To cultivate creativity and knowledge-sharing surrounding the effective use of educational technology in Jewish higher education, Hebrew Union College– Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and Yeshiva University (YU) have launched an inter-institutional eLearning Faculty Fellowship. On May 7, the 20 faculty members of Cohort 1 participated in the first of five live sessions to learn strategies, tools and approaches for using educational technologies to improve student engagement and learning. All five live sessions and five additional online workshops will be created and led by the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) at Columbia University.

“Launching this eLearning Fellowship is an extraordinary opportunity for our institutions and for our faculties to collaborate and to learn about a wide range of education technology uses,” says Gregg Alpert, director of eLearning at HUC-JIR. “We have worked closely with CCNMTL to develop a program that can be a catalyst for innovation, creativity and exploration. Our three institutions, along with CCNMTL, are incredibly excited to help faculty examine new tools, new possibilities and even to rethink their existing courses. But perhaps most importantly, by cultivating collaboration among faculty both within and outside their institutions, we intend to create a conversation and dialogue that will go far beyond tools and techniques. These are scholars in their fields who know how to study, how to think deeply, to reflect and to thrive within a shared community of their peers.”

The eLearning Faculty Fellowship is part of the Inter-Institutional eLearning Collaborative, which is itself a component of the Education Initiative – three major grants of $15 million each to HUC-JIR, JTS and YU from the Jim Joseph Foundation to support graduate programs of Jewish education. The grants began in 2009. The Collaborative is designed to provide a framework for inter-institutional cooperation and to increase the number of faculty engaged in conversation and joint projects. A second cohort of fellows will begin next year.

“The first session of the eLearning Faculty Fellowship introduced two important frameworks for our work over the next ten months,” says Dr. Meredith Katz, a member of Cohort 1 who teaches at the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at JTS. “Rather than consider an online course as a transposed version of an existing face-to-face course, we discussed the need for students and faculty to ‘learn how to learn online’ and to consider which theories of learning are most useful for thinking about online learning.  CCNMTL instructors also encouraged us to consider the technological tools we are about to explore through the Fellowship as a means to enhance the learning opportunities for our students, once we determine our pedagogic goals.”

In designing a cohesive curriculum for the Fellowship, material was adapted from seminars on teaching with technology that CCNMTL currently offers to Columbia faculty.

“We worked very closely with the institutions to develop a specific program based on our expertise in education, pedagogy, and technology,” says Maurice Matiz, vice executive director and director of technology for CCNMTL. “Our approach is to elicit Fellow participation around a specific educational topic at the live sessions. These prompted discussions will lead to first-hand experience with technologies that enable and facilitate student engagement and learning. They will have the opportunity to explore how these tools can enhance existing courses, how curriculum can be adapted for online or hybrid courses, and how to constantly review the efficacy of tools for their courses.”

In the five online sessions, faculty will be provided with some deeper and asynchronous opportunities to further explore the tools, techniques and strategies examined in the live sessions. CCNMTL will also host two “showcase” events per year where Fellows can share ongoing projects with each other and with other members of their institutions, who will be invited to attend. The Fellowship will culminate in a significant educational technology project that each Fellow will design and implement in his/her own teaching with the support of his/her home institution.

Adds Dr. Scott Goldberg, special assistant to the provost for Online Learning at Yeshiva University, “Our collaborative planning for the eLearning Fellowship has centered on advancing the teaching and learning of each institution’s faculty and students. Now, as we launch the first cohort, we are excited to see the vision of the Jim Joseph Foundation – to increase the quality and number of Jewish educators – reach our teachers in schools of education so that they can further implement the teaching of tomorrow. We know that our entire institutions will benefit from these advancements.”

As a component of the Inter-Institutional eLearning Collaborative, the Fellowship is designed to impact the universities far beyond the 20 members of each Cohort. The “Open Collaborative,” as it is called, will include a website that is open to any faculty and academic staff at the three institutions to share resources and pose questions to CCNMTL staff members who will create and administer this site.  Additionally, along with other activities, there will be three mifgashim-gatherings per year open to all faculty and staff. Held at each of the three NY campuses, each gathering will focus on a specific, current and engaging topic related to eLearning.

Gavriel Brown, Yeshiva College junior and member of YU’s Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program, won first place in the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics Essay Contest. The annual competition challenges college students across the country to submit thought-provoking personal essays that raise questions, single out issues and are rational arguments for ethical action.

Gavriel Brown was awarded the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics

Brown’s winning essay, “Losing Self, Finding Self,” focuses on lessons he learned while volunteering, and eventually coordinating many services, at a Washington Heights shelter after Hurricane Sandy.

“Hurricane Sandy taught me that you don’t need to fly half-way around the world to do meaningful and urgent community service. Sometimes, the most pressing needs are right under our noses, in local schools, in shelters, in community centers,” said Brown, an English major from Silver Spring, Md.

He added: “Elie Wiesel has always stood out as a literary hero and a humanist par excellance. His works sit on my bookshelves and, growing up, he taught me that silence, neutrality and indifference, are the ‘epitome of evil.’ To receive an award from him is humbling, to say the least.”

Brown is the current news editor of The Commentator, the official student newspaper of YU, and was selected as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper for the upcoming 2013-14 academic year. His volunteer work at the shelter was recognized at Yeshiva University’s Annual Hannukah Dinner, where he was selected as a “Point of Light.”

“My days at YU are immersed in words—sacred and profane, inert and alive,” said Brown. “As a student journalist, I’ve seen how words can effect change. As a student of literature, I have watched how words can carry deep and unexpected meanings. My professors have sharpened my pen and challenged me to ‘think higher, feel deeper,’ to borrow Elie Wiesel’s mantra.”

Brown’s professors and mentors offered nothing but praise for the young writer.

“Gavriel is intellectually curious, open and hungry,” said Dr. Joanne Jacobson, professor of English at Yeshiva College. “He is full of boundless energy and yet also quietly introspective. He is the kind of student who reminds faculty why they wanted to be teachers in the first place.”

Dr. Adam Zachary Newton, University Professor and Stanton Chair in Literature and Humanities at Yeshiva University, was gratified to see some of the critical reading that Brown did in his class reflected in the prize-winning essay.

“In the same book by ethical philosopher Emmanuel Levinas that Gavriel cites repeatedly in his essay, from a section specifically on teaching, we are told that ‘attention is attention to something because it is attention to someone.’ Gavriel’s essay demonstrates the power of that principle; one hopes his writing will continue to draw from that well, through its attentive willingness to be dislodged in repeated sojourns ‘toward the Other.’”

A common spirit runs throughout Yeshiva University: the mandate to matter.

Students of all ages and backgrounds come here to pursue a range of professional and personal dreams, from scientific research and medicine to law, Jewish education or public policy. Our students seek to harness their unique talents and YU education to make a lasting impact on the world around them. This spring, when they graduate from YU, these new alumni will hit the ground running.

In the weeks leading up to Commencement, YU News will feature one remarkable graduate from each school, reflecting, in their own words, on their time here, their passions and their dreams for the future.

Meet the Class of 2013.

Wurzweiler’s Savyon Lang hopes to use her personal experiences to assist the deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Name: Savyon Lang

Hometown: Somers, NY

School: Wurzweiler School of Social Work

Passion: Supporting deaf and hard of hearing populations

How did you decide to go into social work?

My sister and I are hard of hearing. All my life, people have been fighting to ensure that our needs are met—speech therapists, speech pathologists, audiologists, special education teachers, my mom and dad. Even my hearing brother learned Cued Speech, a phonemically-based hand supplement to language, to better communicate with my sister and me. I have been touched by the love, acceptance, help and care I have been shown and really felt that I needed to give back as well.

My mother is a psychologist who worked from home and growing up I always talked to her patients in the driveway. They’d tell me, “You have this great aura—I feel like I can talk to you about anything.” That surprised me. In high school, I took a psychology course and was fascinated by the social learning theory that children mimic or imitate adults. The idea intrigued me so much that I continued my study of psychology in college before deciding to pursue social work in graduate school.

I chose to attend Wurzweiler because it offered an in-depth understanding of what social work is and how to effectively apply social work practices in field placements. The program here really focuses on mentoring you so you can do real social work with the benefit of an adviser and supervisor.

Currently, I’m working as an intern at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in their Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program in White Plains, New York. In the future, I’d like to improve my sign language and earn my Licensed Clinical Social Worker certificate so I can open up my own practice to provide services to the deaf and hard of hearing populations and beyond. I don’t believe in limiting myself to one specific group because I like to learn new things and challenge myself every day.

What challenges do the hard of hearing or deaf communities face and how has your background uniquely equipped you to work with this population?

I was flattered to learn I was the first hard of hearing or deaf professional to be working in my internship program, but I also felt bad. A lot of my clients tell me, “I’m so happy you’re my therapist because I don’t want to work with hearing professionals.” They feel I understand them more based on our similar experiences. I find the deaf and hard of hearing community challenging because it’s very unstudied and misunderstood.

I would like to advocate for this community and empower them to reach out to ensure their needs are met. For example, insurance should be covering certain things, like therapy sessions, which Medicare or Medicaid limit. It’s hard for my clients to pay out of pocket if they’re not working, and it can be hard for them to find work without treatment.

One of my clients, an eight-year-old, has been struggling to accept her identity as someone with hearing loss. She’s ashamed and doesn’t want to wear her hearing aids. I needed to help her realize that the hearing aids are helping her. She goes to a mainstream school where she has a teacher who’s hard of hearing, so I said, “Maybe it will help you to speak to her, because even though she struggled she still made it.”

I also told her that I struggled when I was a kid, but I learned that my cochlear implants helped me hear. And I’d come up with a name for them. I’d tell her, “Your hearing aids are like a butterfly—they’re helping you fly, they’re giving you wings.” She changed the metaphor and said, “No, they’re helping me feel like a superwoman.” Then she named my cochlear implants, too. That really touched me. I saw that she was improving and learning how to identify herself as a person with hearing loss, and hopefully by working with me she has a positive model as well.

What courses or professors at Wurzweiler have made an impact on you?

Many of my professors at Wurzweiler have been supportive, inspirational and great teachers. Most recently, I’ve really learned a lot from “Clinical Practice: Individual and Family” with Dr. Nancy Beckerman, who is also my mentor and adviser. She’s amazing because she really provides you with intervention techniques you can use right away in your internship or social work, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

I use CBT a lot. I like it because we always have something in our cognition that we think is either positive or negative; I think the problem is that society is very focused on negative things, and people like my clients absorb that. They think, “Oh, I can’t do this,” or “That person hates me.” CBT focuses on changing those negative thoughts based on the behaviors and emotions that my clients are demonstrating and feeling. Once you can work with the client on changing that, their emotions and behaviors also change in a good way. I find CBT especially successful with the deaf and hard of hearing, because they often aren’t treated well by hearing people and develop a bias because of that.

Wurzweiler gave me an opportunity to teach people about deaf and hard of hearing populations and put me in a program where I can work with that community. For example, a few weeks ago I gave a presentation on my internship to my class. I was talking about how I co-lead a group for this population, and my colleagues were all fascinated—they had no idea how to work with the deaf or hard of hearing. Dr. Beckerman told me afterward, “You should teach everyone how they can work with this group.” That was very flattering to me. I had taught them that it’s not just about me working with deaf or hard of hearing populations—everyone can bring their own backgrounds to social work to help people like them overcome the same obstacles they’ve faced.

Meet more 2013 graduates. 

Rabbi Joshua Fass, Yeshiva University alumnus and executive director of Nefesh B’Nefesh, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary doctorate at YU’s 82nd Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 30, at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. YU President Richard M. Joel will also confer honorary doctorates upon entrepreneur Tony B. Gelbart; businessman and philanthropist Abraham Naymark, and Merryl H. Tisch, chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents.

Rabbi Joshua Fass

Together with Gelbart, Fass—a graduate of Yeshiva College, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary—co-founded Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organization that has helped thousands actualize their dream of Aliyah [immigration to Israel]. Under his leadership, Nefesh B’Nefesh has assisted more than 36,000 western Olim [immigrants] and has maintained a retention rate of 97 percent. Fass has received several prestigious awards, including the “Light Unto the Nations” Award in 2002, the “Menachem Begin Award” in 2004 and “The Moskowitz Prize for Zionism” in 2011.

Tony B. Gelbart

Gelbart is a serial entrepreneur who has founded, grown and successfully led several companies in various industries through exits to both public and privately held buyers. He was appointed by President George W. Bush as a council member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and has served as vice chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition; as a board member of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; and continues to serve as a member of national board of directors and advisor to the president of the Jewish National Fund. As co-founder and chairman of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Gelbart has raised more than $120 million to help the organization fulfil its goals.

Abraham Naymark

A YU benefactor, Naymark is the owner of Parsons Properties Inc. His contributions to Yeshiva University have included the establishment of the Naymark Scholarship Fund at the Sy Syms School of Business. Naymark’s philanthropic endeavors include the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, where he funded the Abraham & Ruth Naymark Pavilion, and the Young Israel of Holliswood / Holliswood Jewish Center, where he funded the Abe and Ruth Naymark Building.

Merryl H. Tisch

Tisch has served on the New York State Board of Regents since 1996 and was elected chancellor in 2009. She also serves as chairperson of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. With an annual budget of $100 million, the Metropolitan Council has gained national recognition for its work in the areas of youth and family services, housing, poverty programs and neighborhood preservation. Previously, Tisch served as chairperson of the Mt. Sinai Children’s Center Foundation.

“Commencement is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate the education of our children. We have an extraordinary graduating class that is ready to make a difference in the Jewish community and the world,” said President Joel. “Our honorees represent courage, dedication, lay and professional achievement, and reflect our commitment to the future of education, the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”

Learn more about the honorees here.

