Bedarchei Hatorah #35 Spring2014 HI

SPRING 5774/2014 // NO.
35
Living T orah
DINNER fOR 1500 A Crowd that Came to Support Left Uplifted and Inspired HOMEMADE SUCCESS Rav Shmuel Strickman Guides Parents in their Most Lofty Mission CROWN JEWELS How the Kollel Benets its Scholars, the Yeshiva and the Community
FROM 39 MELACHOS TO ESSENTIAL MIDDOS, TORAH CONCEPTS ARE BROUGHT TO LIfE WITH HANDS-ON LEARNING
Yeshiva Darchei Torah

Chinuch and Chesed
DIVISIONS
Preschool Elementary School Junior High School and Mechina Rabenstein Learning Center Mesivta Chaim Shlomo The Maurice & Edith Lowinger Mesivta High School Weiss Vocational Center Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid Kollel Tirtza Devorah
SUMMER PROGRAMS
Simcha Day Camp Mesivta/Beis Medrash Learning Camp Upstate N.Y. Machaneh Hakayitz
GEMILAS CHESED
Y.D.T. Rabbis Special Fund Tomchei Torah Interest-Free Loan Fund
OTHER PROGRAMS
Alumni Association Weiss Institute for Continuing Education Publications Community Housing Initiative
AffILIATES
Alumni Night Kollel Jerusalem Alumni Night Kollel Lakewood, N.J. Yeshiva Ohr Yehuda Lakewood, N.J.
Dedicate a Day of Eternity.

Through the Parnes HaYom program, the thousands of collective hours of Torah study taking place in the Yeshivas various divisions from Preschool and Elementary School to Beis Medrash and Kollel can serve as a zchus in honor or in memory of a loved one.
Dedication details are displayed prominently throughout the Yeshiva.
For more information or to receive a beautiful CD-ROM presentation describing the details of the program, please call Rabbi Zev Bald at 718-868-2300 ext. 219
BEDARCHEI
News from Yeshiva Darchei Torah
HATORAH
Contents
4 Highlights 12 Community 23 Preschool 26 Elementary School 39 Junior High School 44 Mesivta Chaim Shlomo 52 Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid 55 Weiss Vocational Center 56 Kollel Tirtza Devorah 60 The Alumni Report
YESHIVA DARCHEI TORAH Yaakov and Ilana Melohn Campus In Memory of Reb Yosef Melohn
257 Beach 17th Street Far Rockaway, NY 11691 (718) 868-2300 Rabbi Yaakov Bender ROSH HAYESHIVA Rabbi Moshe Bender ASSOCIATE DEAN Rabbi Yehuda Harbater EXECUTIVE DIrECTOr Rabbi Zev Bald DIrECTOr OF DEVELOPMENT Rabbi Baruch Rothman DIrECTOr OF INSTITUTIONAL AdVANCEMENT Rabbi Avraham Schachner CONTrOLLEr Rabbi Pinkus Mayer DIrECTOr OF SPECIAL PrOJECTS Rabbi Moshe Benoliel DIrECTOr OF ALUMNI AFFAIrS PRESCHOOL Dr. Wendy Devorah Gerson DIrECTOr Mrs. Yocheved Bender Mrs. Rachel Brier Mrs. Esti Feuer ASSISTANT DIrECTOrS ELEMENTARY/JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL Rabbi Dovid Frischman Rabbi Dovid Lan Rabbi Dovid Morgenstern Rabbi Rephael Skaist Rabbi Shmuel Strickman MENAHELIM Rabbi Avrohom Bender SGAN MENAHEL Rabbi Yitzchok Brailofsky Rabbi Yitzchak Goldberg Mrs. Ariella Kelman Mrs. Sara Malka Krasnow Rabbi Dovid Presser PrINCIPALS MESIVTA CHAIM SHLOMO Maurice & Edith Lowinger Mesivta High School Rabbi Zevi Trenk Rabbi Avrohom Nusbaum MENAHELIM Rabbi Dov Keilson MASHGIACH RUCHANI Rabbi Menachem Gold Rabbi Shimon Dachs PrINCIPALS BEIS MEDRASH HEICHAL DOVID Rabbi Shlomo Avigdor Altusky ROSH YESHIVA KOLLEL TIRTZA DEVORAH Rabbi Dovid Bender ROSH KOLLEL RABENSTEIN LEARNING CENTER Mrs. Jill Kay DIrECTOr WEISS VOCATIONAL CENTER Rabbi Shimon Dachs DIrECTOr SIMCHA DAY CAMP Rabbi Shimon Dachs DIrECTOr MACHANEH HAKAYITZ Rabbi Eliezer Ament Rabbi Eliezer Selengut DIRECTORS
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Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014
FROM THE ROSH HAYESHIVA

YESHIVA DARCHEI TORAH
Ronald Lowinger PrESIdENT BOARDOFTRUSTEES Lloyd Keilson Motty Klein CO-CHAIrMEN Alex Edelman Shimon Pluchenik Morris Smith Board of Directors Elisha Brecher Aron Solomon CO-CHAIrMEN Dovid Bloom Eli Bobker Dovid Brecher Mottie Drillman Shamshy Eisenberger Michael Fragin Shlomo Jacobowitz Menachem Lieber Ben Lowinger Menachem Marx Adam Mirzoe Menash Oratz Aroni Parnes Dovid Scharf Yoav Taub Ely Tendler Avi Weinstock Dov Weinstock EXecutive Board Moshe Bloom Berel Daskal Uri Dreifus Yoily Edelstein Eytan Feldman Gadi Fuchs Alon Goldberger Carmi Gruenbaum Tzvi Keilson Yair Keilson Duvi Klein Ushi Klein Je Landy Yosef Lowinger Ephraim Lowy Matis Manela Moshe Mendlowitz Hillel Moerman Ephram Ostreicher Seth Pilevsky Chaim Schulhof Shlomo Weiss
So much of the Pesach Seder is built around our children,

having been designed by Chazal to encourage them to ask questions such as removing the Kearah from the table as if the meal was over,
dipping vegetables twice, and the like. As the Rambam puts it (Hilchos Chameitz Umatzah 7:3): He should make changes on this night so that the children will see and will [be motivated to] ask: Why is this night dierent from all other nights? until he replies to them: This and this occurred; this and this took place. At this most sublime moment, when we remember and relive our birth as a nation, we place such a heavy emphasis on keeping the children awake, interested and involved. This is clearly because our children are the future of Klal Yisrael. If they dont absorb the Mesorah, the primarily oral legacy that has been handed down since Sinai, how can they possibly perpetuate it? The same holds true when teaching Torah throughout the year: we must hold our childrens interest and do whatever it takes to help them absorb its timeless lessons and values. Some have questioned the introduction of new technologies and methodologies into the classroom, worried that they are dilutions of the Mesorah. Yet it is clear from Chazals approach to the Seder that we have a mandate to present Torah to our children in the most stimulating manner possible. Our Torah is eternal and unchanging, yet it is called Toras Chaim, a Living Torah, and the methods we employ to teach it must adapt to the needs of each generation. Maran Rav Aaron Leib Shteinman, shlita, the manhig of our generation, has said that chinuch is a mitzvah that has no mesorah. What he is saying is that although the Torah itself has a mesorah, chinuch is dierent. The correct techniques of education, of imparting the mesorah, are not set in stone. They can and must be tailored for each generation. (For example, not too long ago, corporal punishment was rampant in the classroom. Today it is a non-issue.) It goes without saying that technology has its limits. The primary medium of successful chinuch will always be the personal rebbi-talmid connection; that is something that no machine can replicate, and the gedolim of our era must be consulted before new technology is introduced into our hallowed classrooms. At Yeshiva Darchei Torah, our rabbeim and morahs constantly develop projects and curricula that successfully fulll this mandate. They are always seeking new and creative ways to teach each lesson and reach each child. Some are featured in this issue. The proof of their success is the vigor with which their talmidim run into the Yeshiva every morning, eager to learn. How privileged we are to have educators who carry out this sacred mandate with such talent and devotion.
BEDARCHEI HATORAH Rabbi Moshe Benoliel EdITOr Rabbi Yehudah Leib Gordon COPY EDITOR Debbie Maimon CONTrIBUTING EDITOR PHOTOGrAPHy Menachem Adelman, Tsemach Glenn, Meir Haltovsky, Gary Rabenko DESIGN David Benoliel PUBLISHEd By The Yeshiva Darchei Torah Oce of Communications & Alumni Aairs 257 Beach 17 Street, Far Rockaway, NY 11691 718-868-2300 ext. 317 news@darchei.org
Rabbi Yaakov Bender
HIGhLIGhTS
Welcoming Committee
Every morning when the Elementary School talmidim arrive at the Yeshiva campus, they are greeted by a menahel. As they bound o the buses or out of their carpools, the smiling faces of the children tell it all: they are eager and happy to begin another day of Yeshiva. By being present when the talmidim arrive, the menahel can ensure that each talmid is greeted properly as he starts a momentous day of learning. I have the luckiest job in the world, enthuses Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, referring to his weekly turn at the front gate. What can be better than beholding these lichtige faces of Jewish children, who are excited to come and learn? Their expressions are a testament to the stellar job being done by their rabbeim and teachers.
Five Distinguished Rabbeim Join Faculty

To Meet tHe growINg Needs of A growINg stUdeNt body, tHe YesHIVA welcoMed fIVe New rAbbeIM tHIs yeAr. RAV DONeAL BerNsTeIN credits Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, with inspiring him 28 years ago to want to enter the eld of chinuch. Rav Bernstein was a young boy in Camp Naarim then, but he went on to teach for 17 years in Lakewood before coming to Yeshiva Darchei Torah to teach rst grade. A native of Denver, he is a talmid of that citys Yeshiva Toras Chaim as well as Beth Medrash Govoha - both in Eretz Yisrael and Lakewood, and he is a graduate of the Aish Dos teacher training institute.
RAV ShLOMO FreedMAN, the newest third grade rebbi, previously taught at yeshivos in Brooklyn. He is an alumnus of Yeshiva Derech Chaim and the Telshe Yeshiva of Cleveland, Ohio, the city where he was born and raised. RAV YITZchAK GOOdMAN, a new eighth grade rebbi, is a talmid of Yeshiva Beth Moshe of Scranton, Mir Yerushalayim, Ohr Elchonon, Yeshivas Brisk and Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood. He taught previously at the Hebrew Academy of Miami Beach and in Rav Nosson Steins yeshiva in Lakewood.
RAV AVrOhOM MOshe HeLLer, a new rebbi in the Rabenstein Learning Center, previously taught at the Yeshiva Academy for Language Advancement (YALA), the Yeshiva University High School for Boys PTACH program, A new rst grade the Zvi Dov Roth Academy, the Torah Academy rebbi, RAV GedALIA of Brooklyn and Ohr Chodosh of Valley Stream, WeINrIb previously NY. He is a talmid of the Rabbinical Seminary of taught in Lakewood, New Jersey. A graduate of America/Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim and has semithe Aish Dos teacher training institute, he stud- cha from Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem. Rav Heller ied at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn, Yeshiva also holds a Masters Degree in Teaching and Tiferes Boruch of Springeld, New Jersey and Learning with a Specialty in the Exceptional Child Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood. from Nova Southeast University.
Executive Board Welcomes New Members
t its October meeting, the Yeshiva Darchei Torah Executive Board welcomed six new members: Yoily Edelstein, Eytan Feldman, Carmi Gruenbaum, Dr. Duvi Klein, Seth Pilevsky and Shlomo Weiss. The Executive Board plays a pivotal leadership role for the Yeshiva in numerous areas, such as ensuring the Yeshivas scal health and addressing its current and future capital and operational needs.
The February 2014 meeting of the Yeshiva Darchei Torah Executive Board
HighLighTs
Hascholas Chumash is Launched with March

Large crowds of parents and grandparents gathered on the Promenade for the rst grade Chumash March to celebrate the boys commencement of the learning of Chumash. After marching to musical accompaniment with gold-colored crowns and ags held aloft, the boys continued their performance indoors, on the stage of the Diamond Bais Medrash. What a great way to mark such a momentous occasion!
Chumash, Brought to Life
Lights Go Out, Learning Goes On

Rav Aryeh Krohn of Brooklyn visited the Elementary School and gave a fascinating demonstration about the bigdei chamudos the special clothing that Yaakov Avinu wore when he impersonated his brother Eisav. Boys were allowed to try on garments that Rav Krohn had custom-tailored for this purpose. Pictured are Yaakov Slepoy, left, and Binyomin Bloom. Also seen, at right, is Rav Dovid Morgenstern, menahel of the Upper Elementary School.
In late November a local blackout in the Yeshiva neighborhood left the campus without electricity. While safety procedures were initiated, the learning went on unabated, proving that at Yeshiva Darchei Torah, You should contemplate it day and night always applies even when the uorescent day of indoor lighting is unexpectedly replaced by a night of sorts.
Shnayim Mikra Program a Resounding Success
T
Rav Shmuel Strickman, menahel of the Lower Elementary School (left) and Rav Yehuda Deutsch, Third Grade Rebbi, at the ice cream cone distribution
o encourage the Elementary School talmidim to get into the habit of Shnayim Mikra VEchad Targum, the halacha that one must review each weeks parsha by learning each pasuk twice and Targum Onkelos once, the Yeshiva developed a program with numerous incentives including the Womens Leagues generous sponsorship of a fresh scoop of ice cream for each of the 500 participants! A special Chalav Yisraelloaded truck arrived at the Yeshiva to the great delight of all the talmidim.
Masechta Challah
Halacha Chaburah
A large group of Mesivta and Beis Medrash talmidim voluntarily learns Halacha every morning immediately following Shacharis. A chaburah is delivered by one of the bachurim every Friday. Recently a celebratory mesibah was held for the group; it was addressed by Rav Leibish Langer, a maggid shiur in Mesivta Chaim Shlomo.
av Zvi Sorokas eighth grade talmidim were treated to a hands-on lesson on the laws of Hafrashas Challah under the supervision of the Yeshivas chef, Mrs. Chana Florans.
Rosh HaYeshiva at Agudah Convention

The Thursday night session at the most recent National Convention of Agudath Israel of America, held in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, was devoted to the topic: Chanoch LNaar/ Parenting Perplexities, Making Sense of it All. Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, was one of three speakers at the session. The others were Rav Elya Brudny, Rosh Yeshiva at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn, and Rav Matisyahu Salomon, mashgiach ruchani of Beth Medrash Govoha.
Seated, upper dais, L-R: Rav Matisyahu Salomon, Rav Avrohom Chaim Levin, Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, the Novominsker Rebbe, Rav Aaron Feldman and the Vyelipoler Rebbe (obscured). Seated, Lower Dais, L-R: Rav Yisroel Miller, Rav Lipa Geldwerth, Rav Moshe Weinberger, Rav Aliezer Shadrowitzky, Rav Reuven Drucker and Rav Goldberg
HighLighTs
Menorah Fair Illuminates
From jars of jellybeans and live goldsh to pottery shards from the time of the Chashmonaim, the rst grade talmidim used unique materials to build their own Menorahs, demonstrating creativity and talent at the annual Menorah Fair.
Talmidim Raise $200K for Needy in One Day

