throughout our lives- remaining faithful to
Torah observance while participating in the broader
world. Though tightrope walking is dangerous, we
believe that it is what G-d wants from us. May we be
successful in teaching our children to walk this
tightrope.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Click
on the images below
to
link to these
nine websites
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Upcoming Events
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Hollywood 6th & 7th grade
Parent
Meeting @ the Kurtzes
Sat. night, April 28
Boca Raton 7th grade
Parent
Meeting
@
the Walds
Monday, April 28 @ 8:00 pm
Boca Raton 5th & 6th grade
Parent
Meeting @ the Landas
Wednesday, May 2 @ 8:00pm
Girls Hebrew Play
Friday, May 4
Last Day of Senior Classes
Monday, May 7
Sports Banquet
Monday, May 7 @ 6:30pm
Freshman Shabbaton
Friday, May 11- Motzei Shabbat, May 12
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Good and Welfare
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Mazel Tov to
Alexa Bryn ('08) on being awarded Gold
Keys for Short Stories and Poetry in the Scholastic
Writing Awards of 2007
Dr. and Mrs. Michael Kanner on the birth of
a granddaughter
Dr. and Mrs. Hedy Zaghi
on the bar mitzvah of son Eram
Mr. Stewart Harris
on being installed as the Chair of the Jewish
Federation of South Palm Beach County
Refuah Shleimah to
Mr. Danny Wasserman
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Click On
Picture Above For A Yom HaAtzmaut Slideshow
Happy 59th
Birthday, Israel!
WYHS
Celebrates
Yom
HaAtzmaut In
Style
By Danielle Wolkowicz ('09)
On Tuesday, the students at WYHS
celebrated
Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel Independence Day, in a
truly special way,
involving the entire South Florida Day
School community for the
first time ever.
Students gathered at Hillel Day School of
Boca Raton for
davening which was a sentimental experience
for the many students
who were Hillel alumni. After a delicious
breakfast, the students
participated in a parade around the JCC
campus with students from
Solomon Schechter, Hillel Day School, Donna
Klein Jewish Academy
and Torah Academy. It was inspiring to see so
many students with
such different backgrounds gathering
together to celebrate the
State of Israel.
After the parade, WYHS and
Donna Klein
students enjoyed a chagigah
performed by the school's
own band, Chazak. They then watched a movie
which highlighted
Israel's many accomplishments in its 59 years
of existence. Arielle
Struhl ('09) remarked that she "had no idea
Israel was such a
technologically advanced country," coming in
3rd place after only US
and Canada as the country with the biggest
trade. Rabbi Gur Berman
addressed the students about the importance
of spending time in
Israel after school and how amazing it is to
see the places they heard
about in Tanach come to life.
But the celebration was far from over.
On
Tuesday
afternoon, many students assembled at
Mizner Park Amphitheater
for a ceremony which first commemorated
the many wars Israel
had overcome and the soldiers who were lost
in battle, then lightened
up the atmosphere with a concert by Sam
Glaser. In their third gig of
the day, Chazak opened for Glaser, with their
biggest performance yet, an
impressive 1,000 people. Students also
introduced the Israeli veterans
and gave short descriptions of each of the wars.
Thank you to Rabbi Spodek, Ethan Wasserman,
Amanda
Markovitch, Avi Dennis, Yoni San Solo and the JEC of
the South Palm Beach County Jewish
Federation, for making this
program possible.
Click on the links below for the Yom HaAtzmaut Video
Part One
Part Two
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Take Me Out
To
The
Ball Game
By Naftali Simon('10)
On Thursday, April 19, Rabbi Schochet's ninth,
tenth, and eleventh
grade Gemara shiur took a trip to watch our
own Florida
Marlins take on the New York Mets. There, we
enjoyed the game,
as well as hot dogs, ices, and tons of delicious
snacks.
During the game, Rabbi Schochet made an
exciting deal: if one of
us caught a ball and gave it to him, we would all get a
deli-roll and a
jam session. With this incentive, Zack Goldglantz ('10)
made a
gravity-defying catch at the end of the game and
earned the
whole class some more fun with Rabbi Schochet.
Although the Marlins lost 11 to 3,
it was still an
awesome night. We had lots of laughs, and were
able to come
together as a shiur in this great bonding
experience. Thanks so
much to Rabbi Schochet for a memorable game!
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"It Ain't Over Till Its
Over!"
Baseball Team Slams
Season Out Of The Park
By Eli Albert ('09)
The baseball team's unbelievable
season came to a
close this week with a great last game. After hard
work and practice,
the Storm was able to go out with a great game
against Lakeworth.
Although the Storm started the game strong, with
a whopping five
runs in the first inning alone, they were unable to
take the game.
The season ended with a loss, but the team
showed great
improvement from the beginning of the season
and finally came
together as a team. Thanks so much to Coach
Thomas and Assistant
Coach Joshua Thomas for putting in much effort
throughout the season to
improve this
team . See you next year!