In all, more than 1,600 students from Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women and Syms School of Business, as well as graduate students in the fields of law, medicine, social work, education, Jewish studies and psychology, will be awarded degrees from YU during its commencement season.

Visit the commencement page for dates, locations, directions and information on ceremonies for all Yeshiva University schools and affiliates.

Yeshiva College juniors Gilad Barach and Eli Grunblatt have been awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, a highly competitive grant that supports undergraduates who intend to pursue careers in science, math or engineering.

Gilad Barach and Eli Grunblatt of Yeshiva College have been awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.

“Our track record of recipients of the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater scholarship for scientific research clearly indicates the excellence of the science education at Yeshiva College, which can be favorably compared with undergraduate college experiences at larger research universities,” said Yeshiva College Dean Barry Eichler. “The quality of our student body and that of our science faculty’s commitment to mentor undergraduates in the sciences is truly impressive.”

Only 271 college sophomores and juniors across the country are selected for the scholarship, which covers the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

Grunblatt, of Brooklyn, New York, became entranced by the fields of molecular oncology and hematology while participating in research in the laboratory of Sumanta Goswami, associate professor of biology at Yeshiva College. There, Grunblatt investigates the molecular mechanisms that enable breast cancer cells to resist chemotherapeutic treatments and metastasize.

“I am fascinated by the intricacy and complexity of the processes by which cancer cells rework normal molecular and cellular machinery to survive, proliferate and evade destruction by the body’s defense systems and chemotherapeutic treatment,” Grunblatt said. “During my time in the lab, I’ve been exposed to cutting-edge techniques in modern biomedical research normally reserved for graduate work and have come to appreciate the kind of critical thinking and methodology that a scientist must constantly use.”

After he graduates, Grunblatt hopes to pursue a joint MD/PhD to become a clinician-scientist.

Barach, of Teaneck, New Jersey, has been researching computational approaches to graph theory with Fredy Zypman, professor of physics at Yeshiva College, and Gabriel Cwilich, associate professor of physics at Yeshiva College and division coordinator of natural and mathematical sciences. “The opportunities for undergraduate research at our small college are amazing and the attention I’ve gotten from tenured faculty couldn’t be paralleled at larger universities,” Barach said.

Barach intends to go on to graduate studies in physics and eventually contribute to product development in the high-tech industry. “As our modern world becomes more technologically advanced and interconnected, there is a great need for scientists to maintain and develop the systems driving society in a variety of fields, ranging from secure communications to medical imaging,” he said. “I hope to work on the scientific frontier and find ways to apply what researchers learn to improve people’s lives.”

Barach and Grunblatt, members of YU’s Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program, are involved “not only in their research but also in the dissemination of science to the larger community,” said Cwilich, director of the Honors program, referring to the students’ participation in the START! program, where YU students teach science to nearby public schools. “They exemplify what students at Yeshiva University can accomplish.”

As part of a new educational experience designed to restructure the way undergraduates are trained in science and engineering, students at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women participated in hands-on advanced nanoscience and nanotechnology research at Brookhaven National Laboratory on April 11.

Students toured the Brookhaven lab and used its National Synchrotron Light Source, a ring in which electrons are accelerated and also a source of powerful x-ray radiation, to study why platinum and other expensive noble metals are efficient as catalysts in chemical reactions and how new and better catalysts could be designed. The research has implications for the development of important alternate fuel sources.

“Bringing Stern students into this facility, not just to see it, but to participate in research here is the best way to demonstrate the fundamentals of modern sciences like physics, quantum mechanics, electromagnetic theory and other disciplines that they study in the classroom, while also showing them the multiple paths available to solve scientific problems,” said Dr. Anatoly Frenkel, professor of physics at YU.

The idea of involving students in research at Brookhaven took shape when Frenkel was awarded a $572,802 joint National Science Foundation grant along with Dr. Xiaowei Tang, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of New Hampshire, to design and investigate a new class of catalysts for ethanol oxidation that would replace the currently used platinum-based catalysts, which are extremely expensive and less efficient. Since a portion of their research will take place at Brookhaven, Frenkel’s research base, he and Teng created an educational component for the program that could be taught in science courses for undergraduate and graduate students.

In the pilot stage, Frenkel and Teng brought their students to Brookhaven for a short experiment that focused on the basics of advanced scientific concepts like quantum mechanics, waves and optics, and crystallography, as well as modern engineering concepts in catalysis, energy science and nanoscience. Undergraduates from Stern and UNH worked together under the mentorship of graduate students from UNH and Frenkel’s postdoctoral student, emphasizing an aspect of modern science that doesn’t always translate to the classroom: collaboration and partnership between disciplines and institutions.

Frenkel with students from his Intermediate Experimental Physics course at Brookhaven.

“The coolest thing for me was getting to see a national laboratory,” said Davida Kollmar, a physics major in Frenkel’s Intermediate Experimental Physics course. “There’s high demand for the chance to perform experiments at Brookhaven, which means that there are groups working there around the clock. We were able to conduct experiments in a prominent lab where professional scientists are doing their research, and participating in Dr. Frenkel’s project helped us learn more, not only about his work, but about what experimental physicists are doing in general.”

“This initiative fit perfectly into the philosophy of the science departments at Stern, where the combination of classroom teaching and involving students in advanced research is essential to helping students better understand physics and whether or not they want to pursue a career in research,” said Frenkel. “These decisions are potentially life-changing, and both YU and UNH are uniquely positioned to help our students make informed decisions through this joint program.”

Since he was a child, Yosef Herzog always dreamt of a career in television. After graduating from Sy Syms School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in finance and gaining work experience in the field, he decided to change course.

Panelists Yosef Herzog, Nicole de Fusco, Evelyn Zilberman and Kim Puletz offer advice to students at the “Careers in the Creative Arts” event.

Herzog, now a stage manager for NBC’s “TODAY” show, spoke to Yeshiva University students at a panel discussion on “Careers in the Creative Arts” on the Israel Henry Beren Campus on April 29. Fellow panelist included Kim Puletz, manager of digital business operations at Sony Music Entertainment; Evelyn Zilberman, vice president at Columbia Artists Theatricals; and Nicole de Fusco, vice president of original programming and development at the Sundance Channel. The event was organized by the YU Career Center and Ruthie Heller, co-president of the YU Communications Club.

Each panelist stressed the importance of establishing and maintaining relationships throughout the discussion. When asked what led her to her current position, de Fusco said, “An internship is how I got started. TV is all about relationships and people that you know. Work connections hard, stay with connections and get another internship.”

On May 1, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, paid a visit to Yeshiva University-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS).

The chief rabbi, also known as the Rishon LeZion, was welcomed with a performance by YU’s Sephardi choir before delivering a shiur [lecture] to students in the Glueck Beit Midrash. He then offered divrei chizuk [words of encouragement] to students in the James Striar School of General Jewish Studies/Mechina Program upon their siyum [completion] of Masechet Tamid and participated in a luncheon with various roshei yeshiva, members of the YU faculty and administration and local Sephardi community leaders.

“It is truly a privilege to have Rav Amar in the Yeshiva,” said Rabbi Marc Penner, associate dean of RIETS. “So many things come together when he is here: Ashkenazim and Sephardim, Israel and the Diaspora. His visits not only enlighten us, but remind us of how close we are as a people.”

This was Rabbi Amar’s fourth visit to the YU campus in recent years. His wife, Rabbanit Mazal Amar, delivered a lecture titled “Women’s Leadership According to Chazal” to students on the Israel Henry Beren Campus.

“Hakham Amar’s visit, was particularly exciting this time, because he was here to visit the talmidim [students] of the Yeshiva as well as to attend the RIETS dinner,” said Rabbi Moshe Tessone, director of the Sephardic Community Program at YU. “His unique ability to connect in his presentations to people of all ages and to students of varied demographic and religious backgrounds is really remarkable.”

Learn more about Sephardic Studies at Yeshiva University.

A common spirit runs throughout Yeshiva University: the mandate to matter.

Students of all ages and backgrounds come here to pursue a range of professional and personal dreams, from scientific research and medicine to law, Jewish education or public policy. Our students seek to harness their unique talents and YU education to make a lasting impact on the world around them. This spring, when they graduate from YU, these new alumni will hit the ground running.

In the weeks leading up to Commencement, YU News will feature one remarkable graduate from each school, reflecting, in their own words, on their time here, their passions and their dreams for the future.

Meet the Class of 2013.

Sy Syms senior Yonina Fogel hopes to pursue a career in finance.

Name: Yonina Fogel

Hometown: Passaic, New Jersey

School: Sy Syms School of Business

Career Focus: Wealth Management

Why was Yeshiva University the right place for you?

I wanted to go to a college where I could get a solid business education and enriching Judaic studies. I had been studying subjects like Tanakh and Halakha since I was very young and I did not want to sacrifice that, especially entering university and anticipating a career in the business world. At Sy Syms, I had both options; I could take challenging business classes and then attend a shiur afterward.

Furthermore, because Sy Syms is housed in a small university setting, there are ample opportunities to become involved in clubs and personally connect to deans and professors. The leadership of the school wants you to grow, they want you to succeed and they want to be there for every step of your journey.

Are there professors or classes that stand out in your mind?

For a year, I was enrolled in Rabbi Meir Goldwicht’s seminar which was stellar. I also was enamored with the breadth of knowledge and intellectual rigor of both Rebbetzin Smadar Rosensweig and Dr. Michelle Levine’s Judaic studies classes. My goal was to take Judaic classes that were academically stimulating and also offered in-depth analysis of Torah subjects like Tanakh and Hashkafa, and I found that Yeshiva University offered courses that matched this goal.

In terms of my business courses, my focus was to take classes that helped me develop a well-rounded education about the markets and the economy so that when I started working, I would already possess a solid basis to ask intelligent questions and understand the various projects that were assigned. That said, I greatly enjoyed Professor Sidney Mehl’s classes, as well as Professor Joshua Krausz’s Investment Analysis course. I found that their courses offered a very strong understanding of the subject matter and that they were always available for guidance in terms of both school and my career prospects.

Why business?

I have always been involved in clubs and chessed organizations, and I have a tremendous passion to give back to others and to help them solve any complex problems that arise. A career in business allows me to capitalize on this strength. Every day I am learning something new, something different, seeing how I can help the company’s clients, and how business fits into my life. It is an entertaining journey—it keeps me on my toes.

How did programs like the Women’s Leadership Fellowship and the Women in Business Initiative help you develop your own identity and skills as you found your place in the business world?

There’s a lot of anxiety involved on the road to becoming a female leader. People will say how hard it is for a woman to maintain a healthy balance between career and family. The Women’s Leadership Fellowship and the Women in Business Initiative (WIBI) taught me that it really can be done. Maybe not all at once, but it is definitely possible.

The Women’s Leadership Fellowship brought in accomplished female leaders and mothers that work in various positions across the career world. They discussed their full-time leadership roles and how they balanced their jobs with being a wife and mother. Each speaker shared her accomplishments and struggles and answered any questions we had. These women were inspirational for me and served as positive role models as they succeed professionally—whether in the business world, as high-powered lawyers, or as the top chef in a restaurant—while prioritizing their valued commitments to their families and their communities.

The WIBI program pairs the participants with mentors based on career goals in finance, marketing, accounting and so on. Since I am pursuing a career in the banking sector, the WIBI organizers matched me with a managing director in Citibank who was open to speaking with me about everything from my career prospects to the current market fluctuations. As a woman, I know that she understands te in the work place, because she has faced them already herself and excelled in that environment. She continually reaches out to me to ensure that I am succeeding, too.

How did the Career Center help you as you began your academic and professional careers?

The Yeshiva University Career Center is incredible. They helped me polish my resume and set up many interviews for me with different banking firms, eventually helping me secure an internship with JPMorgan Chase. After graduation, I’ll begin working full time there as a wealth management analyst. I am so grateful for all of their efforts and look forward to keeping them updated as my career progresses.

How do you see yourself as a Jewish woman in the business world?

A teacher in seminary once told me, “You have to identify what your priorities are and make those your end goal.” For me, my goals are all about Torah, building a happy family and making sure my life positively reflects my Torah values. I hope to be strong, meeting every standard that I set for myself and knowing that I am proud of the person I see in the mirror.

So far, thank G-d, business has fit with that vision. I love working in the finance sector, especially wealth management, because it is all about helping people with their financial problems and sharing my business knowledge and advice with them, directing them to solutions that can make their lives a little bit easier. Knowing that I can do that within the context of halakha is incredible. I am excited to start working, carrying with me everything I have been learning in high school, seminary and college as I go into my new job, a strong individual with a strong sense of my own values and ideals, helping others along the way.

Meet more 2013 graduates. 

Yeshiva University High Schools (YUHS) will present their Annual Dinner of Tribute on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at Terrace on the Park, 52-11 111th Street, Flushing Meadows Park, NY. This year’s honorees include Guests of Honor Louis and Naomi Tuchman and faculty honorees, Lynda Smith and Dr. Seth Taylor.

Guests of Honor Louis and Naomi Tuchman

“The Board of Trustees joins the Yeshiva University High School community in paying tribute to two inspiring, beloved and dedicated faculty members,” said Miriam Goldberg, chair of YUHS. “Our guests of honor, Naomi and Louis, are a rare blend of community leaders who graciously give their time from their professional and person lives.”

Louis, a dedicated YUHS board member for the past five years, and Naomi are alumni of YU High Schools and are pillars in their community of Hillcrest, NY. They passionately share the vision of YUHS in educating young men and women to serve as future Jewish and lay leaders. Louis is an experienced tax attorney and was recently named chair of the tax department at Herrick Feinstein, after three decades at Kaye Scholer. Naomi is a CPA with her own independent practice.