8 Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014
Groups of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid talmidim spend each Purim engaged in magnicent acts of chesed as they fan out to Far Rockaway, the Five Towns, Brooklyn and Manhattan on a fundraising drive for Keren Ahavas Chesed, which assists families and individuals who are enduring nancial hardship. This years campaign brought in over $200,000, the most ever, ensuring that the joy of Purim will be extended for scores of needy families.
Hands-On Chesed
Rav Zvi Sorokas Eighth Grade took a class trip to the Masbia soup kitchen in Brooklyn. Masbia works to not only feed the hungry, but to provide them with free, wholesome, and delicious meals in a restaurant-style environment, with volunteer waiters serving each person with respect and dignity. During their visit the talmidim helped unload boxes of food from Masbias van, and rolled up their sleeves to prepare a meal in the kitchen.
Visiting the Sofer

hey are a long way from bar mitzvah and donning Tellin, but Rav Dovid Yankelewitzs rst grade talmidim got a sneak peek into the world of Tellin, Mezuzos, Sifrei Torah and other Sifrei Kodesh when they took a delightful and enlightening trip to Tiferes Stam, a Brooklyn Judaica store with a full safrus operation on its premises. Guided by Rav Zvi Chaim Pincus, the stores proprietor and an experienced sofer, the boys saw rsthand how the source of the parchment used in Sifrei Torah, Tellin and Mezuzos is animal hides; a full-edged batim machine, for producing perfectly cubed Tellin; an extremely large and beautiful Mezuzah case; a large piece of black-dyed hide, to be eventually cut down into retzuos straps; mezuzos being checked to make sure they are still kosher; and even a full-edged kosher Sefer Torah that was of an unusually miniature size.
wice daily in Chazaras HaShatz, while the shliach tzibbur recites Modim, the congregation recites a different tellah called Modim DeRabbanan. Both are expressions of thanks to Hashem. In the Junior High School, where the sixth and seventh grade talmidim are davening daily with a minyan (for the sixth grade, it is their rst year doing so), the boys have been given a useful aid to better internalize a sense of hakoras hatov to their Creator. Rav Mutty Zeiger, a seventh grade rebbi, designed a simple card with six rows, one for each weekday. Rav Dovid Frischman, menahel of the Junior High School, speaks to the classes on a regular basis about developing the trait of hakoras hatov. Each morning the talmidim ll a row with something that they feel gratitude for, and they glance at it during Modim DeRabbanan. This is fundamental, explains Rav Frischman.We want the talmidim to appreciate what they have - as opposed to focusing on what they dont have, and kvetching. A person [becomes] besimcha when he thinks about all the chesed that Hashem is doing for him.
An Attitude of Gratitude
MonThs aFTEr His UnTimELY Passing, Aaron ShoLom TEpFErs LEgaCY STiLL GroWs
he levaya of Aaron Sholom Tepfer, a 10-year old talmid of Yeshiva Darchei Torah who was suddenly niftar last August mere days before the start of the school year, was a heartrending event. Speaker after speaker described the remarkable maturity and concern for others that Aaron Sholom possessed. Grown men cried uninhibitedly as the Yeshiva and community absorbed this difcult blow. In the days, weeks and months following his pass-
Becoming Students of AAroN

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ing, relatives, rabbeim, family friends and even total strangers have transformed their grief into inspiration, undertaking a variety of initiatives in Aaron Sholoms memory that will serve as an aliyah for his neshama as well as impetuses for personal improvement. Many of these projects have involved the Yeshiva and its talmidim. As we go to press, the nishing touches are being put on a memorial book of essays and recollections about Aaron Sholom, an effort overseen by Rav Moshe Bender, associate dean of the Yeshiva. Its publication is expected before Pesach.
What better way to perpetuate the memory and legacy of his friend, who loved to learn Torah, than with a Sefer Torah?
The Tepfer family launched a project called Aarons Way to promote opportunities for youth to perform chesed, thus emulating Aaron Sholom, who was always looking to do good for others. The initiative was designed for school-age children, and the Yeshiva is proud that many Darchei Torah talmidim are participants. A recent visible example of their involvement was their volunteering to shovel snow on the properties of local homeowners who needed assistance. In addition, talmidim are performing at local nursing homes, bringing joy to the residents. They are also helping stock Bikur Cholim hospitality rooms in local hospitals on a weekly basis. Many boys are also participating in a homework center where the boys study bchavrusa and assist each other, followed by ball playing.
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Yeshiva Darchei Torah talmidim voluntarily shoveling snow as part of Aarons Way, an initiative of the Tepfer family
Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid spends nearly every Shabbos on campus, with spirited davening, multiple learning sedarim and zemiros-infused, delicious seudos. In Aaron Sholoms memory, the bachurim developed a new half-hour learning seder on Friday afternoons before Mincha including during the winter, when Shabbos begins early. In addition, a group was formed to share a vort on the parsha in the brief time slot between the conclusion of Maariv on Friday night and the Seudah, utilizing precious moments for that most precious of activities, Torah learning. Rav Dov Keilson, mashgiach ruchani of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo,
periodically authors a special dvar Torah that has relevance to the middos and qualities for which Aaron Sholom was known. It is published by the Yeshiva in print and email versions and is called Limudei Aish, with the Hebrew letters for Aish being the rst letters of Aaron Sholoms names. Yitzy Berko, a sixth grader, was a classmate of Aaron Sholom. One day he came up with an idea: what better way to perpetuate the memory and legacy of his friend, who loved to learn Torah, than with a Sefer Torah? The Torah would be written as a zchus for Aaron Sholom and when completed would be housed in the Aron Kodesh of the Junior High School, where it would be used by the boys in their minyan for many years to come.
In an emotional appeal to his fellow talmidim, Yitzy Berko explained: Fifty years from now, in this beis medrash, a boy is going to ask his rebbi, When was this Sefer Torah given? The rebbi is going to say, the whole entire Junior High School decided to raise [funds] for a Sefer Torah in Aaron Sholoms zchus. Doing some quick math, Yitzy realized that to reach his goal of raising $54,000, all he needed was 1,000 families to contribute an average of 54 dollars! The campaign, spearheaded by Sgan Menahel Rav Avrohom Bender, has begun; the Sefer Torah is being written in Eretz Yisrael; and a Hachnasas Sefer Torah is planned for this coming September. For more information, or to contribute, please contact Rav Avrohom Bender at 347-2540155 or abender@darchei.org. The foregoing are but a few examples of inspiring projects in Aaron Sholoms memory. May the Torah, chesed and self-improvement they promote provide an aliyah for his holy neshama. f
Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014 11
COMMUNITY
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1500+ Guests Come Away Joyous and Inspired from Yeshiva Dinner
Some people attend organizational dinners out of a sense of obligation; it is something they must do but do not necessarily enjoy. Judging from the crowd that attended Yeshiva Darchei Torahs 41st Anniversary dinner this winter and the torrent of accolades that poured into the Yeshiva in its immediate aftermath, it appears that the guests at this dinner thoroughly enjoyed being there and came away inspired. For the second year in a row the Yeshiva hosted the dinner on its campus in Far Rockaway, with the catering directed by its own kitchen and administrative staff. Tasteful decoration transformed an already beautiful facility into one appropriate for holding an event of this nature. The evening began with a beautiful buffet dinner, continued with a program and ended with a dessert reception. At the program, emceed by Elisha Brecher, a cochairman of the Yeshivas board of directors, addresses were delivered by Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, Rosh Yeshiva of Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid; Ronald Lowinger, president of the Yeshiva, and Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva. State Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, an alumnus, delivered brief remarks. The rst of the awards was presented to the Pioneer Class of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, whose members will this year be marking 15 years since graduation. The Pioneers, who have gone on to build families and careers in Torah education and various professions, laid the foundation for what has become one of the greatest
Rav Yaakov Bender
Mesivtos in America. The Excellence in Chinuch Award was presented to Rav and Mrs. Avrohom Nusbaum. Rav Nusbaum is a dynamic rebbi and menahel in Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and his wife is a veteran educator as well. Rav Nusbaum described himself as a shliach tzibur who was representing the entire Yeshiva family in his public expression of gratitude to the Yeshivas leadership. The Harbotzas Torah Award was presented to Rav and Mrs. Eytan Feiner, the rav and rebbetzin who have revitalized Far Rockaways Congregation Kneseth Israel, the White Shul. Rebbetzin Feiner is also the founder of the Machon Basya Rochel Seminary in Lawrence, and the Feiners are proud Yeshiva parents as
L-R: Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, Guest of Honor Menachem Marx, Rav Yaakov Bender, Lloyd Keilson, Rav Moshe Bender
Ronald Lowinger (at podium). L-R: Elisha Brecher, Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky and Rav Yaakov Bender
well. In accepting his award, an emotional Rav Feiner was initially at a loss for words but proceeded to offer a heartfelt and deeply moving response. Mr. and Mrs. Menachem Marx were the evenings guests of honor. The Marxes, parents of four Yeshiva talmidim and alumni, are known for their steadfast commitment to Torah study and Chesed. Mr. Marx is an active member of the Yeshivas board and played an early and critical role in ensuring that the recent construction project of the Yeshivas complex would succeed. Mr. Marxs response was at once deeply moving, humorous and inspiring. In a rst, the Yeshiva Darchei Torah Fifth Grade choir pre-recorded two stunning musical performances on video. These videos, as well as riveting presentations about the honorees and the theme of the dinner, Preparing a Child for Life, were screened throughout the program. In one of the choir videos, the boys sang a beautiful rendition of pesukim that include the following words (translated): [The Torah] is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and its supporters are praiseworthy. Taking in the sweep of the estimated 1500-plus guests who happily graced the dinner and are still raving about it months later, it is apparent that Yeshiva Darchei Torah indeed possesses such praiseworthy supporters be they parents, grandparents, alumni or members of the greater Jewish community who appreciate the illustrious bastion of Chinuch and Chesed in its midst. Selected videos and mementos from the dinner are available from the Yeshiva ofce: 718.868.2300 ext. 317 or news@darchei.org. f
Rav Eytan Feiner, Harbotzas Torah Award
Rav Avrohom Nusbaum, State Assemblyman Excellence in Chinuch Phil Goldfeder Award
Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky
The Pioneer Class of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo
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COMMUNITY
Rav Yaakov Bender and Aron Solomon
Rav Yaakov Bender and Zev Karasick
Rav Yehuda Harbater and Elisha Brecher
Rav Yaakov Bender and Mordechai Schwartz
Rav Yaakov Bender and Michael Fragin
Yitzy Schuss and Rav Moshe Bender
Rav Yaakov Bender and Nochum Wolf
Rav Yaakov Bender and State Senator Simcha Felder
Rav Yaakov Bender and Yoav Taub
Rav Yaakov Bender and Tzvi Perl
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L-R: Yosef Elefant, Mendy Elefant and Rav Zev Bald
L-R: Berel Kleinbart, Rav Yaakov Bender and Binyomin Kleinbart
L-R: Rav Tzvi Feiner and Rav Eytan Feiner
Rav Yaakov Bender and Robert Slepoy
L-R: Menachem Lieber, Rav Yaakov Bender, Dovi Faivish and Uri Dreifus
Rav Yaakov Bender and Alon Goldberger
Rav Yaakov Bender and Zvi Bloom
Rav Yaakov Bender and Robert Marx
Rav Yaakov Bender and Eytan Feldman
L-R: Rav Eytan Feiner and Dr. Leonard Feiner
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COMMUNITY
L-R: Rav Baruch Rothman, Menachem Marx and Rav Yaakov Bender L-R: Menachem Jacobowitz, Avromi Haas and Rav Avrohom Bender L-R: Dr. Yair Keilson and Rav Baruch Rothman
L-R: Rav Yosef Warman, Ben Lowinger and Rav Mordechai Stern
Rav Yaakov Bender and Kal Renov
Rav Yaakov Bender and Shaya Ackerman
L-R: Dovid Klein and Motty Klein
L-R: Aryeh Majerowicz, Joel Beritz and Jason Cury of the Gruss Life Monument Funds
Rav Yaakov Bender and Moshe Mendlowitz
Rav Yaakov Bender and Uri Cohen
L-R: Dovid Bloom and Tsemach Glenn
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Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014 SPORTS CLINICS MIDDOS WORKSHOPS INSTRUCTIONAL SWIM
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COMMUNITY
Rav Zevi Trenk addressing the Avos Ubanim Program at Minyan Chaim Berlin after the Yeshivas Shabbos for Chinuch in Flatbush
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A N J O IN U S IN S COM P IR A F O R MUN T IO IT Y-W N A L ID E
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cceding to the requests of numerous parents and grandparents of talmidim, the Yeshiva organized a Shabbos for Chinuch during the fall in various locations throughout Flatbush. Yeshiva Darchei Torah is a multifaceted institution with 1900 talmidim, explains Rav Moshe Bender, associate dean. Our Elementary School is a strictly local mosad but our Mesivta and Beis Medrash attract bachurim from all over including Flatbush. Headlining the Shabbos was Rosh HaYeshiva Rav Yaakov Bender. He was accompanied by several rabbeim and menahalim from Mesivta Chaim Shlomo. On Friday night the Rosh HaYeshiva spoke between Kabbolas Shabbos and Maariv at Khal Torah Utellah, which is under the leadership of Rav Shimon Alster. The Rosh HaYeshiva spoke about the critical importance of infusing ones home with a spirit of simchas hachaim, joie de vivre. Drawing on examples from various places in the Torah, he demonstrated how simchas hachaim is the engine for true accomplishment in ruchniyus. The Friday night seudah was hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Herzka. Despite a heavy downpour, the Oneg Shabbos, held later that evening at Khal Toras Chaim, Rav Chaim Yisroel Weinfelds shul, was attended by a massive crowd. Along with beautiful zemiros led by Rav Mutty Zeiger, a Darchei Torah rebbi, and
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brought to the tzaddik to receive a bracha. After Reb Yossi Kessner, the Rosh HaYeshivas Divrei he was blessed with a bracha for a complete recovTorah drew on his own experiences growing up, as ery, the bachur indicated that he had only one thing his widowed mother successfully overcame adversion his mind, as he asked the tzaddik for a bracha ty to turn their simple home into a base of chinuch. that he succeed in learning and in yiras Shamayim. He also related a personal story that occurred when Such is the greatness of this generation, the Rosh a gentile from Kansas described to him the impresHaYeshiva declared. Even when faced with dauntsions of witnessing a Shabbos meal at the home of ing challenges, our young men and women have a a Jewish family. The Rosh HaYeshiva urged the singular aspiration: to serve Hashem properly and assembled to appreciate the institution that is the to keep growing. family Shabbos seudah and to ensure that it is a After Shabbos, Rav Zevi Trenk, the menahel of vehicle for enhancing the parent/child relationship. Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, spoke at the Avos Ubanim Towards the conclusion of the Oneg, Rav program at Minyan Chaim Berlin on Avenue L, Leibish Langer, a maggid shiur in Mesivta Chaim while Rav Moshe Bender, associate dean, spoke at Shlomo, offered divrei chizuk. The gathering also the program at Rav Yosef Eisens Kollel Bnei Torah. featured a rousing kumzitz with Mesivta rabbeim At each venue over Shabbos, hundreds of Jews and many of their talmidim who reside in Flatbush from all walks of life turned out to seek guidance joining together in heartfelt song. and inspiration on the crucial matter of chinuch. On Shabbos morning, the Rosh HaYeshiva davTaken together, the Shabbos for ened at Khal Zichron Mordechai, Chinuch will hopefully serve as the shul of Rav Shimshon Sherer. another tool in parents quest to In his drasha, the Rosh HaYeshiva It is precisely the raise their children successfully pointed out that we live in a very challenging time for chinuch ha- difcult nature of the during these unprecedentedly challenging times. banim, yet it is precisely the difcult nature of the nisyonos that (Also present for one or more nisyonos that they they are conquering that enables Shabbos events were menaheare conquering that lim Rav Avrohom Nusbaum, todays youngsters to reach such great heights. He mentioned that Rav Dovid Morgenstern and Rav enables todays Yosef is referred to with the name Avrohom Bender, and maggisufx Hatzaddik, an unusual youngsters to reach dei shiur Rav Yisroel Feder, Rav distinction. This is because of the Shmuel Feldman, Rav Shimon such great heights. unimaginably great nisyonos that Dov Notis, Rav Matis Pincus and Yosef withstood, and indeed grew Rav Yosef Warman as well as adfrom. ministration members Rabbis Zev The daytime seudah was hosted by Mr. and Bald, Baruch Rothman and Avraham Schachner.) Mrs. Eli Schron. Rav Moshe Bender pays tribute to the wonOn Shabbos Afternoon, a special shiur for derful families who hosted rabbeim and opened women was given by Rebbetzin Bryna Bender at up their homes for scores of Darchei Torah bathe home of Mrs. Baila Miller, a former Mesivta churim who joined the seudos, such as (in adparent. The shiur was held lizecher nishmas her dition to those mentioned above) Mr. and Mrs. husband, Reb Sruli Miller, ah. Rebbetzin Bender Eli Amsterdam, Mr. and Mrs. Shimon Eckstein, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Zion Weiss and Dr. and Mrs. spoke to the overow crowd about chinuch as it Yechiel Zagelbaum. Most of all we are graterelates to Shabbos that we must internalize and ful to the wonderful, chashuveh rabbonim of impart to the next generation the beauty, privilege Flatbush, who welcomed us so warmly, he enand underlying meaning of Shabbos Kodesh. Mincha and Shalosh Seudos were held at Rav thuses. Both they as well as the rabbonim whose shuls we were not able to visit that weekend are Lipa Geldwerths shul, Kol Torah. The Rosh true manhigim who care passionately about each HaYeshiva expounded on a variety of chinuch and every one of their mispalelim. It is our zchus themes and related an incident that occurred to have been their guests and we hope to mainwhen a great tzaddik recently visited the Yeshiva. tain the kesher for a long time to come. f After his drasha, a wheelchair-bound bachur was
19
COMMUNITY
Parenting with
Passion
Rav Shmuel Strickmans popular parenting classes are helping fathers and mothers successfully navigate the joys and challenges of chinuch in the home
MECHANECH WITH A VIEW

