|
|
The Weekly Newsletter of
Weinbaum
Yeshiva High School
Parshat Vayigash
Friday, December 14, 2007
Shabbat begins in Boca @ 5:12
|
 |
|
|
From the desk
of
Rabbi Perry
Tirschwell
Helping our seniors choose the right yeshiva or
seminary to attend in Israel upon graduation is a
high
priority at WYHS. In recent years the number of options
for post secondary Torah study in Israel has grown
tremendously. It is very rare that there is a student who
won't flourish at one of them.
We put a lot of effort into keeping abreast of all
new
schools that open, as each new program
changes the
entire playing field. Girls or boys with certain abilities
and interests who used to attend a certain school now
consider two or three schools. Increasingly, the new
schools are "boutique" seminaries, offering services
to students with particular interests (art, music,
chesed, philosophical issues).
The "Year in Israel" experience, which ninety-five
percent of last year's graduating class is participating
in this year, puts students on the right path for college
and beyond. It is incomparable in developing a deep
love of Israel. The level of challenge that we are giving
students in high school (multiple AP courses, multiple
sports teams, a myriad of extracurricular activities) is
exhausting. In Israel they focus on becoming
better
people and better Jews, without the pressure of
getting ahead to the next stage in life.
Mrs. Kanner is presently in Israel visiting seminaries,
and I will be going to check out yeshivot. These
trips are whirlwinds- we try to visit at least three
schools a day. We meet with our alumni and other
students who are studying at the school, attend
classes, and meet with the Roshei Yeshiva.
We go with lists of our juniors and seniors to
identify
the two best schools for them to apply to.
The programs in Israel are excellent, and our
students
are excellent. Making the shidduch between
student and yeshiva is the challenge.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Click
on the images below
to
link to these
nine websites
|
|
Upcoming Events
|
Guys and Dolls
Performance
Tuesday,
December 18
@ 7:30 pm for women
only
Fast of Asarah B' Tevet
Wednesday,
December 19
1:45 dismissal
Miami Beach Family &
Sophomore Shabbaton
Friday,
December 21-22
Senior Boys Night Out
Tuesday, December 25 at 3:45pm
College Guidance
Meeting
for 9th and 10th
grade
parents
Wednesday, December
26 at @ 8:00 pm
Click Here To Order Your
Storm Klipped Kippahs
|
|
|
Good and Welfare
|
Mazel Tov To:
Rabbi Seth and Mrs. Esther
Grossman on the
birth of their son.
The
Shalom Zachor will take place
Friday night at 8:30 pm at the home of
Rabbi and Mrs. Ben Sugerman in Captiva.
The Bris will take place after the 7:15am
hashkoma minyan in the Boca
Raton Synagogue.
Rabbi Moshe and Mrs. Michal
Schochet on the
birth of their daughter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click on Picture for a Great
Slideshow
Dining, Dreidels, and
Lots of Dancing
WYHS' Annual Chanukah
Chagiga
By LeeLee Borzak '(10)
The best eight days at WYHS are, without a doubt,
during the
holiday of Chanukah. Mesibas at the Rebbes, Dreidel
Mania, and the Teacher Auction all equate to an
exciting and fun-filled atmosphere. The biggest event
of the week is hands down the Chanukah
Chagiga.
On Monday, the seventh night of Chanukah, four
hundred people (students, their families, faculty, and
alumni) gathered in the festively decorated ballroom
for an amazing night of fun, food, and dancing. The
chagiga started with maariv and senior
class president Michel Skura ('08) lighting the
menorah. After a delicious dinner, everyone gathered
onto the dance floor for ruach-filled dancing,
WYHS style.
The incredible music for the evening was provided by
Eitan Katz, student of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z"l,
and singer of the famous niggun, "Hum-diddy-
di." It was an amazing sight to see to the students,
teachers, parents, and younger siblings dancing
together.
A highlight of the evening was the final round of
Dreidel Mania. In the huge dreidel hunt on
the front lawn of the campus during lunch last
Thursday,
four students found the coveted "magic"
dreidels; Daniella Lieberman ('10), Tamar
Grunhaus ('10), Brandon Lieberman ('11) and Noah
Cohen ('09). At the chagiga, they competed in a
dreidel spinning contest for the grand prize of
two courtside Miami Heat tickets. After a very close
and nerve-wracking contest, Tamar emerged
victorious.The night concluded with a second
round of
intense dancing, the perfect way to end such an
exciting night.