Smith is the athletic director at the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls, coach of the tennis and volleyball teams and physical education instructor for all grades. She created the “Athletes Giving Back” program, a chesed project that has the sports teams raise money for nonprofit organizations. She is vice president of the Nassau County Board of Gymnastics High School Officials and a member of the NY State Board of Gymnastic Officials.

Taylor is principal for general studies and an instructor in European and world history at the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy / Yeshiva University High School for Boys. A master teacher and administrator, he is the author of Between Tradition and Modernity: A History of the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy and is celebrating 25 years at YUHSB.

For reservations or for more information about the dinner, please contact Rabbi Moshe Kinderlehrer at 212-960-5489 or email mkinder@yu.edu, or visit www.yu.edu/hsdinner.

A common spirit runs throughout Yeshiva University: the mandate to matter.

Students of all ages and backgrounds come here to pursue a range of professional and personal dreams, from scientific research and medicine to law, Jewish education or public policy. Our students seek to harness their unique talents and YU education to make a lasting impact on the world around them. This spring, when they graduate from YU, these new alumni will hit the ground running.

In the weeks leading up to Commencement, YU News will feature one remarkable graduate from each school, reflecting, in their own words, on their time here, their passions and their dreams for the future.

Meet the Class of 2013.

Yeshiva College senior Zamir Pearsall hopes to pursue a career in law.

Name: Zamir Pearsall

School: Yeshiva College

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Passions: Music and Political Science

What was your most memorable college experience?

In my first year at Yeshiva University, I started taking classes at the Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music, which specializes in academic musical education. It occurred to me that it would be interesting to create a club that would provide the student body with practical musical education as well. So I spent the summer pulling together ideas in music theory that had hands-on applications to the processes and techniques of musical composition. I collaborated with a few other students to form a club that could use this foundation as a springboard for members to compose their own work—the Songwriting Club.

I’m very academic by nature, so creating my own “theory of songwriting” was the most memorable experience for me. But launching the club itself, moderating the discussions of its members and watching it take on a life of its own has also been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

What made the deepest impact on you?

Over the past winter break, I travelled to Moscow with a group of fellow YU students. I acted as translator while other members of my group taught Judaism and English to a group of Jewish high school and middle school students. I’m not extremely outgoing or loud, but I learned very quickly how to command the attention of large groups of people and keep things running smoothly.

Behind the scenes, I was also glad I had a voice in deciding what activities to run. As a baal teshuva, I connected with these kids in a way that counselors who had been born religious were unable to, and my input helped create a style of programming that better spoke to the kids.

What’s the most important thing you learned during your college career?

The most important thing I have learned is how to write well. In my First Year Writing Seminars, Professors Gillian Steinberg, Paula Geyh and Ruth Bevan drilled into me the idea that academic writing doesn’t have to look like a thesaurus having a panic attack. Simplicity in writing, I learned, should not be confused for simplistic writing. Over four years of visiting the Writing Center, I caught on to techniques such as pre-writing, close reading and summarizing your ideas out loud. Eight semesters’ worth of courses have also honed my ability to find, present and elaborate on evidence clearly and concisely.

What accomplishment at YU are you most proud of?

My biggest achievement would be the thesis I am writing and will present to the New England Political Science Association at its annual meeting in May. Over the course of my college career, I have been brainstorming ideas for my thesis. All I knew was that it had to be fascinating, it had to strike at the heart of political science and it had to put forth empirical arguments. I decided to research the development of “self” and “other” in political thought, with their electoral impact acting as the paper’s empirical element. My hypothesis is that the Self-Expansion Model—which argues that people achieve control, or at least the perception of control, over their environment by expanding their sense of “self” to include the “other”—is an accurate predictor of close presidential elections in modern American history.

What are you passionate about?

It would be a dream come true to compose a powerful song! After so many short years of learning and analyzing great compositions, I have grown curious to know what my compositions would sound like. Music plays such a big role in my life—from psyching me up for a new day to relaxing me after a long one, from giving me a few minutes of escape to providing an ambient background for research. I want to see what I can create on my own. The works of John Williams and Bear McCreary are my foremost influence and inspiration. These two composers created pieces that are deeply classical yet incredibly commercial. They taught me that it’s not enough to just compose something; you have to compose something with impact.

What will you be doing next year?

I just received a $50,000 scholarship to Colorado Law at the University of Colorado-Boulder. I’m hoping to earn my JD, as well as a master’s in Public Administration while I’m there. Afterwards, I will pursue a legal career.

Why did you choose YU?

I chose Yeshiva University because it is more than a university and more than a yeshiva. As the flagship of Modern Orthodoxy, YU has a global perspective that I could strongly relate to and am proud to have been a part of.

Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business celebrated its 26th anniversary and the graduating class of 2013 with a Gala Awards Dinner on April 23. The evening honored students and faculty who excelled within their fields and demonstrated exceptional character and included a presentation of the inaugural Sy Syms Humanitarian Award to Mortimer B. Zuckerman.

“We come tonight with a full heart to celebrate the arrival of the Sy Syms School of Business as an institution of the first ranks, newly accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, with the establishment of a new honors program and tremendous success on the parts of the students, deans and faculty,” said YU President Richard M. Joel, listing a few of the school’s most notable recent accomplishments.

The AACSB accreditation, obtained in March, is an especially significant achievement for Sy Syms, as it has only been awarded to some 6 percent of more than 10,000 business schools worldwide.

“The Sy Syms School of Business plays a vital role in Yeshiva University’s mission and it has made enormous strides in the last few years in both the quality of its faculty and course offerings, which is reflected in the success of our alumni,” said Dr. Henry Kressel, chair of the Yeshiva University Board of Trustees, in an address to students before the awards ceremony.

Speaking about the necessity of economic success to the survival and growth of Jewish communities throughout history, he said, “It is imperative that YU train business leaders that will demonstrate a strong commitment to the values we share and leave college equipped to successfully compete in the industrial and financial arena. You picked the right school—you’re getting the outstanding education necessary for individual success as business leaders and as leaders of the Jewish community.”

According to Dean Moses Pava, the importance of that balance, which is a guiding philosophy at Sy Syms, is one that top business schools around the world are just beginning to appreciate and adapt. “You are living in a period of transition,” he told students. “Today, business schools are learning that they should not only provide you with a set of tools as you start your professional journey, but with a location to interpret life’s meaning and challenge and sharpen your sense of purpose about the very reason you’re going into business in the first place. The point is not to bifurcate our lives but to lead lives of meaning and integrity, or, as President Joel says, shleimut—wholeness.”

Jonathan Weiss, one of the class’s two valedictorians, echoed that theme as he discussed the unique emphasis on ethical and moral leadership he had discovered in his business education at Sy Syms. “One of the most important lessons that I learned throughout my three years here, in my interactions with everyone from the wonderful roshei yeshiva to my professors and fellow students, is the importance of integrity in everything we do,” he said. “We must always be aware that wherever we go, we are representative of not only Yeshiva University but all committed Jews, and we must show ourselves to be ethical in all our doings.”

Co-valedictorian Ayelet Haymov focused on the remarkable personal attention and support from faculty members that had enabled her to undertake challenging internships in the accounting departments of businesses like Versace and Fox News. “Throughout the year, my professor stayed in touch with me to make sure that not only was I thriving in a professional and academic setting, but that I was doing okay mentally and emotionally as well,” she said. “Sy Syms has provided my peers and myself a place to foster our intelligence and recognize a world beyond the classroom, and though there will be difficulties and setbacks ahead of us, our teachers have trained us to tackle all challenges and achieve greater successes with persistence, fortitude and capability.”

Awards were presented for excellence in accounting, finance, marketing, management and student service, as well as honors for the highest-ranking juniors and the two valedictorians. Faculty members who had made a deep impact on their students were also recognized. Assistant Professor of Marketing Dr. Jesse Itzkowitz received the Lillian F. and William L. Silber Professor of the Year Award, while Adjunct Instructor in Information Decision Sciences Dr. Kevin Barabazon was named Professor Peter Lencsis Adjunct Professor of the Year.

The event was organized by the Sy Syms Student Council and held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. During the formal dinner, President Joel presented Mortimer B. Zuckerman with the first-ever Sy Syms Humanitarian Award in honor of the media and real estate mogul’s efforts and ethical business practices throughout many years in philanthropy and business. Zuckerman is the co-founder and executive chairman of Boston Properties, as well as the owner and publisher of the New York Daily News and of U.S. News & World Report, where he serves as editor-in-chief.

“Mort is a Jewish leader par excellence who remains a steadfast, independent Jewish advocate that cares deeply about his people and the State of Israel,” said President Joel. “Our students need real heroes like him to look up to and emulate, men and women of conviction and good faith who recognize their obligation to succeed in their communities and contribute to them as humanitarians.”

The two-part Humanitarian Award consisted of a gift of $25,000 to express appreciation of Zuckerman’s work and an engraved Jerusalem stone charity box.

“The issues that I care about are in many ways focused on a part of my life I’m very proud of, which is being Jewish and being a part of the Jewish world,” said Zuckerman, recalling what it meant to be a member of the Jewish community when the State of Israel was announced. “I’ve never really lost the thrill of it, and I was determined to do whatever I could to support that state in its efforts to be independent, safe and a homeland for Jews who come from many other parts of the world.”

Though he warned the soon-to-be-graduates that they may be facing one of the worst job markets since he himself graduated from business school, Zuckerman reminded them that there were still and would always be great opportunities. “You have the advantage of an awful lot of good training and education and commitment to doing good work,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs, but if you hang in there, you’ll learn that persistence and determination are about as important as any other quality you’ll bring to your work.”

Lynn Syms, wife of the late Sy Syms, who established the business school in 1987, found the awards ceremony and dinner an enriching experience. “Looking at this amazing group of young people, my husband would be over the moon,” she said. “We have reinvented ourselves and we’re on to really great things.”

In her remarks, Sy Syms Foundation President Marcy Syms remembered her father, sharing several personal anecdotes and his business philosophy with the students. “I hope that by sharing these memories of Sy, the entrepreneur and humanitarian, I am able to offer you some of the lessons that made such a difference in my life. I hope they are also meaningful to you, and that they resonate.”

From Al Jolson to Woody Allen, Jews have played a significant role in the American film industry even as their role in larger American society has constantly shifted and evolved. But how much of their changing experience made it to the big screen? In his new book, The American Jewish Story through Cinema (University of Texas Press, April 2013), Dr. Eric Goldman, adjunct associate professor of cinema at Yeshiva University, explores the surprising visual history of American Jewry revealed in some of America’s most classic films.

YU News: How did you become interested in the idea of American cinema as lens to study the Jewish American experience?

Goldman: I was classically trained in cinema studies, but I always had an interest in combining the Jewish with the American. My first book was a history of Yiddish cinema. As I came in contact with different people from different fields—sociology, history, semiotics—I realized that in terms of trying to understand the changing American Jew and the evolving situation of Jews in America, cinema could be used as an incredible text to see those changes right on the screen.

How is the early Jewish immigrant story reflected in early 20th century cinema, with movies like “The Jazz Singer?”

In my “Sociology of Mass Media” class at Stern College for Women, I screen “The Jazz Singer” and a silent film called “His People” together. They were made in the 1920s, within a year and a half of each other. “His People” is about the generational gap between the immigrants who came here with deep Jewish learning and found they couldn’t turn it into a living. In this movie, the father, a man of great learning, has to become a peddler on the street. And the question clearly is what will happen to the next generation? You feel the pull of assimilation.

Looking at “The Jazz Singer,” you have that classic story in a different way: a learned man who did find parnasa, as a chazzan. His son, Jakie Rabinowitz, also has an incredible voice, which his father feels should be used in the shul as well, continuing that tradition. It’s a waste to use it anywhere else. But Jakie’s landed the opportunity of a lifetime. He’s worked small clubs all around the country and will now finally appear on Broadway. It just so happens that opening night is also Erev Yom Kippur.

For Jakie, that’s a non-issue. He’s made that choice, as did a whole generation of Jews, to be able to survive in America. It’s clear he’s going to appear in the theater. But then his father, who normally would conduct the Yom Kippur service, is ill—perhaps dying. Jakie’s mother and the shamesh of the shul come to him and say, “Come home, maybe if you sing, your father will feel better. You’re a product of chazanut – you could lead the service yourself without preparation.”

Ostensibly, he’s going to just pay a quick bikur cholim visit to his farther and return to the stage later that night. But when Jakie arrives, the shamesh is there with a talis in his hand, saying, “Okay, Jack, we’re ready for you. Everyone’s going to shul now. Take the talis and go.” Next to him is Jakie’s mother, also rooting for him to go to shul. Then in walks his manager from the theater and his non-Jewish girlfriend. Jakie’s stuck in the middle. In secular terms, it’s his community saying, “Jack, take your father’s mantle and join us, you’ve come home,” versus his manager saying, ‘You’re crazy if you give up your career for this.’ It’s a very striking visual.

What I try to do in the book is to point out how various visual moments capture the essence of what was happening to America’s Jews at that point in time. The tug between generations. What America offered and what the expectations in the home were. Samuel Raphaelson, the author of “The Jazz Singer,” grew up on the Lower East Side and this whole issue was central to his life, his desire to be a writer in the secular world.

What impact did the rise of anti-Semitism in the 1930s have on Hollywood, then a very Jewish industry?

There was a great concern on the part of these Jewish movie moguls that they not be perceived as foreigners, outsiders, Jews. They did everything in their power to move away from that. Circumstance in Hollywood still treated them as Jews—the country clubs of Los Angeles wouldn’t admit them. But what they did in their enterprise was create an industry that catered to everyone, and went out of their way, not only in their personal lives to gain acceptance—what level of assimilation are you ready to accept upon yourself?—but they also chose not to have Jewish subjects in their films. By the 30s, Jewish subject matter had all but disappeared from film.