Y AS A MENAHEL, %
I see parents searching for direction in a way that I have not seen in the past. We live in a panicstricken society. Over the past 15 years a number of buzzwords have paralyzed parents, preventing themfrom being mechanech their children. We are being bombarded with articles, posters and symposia on kids at risk, low self-esteem and bullying. Parents hesitate to discipline their child, fearing, If I discipline him I may damage his self-esteem, or he may get turned off and be at risk. They forget that if they dont discipline, he is even more likely to become at risk. Today the buzzword is bullying. This leaves parents anxious about their childrens mental and emotional health and creates a need to protect their children from stress. These things leave parents wondering what to do when children misbehave. I cant reprimand him! What do I do? They are at a loss. Our lectures address
YOUR fOCUS IS ON THE TALMIDIM. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START DELIVERING PARENTING CLASSES?
topics such as sibling rivalry, why children feel entitled, disciplining with patience, time management, responsibility, dening the roles of a parent al pi Torah and how to instill simcha in a child and in a home. The biggest piece of parenting is not a particular technique, but rather the growth of the parents themselves.The more parents grow and serve as better role models for their children, secure in their own Yiddishkeit, the easier parenting is because the children see their parents security and happiness. We can always use techniques to impart our values to our children. But rst we have to live with those values.
Y WHOSE jOb IS IT TO %
Rav Shmuel Strickman serves as menahel of Yeshiva Darchei Torahs Lower Elementary School. He is often consulted as an adviser on chinuch by yeshivos and educators throughout America. An alumnus of Brooklyns Mirrer Yeshiva, Rav Strickman has made an indelible impact on the chinuch landscape in numerous communities in the United States. He started his career as a rebbi in Yeshiva Torah Temimah.When the Mirrer Yeshiva Ketana began, he was one of the founding rabbeim. Subsequently he moved to Detroit where he served as menahel of Yeshiva Beis Yehuda. From there he went to Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim in Baltimore (TA) where he served as principal for ve years.When he returned to New York, he came back as menahel of Mirrer Yeshiva Ketana before being appointed as a menahel in Yeshiva Darchei Torah, where he has been for the last 21 years.
chinuch. Chazal set up a system of yeshivos. But ultimately its the parents responsibility andultimately its the parents who can take the credit.
Y DO PARENTS HAVE %
AN INNATE PARENTING AbILITY OR DO THEY NEED TRAINING?
It is the parents job to raise their children.But we are shutm. We have them a good part of the day and certain personality traits will only come out in school - but the ikar chinuch is in the home and we are there to help inculcate them with values and knowledge that will complement that
RAISE CHILDREN? THE SCHOOL, THE PARENTS, OR bOTH?
My Bubby used to say Mit a kind kumt seichel. When you have a child, somehow Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives you the seichel to deal with that child. In this generation a lot of that seichel seems to have been lost. Perhaps it is because we are in a high-tech society and things are so fast-paced that we dont have time to think.The explosion of communication bombards us with informa-
tion and monopolizes our time. We spend much more time on the phone than we ever did before: texting, emailing and talking. We have become addicted to it. When children are around and we are on the phone, busy communicating with the world, then we are not communicating with them.
Y DOES THAT MEAN WE %
ARE NOT RECEPTIVE TO THE SIGNALS THAT THEY ARE SENDING US?
I can be very close to my child, I can truly love him, but and this could be very subtle Im not watching or listening to him. When he comes to you with something and youre on an important phone call, that call is taking priority over his
If you are living your life in a fullled, productive, ehrliche, Yiddishe, Torahdike way, with shalom in your house, you are a great parent. You are living examples without speeches, without any mussar.
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COMMUNITY
need. It may be a little scrape or a scufe that he had with his sibling, but to that child, at that time, it is THE most important thing in the world. Children live in the present. His whole life just fell apart and you are busy on the phone withsomeone else? That hurts the relationship because you didnt care at that crucial moment - you werent there for him.
Y WHATS THE bIGGEST %
Just bombarding them with what we think is important or fun doesnt always register.
Y WHAT IS A SMALL %
understood who we were and identied with us all the way through. Thats the biggest gift you can give children.
Y HOW IS TECHNOLOGY %
is. You want to hear them.

Y O.K., SO WHAT ARE %
One thing that we do not do enough of is seeing life through the eyes of a child. When seeking to re-
MISTAKE PARENTS TEND TO MAKE?
Close your phone from 4:30-8:30. Close your phone. We have parents in the Yeshiva who have a greeting on their answering machine: It is now homework time and family time; please call back after 9. Thats what needs to be done. Spend real time with your children. Listen to them and play with them - what they enjoy playing. Not
CHANGE THAT PARENTS CAN DO THAT WILL MAKE A bIG IMPACT?
The internet is a distraction, as are video games. The computer is a very powerful medium, captivating the attention of children and adults alike. Sit down at the computer and start playing a game, even an innocent one, and it is hard to pull yourself away. Its the same challenge as television and videos: you start living it. It takes up
AffECTING PARENTING?
We have so many wonderful parents today who really care and are giving real time to their children. One example of many: We have parents in the community who take their children every Thursday night to Yad Yeshaya to help pack Tomchei Shabbos packages thats real chinuch. Good parents are role models for their children.As I said earlier, if you as a parent are living your life in a fullled, productive, ehrliche, Yiddishe, Torahdike way,
PARENTS DOING RIGHT?
Close your phone from 4:30-8:30. Close your phone. We have parents in the Yeshiva who have a greeting on their answering machine: It is now homework time and family time; please call back after 9.
ward a child or to spend time with him we often pick activities that we enjoy, but are not necessarily what they enjoy. I often tell parents: we have to become students of our children. We have to study them. We have to know their likes, their dislikes, their strengths and their weaknesses. Chanoch lnaar al pi darko. Not al pi darki not based on what I consider important, but what they value. We have to teach them the values of life, but they have to grow into those values.
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only homework. We talk today about quality time. But quality time is not a substitute for quantity time. The main goal, starting from a very young age, is building a relationship. The only way you can do that is if the child feels that you understand him. That takes time. My wife says about her aunt, Tante Faygie Shoenig, zol zi zein gezunt, that when we were 6, she was 6; when we were 16, she was 16; when we were 26 and married, so was she. She
space in our minds. In 21st century language, our minds are our hard disks and it takes up valuable space. If technology is not directed and controlled, it affects the chinuch of the kids. Today the computer has become a babysitter. Okay, theres a lot of noise. Im busy, or Im tired. Ill put ona video for you, or heres the DS, take it and go play a game. Its a way of getting the kids out of the way. Children should be seen and not heard? I dont know how valid that
with shalom in your house, you are a great parent. You are the parent who is more likely to see nachas from his children because you are living examples, without speeches, without any mussar. This is Reb Moshe [Feinstein ztl]s famous principle: If your life screams out es iz gut tzu zein a Yid, were so lucky, and this is what we have and were happy with it, thats the very best thing. f
For audio of Rav Strickmans parenting classes, please email publications@ darchei.org or call 718.868.2300 ext. 312
PRESCHOOL
Staying Ahead of the Curve

REVAMPED PrESCHOOL CUrrICULUM COMBINES TrADItIONAL AND NEW MEtHODS
emember the classic, Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold? This wise maxim is being given a unique application at Yeshiva Darchei Torah as new curriculum standards recently adopted by the New York State Department of Education are being implemented in the Elementary School, and even earlier, in Pre-1A. Thanks to a dedicated and creative staff of morahs working under Preschool Director Dr. Wendy Devorah Gerson, the new friendsnewly crafted guidelines in teaching math, reading and writingare interlaced with old friends, tried and proven educational approaches in the Preschool
that have a very successful track record. The new standards empower our Pre-1A classes to achieve some of the academic goals that were once introduced in the rst grade, notes Dr. Gerson. Under the new guidelines, our children are achieving milestones in the basic subjects earlier in the year than previously. They are reading simple books and learning how to write, actually composing paragraphs. They are also mastering simple math operations in addition and subtraction. This is all taught within the framework of fun, games and exciting activities, because a ve-year old is still a ve-year old and thats what we want him to be. State-
mandated changes in curriculum do not alter that. Dr. Gerson gives the credit for the Preschools record accomplishments to a staff of amazing teachers, led by Assistant Director Mrs. Rachel Brier, who also teaches one of the Pre-1A classes. The Pre-1A morahs not only devoted themselves to mastering the new math curriculum, says Dr. Gerson, theyve found brilliant ways to accomplish in a couple of hours a day during morah time what the public schools utilize eight hours a day to do. It is a challenge that calls for harmonizing teaching strategies that have proven so effective in the past with new math textbooks that present novel ways to break down information and concepts. The approach and even the terminology may be different but two plus two still equals four, Dr. Gerson quips. Were seeing a lot of creativity in the way our morahs are retooling traditional methods to align with the new textbooks. With all the revamping of curriculum, one aspect of Yeshiva Darchei Torahs Preschool is not likely to change the emphasis on good middos and the belief in providing children with strong incentives for good behavior and diligent effort. Stickers proclaiming I WAS A GIBOR! or I WAS MEVATER! that endorse a child for making good choices in his interactions with others drive home the message that good middos are as valued as academic achievement. Stressing the positive and rewarding children for every small gain in emotional growth is a hallmark of our Preschool, says Dr. Gerson. Educational trends come and go but this value is etched in stone. f
PRESCHOOL
Elisha Katz, all dressed up like the Kohein Gadol!
Scenes
from the Preschool
Rav Yaakov Sholom Friedman shows Pre-1A talmidim models of the Aron and other keilim from the Mishkan
Bounding up the ramp with excitement for a new day of fun and learning
In honor of Parshas Noach, which describes the rescue of all animal species in the Teivah, the preschool talmidim were visited by a petting zoo. The children were able to pet, feed and, in some cases, even hold the animals.
Mendel the Maggid (center) enlivens each Rosh Chodesh when Assistant Preschool Director Mrs. Esti Feuer utilizes the little puppet to teach the preschool talmidim about the new month. She will generally speak about a yomtov that will occur during that month, or about a particular middah.
The kindergarten talmidim were visited by local reghters. The boys had a hands-on demonstration of the hard work done by New Yorks Bravest, plus they were able to see inside the re truck. Each class learned about re safety and how to be careful by the Shabbos candles and oven.
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The ABCs of Empathy