This year's unbelievable Chagiga could not
have been made possible without the tireless efforts
of the Chanukah committee, Vice President of
Programming Racheli Kaplan ('09), Program
Director Rabbi Josh Spodek, and Assistant Program
Director Rabbi Allan Houben.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click on Picture for a
Slideshow
Bonding
over
Bagels
Chanukah Kicks off
with
Mesibas at Rebbes
By Aleeza Rubin ('09)
In honor of Chanukah, last Thursday
WYHS
hosted its annual Mesibas at the
Rebbes. Students were divided by class and
assigned to have
breakfast with one or more teachers. Every class
was
treated to a delicious breakfast, from bagels to
waffles
to doughnuts to smoothies. The students spent an
amazing morning eating
refreshments and saying
Divrei Torah with their teachers, either at the
teachers' homes or at the school. This time was
precious; it
was full of learning, inspiration, and teacher-
student
bonding.As we ate, we shared
Divrei
Torah, a great way to incorporate Torah into
everything
that we do.
Spending time with teachers in a relaxed
environment is important for many reasons. Firstly,
Judaism focuses
on individuals celebrating together with a
group and
Mesibas at the Rebbes allowed us
to
celebrate the joy of Chanukah with our
role
models. Furthermore, Pirkei Avot tells us
that we
need to make for ourselves a teacher. By seeing our
teachers in their homes that are filled with Torah and
learning, we
can really learn a lot. The teachers at WYHS teach us
lessons
both in and out of the classroom. When we learn from
our
teachers in different settings, like during the
Mesibas at
the Rebbes, we become united like the Jewish
people
did in the times of Chanukah.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click on Picture for a
Slideshow
Panopl -What??
WYHS' First Ever
Panopluka
By Rachel Benaim ('10)
This past Wednesday, the last day of
Chanukah,
the students of WYHS took part in one of
the most
eagerly anticipated Chanukah
activities. This year,
the school decided to spice up Chanukah with
an
incredible, creative, first time ever
Chanukah program:
Panopluka.
The program involved an intense
battle of the
sexes competition that took place with sixteen
teams. There
were seven teams of boys and nine teams of
girls, and each
team was further divided into an A squad and a B
squad. The
gender of the wining team will win an ice
cream party, and
the winning team will have the privilege of
having dinner
with a staff member of its choice.
The A squad of each team remained at their
respective
tables,
enjoying a series of questions and artistic
projects. There
was an activity for all, from Harry
Potter trivia to sock-
puppet making to Chanukah
brainteasers. Meanwhile,
the B Squads frantically ran around the
campus attempting
to photograph everything on their 'to do"
lists. They were
given a camera and assigned to accomplish
some crazy
tasks, like dressing up as Maccabees
in the school
parking lot. All the tasks had an exciting
Chanukah
twist.
This program allowed all students to
show their
individuality and play to their
strengths. Inter-grade
teams allowed all the students to get to
know each
other, as well as their teachers. Students
definitely
created memories that will last for a long
time. This
year's Panopluka was a blast. Can't wait
until next year!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click on Picture for a Great
Slideshow
He Said/She
Said/He
Said/She Said
Student
Feedback on the Great Chanukah Lunch Activities
By Daniella Greer ('09)
In addition to all the other fun- filled
Chanukah activities
WYHS held during the Chag, there were also
two very
exciting lunch programs, Dreidel- Mania and
Sports
Experience. During Dreidel- Mania, the
students took part in
a scavenger hunt to find the specially marked
dreidles, with
the winner winning courtside heat tickets.
During the WYHS
sports experience, both the teachers and
students had a
blast competing in various sport
competitions, and the winners
all received storm gear. I spoke to students
Shalva Ginsparg
('11), Yitzchak Schultz ('10), Sofia Peimani
('09), and Elie
Baratz ('08) about all the fun that they had
experienced at
the Chanukah lunch programs and about what
Chanukah at
WYHS and the activities taught them.
What was your favorite part of the
lunch
activities?
Elie Baratz: The three-point contest
at the sports
competition was very fun. I got to spend time
with my
friends, and watch them make fools out of
themselves as
they tried to get a ball in such a small
basket. It was great!
Shalva Ginsparg: Looking for the
marked dreidel
was very exciting. I definitely put all my
energy into finding
it.
Did the lunch activities help get you in
the Chanukah
Spirit?