The amazing thing about “The Jazz Singer,” which was made in 1927, was that it was made by Warner Brothers, a Jewish studio. It happened by accident, and after that they went out of their way to ensure it never happened again. It was a little bit of an embarrassment. “What is this, the first film with talking in it is going to be about Jews?”

Many of the big Jewish moguls of the time also divorced their Jewish wives to marry gentile women– their own way of assimilating into American society.

In the 1930s, though, the Nazi government said to a lot of American studios, “If you want to have a company representative here in Berlin”—which you have to understand had become in the 1920s a center of art, commerce and intellectual striving, so major representatives from all over were placed there—“they can’t be Jewish.” In 1936, a Jewish representative of Warner Brothers was murdered there by a Nazi thug. Some companies withdrew their representatives completely, while others replaced their Jews with non-Jews, because they were more interested in keeping their films playing in Germany.

In this country, nobody wanted anything Jewish. Jews didn’t want to bring attention to themselves. There was something called “the Production Code,” where the Catholic Church put pressure on movie-makers to be clean and pure and not ethnic. Also, it was the Great Depression. People wanted to be entertained with giant musicals, and there was a movement toward adapting the great classics of literature for the screen. The Jewish producers simply did not want Jewish stories.

How did Jewish presence reintroduce itself in American cinema after World War II?

Anti-Semitism was unfortunately just as strong here after the war as it had been before. Here we had fought this war, we had defeated the Nazis and America saw what they had done, and yet many still disliked Jews. That was kind of scary. It incited Laura Z. Hobson to write her novel “Gentlemen’s Agreement.” She had seen anti-Semitic slurs in Congress which shocked the heck out of her.

The Jewish Defense agencies along with Hollywood’s Jews were frightened by the idea of attacking anti-Semitism and said, “If we make too much of a big deal about things, it’s not going to be good for us. Let’s fight anti-Semitism in our own quiet ways.”

There was a guy named Daryl F. Zanuck who had been a producer on “The Jazz Singer” and then went on to become head of a studio and chose to make a film about the Rothschilds in the early 30s—at the height of Nazi propaganda about Jews, he had made a film about one of the great Jewish bankers in the world! He wasn’t scared of anyone. He also wasn’t Jewish. He wanted to attack anti-Semitism. He was ready to take on his fellow producers and the establishment. He was very capable and also made a lot of money for his investors. So he went ahead and decided to buy the rights to “Gentlemen’s Agreement.”

The Jewish community said to him, “You can’t do this. This is bad for the Jews.” But Zanuck said, “I’m an American and not to do this would be bad for America. Anti-Semitism is unacceptable, bigotry has no place in the world, and I’m not scared to go ahead and make this movie.”

How did Israel start to get screen time and how did movies like Exodus shape the identities of American Jews watching?

That could be a book of its own. We just talked about Israel this week in my Stern class. Major studios weren’t interested in dealing with the subject of Israel. It was perceived to be too Jewish or niche. In the early 50s, there were a couple of independent producers who did tackle it in their films and the examples are few but important. There was a terrific 1953 film with Kirk Douglas before he emerged as a major actor, about a Holocaust survivor who goes to Israel, called “The Juggler.” That was beautiful and rare.

But in general, as a Hollywood moviemaker at this time, you didn’t touch on the Holocaust because the feeling was that it didn’t have significance for Americans and you also didn’t deal with Israel.

Finally you have this screenplay written by Leon Uris which no one wanted to make. He transformed it into a book instead. That became a bestseller, and Otto Preminger makes “Exodus” out of it, which was a major success.

Until 1958, Jewish subjects had largely been avoided in American cinema. Then it changed for a variety of reasons—because of sociological changes in America, because of civil rights activities and as a result of rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. Segregation was no longer acceptable—that had a very positive effect on Jews. Jews started coming out more, discussing Jewish subjects, talking about Israel. Before this, how could you support another country, like Israel, if you’re a good American? Someone might claim you were disloyal. Suddenly, in the late 1950s, Jews could be Jewish, they could wear kippot in public… It was the coming out party for American Jewry.

How does someone like Woody Allen fit into the picture?

You see an evolution in his body of work. He’s representative of the ambivalent American Jew of the late 20th century. His early films are about wanting to be somebody else, the desire to give up his Judaism. In “Love and Death and Sleeper,” Allen is thrust into a different period where he doesn’t quite fit in, and it’s the story of how this young, talented Jewish man doesn’t feel comfortable in America because he is the “other.” His early work revolves around this whole need to fit in, climaxing in “Annie Hall.” The classic scene there has him sitting at Easter dinner with Annie Hall, this wonderful Protestant woman. Through her, he’s going to gain acceptance into America. But then there is her grandmother who issitting at the end of the table. He turns to the camera, in a historic cinematic moment, and speaking to us says, “There’s the classic anti-Semite at the end of the table,” and you see him picturing himself as a Hasid. He may shave, but he’s still this yucky Jew who doesn’t belong at the table. Allen’s saying, “It’s time I sat at the American table. I’m tired of being ostracized.”

By the 80s and 90s there’s an acceptance on his part of the fact that he’s finally found comfort in his being a Jew. You see this with his struggle with the rabbi in “Crimes and Misdemeanors.” To have a rabbi in a Woody Allen film that Allen isn’t making fun of—wow! That’s a powerful statement. In a film like 1997’s “Deconstructing Harry,” you have a wonderful debate where Allen’s sister is frum and he’s debating her. And you see an articulate rebuttal about being frum in the modern world, which is of course also written by Woody Allen. And his ex-wife in this film is also frum. This is the first time Allen is entering the debate about what it means to be a traditional Jew in today’s world.

What is the American Jewish story being told in film right now?

What has happened in 2013, especially by young, Jewish filmmakers, is there’s a comfort zone with being Jewish. We’re not going to stand for any anti-Semitic sentiment. And that’s exciting. Several generations ago we had moviemakers who were afraid to be seen as Jews. Now filmmakers are not only totally comfortable being Jewish, it’s who they are. You see this in Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow. There’s a wonderful moment in “Knocked Up” when Seth Rogen is in a bar with four Jewish guys and one non-Jew. Rogen talks about how he just saw the film “Munich” and wasn’t it great how the Jews showed strength and were powerful in that movie. To have a dialogue like that in a contemporary movie—when you talk about today, that’s what’s exciting about today.

How will the American Jewish story be told in 10 to 20 years from now?

In Israeli cinema you’re starting to see movies made by frum and haredi filmmakers, which is fascinating. One of my big desires at YU is to also see our graduates making films about subjects which are important to them, have powerful Jewish themes, and can impact America and American Jewry.

A common spirit runs throughout Yeshiva University: the mandate to matter.

Students of all ages and backgrounds come here to pursue a range of professional and personal dreams, from scientific research and medicine to law, Jewish education or public policy. Our students seek to harness their unique talents and YU education to make a lasting impact on the world around them. This spring, when they graduate from YU, these new alumni will hit the ground running.

In the weeks leading up to Commencement, YU News will feature one remarkable graduate from each school, reflecting, in their own words, on their time here, their passions and their dreams for the future.

Meet the Class of 2013.

Stern College senior and Legacy Heritage Fund Scholar Margot Reinstein hopes to pursue a career in Jewish education.

Name: Margot Reinstein

School: Stern College for Women

Hometown: Teaneck, New Jersey

Passion: Jewish Education

When you look back at your college career, what experiences have made the deepest impact on you?

The very first class I took at Stern College was with Rabbi Mordechai Cohen, professor of Bible. From the very beginning, he urged us to take advantage of everything Yeshiva University had to offer. He challenged us to go to an event once a week, write an article for a student newspaper, seek out professors and speak with them after class, stay in for Shabbos, take the most rigorous classes we could handle and become active members of the YU community.

His words have always stayed with me. They certainly affected my approach to college. I wanted to be involved in everything, from the Beit Midrash Committee to the Social Justice Society to the Israel Club and everything in between. In my second year I became president of iGive, a club that my co-president, Chana Weinstock, and I revamped to make sure there were consistent daily and weekly chesed opportunities for students, as well as programs like Simcha Deliveries, Yachad Carnivala and Cake Wars—a cake-decorating competition we helped create that raises funds and awareness for breast cancer.

After realizing the impact that even one club could make, I decided to run for president of the Torah Activities Council, whose mission is to create a more vibrant Judaism on campus. With 26 clubs under its auspices, we work to enhance the religious and spiritual life of every student on campus.

You’re a Legacy Heritage Fund Scholar, which means you decided to major in Jewish education very early on. Why?

Education is power and I think it’s the most important value you can have. As the grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, I’ve internalized how integral Jewish education is to the continuity of the Jewish people. Having grown up with five foster siblings, I learned at a young age that every Jew is a treasure. I wanted to become a Jewish educator to spread my passion for Judaism and love of learning to others. Initially I had planned to make aliyah right after high school, but when I learned about Stern’s incredible education programs and especially the Legacy Heritage Fund Scholarship, I realized Stern was the right place for me. [The program provides full tuition support in the form of grants and forgivable loans for undergraduate study and also includes one-on-one mentoring, professional development, intensive Hebrew language instruction and substantial fieldwork experience.]

A dream of mine would be to travel around the world observing the methodologies of schools and universities in different countries and communities. Then I’d make the trip again, staying for some time in each place to improve each institution.

What accomplishment during your time at YU are you most proud of?

The response of the student body after Hurricane Sandy.

Thousands of people only a few blocks away from Stern didn’t have heat, food, water or light. I recognized that as TAC president, I could really do something. I called Adina Poupko in the Office of Student Life and asked her if I could organize a mission, despite the fact that it usually takes at least two weeks to put an event together. Adina basically said, “Margot, this is an emergency situation. Use your resources however you can. We trust you.”

Her words empowered me. Within a few hours, with the help of YU’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF), we had ordered a bus, close to $2,000 worth of supplies had been sponsored by the student councils and more than 50 students had signed up to join our mission. As we carried cases of water up flights of unlit stairs in buildings where elderly people lived on the Lower East Side, we saw the difference we were making then and there.

What will you be doing next year?

I’m deciding between two really special opportunities. One option is to spend time in Israel pursuing a master’s degree in Tanakh while teaching. I want to spend more time learning and improving my Hebrew so that I can come back to America and be the best educator I can be.

Another option I’m considering is living in Moscow for a year to create more educational and inspirational programming for the students there and provide care for Holocaust survivors. After spending my first winter break on a mission to Kharkov with the CJF, I was so inspired by the people I met there that I actually returned twice over the next two years and have developed a strong relationship with that community.

Meet more 2013 graduates. 

The Student Council of the Sy Syms School of Business will be presenting Mortimer B. Zuckerman with the first-ever Sy Syms Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his humanitarian efforts and ethical business practices throughout many years in philanthropy and business. The formal dinner and reception will be held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on April 23 as part of the annual Sy Syms School of Business Gala Awards Dinner. The event is organized and hosted by the Student Council.

“Mr. Zuckerman personifies the principles of leadership and entrepreneurship that are instilled in all of us at Sy Syms and we are honored to have him accept the inaugural Humanitarian Award,” said Jesse Nathanson, president of the Sy Syms School of Business Student Council.

Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel will present the award, an engraved Jerusalem stone charity box, to  Zuckerman. Marcy Syms, president of The Sy Syms Foundation, and Moses Pava, dean of the Sy Syms School of Business, will also give remarks.

“My father’s desire and ability to run his successful business with the utmost integrity is well-known,” Marcy Syms said. “His wish to instill this tradition in the future generations is underscored by The Foundation’s dedication to the School of Business, and most recently, helping fund the school’s ‘Leading with Meaning’ lecture series to help Jewish professionals navigate business, ethics and social responsibility.”

She added, “Mort Zuckerman has run his myriad influential and successful businesses with integrity and humanity. His desire to use his significant position to work tirelessly to make a better world for future generations is an example for all of us, and his effort working for peace in the Middle East has been particularly notable. On behalf of the other Trustees of The Foundation–Robert Syms, Mark Frieberg and Lynn Tamarkin Syms–we are thrilled to honor Mort Zuckerman with the first Sy Syms Humanitarian Award.”

Zuckerman is the co-founder and executive chairman of Boston Properties. He is also the owner and publisher of the New York Daily News and of U.S. News & World Report where he serves as editor-in-chief. He holds degrees from McGill University, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School.

Among various philanthropic endeavors, Zuckerman is an active supporter of Israeli and international Jewish causes. Between 2001 and 2003, Zuckerman was the chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. President George W. Bush appointed Zuckerman to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.

“As we celebrate our 26th anniversary at the Sy Syms School of Business, we have renewed our focus on integrating ethics into every course, celebrating the spirit of Jewish entrepreneurship across the curriculum, and emphasizing experience-based learning in everything we do,” said Pava. “Mort Zuckerman is a fine choice for this very important award and we are delighted to have him as our guest.”

On April 16, Yishai Eisenberg, a freshman at the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy / Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), became the first non-Israeli in 20 years to win the Chidon HaTanakh, Israel’s annual International Bible Competition for high school students. Eisenberg, of Passiac, NJ, dominated the competition from the outset, becoming the first champion in its 50-year run to share the winner’s circle when he finished the final round tied with Elior Babian of Beit Shemesh.

Rabbi Shai Peron, minister of education; Yishai Eisenberg; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and Elior Babian.

An illustration of the country’s desire to connect Jewish independence to Jewish values, the annual contest took place on Yom Ha’atzmaut at The Jerusalem Theater, under the auspices of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Rabbi Shai Piron.

“We are all very proud of Yishai’s amazing accomplishment,” said Rabbi Michael Taubes, head of school at YUHSB. “We know how much time and effort he put into preparing for this and were all rooting for him. It’s unbelievable just to qualify for the competition, but to actually win is incredible.”

Until Eisenberg’s victory, no American had won the contest since 1988, when another YUHSB student, and current RIETS Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Jeremy Wieder took first place.