W
hat is the ideal time to start teaching children to be sensitive to others? As early as possible, say experts, who increasingly see the teaching of empathy, or emotional intelligence, as a crucial life-skill. Yeshiva Darchei Torahs Preschool director, Dr. Wendy Devorah Gerson, couldnt agree more. Social skills and empathy training, which is an important element in the teaching of good middos, is a very high priority, she says. It permeates our Preschool curriculum. We weave it into all the learning and play activities. In the kindergarten classes, a special empathy program has been implemented, with the purpose of teaching children to identify emotions such as sad, happy, scared, surprised, frustrated, lonely, worried and shy. Every two weeks, the social work interns focus on a different emotion, creating roleplaying activities, arts and crafts projects and stories that dramatize the emotions in a variety of ways. Parents participate by sending in notes about how their child was able to identify and verbalize that feeling at home.
Middos and sensitivity training when children are young and impressionable will enhance their ability to relate to others in positive, satisfying ways. Thats one of the keys to happiness.
The teachers, as well as Assistant Directors Mrs. Esti Feuer and Mrs. Yocheved Bender, reinforce these emotions throughout the day, making the program unied between home and school. The feedback has been wonderful, says Dr. Gerson. We developed an offshoot of this program called Be a Good Friend. Children learn that if they see someone being shamed or yelled at, they have a responsibility to feel that childs pain, to be a good friend and to stick up for him. Dr. Gerson and Mrs. Rachel Brier, an assistant director, have been speaking to the Pre-1A classes about being a good friend and making sure everyone is being treated properly. As children learn to tune into their own feelings and to the feelings of others, they become more aware of their own behavior and its impact on those around thema skill that can make a profound difference in a childs capacity to make friends. Middos and sensitivity training when children are young and impressionable will enhance their ability to relate to others in positive, satisfying ways, says Dr. Gerson. Thats one of the keys to happiness. f
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Internalized
TALMIDIM LEARN FUNDAMENtALS Of HILChOS ShABBOS WIth HANDS-ON DEMONStRAtIONS
Who doesnt look forward to Shabbos, our day of rest? But Shabbos is more than a day off from work. It is a day of kedusha, one that includes a signicant amount of proscribed activities. The Chofetz Chaim warned that without a thorough familiarity with Hilchos Shabbos, it is nearly impossible to avoid transgression, even if inadvertent. At what age do you begin teaching children the halachos? At Yeshiva Darchei Torah, the answer is: in the second grade. Welcome to the innovative, immersive, child-friendly and most of all, exciting 39 Melachos Project! The 39 Melachos, or forbidden labors of Shabbos, are based on the 39 activities involved in the Mishkan in the desert. They begin with zoreia/ planting, and 10 other melachos, called siddura dpas, required to bake the bread of the lechem hapanim, and continue on all the way to hotzaah, transferring an object between domains, or carrying. All Hilchos
39
MELACHOS
CoVEr STorY: LiVing Torah
Zoreh/winnowing
Rav Nochum Dinowitz with some of his talmidim after exploring the melacha of tzoveia by tie-dyeing T-shirts
26
Shabbos ow from these 39 av melachos and their subcategories. The basic premise of the program is described by Rav Nochum Dinowitz, one of the second grade rabbeim: To the extent that kids can touch halacha, it will touch them - it will stick with them. So, for example, rather than simply show the talmidim pictures of farmers performing the agricultural work involved in siddura dpas, Rav Dinowitz and other rabbeim went a giant step further: they took the boys down to the Yeshivas ample playing elds, and with shovels, rakes, hoes, straw hats and all the necessary props, the talmidim got to re-enact the actual performance of the melachos - as well as to explore what actions might be permitted rather than prohibited on Shabbos. Planting seeds in the ground or watering the earth? Zoreia/planting. Dragging a heavy garbage can or sweeping soft earth? Possibly choreish/plowing. Collecting oranges that fell out of a basket? Possibly meamer/gathering. Back in the classroom, some more practical examples of these melachos that occur in a 21st-century home are examined as well. I also make sure to throw some practical middos into the halacha, emphasizes Rav Dinowitz, so that when a child is home on Shabbos and a parent asks him to tidy up his room or put away the silverware, his instant reaction is not, sorry, Ma, its assur. We make sure they learn how to avoid borer and so forth while still behaving with the utmost respect towards their parents. Beyond siddura dpas, there are a number of melachos that do not lend themselves to easy recreation, such as those that involve ancient weaving or tanning procedures, but the rabbeim are not daunted by the challenges. One rebbi even purchased alpaca and
Choresh/plowing
To the extent that kids can touch halacha, it will touch them
sheep wool to be used in tovveh/ spinning. For tzoveia/dyeing, tiedyeing T-shirts became a colorful activity as well as a halacha lesson. Our overriding goal is to make sure the talmidim internalize what they learn, says Rav Avrohom Bender, who in addition to teaching second grade serves as sgan menahel. We do plenty of traditional classroom teaching of the melachos. But having these hands-on experiences is crucial. He describes how despite the 39 Melachos Project taking up very little time in a typical week, at the end of the year the children are walking out [of Yeshiva] knowing all 39. Towards the end of the school year the rabbeim begin the lming and production of a video. The 39 Melachos are divided among the classes, with different boys re-en-
acting what they have learned. The settings can be the elds, the classrooms, and even the Yeshiva kitchen. Last year a celebration was held in the late spring, with parents and grandparents in attendance. The lm was screened to the delight and amazement of all in the audience. All the boys formed a choir to sing beautiful Shabbos zemiros and each talmid was given the famed Rav Boruch Chaits beautiful childrens sefer about what else? The 39 Melachos. Throughout the year, a rebbi may mark the milestones his class has reached along the way. To celebrate the completion of siddura dpas, which ends with ofeh/ baking, Rav Dinowitz brought a donut-making machine to his classroom. While the talmidim were busy baking and frosting, the rebbi challenged them with questions, testing and sharpening their knowledge amid the fun. Rav Dinowitz makes another point: Its important that Shabbos shouldnt be seen as all no; its a positive day. Besides learning about the melachos, we spend some time on the importance of the special preparations likavod Shabbos polishing your shoes, setting the table, etcetera. Based on the feedback from parents, it is clear that in the homes of the second grade talmidim, Shabbos is indeed a positive experience, one made all the richer by the investment their rabbeim have made in a most special project. I recently had a sixth grader come over to me, relates Rav Avrohom Bender, and tell me that he still remembers his melacha from four years ago, when we had assigned each boy to create a colorful poster depicting one melacha. It is truly remarkable. f To see the 39 Melachos video, email news@darchei.org or call 718.868.2300 ext. 317
sxc
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Experienced Caring Rabbeim Special Erev Shabbos Program Free Hot Lunches & Daily Snacks Transportation Available
ENTERING F O R B OY S RG A RT E N KINDE DE TO 6 T H G R A
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NO CAMP ON SUNDAYS
HALF SUMMER $750 FULL SUMMER $1400 WEEKLY $200
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Sports Leagues Daily Swimming Professional Grounds Full Size Gym with Bleachers Exciting Trip Each Week Late Nights
NURSERY PROGRAM
N EW A M A ZI N G
Directors: Rabbi Eliezer Ament Rabbi Eliezer Selengut Sports Director: Rabbi Eliezer Post
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER PLEASE CALL 718.868.2300 EXT. 502 HAKAYITZ@GMAIL.COM
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MiSSiON INcREDiBLE
Comprehensive, Creative and Child-Centered, Middos Mission Successfully Trains Talmidim to Develop Good Character
Can you teach middos? It is a question that has confronted parents and educators for generations. Besides being a good example for him to emulate, can you truly train a child, who was born essentially self-centered, to develop good middos? To focus not only on improving his relationship with Hashem but on his interactions with his fellow man, as well? With the Middos Mission program in its rst and second grades, Yeshiva Darchei Torah has developed an innovative and wildly successful answer to this question. Middos Mission is the brainchild of Mrs. Tzipi Fisher, a rst grade general studies teacher. The Yeshiva had been seeking to introduce a middos program for a number of years until Mrs. Fisher came up with a workable model. What are middos? As Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva puts it, Middos are not manners. Its very important to say Good Morning and Thank You. But the most important thing is to genuinely care for others, to want to do for others. Having good middos means effecting internal, not merely external, change. So with the encouragement of the Rosh HaYeshiva and Rav Shmuel Strickman, menahel of the Lower Elementary School, the collaboration of a rst grade rebbi, Rav Eliezer Ament, and the generous funding of the Yeshivas Womens League, Middos Mission was born. The program seeks to train the boys to develop and sharpen several basic middos with a fun, comprehensive and child-focused
29
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
approach. It concentrates on 5 or 6 middos per year, spending approximately one and a half months on each. (See sidebar.) The focus is simple and age-appropriate, says Rav Strickman. By focusing on a few basic things, we give the talmidim realistic goals in middos improvement. As they get older they will have time to go deeper. The rst stage of teaching each middah is an assembly to introduce it. With all the rst and second grade talmidim seated in the Diamond Bais Medrash, Rav Strickman explains the middah on a level the boys can understand. A rebbi tells a true and inspiring story that highlights the middah. The boys then sing the Middos Mission theme song. The following week the boys will act out different aspects of the middah during their recess; Rav Ament is on hand to record it all on video. About a week later the beautiful video, replete with graphics, music and special effects, is shown to all the talmidim. Throughout these weeks each rebbi and teacher makes sure to incorporate the middah into their daily lessons or to use it as a springboard for discussion when something happens in the classroom. The following week Mrs. Fisher will visit all the rst grades, and Rav Ament will visit the second grades, to conduct workshops. They review the fundamentals with the talmidim and ask them to suggest examples of the middah. An incentive system motivates the talmidim to keep improving. In the rst grade, talmidim are given punch cards which the teacher can punch each time she sees a boy exhibiting good middos. For the second grade, the bulletin boards in the hallways are lled with MMNNs (Middos Mission Nachas Notes), wherein parents submit their proud impressions of their childs successfully having incorporated the middos into his behavior. This reinforces the home-school connection, Mrs. Fisher explains, highlighting that good middos are not just for the classroom; they are for everywhere, 24/7. There are no prizes in this program; the recognition the boys receive for demonstrating progress is its own reward. This ensures that the progress is real, and not merely an attempt to win a prize. To enliven things a bit, friendly,
This Years Middos:
1 2 3 4 5 6
NOSEi BOL iM cHAVEiRO
Empathy; feeling anothers pain and doing something about it
KAVOD HABRiOS
To speak like a mensch, and to initiate and reply to friendly greetings
HAkORAS HAtOV
Gratitude
LASHON HAtOV
Speaking in a positive and dignied manner
BAL tASHcHiS ZEHiRUS

Safety
To appreciate the good that we have and not waste or destroy it
As part of the ongoing Middos Mission project, the rst and second grade talmidim watch a video that features themselves role-playing various aspects of the middah that they are working on
age-appropriate mascots were created; for rst grade it is Ofcer Middos, a policeman, and for second grade it is Handy Middos, a handyman. A newsletter, Middos Mentions, reinforces the rest of the program with messages from the menahalim, a short story, and some choice MMNNs. This program is having a real impact, says Rav Ament. I see the changes in my talmidim in so many ways, where saying Thank You while making eye contact, for example, becomes second nature when it wasnt previously. And the feedback from parents is overwhelming. Mrs. Fisher concludes that the program has succeeded in sensitizing the boys to the practices of good middos. That's our goal. It is true that one
can only teach middos by example, and that is what we are doing.The talmidim have the opportunity to learn not only from their rabbeim and teachers but from one another - through real-life examples, such as those on the video - how to conduct themselves with good middos. The Rosh HaYeshiva reminds us that Chazal say that if a person learns Torah but does not have middos, its a terrible thing, a chilul Hashem. We therefore have to make sure that the talmidim coming out of our yeshiva are not just talmidei chachamim, but that they have good middos, as well. Middos Mission is a big part of that, and we are so pleased with the impact it is having. f To see the Middos Mission videos, email news@darchei.org or call 718.868.2300 ext. 317
MMNNs MiDDOS MiSSiON NAcHAS NOtES

Kavod Habriyos
When MeNAcHeM nished his haircut at the barber he nicely asked for a lolly and then politely said, Thank you.
MOmmy BENDER
(a sampling)
SIMcHA greeted everyone he met on Shabbos with such a warm Good Shabbos.
MOmmy StADtmAUER
We are so proud of CHANANYA. He said, Excuse me in order to pass.

MOmmy SOLOmON
While I was making dinner YITZcHAK MeIR took such good care of his baby sister and made her feel special.
MOmmy TOmASzEwSki
Nosei Bol Im Chaveiro

During bedtime, Pinny brought his little brother, EFRAYIM upstairs and changed him into pajamas.
MOmmy GERLitz
ELIYAHU came home from Avos Ubunim at our shul with a special photo album. When he got home his sister started to cry because she didnt have one. ELIYAHU ran over and said, Here, take mine.
MOmmy BARAScH
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Sukkah Fair
t has become an annual, highly-anticipated event. Utilizing their knowledge and prociency of Mishnayos Sukkah, the fourth grade talmidim collaborate to build models of examples mentioned in the Mishnah both acceptable and invalid Sukkos. With creativity and hard work, the boys assembled beautiful displays in the Diamond Bais Medrash at an event that they were proud to share with the many parents and grandparents who came to see it. The program was concluded with a choir of all the boys, who sang beautiful melodious renditions of two meaningful songs about Sukkos.
Parsha Productions
Whenever Rav Yoni Posnick and his second grade nish learning an entire parsha, they put on a play. Using costumes from home (and a script prepared by rebbi) the boys re-enact some of the events from the parsha, helping them to retain and relish their sweet Torah learning. In the photo, a group is reenacting the Bris Bein HaBesarim - where the pasuk says that a smoking oven and a torch of re passed between the pieces, symbolizing the covenant between Hashem and Avraham Avinu.
Bridging Proposal
When Rav Yisroel Kleinman wanted to illustrate the Gemaras concept of hekesh (linkage) to his fth grade talmidim, he delved into the subject of bridges with them. At one point the talmidim even built model bridges, using a variety of materials, from wood to cake.
Parsha Program
Hones Talmidims Knowledge
Dovid Barkany wins a Shas (a real one)!
Alter Boruch Ross wins a Cadillac (not a real one)!
n the third, fourth and fth grades, the talmidims knowledge of the parshios haTorah is extraordinarily broad. This can be attributed to the phenomenal success of the Yeshiva Darchei Torah Parsha Program, which endeavors to give each talmid a thorough grounding in the yedios of Chumash Bereishis and Chumash Shemos. Each week, the talmidim are given a 20-question test on the previous weeks learning; at the end of each Chumash, a grand bechina is held in the Dining Hall with 100 questions. Based on their scores, the talmidim are then given tickets to a series of raes which are held with great fanfare at a special assembly in the Diamond Bais Medrash. Some win prizes; some do not. All go away, however, having gained something more precious than any of the prizes: a comprehensive knowledge of so many parshios haTorah, something that is in itself so valuable and will surely serve as a springboard to continued, unstoppable growth in all areas of Torah. The Parsha Program has been graciously sponsored by the Mirzoe family, who perceive the great inherent value of such a successful project. f
33
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Tellah Power Energizes Davening in Upper Elementary School
Beyond Lip Service

fth grade rebbi. The program adds avor, meaning and structure to the davening. The talmidim miss it when its not done. Perhaps the greatest value of the program is that beyond the actual materials that are provided, rabbeim are using it as a springboard for further discussion, relating their own stories and examples of the Tellahs meaning and applying the lessons throughout the day. We recently learned about Poseiach es yadecha, how Hashem provides the specic foods and needs that every single individual needs, custom-made for that person, relates Rav Shraga Polter, a fth grade rebbi. There are so many examples of that throughout the day, in and out of the classroom. Nothing happens by chance. From learning the meaning of this pasuk the children have learned to spot Hashems hashgacha pratis (Providence) over them in every situation. Rav Polter attests that after learning about a particular part of tellah, there is a discernible difference in the childrens davening. When we reach those psukim, you can see the boys paying more attention to what theyre saying, with added meaning. They really do it well. Chazal tell us about the supreme value inherent in the prayers of tinokos shel beis rabban, those pure souls untainted by sin. Thanks to Tellah Power and the rabbeim that are implementing and expanding upon it, those prayers have been enriched and made even more meaningful. f
n the fourth and fth grades every day starts with tellah in the classroom. It is a modied davening, tailored for the boys age and ability, and it is done in unison, aloud, and led by the rebbi. It has been like this since anyone can remember. In recent years the Yeshiva has incorporated Tellah Power, a project developed by Rav Heshy Kleinman of the VAni Tellah Foundation specically for children. According to the rabbeim in Yeshiva Darchei Torah, Tellah Power has immeasurably enhanced the talmidims davening, elevating lip service into the service of the heart which Tellah is meant to be. Once a week, a colorful 4-page newsletter is given out to the boys. It is an impressive piece, as appealing to the eye as it is rich in content. Each week a short phrase or pasuk from davening is explained and expanded upon. The rst issue
The program adds avor, meaning and structure to the davening.