Shalva Ginsparg: Absolutely. During
the school
day, it becomes easy to forget that it is
Chanukah, so having
the lunch activities in the middle of day
really helps to
remind you. Everyone definitely left the
activities extremely
happy and well aware of the fact that it was
Chanukah. It
really helped get us into the right mood.
Elie Baratz: Yes!! They were so fun
and entertaining,
and those type of activities are only done on
Chanukah.
What did you learn from the activities?
Yitzchak Schultz: I learned how much
the school
cares about the students, and how much effort
was put in
by the teachers to ensure that we all have
the best
Chanukah ever.
Sofia Peimani: The activities made me
see how much
unity and achdut there is within the school.
No other
school has this special unity amongst the
teachers and
students like WYHS does.
What do you think was the most valuable
moment you
experienced during Chanukah at WYHS?
Yitzchak Schultz: The dancing at the
WYHS
Chagiga was absolutely incredible. Everybody
was so into
it , and we were all having the greatest time.
It was the
perfect way to celebrate one of the last
nights of Chanukah.
Sofia Peimani: Mesibas at the Rebbes
was very
rewarding. It gave me the opportunity to
really bond with my
friends and my Rebbe. Additionally, the Divrei
Torah given by
my teacher and friends were so inspirational,
and the lessons
they taught regarding Chanukah stayed with me
throughout
the entire Chag.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Going Once…Twice…
Sold for $400 to...!!
WYHS Hosts its
Annual
Chanukah Auction
By Jackie Itzkowitz ('08)
This past Friday was the annual Student- Teacher
Live
Auction. The auction worked like a real live auction.
Teachers
decided what they want to put up for bid, and the
students
raised their paddles to submit bids. Rabbi Spodek
and Rabbi
Houben skillfully auctioned off the prizes, as different
offers were being
yelled from all directions.
All the students participated, and it was fun to see
who won each prize. Examples of the best prizes up
for bid
were the Super- Bowl party at the
Horowitz’s and a BBQ for
10
at Shimmy’s house.
All of the money raised from this exciting event
goes to
Tzedakah, and this year, we have decided to
raise money for
an
organization called Zaka. Zaka is an
organization
that helps provide motorcycles in Israel for EMT
squads. The motorcycles are alternatives to
ambulances, because they are easier to
maneuver and enables the medics to get to their
destinations faster.
Not only was the auction one of the greatest
highlights of the
year, but also, we unexpectedly raised more then
half
the money ($9,785.00) needed to donate the
motorcycle.
This was a very successful fundraiser, and we will
hopefully reach our goal to to help our sisters and
brothers
in Israel.
Below is a list of the items
auctioned off for the
most amount of money at this years auction:
1) Rabbis Shaving
Beards -
Won by
Alex
Schlinsky and student body for $1000
2) BBQ for Ten with
Shimmie Kaminetsky -
Won by Mickey Evans and friends for $820
3) Super Bowl Party
for Eight with Rabbi
Horowitz -
Won by Rabbi Schochet and friends for $550
4) Five Points for
Class on Mrs.
Rainbeau's Midterm -
Won by Yisroel Gold and class for $490
5) Shabbat Lunch
for Five with Shira
Englander -
Won by Mickey Evans and friends for $350
6) 3 Lower Bowl
Heat Tickets -
Won by Jackie Berger for $260
|
|
|
|
|
|
$9,785.00 Amount of Money
Raised at the Auction.
|
|
1889 Number of Dreidels
Dispersed Around School
at the Scavenger
Hunt
|
1598 Number of Trivia
Questions Answered
Incorrectly at
Panopluka
|
107 Number of Shots that
Missed their goal at
WYHS Sports
Experience
|
|
|
|
"This has been the greatest Chanukah yet.
All the activities and programs WYHS
held were
so fun and exciting.
This truly is a special
place!!"
-- Brett Aiken ('09)
|
|
|
|
|
Yeshiva Highlites
Staff |
|
| Danielle Wolkowicz
(’09) |
Editor-in-
Chief |
LeeLee Borzak (’10)
|
Assistant
Editor |
Mrs. Claudia
Cohen |
Director of Technology
|
Alana Dweck(’09)
|
Photo Editor |
Daniella Greer(’09)
|
Features Editor |
Josh Kaminetsky(’09)
|
Layout Editor |
David Petrover(’10)
|
Assistant Photo
Editor |
Aleeza Rubin(’09)
|
Chief of
Correspondents |
David Spektor(’10)
|
Assistant Photo
Editor |
| Rabbi Josh Spodek |
Staff Advisor |
|
|
|
|