When the international competition began, 58 contestants from over 26 countries took the stage. Eisenberg secured a spot in this year’s competition by achieving the only perfect score at the National Bible Contest, which took place at Yeshiva University on May 6, 2012.

In what was intended to be the tie-breaking final round, host Avshalom Kor presented Eisenberg and Babian with a series of difficult questions, allowing each only five seconds to answer with no opportunities to correct themselves. After 12 intense rounds of head-to-head competition, both contestants received perfect scores, resulting in the unprecedented tie.

Students, faculty and staff honored the memories of Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror at Yeshiva University’s annual Yom Hazikaron (Israel Memorial Day) ceremony on Monday night, April 15. The moving program featured words of inspiration from President Richard M. Joel; Rabbi Dovid Miller, mashigach ruchani [spiritual advisor], Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, RIETS Rosh Yeshiva, among others, as well as an a cappela performance and memorial candle lighting service.

The event was followed by song and dance at the annual Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) Chagigah in the Max Stern Athletic Center, celebrating Israel’s 65th birthday. Yom Ha’atzmaut festivities continued on April 16 with more dancing, shiurim [lectures], a barbecue and carnival on the Wilf Campus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWDeVvxyYys

On April 14, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) commemorated the 20th yahrtzeit [anniversary of death] of “the Rav,” Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt”l, Torah luminary and YU Rosh Yeshiva, with a full-day learning program that took place in the Lamport Auditorium on YU’s Wilf Campus. Thousands attended in-person or followed the event online to gain insight into the Rav’s life and legacy through lectures, discussions and presentations given by his family and closest students.

“I experience a sense of déjà vu standing in this room today, for in this very room we waited with baited breath for the Rav to enter and deliver his famous shiurim on his father’s yahrtzeit each year,” said Rabbi Joel Schreiber, Chairman of the RIETS Board of Trustees, in his opening remarks to the participants. “In this room thousands of men and women had their hearts, minds and souls lifted to unimaginable heights by the Rav.”

The program kicked off with “Multiple Faces of the Rav,” a panel that brought together Rabbi Soloveitchik’s daughter, Dr. Atarah Twersky, and several students of the Rav, including Rabbi Herschel Schachter, RIETS Rosh Yeshiva; Dr. David Shatz, YU professor of philosophy; and Rabbi Kenneth Brander, David Mitzner Dean of the CJF, to examine the many and varied roles played by the Rav during his lifetime.

Speaking about her father’s early career, after he arrived as a young man in Boston with limited English skills, no rabbinic experience and no knowledge of the American Jewish community, Twersky noted, “Many people—including my father himself—would later refer to the Rav as a melamed [teacher]. While I would call him this, too, if I had to find one word or phrase to describe him, it would be baal emunah – my father was a man of faith, and his faith inspired his role as a teacher.”

While Schachter and Shatz explored the depth and reach of the Rav’s philosophy, Brander, who served as his shamesh [assistant], touched on a more uncommon theme: the ideals of chessed [acts of kindness] Rabbi Soloveitchik inherited from his grandfather, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk. “When people think of Rav Soloveitchik, they describe his brilliance,” Brander said. “The Rav not only inherited Reb Chaim’s intellect, he had internalized Reb Chaim’s ideals of chessed. He truly felt the pain of others and was happiest when he could solve their dilemmas, pained when he could not, sleepless and steadfast when he had the opportunity to marshal his intellectual arsenal to help another human being.”

Brander added: “There is no Jewish community in the world that has not been touched by the Rav, his students or his writings.”

Rabbi Mayer Twersky, RIETS Rosh Yeshiva and grandson of the Rav, delivered the day’s keynote lecture, “Mesorah & Modernity: The Role of the Rav.” Discussing the interaction of Western ideals and the Rav’s hashkafa, Twersky argued that his self-identification as a teacher of Torah provided Rabbi Soloveitchik with the means to reconcile any conflict arising between the two—without compromising on his religious beliefs.

“Torah is not always in sync with the tempo of the times,” Twersky said. “The force of the Rav’s majestic, charismatic personality, his brilliant shiurim and his projection of the vitality and multidimensionality of halakha, the confidence which he represented and radiated in our mesorah [tradition], all distilled the message of this melamed par excellence into a simple phrase well known to all of us and a message that his and our generation very much needs to hear: ‘Moshe emes v’soraso emes– Moses is true and his Torah is the truth.’ ”

Breakout sessions during the afternoon portion of the programming enabled audience members to join in the conversation. Sessions in the first time slot included a discussion of the Rav’s unique Derech Halimud [approach to learning] led by Schachter and RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Menachem Genack;  exploration of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s thoughts and rulings on interfaith relations led by Shatz and Dr. David Berger, dean and Ruth and I. Lewis Gordon Professor of Jewish History at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies; and the reflections of Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and senior scholar at the CJF, on the importance of the Rav’s teaching in modern society.

In the second time slot, Rabbi Shalom Carmy, YU assistant professor of Jewish philosophy and Bible, and Rabbi Michael Taubes, head of school at Yeshiva University High School for Boys, delved into the Rav’s philosophy on prayer, while Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, rabbi emeritus at Young Israel of Kew Garden Hills, and Rabbi Julius Berman, RIETS Board of Trustees chairman emeritus, took an in-depth look at the Rav’s policies on relating to and engaging with other denominations in the Jewish community.

“Events like these make me realize how much I would have learned from the Rav himself,” said Leba Winter ’11S. “His philosophy really emphasizes the idea of time and Torah having a sense of direction, carrying messages from the past to the way we live our lives today.”

Addressing an enthusiastic gathering of more than 400 supporters, alumni and faculty on Monday, April 15, Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, publicly announced the College of Medicine’s largest fundraising effort—a capital campaign to raise at least $500 million, known as “The Campaign to Transform Einstein.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIx-7gqKnaQ

On what was promoted as a “historic” evening at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, Dr. Spiegel revealed that a bequest of more than $160 million—the largest gift in the school’s 60-year history—had recently been received from a leading Einstein supporter. The college has raised more than $400 million in this campaign, and is poised to meet or exceed its goal. The funds raised are allowing the research-intensive medical school to experience remarkable growth, spearheaded by the leadership of Dr. Spiegel, who arrived at Einstein in 2006 following a distinguished 30-year career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Of particular note was the recent bequest by longtime supporter Muriel Block, who died in 2010, having generously provided for Einstein through her estate. The gift, given in the name of Mrs. Block and her late husband, real estate executive Harold Block, will significantly advance the College of Medicine’s goal of improving human health, and in recognition the school will name several significant entities for the Blocks, including:

• The Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Brain Research;
• The Harold and Muriel Block Building, which will house administrative offices and additional research space;
• The Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Einstein and Montefiore (the University Hospital for Einstein); and
• A series of 10 new, fully endowed chairs, known as the Harold and Muriel Block Scholars.

(Learn more about how the gift from Harold and Muriel Block will be used and honored at Einstein.)

“I am grateful for the visionary leadership and support of Einstein’s Board of Overseers, and for the remarkable generosity of Muriel Block and our other donors,” said Dr. Spiegel. “They can all take pride in Einstein as a medical school that will excel in achieving its educational and research mission.”

In addition to doubling the rate of fundraising during Dr. Spiegel’s tenure, Einstein was awarded $160 million in NIH funding for 2012, a 61 percent increase over 2000–2003, when the NIH budget was doubling and the success rate for applications was twice what it is now. The 2012 funding allocation occurred at a time when the NIH budget was flat and securing grants incredibly difficult. Since 2006, the College of Medicine has added more than 140 faculty members, including key chairs and senior-level recruits from leading institutions. Einstein has also established institutes and centers in fields of national importance, including cardiovascular disease; cancer prevention and control; stem cell research and regenerative medicine; and clinical and translational research.

The wide-ranging efforts have resulted in key advances affecting human health. These include: the discovery of a lifesaving two-drug combination for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis; the finding that breast cancer spreads only when a specific trio of cell types exists within a single tumor, which could help tailor treatment for each patient; development of drugs in clinical trials for treatment of lymphoma and gout; and the discovery of a process that causes cells to improperly dispose of their waste, a dysfunction contributing to a range of diseases, including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, and offering a target for new treatments. Read more Key Accomplishments.

During the remainder of this campaign, continued philanthropic support will allow Einstein to expand its focus on health areas of national priority and continue to recruit pioneering faculty members to lead groundbreaking research and education projects. Several innovative initiatives are in the process of being launched, including:

• A Center for Experimental Therapeutics, designed to accelerate the movement of potential drugs through the development pipeline and into the marketplace;
• A Genome Sequencing and Analysis Initiative, to answer genetic questions on a wide range of diseases and leverage the resources of the newly established New York Genome Center, of which Einstein is a founding member; and
• A state-of-the-art Education Center that will encourage interactive, small-group learning, employ the latest technology and feature more dedicated study space. It will also house a new simulation center to help students hone the development of anatomical skills.

“As you can see from these results, Dean Spiegel’s ambitions and vision for Einstein have the enthusiastic support of thousands of donors, and the biomedical research and education taking place are remarkable,” said Dr. Ruth L. Gottesman, chair of Einstein’s Board of Overseers. “I have never been more enthusiastic about our future. This is a very special time to be involved with Einstein.”

Dr. Gottesman has been a tireless advocate for Einstein’s research efforts and the interests of its students, and has chaired Einstein’s Board for the past six years. She has helped support the school’s key priorities, including the establishment of the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research and the Ruth L. Gottesman Clinical Skills Center, which provides rigorous training in patient relationship and communication skills.

Since its founding in 1953, when renowned physicist Albert Einstein lent his name to the institution, Einstein has been known for its pioneering biomedical research and a humanistic approach to teaching and practicing medicine. As Einstein charts its course for the decades ahead, it will remain focused on improving health by promoting excellence in research and education.

“Gifts from Muriel Block and our other dedicated supporters are bold investments that will accelerate the paths to discovery, and yield measurable improvements in people’s lives,” said Dr. Spiegel.

As often as possible, I leave the confines of my 12th-floor office and meander around the campus of Yeshiva University. I do this for many reasons, principally because I so enjoy speaking with our students and absorbing the sights and insights of our campus experience as much as they do.

But even when students tuck themselves away in their classrooms and study halls, I examine the magnificent buildings in which our students pore over their texts, both Judaic and secular. Those edifices themselves seem to speak almost as loudly as the passionate, smart and vociferous undergraduates studying within them, serving as architectural symbols of the many great institutions of learning that we Jews have built together in North America and around the world.

One particular structural feature of our campus always strikes a chord in me. Three flags, each flapping and flailing in the unremitting Washington Heights wind: The flag of Yeshiva University, the flag of the United States of America, the flag of the State of Israel. Degel Yisrael, that 65-year-old symbol of hope with its ancient Star of David affixed at its center, with thousands of years of Jewish endurance and hope enchantingly summarized in its blue and white hues.

And I ask myself: What message does that flag bear for the sprawling, growing, Diaspora-based institution over which it flies? Why fly the flag of Israel?

***

“Ki mitziyon tetzei Torah u’dvar Hashem Mi’Yerushalayim” – For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of God from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3). Far from a hollow refrain, this sentence speaks to a metaphysical reality sensed by Jews around the world and throughout our turbulent and vulnerable history of exile; Israel has always assumed a central position, in our collective hearts and minds.

As congregations through the generations exclaimed “Next year in Jerusalem!” at the conclusion of their Yom Kippur and Passover Seder rituals, as bridegrooms stopped just short of unbridled joy to recite “Lest I forget thee, Jerusalem” under their flower-laden wedding canopies, Israel forever retained its status as the virtual homeland of the Jewish people.

And for a while, that virtual homeland had to be enough; enough to bind together a Jew from Minsk with his brother in Morocco, a Jew in Indiana with her sister in India. That legendary homeland of lore generated a sense of home amongst the perpetually and historically homeless. And the Jews had to persist with merely a virtual homeland.

And yet the yearning for an actual Jewish homeland steadily became apparent. Our landless condition left us utterly exposed to our own scattering, division, and obliteration. With the onslaught of Enlightenment, we began to lose ties that would bind us through our peoplehood, and absent a physical home, we became wanderers in every way. Not to mention the various inquisitions, pogroms, and holocausts which periodically reminded us all too clearly of our own nomadic defenselessness.

The atrocities of the Holocaust seemed to provide the very last straw, and Israel was finally established in 1948, an absolute game changer for world Jewry at large. For so many Jews – among them David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, and their generation – the existence of a modern State of Israel went from a pleasant pipe dream to an all but necessary pre-condition to Jewish survival.  Medinat Yisrael made a profound difference for the ingathering of the exiles, and with its “Right of Return”, provides the promise of comfort and refuge for each and every Diaspora Jew. And more.

Israel, thankfully, has continued to thrive in ways wondrous. It has assumed its rightful place among the community of nations. It once again serves as the center of Jewish leaning and living for a Jewish renaissance based on pride and place.

In this better world, Israeli and Diaspora Jewry enjoy a symbiotic relationship, and the key is this: As it grows in population and purpose, Israel must be seen not only as a geographic refuge, but as a destination for our destiny, as a foundation which continues to anchor our lives as Jews, as it has for time immemorial. And that relationship between Israel and the rest of the Jewish world can strengthen both poles and allow Am Yisrael, the people of Israel, to fulfill its sacred mission of being a light unto the nations.

The existence and growth of Israel serves as one of the great connectors of Jewish identity, wherever those Jews may take up residence. One particularly powerful example: The Birthright-Taglit program has demonstrated that a return to the family homestead, with all its accompanying history, suddenly becomes a gateway to destiny for thousands of young women and men. In that way, Israel continues its invitation and welcome to make aliyah and return to live at home; or, its welcome to return as active members of the Jewish family, wherever they may reside.