began with Modeh Ani; as of this writing they are in the middle of Pesukei DZimrah. The newsletter includes illustrations, stories, parables, an activity/fun page and salient facts about the relevant tellah. Most of all it includes food for thought and similar exercises to inspire the talmidim to contemplate the messages of each tellah. There is also a contest component, where talmidim ll in rungs on a ladder, based on their own achievements in the program over the course of a number of weeks. Every day we read part of it, relates Rav Asher Shteierman, a
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Hascholas Gemara Celebrates a Special Milestone

When the fth grade talmidim open their Gemaros for the very rst time, it is an extraordinary moment in their lives. At this juncture, having already gotten their feet wet in the sweet waters of Chumash, Rashi and Mishnayos, they are now ready to embark on what will hopefully be a lifelong journey on the majestic and innite sea of Shas. To mark this milestone, the Yeshiva invites the fathers and grandfathers of the talmidim to join them for a festive seudah. This years event celebrated another generation of Yiddishe Kinderlach joining the ranks of lomdei Gemara and becoming the newest links in the chain of Mesorah that reaches back to Sinai. Addressing the event were a number of grandfathers of talmidim, including Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva; Rav Shmuel Strickman, Lower Elementary School Menahel; Mr. Yitzchok Ganger; Rav Leonard Greher; and Rav A. Moshe Possick.
Moshe Yosef Hauer (center) with his father Rav Yitzchok Hauer (left) and grandfather, Rav Yecheskel Kaminsky
Yitzchok Klein (center) with his father, Rav Avrohom Yaakov Klein (left) and grandfather, Dr. Marshall Keilson
Shaya Soclof (second from right) with his father, Rav Dovid Soclof (left); grandfather, Rav Avrohom Kaminetzky (right) and great-grandfather, Rav Yosef Dovid Leiner (second from left)
L-R: Akiva Braunstein; his father, Rav Meir Braunstein; and his grandfather, Nachum Aber
Rav Leonard Greher, grandfather of fth grade talmidim
Rav A. Moshe Possick, grandfather of a fth grade talmid
Yitzchok Ganger, grandfather of a fth grade talmid
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Generations Gather for Torah Study

Nearly every Motzaei Shabbos during the winter, the Yeshiva holds its Dor L'Dor program, where children can come learn Torah with their fathers, grandfathers or another adult, hear an exciting story and receive a slice of pizza and the chance to win a prize, as well. Once a year, to kick o the season and to include as many talmidim and their elders as possible, a Lunch 'N Learn program is held on a Sunday. This years program drew a record crowd of talmidim from grades 1 through 5, their fathers, grandfathers and even great-grandfathers. The program started with a delectable lunch catered by our own Mrs. Chana Florans and continued with chavrusa learning in the Mesivta Chaim Shlomo Beis Medrash and Ezras Nashim. The assemblage was treated to brief remarks from Rav Shmuel Strickman, Menahel of the Lower Elementary School, and Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva. The children then enjoyed an entertaining and inspiring tale from the world-famous Rebbee Hill. The day ended with exuberant dancing and rae drawings in the Diamond Bais Medrash.
Rav Moshe Schochet with his son-in-law Rav Shalom Rosen and grandson Shimshon
Mel Zachter learning with his son Yehuda and grandson Yitzchak
An empty seat was hard to nd as three (and sometimes four) generations sat down to learn together
Binyomin Feintuch learning with his grandson Shmuel Rebbee Hill kept the talmidim enraptured with his inspirational story
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Reaching the Whole Child

Principals and Teachers Focus on Students Academic and Personal Development
ccording to Mrs. Sara Malka Krasnow, assistant principal of the Elementary School, one of the dening characteristics of Yeshiva Darchei Torah is its focus on teaching the whole child. That means nding the magic balance between spontaneity and structure, between informality and authority, and between freedom and discipline. Were acutely aware that school is not every childs natural environment, in the sense that a typical school day can be very taxing for some children, she notes. Eleven-year-old boys are in school from 7:30 to 5:30 four days a week, in addition to the hours on Sunday and Friday. For barmitzvah age boys, the school day is twelve hours or more. Were very cognizant that sitting behind a desk, focusing on learning and producing original work for so many hours is hugely demanding. The majority does wonderfully, but were deeply aware that there are those who struggle. What happens when some students fail to achieve or whose progress is slower than that of their peers? Self-esteem can take a big blow, says Mrs. Krasnow. A child may lose interest, turn angry or bitter. One of the most important challenges in education is nding ways to help all children experience success, she says. We want them to enjoy learning and be proud of their achievements so they will go on to become lifelong learners. To do that we have to be creative and discover the route to bringing out each childs strengths.
Meeting with Elementary School talmidim who are new to the Yeshiva, in small groups, with cookies and soda, is one illustration of the many ways in which Darchei Torah provides a chinuch with a personal touch. Mrs. Ariella Kelman, principal (left); and Mrs. Sara Malka Krasnow, assistant principal, get to know the new talmidim.
We have to be creative and discover the route to bringing out each childs strengths. Often we partner with their families to understand and develop each childs interests.
Often we partner with our students families to understand and develop each childs interests. One of the rabbeim noticed one of his students looking downcast day after day, and drifting off by himself at recess, Mrs. Krasnow relates. The rebbi spent time speaking to the boy in an effort to understand what was happening. The child conded that he felt like a complete failure. He was not up to par in the classroom and he was clumsy on the ball eld. Because he perceived himself as not competent in any realm, he felt worthless.
The rebbi discovered that this student enjoyed drawing and was good at it. That discovery inspired him to suggest an art project that would give the boy a chance to feature his talent in monthly newsletters for the benet of the entire grade. The boy threw himself into the project and was gratied by the recognition he received from his peers. His poor self-image began to heal. Will one episode transform a childs life? Perhaps not, Mrs. Krasnow explains. But a policy of looking at the whole child, with concern for his emotional and physical well-being no less than his academic performance, will go far toward giving him the self-condence and tools needed to be successful in life. We see a childs time in Yeshiva Darchei Torah as his time in a safe, nurturing cocoon before having to enter the often harsh arena of the real world, she explains. This is our time to fortify, to build up, and to inundate our children with love. f
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Rosh Chodesh Davening Prepares Talmidim for Next Stage

For a third, fourth or fth grade talmid, tellah betzibbur is not something he gets to participate in every day. Although they daven together in the classroom with their rebbi, it is not the same as davening in a shul with a minyan. So every Rosh Chodesh, the third, fourth and fth grades gather in the Diamond Bais Medrash for a real davening, with the special Hallel, Krias HaTorah and Mussaf led by their rabbeim. This helps prepare them for the special experience of tellah betzibbur, something they will do daily once they get to sixth grade, explains Rav Dovid Morgenstern, menahel of the Upper Elementary School. It is beautiful to see our budding talmidei chachomim developing a sense of kavod haTorah and kavod hatellah. He adds that the power of tinokos shel beis rabban davening with such decorum and sincerity cannot be underestimated. When they say Amein Yehei Shmei Rabbah in unison, the sound resonates so powerfully, you cannot help but be moved.
38
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
You dont teach Gemara;
you teach Talmidim.

Rav Shimon Finkelman Infuses Every Talmid with Learning Skills and a Love of Torah
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
My aim is to help my talmidim love to learn, grow in learning, love to be a Yid and enjoy coming to Yeshiva.
40
recent visitor to Rav Shimon Finkelmans sixth grade classroom noticed that this distinguished mechanech and talmid chacham starts off the morning not with Gemara or Chumash but by relating inspiring stories of tzaddikim and other great Jews. Rav Finkelman explains that his aim is to help his talmidim love to learn, grow in learning, love to be a Yid and enjoy coming to Yeshiva. More specically, over the course of the year he will endeavor to help each one of these boys hone his skills of reading and understanding Gemara and attain a broad and deep knowledge of Chumash and Rashi. Rav Finkelman relates, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky used to say, you cant teach Chumash to a sixth grader the way you teach it to a rst grader. To accomplish all this, Rav Finkelman undoubtedly brings to bear his wealth of teaching experience, his broad knowledge in Torah and his legendary love for talmidim. But there is another fundamental goal that Rav Finkelman has. He strives to help each boy come away from the year with a pride and a love of being a Yid. And it is in pursuit of that lofty goal that his daily telling of stories of tzaddikim and other great Jews comes into play. The Chazon Ish says that the biggest mussar [lessons] are learning about tzaddikim, he explains. Years ago I heard from Rav Moshe Feigelstock that a rebbis main purpose of course you have to teach them Gemara and Chumash and Rashi and everything else but we can never forget that we have to instill in [the talmidim] Yiras Shamayim, a love for Yiddishkeit, a love for mitzvos. [Relating] stories of tzaddikim are a great medium for accomplishing that. After the inspirational stories are complete, Rav Finkelman begins the task of teaching Gemara and Chumash. After teaching for so many years and often the same material how does he stay fresh and energized? Rav Finkelman replies that he keeps in mind what Rav Pam ztl once said: You dont teach Gemara; you teach talmidim. Rav Finkelman elaborates that if his only focus was on imparting material, the risk for monotony would be too
great. But if your goal is [tackling] the challenge of this class of these particular boys and getting them to learn Gemara well, then its not hard to stay fresh. To succeed with his talmidim Rav Finkelman has to overcome a number of inherent challenges. One is to enable each talmid to grow on his level and to the best of his ability while remaining in sync with the overall class. An additional challenge is to keep each talmid focused on the spiritual goals of Torah despite the many distractions of contemporary life. Were up against a world full of things that are, at worst, contrary to what were trying to teach and, at best, distractions, Rav Finkelman says. Looking at his history, however, it is evident that this rebbi is up to the task and that with Siyata diShmaya he will continue reaching the mind and neshama of every single talmid under his care. We asked Rav Finkelman, a talmid of such luminaries as Rav Meir Hershkowitz and Rav Moshe Wolfson, if he has a particular role model or adheres to a specic educational philosophy. Rav Finkelmans answer reveals much about himself as well as Yeshiva Darchei Torah. When Rav Bender hired me, I remember that he said to me that he likes every rebbi to play to his [own] strengths. In teaching there is no one size ts all. Its hard to say that any one rebbi was my role model I try to take from everybody. Rav Finkelman has hundreds of talmidim in all walks of life who can testify to the impact that one year of learning under this master rebbi has had on their lives. Step outside Rav Finkelmans classroom, however, and you need not travel far to nd a shining example. Just across the hallway, in a parallel sixth grade class, a young and dynamic rebbi is also teaching talmidim. His name is Rav Peretz Strickman, and if you ask him to name one of his own primary role models, he has a quick answer. This up-and-coming mechanech, with his own classroom full of talmidim, points across the hallway to the domain of the talmid chacham who was his own sixth grade rebbi: Rav Shimon Finkelman. f
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JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
The about the Big Apple

Students Research and Skills Shine at Election Eve Event
Great Debate
and slogans; and informative he seventh graders regaled presentations on ve of New an audience of parents, York Citys mayors. A separate grandparents, teachers and Editors Committee and an Art fellow students on the eve Committee, comprised solely of of the New York City mayoral students, oversaw and polished election with a series of lively the written work on the tridebates, punctuated by riveting boards and campaign posters. oral and written presentations. The sheer volume of inforThe November event capped mation the students delivered weeks of painstaking research, and the creativity, humor and writing, artwork, debating praccoherence of their presentations tice and impressive teamwork. stunned observers. The students were guided by I was overwhelmed with the language arts teacher Mr. Daniel professionalism and tremendous Shuman and social studies teacher knowledge these young men Rabbi Menachem Bornstein, asdisplayed, said Rabbi Yaakov sisted by Rabbi Elazar Bronstein, Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva. a remedial English teacher. Student-generated campaign Four classes of seventh gradslogans such as Charter Schools ersabout 130 students in all Are Smarter and Dont Risk worked singly and in groups to Stop-and-Frisk heightened the master the relevant political issues central to the mayoral election and multiple skills involved in the twohour presentation. In addition to the 24 debaters, divided into 8 teams, the boys formed committees to create tri-board posters on the ve New York City boroughs; a series At the debate on Public Health and the Soda Ban. of campaign postFrom left, Kalman Yurman (obscured), Avi Steinberg, Eli Dachs, Mr. Dan Shuman (obscured), Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, ers using cartoons
Avrohom Yehuda Friedman, Yitzchak Isaac Ringo and Yitzchok Stern
I was overwhelmed with the professionalism and tremendous knowledge these young men displayed.
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I want to thank you for giving my son this multi-faceted opportunity to think through complex issues,develop his own opinions, learn how to articulate them andback them up with facts.
A partial view of the crowd of parents, grandparents and faculty in attendance
election night ambience in the Diamond Bais Medrash, where the event was staged. Four debates were held, and L-R: Yoel Rahmani and Ariel Goodstein preparing for their debate on charter they were moderated by New L-R: Nechemia Katz and Ahron Lauber schools preparing a campaign poster York State Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, a proud alumnus of the Rabbi Bornstein rst introduced the idea of a mayYeshiva. They focused on four aroral debate to their students. eas of key concern to New York City voters: the We staged a mock scenario of a stop-and-frisk economy, education, and public health and safety incident in which an innocent person is targeted, policies. knowing it would elicit a strong reaction from the Each debate provided for a three-member team boys against the practice, recalled Rabbi Bornstein. on each side of a campaign issue to present an openWe then explored the other side of the issue, pointing argument, a rebuttal and a concluding statement. ing out how stop-and-frisk can save lives, and chalDebaters fought it out over the hot-button islenged the boys to decide how they would vote. The sues of the millionaire tax as opposed to the spark caught and they were hooked. at tax; whether to raise the minimum wage; The debaters were selected after the students the subject of charter schools; the stop-and-frisk wrote persuasive essays on election issues. We policy; and Mayor Bloombergs soda ban. used the essays as a kind of yardstick to gauge A series of presentations on the lives and legatheir ability to articulate an opinion with logic cies of New York Citys past mayors, including and clarity, Mr. Shuman said. Some boys wrote Michael Bloomberg, Rudolph Giuliani, Ed Koch, excellent essays but were reluctant to debate. We David Dinkins and John Lindsay, delivered berespected that and assigned them to a different astween debates, provided historical context and pect of the project. In the end, every single seventh a framework for understanding how some of tograder had an important role. days political policies evolved. I want to thank you, one parent wrote the The tri-board displays about New York Citys Hanhala, for giving my son this multi-faceted opve boroughs tied together demographics, geograportunity to think through complex issues,develphy, the rich diversity of New York Citys neighop his own opinions, learn how to articulate them borhoods and other salient facts about Manhattan, andback them up with facts. Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island and Queens, inAnother thanked the teachers and Hanhala for cluding its Far Rockaway section. the truly wonderful learning experience the stuIt was truly impressive to watch their poise, dents gained from participating in this program. to see how well-prepared and articulate the boys My son spent so much time researching the were, commented Mr. Shuman. I think everyissues, gathering statistics and discovered a real inone was blown away by their performance. terest in policy and government, the writer conThe buildup to this remarkable event began tinued. Its a joy to see a child so engaged. f about a month earlier, when Mr. Shuman and
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MESIVTA CHAIM SHLOMO
Y
44
A FEat WoRtHY of
You could be forgiven for thinking it was a hachnosas sefer Torah that Motzaei Shabbos. With Beach 17th Street closed to trafc and a torch-lit procession with music, singing and dancing, you might have expected to see a new sefer Torah being inaugurated. However, instead of Torah Shebiksav, the cause for celebration was Torah Shebaal Peh. It was the Siyum Hagadol, when scores of talmidim of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid successfully completed the previous years masechtos, Bava Metzia and Sukkah. The festivities actually began more than 24 hours prior, with the onset of Shabbos. Nearly every rebbi and his family, and most of the bachurim, spent Shabbos together on campus. The delicious seudos were catered by Mrs. Chana Florans, the Yeshivas chef, and her crew. Zemiros and tellos were enhanced by a special guest, Reb Abish Brodt (of Regesh fame). The guest speaker for Shabbos was Rav Ephraim Eliyahu Shapiro, rav
Celebration
of Shaarei Tellah of North Miami Beach, who electried the crowd with three drashos. A late-Friday night Oneg Shabbos was lled with spirited singing and divrei Torah. All this was a prelude to the main event, the Siyum Hagadol. Motzaei Shabbos began, appropriately, with Torah. Five of the mesaymim offered original chiddushei Torah at a special gathering held at the home of the Rosh Kollel, Rav Dovid Bender, up the block from the Yeshiva. The parents of the bachurim shepped
SIyUM HAgAdOL MArKs COMpLeTION Of MAsechTOs by ScOres Of TALMIdIM, MUch Of IT LeArNed ON TheIr OwN TIMe
Reb Abish Brodt Yosef Keilson with his father, Tzvi, and grandfather, Lloyd Keilson (right). At left is Rav Avrohom Nusbaum Shmuli Tepfer Daniel Le Raphael Meiri
Rav Ephraim Eliyahu Shapiro
Yitzy Halpern with his sons. Numerous families came out to join the torch-lit procession.
L-R: Rav Avrohom Nusbaum, Rav Yosef Warman, Yehuda Sperling, Rav Yaakov Bender, Rav Zevi Trenk, Mr. Ronald Lowinger, Rav Menachem Sperling and Rav Moshe Bender
nachas as their sons spoke. The torch-lit procession was joined by families from throughout the Far Rockaway-Five Towns community, with ags and bags of nosh distributed to the children. The bachurim sang and danced their way to their beloved Yeshiva, their joy palpable and infectious. Once in the beis hamedrash, the mesaymim of each masechta gathered at the Aron Kodesh, rst Bava Metzia, followed by Sukkah. Once again bachurim delivered chiddushei Torah on the masechta. The rst Kaddish was led by the menahel, Rav Zevi Trenk, who invests his heart and soul into the success of the Siyum Hagadol each year. The second Kaddish was led by Mr. Yitzy Schuss, father of one
of the mesaymim. The guest speaker at the Siyum was Rav Yeruchim Shain, rosh yeshiva of the Adelphia Yeshiva. At a gala melave malka held in the dining hall, Rav Nosson Muller, menahel of Yeshiva Toras Emes Kamenitz, offered divrei chizuk. After Bircas Hamazon, the celebration continued in the Diamond Bais Medrash. As an orchestra played, the bachurim and rabbeim danced and sang with boundless energy late into the night. Many had been mesayem an entire masechta, many took written tests that conrmed their retention of their learning, while the rest celebrated with them, rejoicing in the very fact that they are privileged to be in that special class called lomdei Torah, those
who devote their days and nights to learning the Word of Hashem. Many bachurim were inspired to literally sign up for next year to commit to learn and nish this years masechta in time for next years Siyum Hagadol. May it be held in Yerushalayim! Why the big deal? Why go to such lengths to celebrate a siyum? Rav Zevi Trenk, menahel of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, explains: When a bachur nishes a masechta, and he sees how important it is to his rabbeim, to the people around him, to the entire community how they come out to celebrate with him this demonstrates their strong love for Torah, and it encourages him to continue and to aim for even greater heights. f
45
Yechiel Fragin leads the Hadran on Bava Metzia
Rav Nosson Muller, guest speaker at the Melave Malka
Rabbeim and talmidim rejoice
Naftali Schuss leads the Hadran on Sukkah
46
How Did They Do It?