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Click On
Picture Above For A Yom HaZikaron Slideshow
Yom
HaZikaron 5767:
Behind Every Name Is
A Story
By LeeLee Borzak ('10)
As WYHS students walked through the
doors on
Yom HaZikaron, Monday, April 23, we were
greeted by pictures of
Israeli soldiers who were kidnapped during
their army service. The
theme of the day was to remember all the
soldiers who made the
ultimate kiddush Hashem and died
for the state of Israel,
but in particular, the eight soldiers who are
missing in action: Gilad
Shalit, Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser, Ron
Arad, Guy Hever,
Zachary Baumel, Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman.
Students were led to the ball room,
where
they were
privileged to watch an incredible slide show
made by the Yom
HaZikaron committee. The slideshow allowed
students to "get to
know" these eight missing soldiers
; we learned about their
families, their hometowns, and their lives.
It really helped us to
understand that these soldiers that we daven
for weekly are not
just "names;" after this program, we really
got a grasp of who they
were as people, and our prayers will be so
much more meaningful.
Thanks to the school's video
conferencing
program,
we were able to hear from Yona Baumel,
father of MIA soldier
Zachary Baumel, who has been missing for
25 years. We got a
first hand look on how the immediate family
of a missing soldier is
coping with their tragic loss and growing
from their pain.
Additionally, Dr. Stuart Dicthek,
Zachary's
childhood best friend and founder
of the
Committee of the Release of Zachary Baumel,
spoke about how
difficult it is to have a loved one missing.
He also explained how
we, high school students, can help.
Having the soldiers in our
minds when we daven daily is key. Each
student sent letters
asking for assistance in releasing the
soldiers, which will be sent to
United Nations, secretary general.
Hopefully, they will make an
impact.
Yom Hazikaron 5767 was a moving
experience
for all. Thank you so much to the Yom
HaZikaron committee and
Rabbi Spodek for making the day unforgettable.
Click on the links below for the Yom HaZikaron Video
Part One
Part Two
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Up Close and
Personal with
Director of College
Preparatory
Classes
Mr.
Adam
Dobrick
By Alexa Bryn ('08)
"AP Season" is one of the most stressful
times of the year for
WYHS students. Those taking exams can be seen
all over school with
review books and highlighters, trying to
absorb every last fact. And
while most students rue the day APs were
invented, Mr. Adam
Dobrick, Director of College Preparatory
Studies and an AP European
History grader thinks otherwise. Below, Mr.
Dobrick shares the
benefits of APs, some last minute study tips,
and insight into how
WYHS students have achieved AP success in the
past.
APs have caused some controversy in the
past few years. Some
schools are moving away from APs because they
feel that they are
restrictive and stressful. Others see an AP
curriculum as a way to
challenge students beyond the parameters of
an Honors class. Which
side of the fence are you on?
"?
I strongly believe in the AP program. I
experienced the excitement of
an AP curriculum in high school and I see now
how an AP curriculum
can change students' perspectives about the
world and build their
confidence tremendously.
What is an AP scholar and have WYHS
students been AP
scholars in the past?
An AP scholar is a student who receives a
grade of 3 or higher on 3 or
more AP exams. Each year, we have several
students who are
designated AP scholars.
Is WYHS planning to add or take away any
APs from its
curriculum next year?
At WYHS we are always trying to build upon
our current curriculum.
We are investigating an AP Studio Art program
for next year.
How did you come to be selected as an AP
grader?
I registered and they assessed my students'
success on the exams
and my own performance. I was appointed to be
an AP grader for 7
years and it's an experience that has given
me special insight into the
exam that I can share with my students.
What is the best piece of last minute
advice you can give to your
students before they go in to take the AP?
Be realistic: a night of cramming won't take
the place of a year's worth
of hard work. However, pressure can produce a
diamond, so be sure
to study hard leading up to the AP. Reviewing
essays and multiple
choice questions from previous AP exams is
always a good idea.
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3
Number of times Chazak played in one
day
7,900 Number of people Chazak
played for in one day
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22 Number of calculators given
out to committee heads at the SLAB
Awards
1 Number of
calculators actually being used
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17 Number of Number of boys who
went with
Rabbi Schochet
84 Number of
hot dogs eaten
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"These soldiers are
not just names They are fathers,
sons,
brothers, husbands, and friends.
Remember that
behind
every name is a story, and behind
every story
is a life."
-- Yom HaZikaron Presentation, on
the Israeli MIAs
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here
Yeshiva Highlites
Staff |
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| Shira Borzak (’07) |
Editor-in-Chief |
Alexa Bryn (’08) |
Assistant Editor |
Mrs. Claudia Cohen |
Director of Technology |
| Alana Dweck ('09) |
Assistant Photo Editor |
Jordana Kaminetsky (’07) |
Senior Editor |
Benjamin Shai (’07) |
Photo Editor |
| Rabbi Josh Spodek |
Staff Advisor |
Danielle Wolkowicz ('09) |
Chief of Correspondents |
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