Millennia ago, God charged the Jewish people with an everlasting destiny to matter, both in the world and to the world. Having Jews peppered throughout the world allows for the story of the Jewish people to continue to impact mankind. But the notion of “ki mitziyon teitzeh Torah” reminds us all that Jews ‘round the world may only continue to partner with God in bettering the world if a growing population of Jews in Israel calls Israel their home.

***

On Monday, I will take yet another stroll on Yeshiva’s Wilf Manhattan campus. On that day, though, on the fifth day of Iyar, I will be joined by thousands of students and faculty as we gather together for a special program; concurrently, on Rechov Duvdevani at our Jerusalem Campus, our students and alumni will celebrate in similar fashion. We will first somberly intone the memorial service of Yom Hazikaron, in tribute to those who gave their lives for the Jewish State. But as twilight gives way to nightfall, the piercing sound of the shofar will rouse all assembled into cheer as Israel Independence Day is joyously heralded.

And as our students march down Amsterdam Avenue waiving their blue and white, their comrades, seven time zones to the east,will arise from their slumbers to intone the Hallel blessings and march down King George Street in jubilant song and dance. And in one intensely poignant and global moment, the Jewish people will affirm once more, as generations did before them, the permanent and sacred status of Israel at the core of our collective conscience.

Richard M. Joel is president of Yeshiva University and Bravmann Family University Professor. This op-ed originally appeared in Haaretz.com on April 14. View photos from last year’s Yom Hazikaron ceremony and Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations.

A common spirit runs throughout Yeshiva University: the mandate to matter.

Students of all ages and backgrounds come here to pursue a range of professional and personal dreams, from scientific research and medicine to law, Jewish education or public policy. Our students seek to harness their unique talents and YU education to make a lasting impact on the world around them. This spring, when they graduate from YU, these new alumni will hit the ground running.

In the weeks leading up to Commencement, YU News will feature one remarkable graduate from each school, reflecting, in their own words, on their time here, their passions and their dreams for the future.

Meet the Class of 2013.

YU High School for Boys senior Devir Kahan

Name: Devir Kahan

School: Yeshiva University High School for Boys / Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (MTA)

Hometown: Monsey, New York

Passion: Information technology

Why did you choose MTA?

Coming out of middle school, I liked the idea of a high school on a college campus. MTA feels like a university. When you have a free period, you can go to the library or the gym.

In 11th grade we met with YU Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel Schachter. It was right before Pesach, and we were all sitting around asking questions to this posek who most people wouldn’t be lucky enough to meet. That’s because of the high school’s ties with the University, and it’s just one of the things I got to experience here that I couldn’t have done anywhere else.

What was your most memorable high school experience?

In 10th grade I participated in the Makor Chaim exchange program. Ten students from each grade get sent to this high school yeshiva in Israel for six weeks, and then five or six of their students come to us for six weeks. I’d been to Israel before but definitely hadn’t lived there as an Israeli high school student. It was a pretty amazing experience. All the classes were in Hebrew. Every week, the students voted on important issues in their school—they were really making major decisions about the way their education was organized to help each student grow religiously and as a person. It was different than anything I’d seen in America.

For me, it was a great opportunity not only to prove to myself that I could do something really challenging, but also to live in a totally different and fully immersive culture. At times it was hard, at times it was emotional, but I’m very glad I did it. And next year I’ll be going back to Israel when I begin my studies at Yeshivat Reishit.

What are some of the extracurricular activities you’ve been involved in?

I joined choir because I always liked singing. Lately I’ve been working on the yearbook, too. A friend of mine also got me involved in Model Congress. This being my last year at MTA, I wanted to say yes to as many opportunities as I can.

There’s also a program called MTA LEAD which I got to be a part of. If you have a business idea, MTA and Sy Syms School of Business pairs you up with a professional in the YU network who’s successfully done something similar. I started a website, BitQuill, when I was 12 or 13. It’s for the technologically inclined. The word “geek” comes to mind. I review technology, interview someone, or write how-to guides or general articles about the industry that would be interesting to someone interested in that stuff, like me. There are 20,000 to 30,000 people who read it every month.

I wanted to get some tips and pointers for the site, so I signed up for MTA LEAD with a friend who’s been helping me with the site. We spoke to someone who built a site where patients can review their physicians about how he had developed marketing and expanded traffic to his site, as well as general good practices.

How did you discover your passion for technology?

I really identified with New York Times columnist David Pogue growing up. He writes a weekly technology column which is really great, witty and a little odd. But originally, he was also going to go into play production—he’s written music for shows and he’s part of the League of Magicians. He wrote this book Magic for Dummies, which I loved.

I also play the piano and was always interested in magic, too. I read an interview with Pogue about how he became interested in technology. He said the only thing he could come up with was that he liked technology for the same reason he liked magic: the awe of not knowing how something works and wanting to figure it out. That’s basically how I feel. I understand the big ideas, but how little wires make whatever comes up on the screen—that’s magic to me.

How are you hoping to incorporate your fascination with technology into a profession?

I’ve been taking a computer programming course at MTA, which was something that I always wanted to learn. I’d love to work on my site and be a programmer, designing something really big—an application that people can use and enjoy.

What does the idea of Torah Umadda mean to you?

We were just discussing in my Jewish History course about when the concepts of Torah and madda became disassociated from each other in Jewish culture… we’re put here on Earth to grow and enhance the world, whether that’s through literally learning Torah and sharing Torah or by being a good person and creating something the world didn’t have before. I feel like that has got to count for something.

 Meet more 2013 graduates. 

On April 10, Member of the Knesset Rabbi Dov Lipman gave Yeshiva University students an inside perspective on his transformation from Orthodox American rabbi and educator to revolutionary Israeli policymaker at a YU Israel Club event on the Wilf Campus.

American-born Knesset member Dov Lipman shares his story at YU.

“When my family and I boarded our Nefesh B’Nefesh flight in 2004, the farthest thing from my mind was entering Israeli politics, and becoming a Knesset member was even further,” Lipman told the crowd.

The son of a United States federal judge, Lipman had grown up in Silver Spring, Maryland, received semikha at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College and a master’s degree in education from Johns Hopkins University, and served in various educational and administrative capacities at community schools before deciding to make aliyah. “My wife and I moved to Israel prepared for all kinds of scenarios,” Lipman said. “We knew there could be wars or, G-d forbid, terrorism.”

What they were not prepared for was the bitterness of the divide between Jewish communities within Israel. Shortly after their arrival in Beit Shemesh, Lipman was hit by a rock which had been lobbed at him by a Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) protest group. “The thought of a Jew throwing a rock at another Jew was not something I ever imagined,” he said. “It shook me up on many levels. And the idea that this was just a part of Israeli life that you had to accept was totally unacceptable to me.” Determined to change that mindset, Lipman began getting involved in city affairs, organizing demonstrations and writing columns in The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel—advocating for a more unified Israel based on Jewish values.

Perhaps most famously, Lipman gained national attention in late 2011 for speaking out publicly against a zealot group in Beit Shemesh that verbally assaulted young girls on their way home from school. Though his role in battling extremism garnered him criticism as well as praise, Lipman told students he felt he had done the right thing by labeling the group “kitzonim,” or extremists, in the media. “People who spit and curse at little girls are not representative of the Haredi community or Torah values,” he said. “By choosing my words carefully, I left the way open for the leadership of the Haredi community to say, ‘We are not with these people and we condemn their actions.’ Sadly, they took it as an attack and responded defensively, which was a mistake.”

Frustrated by his lack of progress, Lipman became convinced that nothing would change unless the government itself changed first. “My focus wasn’t so much about changing things within the Haredi system as creating unity within Israel—a party where men, women, Sefardim, Ashkenazim, Ethiopians, Russians and everyone else could work together to break down the barriers that prevent us from functioning as one people.”

Lipman had almost given up hope of finding any such party when a close friend, and current chief of staff, sent him a link to a speech Yesh Atid founder Yair Lapid had given at a Haredi program imploring the community to work together with secular and more modern Jewish groups to make Israel a better country. “I felt this hand coming out of the secular side reaching out to the religious community and I wanted to be one of those people that grabbed that hand and said, ‘We can do this and it’s so much what I always believed,’ ” said Lipman.

Lapid and Lipman struck up a partnership that led to Lipman’s nomination and eventual election as one of 19 Yesh Atid members to win Knesset seats in January’s election. Comprising a diverse group of people, both religiously and politically, the party seeks to model the respectful discourse and collaboration it would like to see among many different circles of Israeli society. “We’re reaching out beyond our comfort zones to tackle issues of religion and state that previously no one has wanted to touch,” said Lipman, listing the equalization of national and military service among secular and religious Jews, education reform, and conversion and marriage processes with Israel as some of the first topics the party will address.

Initially, Lipman was nervous that his still-developing Hebrew skills and unfamiliarity with Israeli culture would hinder his effectiveness as a politician. However, he told students, that hasn’t been the case. “If you try to speak in Hebrew, Israelis are very forgiving if you make a few mistakes,” he said. “I think they’re proud someone like me could move to Israel and serve on the Knesset. My biggest message to you if you want to get involved in Israeli politics is that you can and should pursue it—Americans bring a certain value system which is very necessary in the Israeli world.”

Eli Levtov, a Yeshiva College sophomore, found that last point especially intriguing. “It’s very interesting to see how he as an American could affect real change in the Israeli government,” he said. “The American-Israeli relationship has always fascinated me. Whether I’m there or here, I hear a lot about the good and the bad aspects of it, and to hear how he integrated both perspectives is important.”

“At a time when people no longer talk but scream at each other without understanding each other, people like Rabbi Lipman give us new hope that Israel will start representing us as a people who aren’t identical, working together to further the good of Israel and the Jewish people,” said YU President Richard M. Joel.

Some of the best and brightest college students in the nation teach science in Washington Heights public schools.

For free.

Each week, Yeshiva University (YU) students volunteer in three Washington Heights public schools, teaching the beauty and magic of science, technology, math and engineering to children.

Now START! (Students Teachers And Researchers Teach) is expanding—both internationally and nationally.

The YU program is offering its resources to other universities, including seed money, information on where to purchase materials and ideas for modules. The program is being adopted by the University of Iowa and York University in Toronto, Canada.

“We ask in return that they give us ideas also, so that we can build this intellectual community—this community of thinkers, of innovators, of teachers,” said Yair Saperstein.

Saperstein loves science and teaching. He co-founded the project when he was a chemistry student at YU. Read the full article in the Manhattan Times…

A new, need-based scholarship has been created, allocated specifically to Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC) graduates who are applying to Yeshiva University, in the amount of $80,500. The scholarship fortifies the relationship between HANC and Yeshiva, which is of vital importance to the gift donors, Beryl and Doreen Eckstein.

“The gift is significant because it follows a new model that represents a three-way partnership involving the donor acting as bridge between a local high school and Yeshiva University,” said Ari Rockoff, director at the Department of Community Partnership’s Center for Jewish Future (CJF) at Yeshiva University.

The Ecksteins, who live in Nassau County, have a longstanding relationship with both Yeshiva University and HANC. Beryl Eckstein, has served as an Executive Board member at HANC for many years and is currently on the CJF Advisory Board. Beryl and Doreen are both graduates of Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women and have three children who all attended HANC and Yeshiva University. Their oldest son, Dani, graduated Yeshiva College in 2007; their middle son, David, graduated Yeshiva College in 2009 and is now studying for ordination at YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS); and their daughter, Rebecca, is graduating YU’s Stern College this year. There are many other family connections to the university, dating back two generations.

“Doreen and I would like to take this opportunity to thank both HANC and Yeshiva University for all that they have done to educate our children and for inspiring and instilling in them a love of Torah Im Derech Eretz,” said Eckstein. “We can think of no better way to acknowledge our appreciation than to help afford other HANC graduates the opportunity to experience the formative world of Torah Umadda at YU.”

The scholarships, which will be distributed over a period of five years beginning with the 2013-14 academic year and extending through the 2017-18 academic year, will be awarded to a new group of students per year, over the course of the next three years. Scholarships will be given to HANC students who are accepted to YU and qualify for financial aid. The scholarships awarded will be largely need-based. Recipients of these scholarship funds will have spent at least a year studying in Israel and agree to complete their YU undergraduate education on a YU campus in New York. The number of students to receive scholarship support, and the amount of support, will be determined by YU’s Office of Student Financial Aid.

In line with Yeshiva University’s mission to educate and nurture future Jewish leadership, and in following the Jewish principle of Hakarot Hatov (expressing gratitude), YU-HANC Scholars will sign an ethical agreement calling upon them to “give back” to HANC and Yeshiva University. The “give back” to HANC will be based on the talents of the particular student. Examples include: one-on-one or small group learning sessions in Jewish Studies, secular studies tutoring in the student’s area of expertise, etc. Each YU-HANC Scholar will return to HANC twice during the academic year. Additionally, students will be asked to contribute financially to YU after they have graduated and are successfully employed so that they can help support the future studies of YU students.

“HANC and Yeshiva University share in the mission of bringing wisdom to life by combining the the timeless teachings of Torah with the finest, contemporary academic education,” said Rabbi Shlomo Adelman, principal of HANC. “It is with a profound sense of hakrat hatov that we thank the Ecksteins for their generosity in providing this special gift and opportunity for our graduates to continue in this path of Torah Im Derech Eretz.”

Four generations of Holocaust survivors and their descendants took the podium at Yeshiva University’s Yom Hashoah commemoration ceremony on Monday, April 8, at a packed Lamport Auditorium on the Wilf Campus. The theme of the ceremony, organized by YU’s Student Holocaust Education Movement (SHEM), was “The Lost Generations.”

The ceremony highlighted Jewry’s imperative to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive as the generation of Holocaust survivors passes and new generations arise. The program began with a haunting recitation of victims’ names, accompanied by a medley of mournful Jewish melodies, performed on the violin by Yeshiva College Professor Yair Shahak.