Eli Scharf delivers chiddushei Torah on Bava Metzia
The main focus of the Yeshivas learning is on iyun (indepth learning), and not as much on bekius (covering ground). Yet, as Rav Zevi Trenk puts it, the Yeshiva encourages the bachurim to make siyumim because every Yid has to nish Shas. My rebbi, Rav Shmuel Berenbaum zatzal, was one of the gedolei hador in iyun, and he said that a bachur in yeshiva must nish the masechta. Rav Trenk adds, If someone nishes one masechta, he can learn another masechta. As an adam gadol once put it, You have to turn the pages. It is impossible for a bachur to have nished, for example, Maseches Bava Metzia only by participating in the basic sidrei hayeshiva. Those who were mesayem spent a signicant amount of their own time to reach their goal bein hasedarim, Shabbos, and bein hazmanim. The Yeshiva not only encourages the talmidim to nish; it also provides a number of ways to help them do it: Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, and Mr. Ronald Lowinger, president give weekly shiurim to Mesivta bachurim. Last year they completed between 20 and 30 blatt. Rav Pinchas Wachsman, a maggid shiur in Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid, gives a lightning 15-minute shiur every morning, Monday through Friday, during breakfast. Most of the bekius shiurim of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo cover much ground, as well. In addition, Rav Aaron Goldmans twelfth grade shiur completed both Chagigah and Rosh Hashana. This year, the Binyomin Klein Morning Kollel is going a long way to helping its member bachurim nish Gittin (see related article). These are but some of the ways that the Yeshiva actively assists its talmidim in completing the masechta.
Rav Yisroel Meir Stern dances with talmidim
Yehuda Aryeh Rosenblum delivers chiddushei Torah on Sukkah
Rav Yeruchim Shain, guest speaker at the Siyum
Rav Pinchas Wachsman gives a 15-minute voluntary shiur during the breakfast break, to help talmidim nish the masechta
Yeshiva President Ronald Lowinger (pictured) and Rosh HaYeshiva Rav Yaakov Bender each give a weekly shiur to help talmidim complete the masechta
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RAV SHAIMA GOLDBErg, CHIEF LIBrArIAN, DESCrIBES tHE DIAMOND OtZAr HASEFArIM OF MESIVtA CHAIM SHLOMO
The Treasury
How many sefarim are there in the Otzar? Approximately 8,500. On what topics? There are ve main sections in the Otzar: Rishonim, Acharonim, Halacha/Shailos Uteshuvos, Mussar and Chumash/ Tanach. There are also several minor sections,
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Shonim (miscellaneous); Moadim; Midrash; Pirkei Avos; Tellah; Taryag Mitzvos; Rambam and a combined section of Mishnayos/Yerushalmi/ Tosefta and Journals. We also have a number of sets of the classic Shas and the Hebrew elucidations as well. Plus an expanded reference section. Where do you get the sefarim? Most of our sefarim are purchased for us by Rav Avrohom Zelasko, an alumnus of the Yeshiva who lives in Lakewood. He makes sure we are up to date and even seeks out-of-print and rare titles and early editions. We get donations of brand-new sefarim as well. What is the purpose of the Otzar?
It contains a tremendous wealth of sefarim that talmidim, rabbeim and the wider community can use for reference, for research, or to help them prepare a shiur, a chaburah or a public drasha. There is no need to leave campus to nd a sefer; everything is here. We have the largest collection of sefarim in the Far Rockaway/Five Towns area. If someone cant nd what they are looking for I try to help them. How do you decide what goes in the main Beis Medrash as opposed to the Diamond Otzar Hasefarim? The basic sefarim that belong in a beis medrash Siddurim, Shas, Rambam, Halacha, Chumash and some Mussar, plus the mefarshim on the
masechta and sugyos the Yeshiva is currently learning - are all there. There are bookcases set aside for private sefarim, and beyond that there really is no room. That is where the Otzar comes in. In addition, there are some sections in the Zichron Avinoam Mussar Hall on the second oor. Are sefarim available to borrow? Only within the building. Beyond that the borrower needs to ask me personally, and I only lend a sefer if we own more than one copy. What does it take to maintain the Otzar? Two bachurim clean the room and organize the shelves twice a day. Its important to us that the Otzar stay neat and
presentable. When we get a new sefer we only bind it if it is likely to endure heavy wear and tear within a short amount of time. Otherwise we just stamp it, label it and register it. How is technology incorporated in the Otzar? We have a kiosk with a computer and printer that is user-friendly. It includes Otzar Hachochma, the largest digital collection of sefarim in the world with hundreds of thousands of searchable and printable titles. There is also the Bar-Ilan program and one similar database, as well as ArtScrolls Kleinman Mishkan multimedia software. We are planning to soon get HebrewBooks. orgs hard drive, which does not require internet access. Everything is selfcontained. f
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Encounters with Greatness

Throughout the year our talmidim are privileged to greet and to hear divrei chizuk from some of the leading talmidei chachamim of our time. These encounters with living embodiments of the Torahs ideals serve to reinforce the lessons that our talmidim absorb at the Yeshiva each day.
Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, rosh yeshiva of Philadelphia, greeting bachurim after davening Mincha at the Yeshiva. Here he is shown speaking to Shlomo Hirschey
The eighth graders visited Rav Dovid Feinstein, rosh yeshiva of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, with their rebbi and menahel, Rav Dovid Lan
Rav Reuven Feinstein, rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Staten Island, visiting the Weiss Vocational Center with Rav Shimon Dachs, who is the Centers director and co-principal of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo
Rav Yaakov Moshe Hillel, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hevrat Ahavat Shalom, Yerushalayim
L-R: Rav Binyomin Carlebach and Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel of Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim, with Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, after Rav Carlebach addressed the talmidim following Shacharis
Rav Aryeh Zev Ginzberg, rav of the Chofetz Chaim Torah Center in Cedarhurst, speaking at Kollel Tirtza Devorahs Chanukah Mesiba
Rav Elimelech Reznick, a maggid shiur in Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim
On a recent visit to Brooklyn, the seventh grade talmidim visited Rav Shlomo Braunstein, Menahel of Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Rav Shimshon Sherer, rav of Khal Zichron Mordechai, speaking at the Mesivta Chaim Shlomo Chanukah Mesiba
Rav Shmuel Witkin, rav of Khal Bnei Hayeshivos in North Woodmere, New York, speaking at a Mesivta melave malka. At left is Rav Zevi Trenk, menahel
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The Right Side of the Equation

For Mr. Scott Stark, Teaching Mathematics Runs in the Family
Why dO we Need TO LeArN ThIs? Children often challenge their teachers and parents about school assignments they nd difcult or tedious. Mr. Scott Stark, who teaches high school math to the 9th, 10th and 11th grades at Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, says he seldom gets that question from his students. One of his goals is to imbue from the very rst day the understanding that mathematics trains a person to think logically and rationally, and to understand the world we live in. These are skills that every person needs to have. Math is everywhere, he says. Take a look at current events. You hear that federal programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are putting the country 18 trillion dollars in debt. How many people know how many zeroes are in that number, and how soon that number can jump to 180 trillion? If my generation doesnt grasp these numbers and their implications, what does that portend for our children? A seasoned teacher with more than 20 years of experience working for the New York City Department of Education, Mr. Stark also serves as an adjunct professor of mathematics at Nassau Community College, in addition to teaching four days a week at the Mesivta. Asked how he manages to juggle so many jobs, he quips, By getting summers off. Mr. Stark teaches 12 periods a week in geometry and trigonometry at Mesivta Chaim Shlomo. A rm believer in a teachers responsibility to reach every student, he dismisses the belief that some people are just no good at math. Ive heard the theories about the right brain and the left brain, he says. But Im convinced that if you understand how a students mind works, work with him and break it down the right wayhell eventually succeed. Theres a joy that comes with mastery, he says. The trick is to harness the immense energy these boys have. He uses competition as a tool. Some days the room is in an uproar. An outsider might wonder what in the world is going on. But you listen in and the excitement is all about whos going to be rst to gure out what X is. His teaching style is to empower students by providing instruction and direction, then launching the boys on their own journey in nding the mathematical solution. Im there supervising, steering them when necessary. But they do the work. And they get rewarded with the joy of discovery, the joy of achievement and mastery. Mesivta Chaim Shlomo students take learning seriously, he says. He has not yet had to fail anyone. If theres a problem, we catch it right away, he asserts. Parents in this school are glad to work with you. One phone call and you get results. The same is true of the administration. Theyre very supportive. Its a pleasure to teach here. Mr. Stark excels with our students, explains Rav Menachem Gold, Co-Principal of the Mesivta, not only because of his expertise in mathematics and the nuances of the Regents exams, but also because of his very obvious care and concern for his students. He thoroughly enjoys math its literally in his blood, as his father also taught high school mathematics. We are so glad that he followed in his fathers footsteps! f
BEis MEDrash HEiChaL DoViD
EQuipping the Bachurim with Tools to Understand the Sugya at Hand and Every Gemara in Shas
The Rosh Yeshivas Shiur

A
bachur in Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid will usually spend his rst year in the shiur of Rav Pinchas Wachsman, followed by two years in the shiur of Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, Rosh Yeshiva. The Rosh Yeshiva describes the purpose of his shiur, given four days a week, as twofold: the rst is to help the the bachurim develop their havana (comprehension) of the main points of the sugya and to provide them with an underlying mehalech (approach) to understanding it; the other is more broad: to train them to further develop their analytical skills of lomdus to a degree that they will be able to delve into any sugya in Shas and understand it in a profound way. The Rosh Yeshiva explains: The shiur brings out the yesodos, the fundamental principles of the particular sugya that we are learning. Moreover, as we explore each chakirah and svarah in our sugya,
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we are slowly building a framework that can be utilized when learning any sugya. The end result is that a bachurs thought process is trained to think lomdish analytically when approaching any Gemara in Shas, and even when learning Chumash and Rashi. Preparation for shiur begins at the very beginning of morning seder, when the bachurim are given marei mekomos, the source notes for the shiur. Having already learned the Gemara, Rashi and Tosafos, each bachur and his chavrusa are directed by the marei mekomos to the passages from the Rishonim and Acharonim that will be relevant to the shiur. The shiur itself lasts just under
an hour, and is attended by all the bachurim in their second and third year of Beis Medrash. During night seder, the bachurim are intently focused on chazara, reviewing the shiur with the aid of their chavrusa, their handwritten notes, or a digital recording of the shiur. In addition, Reb Eli Winzelberg, a talmid of the Rosh Yeshiva and current member of the Kollel, attends the shiur each day and leads a group of bachurim in chazara every night. Over the course of his two years in the Rosh Yeshivas shiur, a bachur will emerge with a rm grounding in lomdus. Having covered ground in two or more masechtos, he will have encountered ample examples
ery other week, which has a different purpose, says the Rosh Yeshiva, in that we take a difcult Rambam or sugyos elsewhere in Shas and glean principles which are important for the long term, but contain a lot of information not directly related to the particular blatt that we are learning in the regular shiur. This is also an integral part of the process of training for lomdus. Rav Avrohom Indich is a shoel umeishiv in Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid. He relates that when speaking to talmidim at one of the elite yeshivos of Yerushalayim, he conrmed that the alumni of Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid learning at that yeshiva clearly bear the
is that a bachurs thought process is trained to think lomdish analytically when approaching any Gemara in Shas.
of Shas concepts such as rov, chazakah, hamotzi mechaveiro alav harayah, and a multitude of others, in a variety of different scenarios. As a result of listening to and working on the shiurim, he will have absorbed the Rosh Yeshivas approach to analyzing and applying those principles and will now be armed with powerful tools that he can bring to his learning for the rest of his life. After three years in Beis Medrash, bachurim will nearly always go on to the great yeshivos of Eretz Yisrael, advised by the Rosh Yeshiva as to which yeshiva and which maggid shiur will be best suited to their continued growth. There is also shiur klali evimprint of the years in the Rosh Yeshivas shiur. They denitely have certain advantages over alumni of the other great American yeshivos, he asserts. Rav Indich adds that the Rosh Yeshiva accomplishes something extraordinary: I have found, when speaking to bachurim, that every single one comes out of each shiur having gained tremendously. This is not a shiur tailored for the best and the brightest at the expense of everyone else; to the contrary, the average bachurim gain all the necessary tools, as the Rosh Yeshiva intended, while the advanced bachurim are awed at the scope of the shiur. f
As we explore each chakirah and svarah in our sugya, we are slowly building a framework that can be utilized when learning any sugya. The end result
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BEis MEDrash HEiChaL DoViD
Motty Klein learning with Rav Shimon Dov Notis (left) and Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid bachurim before Shacharis at the Morning Kollel lizecher nishmas his son, Binyomin Tzvi ah
MorNINg
Stars
Makkos, Megillah and Sukkah and is on track to complete Gittin, the masechta the Yeshiva is currently learning. At a recent siyum, bachurim spoke and described how this seder literally changes their entire day, Rav Notis relates. They are certainly not the only ones learning in the beis medrash at that hour, but rabbeim have commented about how gevaldig it is when they come in early for davening and there is already a beautiful kol Torah resonating in the room. There is no question, Rav Notis continues, that it changes my day. Im a dierent person. Its a dierent davening [afterwards]. Its a dierent day. And there is no question that besides the positive impact the Morning Kollel is having on the lives of its members and the Yeshiva as a whole, that it is also providing an aliyah for the neshama of Binyomin Tzvi, ah, ben Mordechai Halevi. f
In Binyomin Klein Morning Kollel, 35 Bachurim Make Great Strides
hen Binyomin Klein, ah, was suddenly niftar in the spring of 2012 at the age of 30, Rav Shimon Dov Notis, a maggid shiur in Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, went to be menachem avel his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Motty Klein. Shaken by the tragedy and resolved to do something tting in Binyomins memory, Rav Notis suggested to Mr. Klein that they start a morning kollel at the Yeshiva. Mr. Klein agreed. It is nearly two years later and the kollel is still going strong. We learn an amud a day, every day, Rav Notis explains. We begin at 7:00 a.m. and learn for 35 minutes, until Shacharis, Sunday through Friday. Shabbos is for chazara. Although it is a kollel, a term usually used for married men, it is actually comprised of 35 Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid bachurim, and has already completed Masechtos
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WEISS VOCATIONAL CENTER
Weiss Vocational Center Gets a Facelift
he Weiss Vocational Center recently underwent the rst renovation in its 19-year history, with the restoration of its main lobby area, two classrooms and its exterior facade. The project was designed by Rav Shimon Dachs, director of the Center, with the assistance of Yeshiva parents Mimi Fragin and Shevi Jacobowitz, and implemented under the personal direction of Rav Moshe Lubart, a rebbi and instructor at the Center. The Weiss Vocational Center offers a select group of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo talmidim the opportunity to spend a portion of their afternoons being trained in plumbing, electricity, carpentry, auto mechanics, heating and air conditioning and home wiring. Our center is housed in the oldest building on campus, Rav Dachs explains, and its condition had been run-down and plainly not conducive to helping our talmidim get the most out of the courses. Thanks to the generosity of several individual donors, we are nally able to give this trailblazing program the home it deserves, a place our talmidim can be proud to learn in. f
Rav Shimon Dachs, director of the Weiss Vocational Center and co-principal of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, with Rav Moshe Brown, rav of Agudath Israel of West Lawrence and maggid shiur in Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, during Rav Browns visit to the newly-renovated Center
A view of the lobby of the Weiss Vocational Center, one of the areas that was refurbished
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KOLLEL TIRTZA DEVORAH
The Crown
THE YOUNG SCHOLARs OF KOLLEL TIRtZA DEVORAH EXERt A POsItIVE INFLUENCE ON tHE YEsHIVA ANd tHE WIdER COMMUNIty
e walks the streets of Far Rockaway, this young man, his appearance simple yet dignied, his face bespeaking contentment and nobility of purpose. He heads down the street towards Yeshiva Darchei Torah, but he is neither a rebbi nor a bachur. He is a kollel yungerman. He enters the building of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, deposits his hat in the coatroom and makes his way to the cavernous beis hamedrash. Within a few minutes this study hall will begin to ll with teenage boys, the talmidim of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and their older counterparts in Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid. For now, the yungerman takes his seat in the right-of-center section, at one of the 400-plus wooden shtenders, and opens his Gemara. He begins to sing.
The song of Torah. The song of life. Pretty soon his chavrusa will arrive, as will their 28 fellow members of Kollel Tirtza Devorah, Yeshiva Darchei Torahs elite group of married scholars. Their leader is Rav Dovid Bender, the Rosh Kollel and eldest son of Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva. During rst seder the yungeleit will learn Maseches Gittin, the masechta that the rest of the Yeshiva is learning. In the afternoon, for second seder, many will continue Gittin, while others will join a halacha chaburah. At night they will all return for the nal seder of the day, except for those in shana rishona, their rst year of marriage, who learn at home. They will continue this routine day after day, week after week. Dreams of parnassah or a career
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Jewels
Rav Dovid Bender, Rosh Kollel (right) with yungeleit
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KOLLEL TIRTZA DEVORAH
The 30 members of Kollel Tirtza Devorah learn in the main beis hamedrash morning, afternoon and night
are deferred. The world can wait. First comes Torah. Torah for its own sake. WHY A KOLLEL? We pose the question to Rav Dovid Bender, who explains that while the Yeshiva had been considering the idea for some time, it did not come to fruition until the alumni asked for it. In 2005 a small group requested if, instead of going to Lakewood after returning from Eretz Yisrael, they could return to Yeshiva. The Hanhala agreed, and the rest is history. A history that is still unfolding. By returning to Darchei Torah, these alumni not only gained from continuing their learning, albeit on an advanced level, in familiar surroundings with access to and guidance from their rabbeim; they also laid the groundwork for an entirely new division of the Yeshiva, one that has transformed the rest of the Yeshiva and whose inuence extends well beyond the campus gates. We made this kollel for the benet of the yungeleit themselves, so that they would have a program and environment that would be conducive to their continued growth, Rav Dovid Bender explains. The growth is not only in Torah learning per se, but also in hashkafa (outlook) and middos, and in general, as a ben Torah, as a talmid chacham. Nine years after its founding, the kollel has enjoyed great success, both in its effect on its own members and on the wider Yeshiva. There are very few yungeleit left from that original group, Rav Dovid relates. Most have moved
on and taken jobs in a variety of elds, from the rebbi in Phoenix, Arizona to the local deputy head of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway to the social workers and accountants. Every single one of the alumni of the kollel gained something great: a stronger grounding in Torah and hashkafa than he would have had otherwise, and, I
They have helped raise the learning level in the entire yeshiva.
venture to say, a stronger marriage. There is something to be said about starting off married life with several years in kollel. As for the kollels impact on the Yeshiva, it is self-evident. When a bachur, be he in ninth grade or third-year Beis Medrash or anywhere in between, rubs shoulders with a real kollel yungerman, his eyes are open to a living example of what he can become, what he can strive for. Talmid chacham? That is not an obscure concept, only to be found in the far-off precincts of Lakewood or Yerushalayim. Its right here. Without preaching, each member of the kollel sends a message, a message that comes with being a role model: Apply yourself, and you can do it too. By osmosis, they have helped raise the learning
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Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, Rosh Yeshiva, delivering a chaburah
cal mosdos, as well, adding to the broader impact the kollel is having on the greater community. The primary impact, says Rav Dovid, is the live picture each one projects of a serious yungerman. People are impressed with them.
Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, delivering a vaad on parenting and shalom bayis
level in the entire yeshiva, Rav Dovid asserts. In addition, several yungeleit serve as shoel umeishivs in the Mesivta and Beis Medrash, and next year two members are slated to become rabbeim in the Yeshiva Darchei Torah Elementary School. RAV DOVid BENdEr is a self-effacing individual, but it is clear that his leadership has been critical to the kollels success. He is there every day, morning till night, learning with the yungeleit, challenging them with an added dimension of pilpul chaveirim and delivering occasional chaburos. Beyond that, he is the Yeshivas resident posek, available to quietly advise the yungeleit in all matters of halacha. His wife, Rebbetzin Hennie Bender, plays a complementary role with the kollel wives, whose valiant efforts ensure that their husbands can sit and learn as they provide the moral - and often nancial support to make kollel life work. The Roshei Yeshiva, Rav Yaakov Bender and Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, give of their time to guide the yungeleit, as well, both one-on-one and for the group as a whole. Rav Yaakov Bender delivers a vaad on parenting and shalom bayis every second week. Rav Altusky gives a weekly vaad in hashkafa as well as a chaburah . Taken together, these interactions with their Roshei Yeshiva propel the yungeleit to aim higher in their learning, their yiras Shamayim, their fatherhood, and all facets of their growth. During Second Seder, the option of learning a halacha-oriented sugya is available. This year it is Hilchos Muktzeh. They begin from the relevant Gemaros and continue through the Rishonim, Shulchan Aruch and the Mishnah Berurah. Previous subjects covered include Bishul, Brachos, Basar Vchalav and Taaruvos. This halacha track broadens both their knowledge base as well as their horizons in Torah. Many yungeleit have their own sons enrolled in the Yeshiva, with daughters in local Beis Yaakovs. Nearly every member lives in Far Rockaway many in the immediate neighborhood of the Yeshiva and several have already bought homes in the area. Some kollel wives work as teachers and secretaries in lo-
It iS 10:30 P.m. The streets are dark and nearly empty. Our yungerman makes his way home, retracing his steps from earlier in the day. His body is tired, but his spirit is buoyant. His thoughts are of a lofty kind, of Torah, of avodah, of chesed. He reaches for his cellphone and calls his wife, his partner in this sacred career, to tell her that he will be home soon. Then he makes another call. This one is to his mother, many miles away. Rewind 25 years. Outside, the sun is dipping towards the horizon. Inside, the Shabbos preparations are complete. All thats left to do is light the candles. Her infant son gurgles contentedly in a nearby playpen as she strikes a match. As the ames illuminate the room and the house, she covers her face with her hands. She davens. She davens for her son. Eibishter, give me the privilege of raising children and grandchildren, wise menwho love and fear Hashem. Men of truth, holy progeny who cling to You...who illuminate the world with Torah and good deeds and all the work of serving Hashem... She sheds a tear, a tear of hope for her child. The phone is ringing. It is Thursday night, and her son, the kollel yungerman, is calling. Her son, the talmid chacham. The answer to her prayers. f For more information about the Kollel or dedication opportunities, please call Rabbi Zev Bald at 718.868.2300 ext. 219 or Rabbi Baruch Rothman at 718.868.2300 ext. 706
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ALUMNI REPORT
he latest project developed by the committee of the Yeshiva Darchei Torah Alumni Association is a series of shiurim, given approximately once every two months, from Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva. In these shiurim, entitled Chinuch Begins at Home, Rav Bender focuses on parenting and shalom bayis. The shiurim are hosted by a rotation of married alumni; so far all have been held in Far Rockaway and the Five Towns.
New Series of Parenting Shiurim from the Rosh HaYeshiva

It is an opportunity to spend time with Rav Bender in a more intimate setting, explains Tzvi Sussman, a member of the alumni committee who hosted a recent shiur, and ask questions and broach topics that are very relevant in todays day and age. The overall environment is easygoing and relaxed, enabling us to discuss important aspects of chinuch and raising kids. Some of the topics include: Love and Discipline, You Can Do It, Hakoras Hatov and Nurturing a Childs Thirst for Learning.
Alumni Shadchan Network Formed

To serve alumni of the Yeshiva who are single, Rav Ezra Rosner, an alumnus of the Yeshiva and a member of its Kollel, was appointed by the Yeshiva as coordinator of the Alumni Shadchan Network. Rav Ezra spends countless hours of every day and night speaking on the telephone and in person with alumni, their parents, and prospective shidduchim. In the months since he began this project he has concluded a number of successful shidduchim, but more importantly, he has assisted many single alumni in navigating the sometimes turbulent waters of shidduchim. Ezra is the perfect person for this job, says Rabbi Moshe Benoliel, director of alumni affairs, because he genuinely cares about the alumni, and he is relentless when pursuing a goal. The fact that the Hanhala asked him to do this is the latest example of how Yeshiva Darchei Torahs relationship with its talmidim does not end
when they leave. The rabbeim stay involved in their lives. A Darchei talmid is forever. It is hoped that other alumni who are shadchanim will soon get involved, as well, enabling a true network to be formed and multiplying the impact that Rav Rosner is already having.
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Shmuess Hub Enables Alumni to Listen In