“The legacy [of the victims] must never become just another number,” said Jacob Bernstein ’15YC, president of SHEM. “We recall these individuals and who they were by recounting their personalities and lost potential… Each person is an entire world, and with the loss of 6 million Jews came the loss of 6 million worlds that we will never know.”

Holocaust survivor Aron Bell (formerly Bielski) recounted his story alongside his granddaughter Aliza Abrams, assistant director in YU’s Center for the Jewish Future Department of Service Learning and Experiential Education. Bell and his three older brothers led the largest Jewish partisan group of the Shoah. Under their protection, approximately 1,200 Jews survived the war in the Belarus forests. Their story was made famous by the 2008 film “Defiance.”

“The main credit [for saving so many lives] goes to my oldest brother Tuvia,” said Bell, who was 11 years old during the 1941 Nazi invasion. “He said, ‘Let come a child, let come a pregnant woman, let come an old man; whatever we have we’ll share with them.’”

Bell’s message to the audience was serious. “You do not know what tomorrow will bring, even in America,” he stressed, noting the importance of studying the Holocaust and how genocide can occur in even the most advanced countries.”

Representing second-generation survivors was Stern College for Women Professor Smadar Rosensweig, who spoke about the life and legacy of her mother, Dr. Yaffa Eliach. Eliach, a Holocaust survivor from the Eishyshok shtetl, dedicated her life to Holocaust research and education. She authored numerous books, founded the first Holocaust research center in the United States and pioneered the global effort to collect survivor interviews.

Unfortunately, Eliach’s health no longer permits her to continue her activism. “I am her commemoration, I am her song,” said Rosensweig. “My mother’s life was dedicated to keeping the voices of Holocaust survivors alive… Her genius was to recreate their life for us, their heroism, their unique inner world… to give a face, a name, a story, to every Jewish voice that survived.”

Talia Lautman ’13S, spoke about her relationship with her late Oma [grandmother] Breindel, who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau. Lautman, SHEM vice-president, recounted her grandmother’s faith and how she and several others risked their lives to hold a Passover seder in Birkenau, using raisins as wine and potato peelings as karpas. But the memory that stood out most for Lautman is when the elderly survivor stood at the Majdanek concentration camp, surrounded by descendants, and addressed her deceased parents in Slovak as though she were a young girl. “Mommy, Tatty, it’s me, it’s your baby Bryna,” said Lautman’s grandmother. “Look at me… look at all my kids. Look at the family I have… I love you so much.”

The program also featured a recitation of “El Maleh Rahamim” by YU President Richard M. Joel, a performance by the Y-Studs a cappella group, a stirring montage of Holocaust photographs and a yahrzeit candle-lighting ceremony led by Zevi Weisinger ’14SB, a great-grandson of a survivor.

The student-run Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution has invited former United States President Jimmy Carter to receive its Advocate for Peace Award. President Carter’s invitation to Cardozo represents solely the initiative of this student journal, not of Yeshiva University or the Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School. The university recognizes the breadth of impassioned feelings engendered by this appearance, and is mindful of the diversity of expressed opinions on the matter.

At the core of Yeshiva University’s expressed mission and sacred mandate stands an unwavering and unapologetic commitment to the legitimacy, safety, and security of the State of Israel. Israel remains not just a critical, but an essential pillar of our institutional and communal ethos.  We’ve built a campus in Israel; our students study there in droves; our alumni make aliyah by the thousands; all of our schools engage in collaborative programs with Israeli institutions. Both literally and emblematically, Yeshiva University proudly flies the degel Yisrael, the Flag of the State of Israel, both on our campuses and in our hearts.

While he has been properly lauded for his role in the Camp David Accords of 1978, I strongly disagree with many of President Carter’s statements and actions in recent years which have mischaracterized the Middle East conflict and have served to alienate those of us who care about Israel. President Carter’s presence at Cardozo in no way represents a university position on his views, nor does it indicate the slightest change in our steadfastly pro-Israel stance.

That said, Yeshiva University both celebrates and takes seriously its obligation as a university to thrive as a free marketplace of ideas, while remaining committed to its unique mission as a proud Jewish university.

Richard M. Joel

President and Bravmann Family University Professor

Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, Yeshiva University’s vice provost for undergraduate education, recently led a delegation from the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), as part of a wider Jewish delegation, to meet with newly-elected Pope Francis in Vatican City.

IJCIC is a coalition of Jewish organizations including the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, B’nai B’rith International, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Israel Jewish Council of Interreligious Relations, Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbinical Council of America, Union for Reform Judaism, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and the World Jewish Congress. It was created to represent world Jewry in its relations with other world religions.

“We have seen important and positive developments in the Church’s attitude to the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” said Schiffman, who serves as chair of IJCIC. ”We need to continue to build on this important relationship. Those in the Vatican have done a tremendous amount in recent years to help us in the fight against anti-Semitism and this is one way we can show our gratitude.”

Along with the other members of the delegation, Schiffman was present at a special reception for religious leaders from all different faiths on March 20 following the pope’s induction ceremony the day before. The IJCIC and other Jewish representatives were singled out for special welcome by Francis in his remarks. Those in attendance at the event also had the opportunity to meet with the pope individually. When it was Schiffman’s turn, he wished him a hearty “mazal tov,” drawing a laugh from Francis.

On Monday, Jews across the world will commemorate and mourn the tragic and unspeakable events of the Holocaust as they mark the 60th Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. Many will gather to pray, share stories and hear the testimony of survivors, including students at Yeshiva University. But as time passes and fewer survivors remain to bear witness, how can we as a community ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten?

PRISM: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Holocaust Educators, published by YU’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, seeks to keep the memories and conversations of the Holocaust alive by examining specific issues through multidimensional lenses of history, poetry, psychology, education and art, among others. YU News sat down with editors Dr. Karen Shawn, visiting associate professor of Jewish education at Azrieli, and Dr. Jeffrey Glanz, Raine and Stanley Silverstein Chair in Professional Ethics and Values at Azrieli, to discuss the changing face of Holocaust education in the 21st century.

PRISM incorporates art, poetry and narrative into the experience of Holocaust education. What are the advantages of this approach versus a traditional textbook?

Glanz: It’s multisensory learning. Children sometimes can’t express themselves in verbal forms but they can draw a picture or sing a song. This journal focuses on art, photography and poetry as a way of touching the emotions, along with the cognitive, historical aspects of the Holocaust.

Shawn: So many survivors themselves are also involved in the arts. It’s really important for people to understand that there are lots of ways to tell the story. For example, our most recent issue features a play about the Kindertransport taken from testimonies of survivors. The parts are small, so it’s classroom-friendly and appropriate for all levels of readers. You can have your students do a dramatic reading or a performance and it will stay with them forever, because once you become an Edith who was on the Kindertransport, you’ll never forget her story. That kind of involvement is crucial to continuing the memory and the knowledge.

I think PRISM also helps readers understand that when they experience a trauma, they can draw on their own resilience and express themselves in ways that help them make meaning from it, like these survivors did.

This is our fifth issue and the response from teachers has been phenomenal. It’s been requested in 35 countries and 50 states, from educators, Holocaust museums and resource centers across the world. They’ve used every component of it. Some even teach PRISM as a self-contained unit of study.

What are the biggest misconceptions about Holocaust education?

Shawn: For me the biggest misconception is that teachers have to teach everything you need to know about the Holocaust in one unit. Another prevalent misconception is that the Holocaust, in all its horror, should be taught to young students.

Glanz: Unfortunately, one of the things I see in the field all the time is fourth graders—and even kindergarteners—learning about the Holocaust as a cataclysmic historical event in Jewish history, which is totally pedagogically and developmentally inappropriate. You can talk about the importance of community and friendship at that age, but the Holocaust in all its brutality should not be taught before middle school.

Shawn: The other misconception is that students respond only to the most graphic images of horror. Teachers think because the world is such a horrible place and TV and Internet are so violent, they have to rival that imagery to reach students. But as you learn in the classroom, when everyone else is shouting, the trick is to lower your voice. Horror doesn’t teach—it suffocates. Instead, we want to ask the essential questions that tell the Jewish story.

What’s the best way to teach the Holocaust to younger students?

Shawn: Start at the beginning and approach it chronologically because it was a successively terrible thing. If you begin teaching the Holocaust in the way it actually happened, slowly and mildly, you can lay a foundation without smashing all the atrocities that occurred into the head of a sixth grader. Give yourself permission to understand that it’s not your task to finish the job. Preferably, collaborate with all the teachers in your school to create a sequential Holocaust curriculum so you can teach it little by little as students grow up.

Glanz: We would encourage teachers to be most focused on following the life of one person or family as they traversed the Holocaust experience. People were not just victims. There was a rich cultural history before the Holocaust. What was that history about? What was their family life like? What foods did they eat? What games did they play? How did they experience school and community? Then talk about what happened historically. Follow that person through to the ghettos or transport to the camps. And then, after the Holocaust—what happened? The world didn’t end there. There was a rich robust Jewish life beyond the Holocaust.

What is the best way to make Yom HaShoah a meaningful experience?

Shawn: The standard is to hear a survivor’s testimony. But it’s a desperate time because so many survivors are dying and so few are available to speak. It’s important that everyone now hear as many survivors as they can because we are the last generation—the witnesses to the witnesses. Without them, it will be very different. But it’s also important to have an educational component after that evocative component. Consider what you heard; promote round-table discussions. Survivors don’t consider themselves heroes; do we? Are these people heroes or victims? Historians use the words perpetrators, bystanders and victims. Is that how we see ourselves? How did some Jews turn that victimization into something else? How did it affect their religious observance? How did they pray?

Glanz: The question you want to ask yourself after attending a Yom HaShoah event or hearing a survivor speak is, how can I be a better person after learning this? Learn more about the Holocaust online or read a biography. Do chessed. Do something. If you learn about a cataclysmic event like the Holocaust and you’re not changed by it or more sensitive to the sufferings of others, whether they are Jewish or not, it’s no different than learning about the American Revolution or any other impersonal historical event.

Why is Holocaust education so vital?

Shawn: The Holocaust contains the seeds of every important conversation that all human beings have to have if they believe it’s important to live an examined life. You can talk about the idea of resilience, heroism, antisemitism, hatred. What does it mean to pray in the midst of despair? Where was G-d? How do we understand the dilemmas we all face today and how do they differ from the choiceless choices of the Holocaust?

Otto Frank had to make one of those choices: he could keep his family together in hiding or separate them and send them out into different hiding places. He knew either decision would probably result in death. That’s what Jews faced. What can we learn from the ways Jews responded when confronted with those dilemmas?

There are survivors who say, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Christians who rescued me.” And there are other survivors who say, “Rescue is a footnote to the Holocaust. Nobody did anything for us. We were abandoned by the world.” Those two views are diametrically opposed. What view do you hold of the world? Do you see yourself as part of a larger world community to which it’s important to assimilate? Or do you think, “We have only ourselves to depend on and we have to circle the wagons and make sure our number one goal is to strengthen the Jewish community?”

You have to make a decision as a Jew about what you think about these things.

The Spring 2013 issue of PRISM can be viewed online here. To contact Shawn or Glanz or to request a free hard copy, email prism@yu.edu.

A common spirit runs throughout Yeshiva University: the mandate to matter.

Students of all ages and backgrounds come here to pursue a range of professional and personal dreams, from scientific research and medicine to law, Jewish education or public policy. Our students seek to harness their unique talents and YU education to make a lasting impact on the world around them. This spring, when they graduate from YU, these new alumni will hit the ground running.

In the weeks leading up to Commencement, YU News will feature one remarkable graduate from each school, reflecting, in their own words, on their time here, their passions and their dreams for the future.

Meet the Class of 2013.

YU High School for Girls senior Michal Auerbach hopes to pursue a career in fertility science.

Name: Michal Auerbach

School: Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central)

Hometown: West Hempstead, New York

Passion: Fertility science

What experience made the deepest impact on you during your high school career?

When I think back on my time at Central, I think of an AP Biology course taught by Mrs. Ruth Fried, one of my teachers. I loved it and I really appreciated the way she taught it, emphasizing how science and religion can work together. Science can be another way to think about how involved G-d is in every facet of everything. There are so many things that could go wrong in a human body but, most of the time, they don’t. That class showed me that G-d is in every detail of human biology, and it’s important for people to learn as much as they can and interact with His world in an educated way, which is the whole concept of Torah Umadda. That bio class just made me want to learn more and more.

How did you decide you wanted to pursue fertility science?

Two summers ago I interned at YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I wasn’t 16 yet, so I couldn’t be in a real laboratory setting, but I was able to shadow doctors. One day I was following doctors in this fertility clinic in Jacobi Hospital. The way the doctors interacted with their patients, showing such incredible middot [character], and I thought those middot were so important not only in a career but also in day-to-day life. I thought, ‘This is such a cool way to improve people’s lives.’ That’s when I decided I wanted to become a fertility specialist.

What other extracurricular opportunities did you have at Central?

I’ve been captain of the debate team since 11th grade. I joined at first because I was pretty shy as a freshman and I wanted to get into speaking out more. I also found debate was a good opportunity to educate myself about everything that’s going on in the world, because you have to research all these really cool topics. I recently debated on illegal immigration, whether the United States should provide amnesty or not. It’s so easy to be ignorant about these things otherwise.

I’m pretty sure I want to go into medicine. But this year I also decided to participate in mock trial, because how do I know I don’t want to be a lawyer? I wanted to see what that was like. So I tried it. Preparing cases was a totally different experience for me… I think what made mock trial such a great experience, though, was that I was completely immersed in that environment—we were in a real courtroom and I really got a sense of what it would be like.

What’s one of the most important lessons you’ve learned over the past four years?