As described in previous issues, email updates are sent on a nearly-weekly basis to alumni around the world to keep them abreast of news about the Yeshiva and their fellow alumni. In addition, CDs are mailed out each week of shmuessin and vaadim held at the Yeshiva and at alumni events. Now a digital resource has been made available to the alumni, dubbed The Shmuess Hub, to allow them to listen or download vast amounts of inspiring audio from their rabbeim directly from their computers. For more information, please email alumni@darchei.org.
Rosh Yeshiva Addresses Alumni in Lakewood
Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky, Rosh Yeshiva, visits Lakewood several times a year to address alumni with divrei hisorirus
Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva, traveled to Eretz Yisrael in January, accompanied by Associate Dean Rav Moshe Bender. The two visited many of the senior gedolei hador to consult on a variety of issues. They also visited many of the yeshivos where alumni are learning. One evening the Rosh HaYeshiva addressed a gathering of married alumni on the topics of parenting and shalom bayis. On Motzaei Shabbos a festive melave malka was held in Yerushalayim for close to 200 alumni. It was also attended by Rav Moshe Krasnow, a rebbi in the Yeshiva, and Mr. Sholom Dov Rothman, a past president of Yeshiva Darchei Torah as well as Mesivta Chaim Shlomo who now lives in Eretz Yisrael.
Stay Connected!
Attention Alumni! Stay informed. Be inspired. Reconnect with your yeshiva and your friends. Make sure the Alumni Association has your correct address and contact information.
Email us: alumni@darchei.org Call us: 718-868-2300 ext. 317 Text YDTALUMNI to 22828 to join our email list
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KUVIEN IMAGES
Alumni Reunite in Eretz Yisrael
photos by the Voice of Lakewood
ALUMNI REPORT
Alumni at the Dinner
The Rosh HaYeshiva with Chesky Newman
Yaakov Adler and the Rosh HaYeshiva
The Rosh Yeshiva with Shimmy Sussman
Yehuda Schwartz and the Rosh HaYeshiva
Mordechai Yormark with the Rosh HaYeshiva
Menachem Pollack with the Rosh HaYeshiva
Eli Weinberg with the Rosh HaYeshiva
Eli Weiss and Tzvi Pancer
The Rosh Hayeshiva with Dovid Yedidya Mark
Shmuel Tennenbaum, the Rosh HaYeshiva and Yitzchok Wiener
Dovid Wenger, the Rosh HaYeshiva and Moshe Chaim Horowitz
L-R: Meir Weinreb, Pesach Reiss, Moshe Lipschitz, Moshe Benoliel and Ezra Rosner
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Mazel Tov
Chayim Adelman 09M,10B on his marriage to Chani Kramer of Brooklyn Yaakov 06B and Deena Malka Adler on the birth of a daughter, Racheli Dovid Zvi 80E and Suri Alter on the marriage of their son Yehuda Leib Altusky 03E,06M,08B on his marriage to Nechoma Pollack of Monsey Moshe 06M,09B and Rochel Aronov on the birth of a son Dovi 98E and Devorah Baida on the birth of a daughter, Nechama Mayer 95E and Esty Baida on the birth of a daughter, Chaya Sara Doniel 04E and Chasya Bain on the birth of a daughter, Faigy Dovid Bain 00E,04M,B on his marriage to Tobi Rottman of Miami Beach Nosson 99E,03M,06B and Nechama Bain on the birth of a daughter, Sarah Ezra Balsam 04E,08M,11B on his marriage to Shira Silberberg of Baltimore Chaim 02M and Mati Becker on the birth of a daughter, Ahuva Yitzy Berg 05E,09M,12B on his marriage to Esther Serle of Queens Aryeh Berkowitz 02E and his wife on the birth of a daughter Dov Aryeh Berkowitz 98E on his marriage Yaakov 05M,08B and Leah Bienstock on the birth of a daughter Simcha 88E and Rochel Blaney on the birth of a daughter, Toba Esther Yissachar 93E and Rena Blinder on the birth of a daughter Yisroel Meir 89E and Yehudis Blumenkrantz on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Moshe Shimon; and on the birth of a son Yisroel Meir 07M and Chayee Bookman on the birth of twins: a son, Efraim Aryeh and a daughter, Aliza Chezky 06M and Rivkah Brach on the birth of a son Menachem 97E and Basya Brickman on the birth of a son Yosef Bronstein and his wife on the birth of a son Avi 97E and Rina Burg on the birth of a son Avi Davidov 08M on his marriage to Sigalit Itshakov Avraham and Sori Deutsch on the birth of a son Ari 99E,03M and Sarit Dicker on the birth of a son, Nachum Boruch Dov 06M,09B and Frumie Diskind on the birth of a son Yitzy Drillman 05E,09M,12B on his marriage to Pessie Rudinsky of Monsey Jonathan 92E and Daniella Dyckman on being honored at the annual dinner of Kehilas Ishei Yisrael of Kew Garden Hills Yacov Asher 00M and Estee Engel on the birth of a daughter, Yocheved Pinchas Farber 04E on his marriage to Leora Herzig of Toronto Shimon Farber 09M on his marriage to Batsheva Berry of Brooklyn Zvi Yaakov Feifer 04E on his marriage to Brochi Landau of Lakewood Moshe Shlomo Feivelson 08M on his marriage to Michal Nitsun of St. Louis Tzvi Fischer 09B on his marriage to Faigy Perlstein of Brooklyn Dovid 03E,07M and Menucha Fogel on the birth of a son Tzvi Shaul Frankel 01E,04M on his appointment as assistant professor at Yale Universitys Department of Mathematics Eli Moshe Friedman 04E,08M,10B on his marriage to Naomi Himy of Monsey Reuvain 03E,07M,10B and Chani Garnkel on the birth of a son Dovid 85E and Rivky Geller on the bar mitzvah of their son, Shlomala Yehuda 99E,03M,05B and Tzippora Gelman on the birth of a son, Moshe Aharon 04E,08M and Adina Gerson on the birth of a son, Yaakov Yehoshua Yossi 07M,10B and Aviva Gindo on the birth of a son Sholom 01M,03B and Aviva Goldberg on the birth of a son Simcha 90E and Mala Goldberg on the birth of a son Yosef 00M,03B and Chani Goldberg on the birth of a daughter, Atara Malka Dovid Goldgrab 03E on his marriage Tuvia 02M,06B and Chani Goldstein on the birth of a son, Rafael Dov Yochanan 99M,01B and Chani Gordon on the birth of a daughter, Ariella Miriam Yudi 89E and Shoshana Gordon on the birth of a son, Moshe Dovid Yoel 94E and Naomi Glenn on the birth of a son Avrohom Baruch 04E,08M,10B and Aviva Greenblatt on the birth of a son, Yehuda Aryeh Doni Gross 11B on his marriage to Sara Lehrman of Brooklyn Menashe Gross 02E on his marriage Sruly 88E and Hudy Grunberger on the bar mitzvah of their son, Zalman Chaim Yossi Gruner 01E and his wife on the birth of a daughter Akiva Homan 07E on his marriage Yehuda Holzer 04E on his engagement to Talia Pruzansky Moshie 06M and Naomi Horn on the birth of a daughter, Malka Ora Simcha Horowitz 08M,11B on his marriage to Chavy Wilhelm of Lakewood Ahron 02B and Mrs. Jacobovich on the birth of a son Dovid Tzvi 99M and Shani Jacobs on the birth of a daughter Mosey 99M,05B and Shira Kaplan on the birth of a daughter Uri 80E and Devorah Katz on the marriage of their daughter Yanky 89E and Mrs. Kleinman on the birth of twin sons Yoni 04E,08M and Tara Klestzick on the birth of a son Moshe Kops 99E and his wife on the birth of a daughter Michoel Koso 03E,07M,08B on his engagement to Malky Brodsky of Lakewood Yehuda Kram 11B on his marriage to Avigayil Kaminetsky of Lakewood Betzalel Krasnow 05E,09M,12B on his marriage to Lea Biegleisen of Lakewood
63
ALUMNI REPORT
Yair Kugel 08M on his engagement to Chava Devora Rosenwasser of Monsey Avi 06M,09B and Malka Baila Lauterbach on the birth of a son, Yehuda Yosef Le 06E,10M on his marriage to Esti Kaplan of Passaic Aryeh Lerer 02E,06M on his engagement Daniel 04M,07B and Miriam Lichtman on the birth of a daughter, Tamar Yael Shaya 00M and Garyn Lieber on the birth of a son, Benjy Yechiel 03E and Rivka Lieberman on the birth of a daughter Yehoshua Mandelbaum 08M,09B on his engagement to Feiga Sora Tropper of Baltimore Yitzchok 97E,01M,04B and Liba Mark on the birth of a son Yoni Markowitz 00E on his marriage Aharon Martin 00E and his wife on the birth of a son Meshulem Zev Mayer 11M on his marriage Eliyahu Mayerfeld 08M,11B on his marriage to Shira Rietti of Monsey Yehuda Leib 05M,08B and Brocha Liba Mayerfeld on the birth of a daughter, Chana Ephraim Meth 99E and his wife on the birth of a son Moshe Mezei 09M on his marriage to Elisheva Goldhar of Passaic Yakov David and Fayge Mirocznik 89E on the birth ofa son Yaakov 05B and Ronit Moddel on the birth of a son Yaakov Yosef Monczyk 00E,04M,08B on his marriage to Sima Rosenberg of the Lower East Side Yisroel and Devorah Moshen on the birth of a daughter, Miriam Netanel Naamat 97E on receiving smicha Yaakov 01E,05M and Bruria Neuman on the birth of a daughter, Hadassah Chesky 00M,03B and Naomi Newman on the birth of a son, Yisroel Yaakov Moshe 03E,07M and Tehilla Ney on the birth of a son Meshulem Novoseller 11M on his engagement to Shaina Feldman Eliyahu 08M,10B and Chava Gitty Oppen on the birth of a son, Yehuda Meir 05M,10K and Chana Sara Oratz on the birth of a daughter Aron 05E,09M and Mindy Parnes on the birth of a son Aharon 03E and Mrs. Pfeier on the birth of a daughter Avrohom Chaim Platschek 03E,07M on his marriage to Mari Pelcovitz of Lawrence Shlomo Platschek 05E on his marriage to Racheli Lisker Yanky 07K and Rochel Potash on the birth of a son Eli Press 11M on his marriage to Esther Swerdlik of Far Rockaway Yitzy 94E and Yaa Pretter on the birth of a son Nissan 06M,09B and Sarah Gitty Profesorske on the birth of a son Avrohom Prupas 08B on his marriage to Cheli Muskat Yehuda 05B and Etah Rais on the birth of a son, Yair Mordechai Aron Zvi Rayman 12B on his marriage Chaim Asher Reisman 10M,13B on his engagement to Raizy Messner of Kensington Zevi Rhodes 02E,06M on his engagement Dovid Roll07M,09B on his marriage to Chani Krumholtzof Edison, NJ Yaacov 04M,07B and Rochel Rowner on the birth of a daughter, Ahuvah Dovi 00E,04M,05B and Diana Saer on the birth of a daughter, Tamar Kayla Yitzi Saer 02E,06M on his marriage to Shani Gluck Shaya Samet 03E,07M on his marriage to Meira Zacks of Toronto Binyamin Samuels 05E on his marriage Jonie 99E,03M,07B and Chaviva Sarf on the birth of a daughter, Ruchama Esther Aryeh 92E and Esther Satt on the birth of a son, Yaakov Mordichai Yaakov Schuss 05E on his engagement Avrumi 92E and Ronit Schwartz on the birth of a son Shlomo Schwed 98E and his wife on the birth of a son Yosef Chaim Selah 12B on his marriage to Simi Yurowitz of Staten Island Michoel Sharian 10M,11B on his engagement Dovid Sichel 01M and his wife on the birth of a son Yaakov 00E,04M and Leah Sod on the birth of a daughter Menachem 99M and Michal Soer on the birth of a daughter Yaakov 01E,05M and Kayla Soer on the birth of a son, Yoel Zevy 99M and Shevy Stern on the birth of a daughter, Masha Yehudis. Eliyahu 01E,05M,08B and Malkie Sternberg on the birth of a son Yeruchem Stone 07M,08B on his marriage Yehuda Strickman 05E on his marriage to Basya Waxman of Brooklyn Shimmy 01M,04B and Rochel Sussman on the birth of a son, Mordechai Simcha 89E and Mimi Sussman on the birth of a son. Yitzchok Elya 85E and Rivky Sussman on the Bar Mitzvah of their son Benyamin Tach 12B on his marriage to Karmela Rubinov Yossi 04E,08M,11B and Yehudis Tendler on the birth of a daughter Ephraim 13B and Michal Tuchman on the birth of a son Pinchas 01E and Shulamis Vogel on the birth of a son, Yosef Dov Ari Weiss 10B on his marriage to Mimi Reich of Lawrence Eli Weiss 10B (Monsey) on his engagement to Zahava Brown of Flatbush Eli 06M, 09B and Rivky Winzelberg on the birth of a son, Yosef Asher Witty 12M on his engagement to Aliza Bregin of Baltimore Moshe Nosson 99E,03M,04B and B.T. Wol on the birth of a son Benyamin 04E,08M,10B and Rochel Wolfson on the birth of a daughter, Tzipora Yisroel Yavne 02E on his marriage to Miriam Selinger of Monsey Aryeh 84E and Adeena Zabrowsky on the engagement of their daughter Yehuda Zutler 09M,12B on his engagement to Ariella Sommerstein of Cedarhurst
[All alumni simchos submitted after Sukkos 5774 have been included.]
Kos Tanchumim
Heshy Friedlander 82E on the passing of his mother Moishe Golomb 04M on the passing of his father Boruch Binyomin 00M,03B and Zisel Kitay on the passing of their son Aryeh 02E,06M, Eliyahu Zalman 05E, Menachem 00E,04M and Binyamin 08E,12M Lereron the passing of their mother Avi Mordechai 03E,07M on the passing of his father Yonatan Osyatinsky 12E on the passing of his father Chaim Plumer 00M on the passing of his father Dovid Sichel 01M on the passing of his mother Yosef Wartelsky 02M on the passing of his mother
ohkaurhu iuhm hkct rta lu,c of,t ojbh v
64
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Yeshiva Darchei Torah

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41st Annual Dinner

This winter an estimated 1500 parents, grandparents, alumni and friends participated in the Yeshivas annual dinner, an inspiring event that paid tribute to several distinguished honorees, the pioneer class of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and the Yeshiva itself. The theme of the evening was Preparing a Child for Life. Coverage begins on page 12.
Design By: David Benoliel, 718.207.2125, db@davidbenoliel.com

Bedarchei Hatorah #35 Spring2014 HI

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SPRING 5774/2014 // NO.

Yeshiva Darchei Torah

Dedicate a Day of Eternity.

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

FROM THE ROSH HAYESHIVA

So much of the Pesach Seder is built around our children,

Rabbi Yaakov Bender

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Five Distinguished Rabbeim Join Faculty

Executive Board Welcomes New Members

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Hascholas Chumash is Launched with March

Chumash, Brought to Life

Lights Go Out, Learning Goes On

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Shnayim Mikra Program a Resounding Success

Rosh HaYeshiva at Agudah Convention

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Menorah Fair Illuminates

Talmidim Raise $200K for Needy in One Day

Visiting the Sofer

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Becoming Students of AAroN

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Rav Yaakov Bender

Rav Eytan Feiner, Harbotzas Torah Award

Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky

The Pioneer Class of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Rav Yaakov Bender and Aron Solomon

Rav Yaakov Bender and Zev Karasick

Rav Yehuda Harbater and Elisha Brecher

Rav Yaakov Bender and Mordechai Schwartz

Rav Yaakov Bender and Michael Fragin

Yitzy Schuss and Rav Moshe Bender

Rav Yaakov Bender and Nochum Wolf

Rav Yaakov Bender and State Senator Simcha Felder

Rav Yaakov Bender and Yoav Taub

Rav Yaakov Bender and Tzvi Perl

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

L-R: Yosef Elefant, Mendy Elefant and Rav Zev Bald

L-R: Berel Kleinbart, Rav Yaakov Bender and Binyomin Kleinbart

L-R: Rav Tzvi Feiner and Rav Eytan Feiner

Rav Yaakov Bender and Robert Slepoy

Rav Yaakov Bender and Alon Goldberger

Rav Yaakov Bender and Zvi Bloom

Rav Yaakov Bender and Robert Marx

Rav Yaakov Bender and Eytan Feldman

L-R: Rav Eytan Feiner and Dr. Leonard Feiner

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Rav Yaakov Bender and Kal Renov

Rav Yaakov Bender and Shaya Ackerman

L-R: Dovid Klein and Motty Klein

Rav Yaakov Bender and Moshe Mendlowitz

Rav Yaakov Bender and Uri Cohen

L-R: Dovid Bloom and Tsemach Glenn

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

Bedarchei Hatorah d Spring 5774/2014

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Tellah Power Energizes Davening in Upper Elementary School