Something I’ve been working on in myself is patience, because that’s important in everything. Not everything turns out the way you want it to instantaneously. I’ve been participating in a program called “Sunday Smiles” at Hebrew Academy of Nassau County that’s taught me a lot about patience—it’s a Hebrew school program for children with special needs. Together, despite many difficulties, we’re able to make beautiful art projects with the kids. The most rewarding experience for me is knowing I helped someone learn the Hebrew letters.

Looking back, what achievement or accomplishment are you most proud of?

I’m proud that I was able to participate in so many extracurricular activities and still make the honor roll and balance everything. When I realize how much I’ve done here, I’m really proud of each experience. I’m so grateful to have had all these opportunities in high school. I couldn’t have pursued my interests in science, Torah or anything else to the same extent anywhere else.

What will you be doing next year?

Next year I’m going to be studying at Michlelet Mivaseret Yerushalayim and then enrolling in the S. Daniel Abraham Honor’s Program at Stern College for Women. Stern has a lot of connections and opportunities at Einstein. It’s the right place for me.

Meet more 2013 graduates. 

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), an affiliate of Yeshiva University, will honor dedicated leaders and educators of the Jewish community at its Annual Gala Evening of Tribute on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at The Grand Hyatt in New York City. Honorees include Rabbi Hyman (Hy) and Ann Arbesfeld, Etz Chaim Award; Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Guest of Honor; and Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler, Distinguished Rabbinic Leadership Award.

“I have always believed that RIETS is the heart and soul of Yeshiva University,” said Joel Schreiber, chairman of the RIETS Board of Trustees. “It is blessed with the finest Roshei Yeshiva that have produced outstanding scholars of Torah and Jewish thought. For over 100 years it has embodied the philosophy of Torah Umadda and has been at the forefront of Modern Orthodoxy in America and beyond. This year, we are privileged to honor leaders in Torah, chesed and service to community.”

Hy attended Talmudical Academy, the earlier name of Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), and went on to Yeshiva College, where he graduated summa cum laude. Rather than accept one of several fellowship offers following graduation, he went to RIETS, becoming a student of Rav Joseph Soloveitchik, and received semicha in 1956. He joined the RIETS Board of Trustees in 1982 and became vice chairman in 2007. Ann served as national president of the Yeshiva University Women’s Organization for 10 years and is currently a member of its executive council.

The Arbesfelds have endowed YU’s Sunday morning Abraham Arbesfeld Kollel Yom Rishon and the Millie Arbesfeld Midreshet Yom Rishon learning program in honor of Hy’s parents, and most recently, endowed the popular YU Torah To-Go series in memory of Ann’s parents, Benjamin and Rose Berger.

Rabbi Hershel Schachter, one of the world’s most respected Talmudic scholars, has had a distinguished association and career with RIETS for more than 40 years. A graduate of Yeshiva College and Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, Rabbi Schachter received semicha from RIETS in 1967. At age 22, he was appointed assistant to Rav Soloveitchik, with whom he formed a close relationship. Rabbi Schachter officially joined the RIETS faculty at the age of 26 in 1967, becoming one of the youngest Roshei Yeshiva in RIETS history. A renowned posek [decisor of Jewish law], he holds the Nathan and Vivian Fink Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud and lectures in communities around the world. Rabbi Schachter also serves as senior posek for the Orthodox Union and has authored more than 100 scholarly articles and numerous books.

Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler is a graduate of YUHSB, Yeshiva College, Wurzweiler School of Social Work and Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. He received his semicha from RIETS in 2000 and currently serves as the senior rabbi of Congregation Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob & David in West Orange, New Jersey. Rabbi Zwickler was recently appointed as a public member of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s Israel Commission.

Founded in 1896, RIETS is the leading center for education and ordination of Orthodox Rabbis in North America. To learn more about the RIETS Annual Gala Evening of Tribute, make a reservation or to participate in the Scroll of Honor visit riets.edu/dinner, call 212-960-0852 or email rietsdinner@yu.edu.

Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business has earned accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

“AACSB congratulates Yeshiva University and Dean Moses Pava on earning accreditation and we welcome them into the family of AACSB-accredited business schools,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “AACSB accreditation represents the highest achievement for an educational institution that awards business degrees. Dean Pava and the faculty, directors and staff of Yeshiva University are to be commended for their role in earning accreditation.”

AACSB Accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education and has been earned by less than five percent of the world’s business programs. Today, there are 672 business schools in 44 countries and territories that maintain AACSB Accreditation. Similarly, 178 institutions maintain an additional specialized AACSB Accreditation for their accounting programs.

Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, evaluation and adjustment, and can take several years to complete. During these years, the school develops and implements a plan to meet the AACSB Accreditation Standards, which require a high quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement and curricula responsive to the needs of businesses. Also required by the AACSB standards, all accredited schools must go through a peer review process every five years in order to maintain their accreditation.

Established in 1987 through the support of entrepreneur Sy Syms to add a new dimension in undergraduate education at Yeshiva University, the Sy Syms School of Business provides a comprehensive education in business fundamentals and practice with concentrations in accounting (both CPA track and non-CPA track), finance, management, decision sciences and marketing. The school awards degrees in Bachelor of Science, MS in accounting and an Executive MBA degree, and offers a Business Honors and Entrepreneurial Leadership program meant to enhance the educational experience of its high-achieving students.

“The faculty, staff and administration of Sy Syms are dedicated to creating and sustaining a unique learning environment for our students,” said Dr. Moses Pava, dean of YU’s Sy Syms School of Business. “Earning AACSB Accreditation represents an important milestone and an acknowledgment of the hard work, dedication and teamwork of faculty, students, alumni, employers and all of our supporters. We view this accomplishment as an important step in strengthening and growing Yeshiva University and its compelling mission.”

Editor’s note: This essay by Dr. David Shatz, professor of philosophy at Yeshiva University, is reprinted, with minor modifications, from Memories of a Giant, a collection of eulogies for the Rav edited by Michael A. Bierman and originally published by the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute and Urim Publications in 2003, in commemoration of the 10th yahrzeit of the Rav. Memories of a Giant is being republished by Maimonides School and Urim Publications in 2013 in commemoration of the 20th yahrzeit. We thank Maimonides School for permission to reprint the essay. References have been reformatted and slightly abridged.

On April 14, Yeshiva University will present a day of learning to commemorate the Rav’s 20th yahrtzeit.

The death of a great individual often leads to exaggerated expressions of his virtues and inflated assertions of irreplaceability. With time the sense of loss is lifted, as new leaders emerge to take the person’s place. Yet looking back at the eulogies delivered for the Rav zt”l with the benefit of much hindsight, what is striking is that if delivered today they would be expressed with the very same pathos and sense of irreplaceability.

Today, a considerable time after the Rav’s death, our sense of loss is every bit as acute as it was then—maybe even more so. Orthodoxy in America, while in some respects stronger today than in the Rav’s time, suffers every day from his absence. Issue after issue inflames passions and divides the community, while no voice speaks as the final authority for his constituency. Over the years, different people proclaim what the Rav did or did not stand for, drawing from their perceptions various lessons for decisions confronting Orthodoxy today. There is thus an intense struggle to keep the Rav alive so that he may continue to be our guide. I offer here some reflections on that struggle. Whereas the eulogies in the book [Mentor of Generations—Ed.] are retrospective, focusing on what the Rav was, this essay is prospective, as it focuses on what the future holds.

Many devotees of the Rav harbor a worry. To those who knew him or of him in his lifetime, the Rav, for all that he seemed larger than life, was a tangible, accessible and extraordinarily vivid presence. Memories of his voice, his dynamism, and the aura radiating from his shiurim are seared into our consciousness. It is very natural for us to wish that the next generation of students and leaders will maintain the same level of reverence, affection and attentiveness to the Rav as we do. But lacking the first-hand exposure we had, will they?

A very short time ago, to present someone as a 20^th-century figure was to confer an aura of contemporaneousness, of relevance, of vibrancy and vitality, even if (like Rav Kook) the thinker had died well before mid-century. But what happens in 2020 or 2050? At that point, saying that someone lived in the twentieth century will date him, freeze him in time, rendering him a figure of a bygone era. In my generation, what the Rav said and did was news. For the next generation, it will be history. It will be a generation “asher lo yada et Yosef—who did not know Joseph” (Ex. 1: 8) in a personal, experiential way. They will not have a memory of the living presence we knew. Can we convey to another generation what the great figures of our generation represent?

This concern can only be exacerbated by the oft-heard claim that only those who knew the Rav on a personal level can understand what he stood for and how he thought. By stressing that the only way to understand him is through memories of his living presence, one implies that future generations cannot know him at all—surely a disheartening thought.

Such pessimism can and must be combatted. To begin with a small point, audio, video tapes and vivid photographs will help future generations relate to the past. But there is something far more fundamental: making personal contact a condition for understanding, appreciating and relating to a great figure contradicts one of the foundations of the Rav’s understanding of time and of the masorah.

The Rav distinguishes two ways a person can approach the past. One is to treat the past as dead and frozen, as no longer here. The other is to treat the past as something vital, flowing into the future, as a dimension that can come alive if we use it creatively. Time is not an insuperable barrier to knowing the sages of the tradition; with the right attitude, consciousness and sensibility, the past can be recovered.

The Rav often emphasized that despite the Halakhah’s emphasis on precise measurements of time, as in, for example, constructing the calendar and setting zemannei tefillah (times for prayer), our concept of a masorah is of a legacy that bursts through barriers of time.

The consciousness of halakhic man … embraces the entire company of the Sages of the masorah. He lives in their midst, discusses and argues questions of Halakhah with them, delves into and analyzes fundamental halakhic principles in their company. All of them merge into one time experience. He walks alongside Rambam, listens to R. Akiva, senses the presence of Abbayei and Rava. … ein mitah u-geviyyah be-haburat hakhmei ha-kabbalah, there can be no death and expiration among the company of the Sages of the tradition. … Both past and future become, in such circumstances, ever present realities (Halakhic Man, trans. Lawrence J. Kaplan [Philadelphia 1983], p. 120).

Who cannot learn from the Rav’s endearing memory in U-Vikkashtem mi-Sham of his days as a little boy, hearing his father give shiur in his home, when the Rambam would be surrounded by “enemies,” rishonim wielding weapons of logic to refute him? R. Moshe Soloveitchik would come to the rescue with a powerful sevara, to the delight of young Yosef Dov: “Father saved the Rambam!!” Look how alive Rambam was for him then and in all his later years. “Now too we are friends. … All the Sages of the masorah from Moses till today became my close friends. …” We know next to nothing of the Rambam’s one-on-one conversations, but we live with him through his writings. How could we engage Hillel or R. Akiva or Ramban or Rashba or R. Akiva Eiger as we do, if first-hand physical acquaintance were a prerequisite? Which individual who learned in the Rav’s shiur can forget how he brought rishonim and aharonim alive, so they were sitting right there, in that world unto itself, his classroom? The concept that temporal and spatial distances can be overcome lies at the heart of our masorah. The choice to leap across those distances, to bring the past into the present, to engage the writings of past masters so as to keep them alive—that choice is in our hands and those of our descendants.

Divreihem hen hen zikhronam—the words of the righteous are their memorial, says R. Shimon ben Gamliel (Yerushalmi Shekalim 2:5). If we keep the Rav’s teachings alive, both his halakhic thought and his philosophy, we keep him alive for centuries to come. His teachings will keep him in the company of future generations. And so, realizing the nature of masorah as bursting through time can dissipate pessimism and lead to an energetic vitalization of the Rav in both Halakhah and mahashavah (philosophy).

The passage of time poses another challenge to those of us who want to see the Rav’s legacy perpetuated. As I’ve already implied, the Rav has left us two legacies—his Halakhah and his mahashavah. (I hasten to add that these must not be separated— he did more than anyone to bring them into a dynamic interaction). Talmudic and halakhic learning thrives today, but the world of mahashavah languishes. Already in his own time, the Rav felt that while his halakhic thought was being pursued passionately, his philosophy was largely ignored. It is obvious from the treasure trove of manuscripts that the Rav left at his death that philosophical works are an immense part of his legacy. He cared deeply that his students appreciate religious experience through philosophy. (See, e. g. Aaron Rakefett-Rothkoff, The Rav, 2: 238-241.)

Rabbi Yitzhak Twersky z”l has made the point that the Rav used philosophy as part of his intellectual capital, as an interpretive tool, and that the philosophy is a tzurah, a form, in which he couched his homer (literally, matter), i.e., his ideas (“The Rov,” Tradition [Summer 1996]: 28-33). But the nature of this interpretive process is clarified in The Lonely Man of Faith in a way that might lead us to pessimism:

When the man of faith interprets his transcendental awareness in cultural categories, he takes advantage of modern interpretive methods and is selective in picking his categories. The cultural message of faith changes, indeed constantly, with the flow of time, the shifting of the spiritual climate, the fluctuations of axiological moods, and the rise of social needs (“The Lonely Man of Faith,” Tradition [Summer 1965], p. 64).

The separation proclaimed in this passage between the faith commitment and its cultural translation gives rise to an unsettling thought. The Rav’s philosophy plunges into intellectual controversies that raged during the 19th and early 20th century, but thereafter quieted, and it alludes often to philosophical schools whose day has passed. Much of his philosophical vocabulary is no longer in vogue. In other words, precisely because the Rav’s philosophy is an act of “cultural translation,” precisely because it is so exquisitely sensitive to the spirit of his times, his more technical writings stand in danger of losing, over time, some of their vitality and relevance.

This is a paradox inherent in the genre of Torah ve-hokhmah or Torah u-Madda. We want thinkers to speak the language of their age. Yet the more a particular thinker’s expressions of a Torah viewpoint are verbalized in the idioms and assumptions of his age, the more he takes account of his generation’s needs and circumstances, the more he presents a union of Torah and cutting edge madda—the greater the danger that these expressions will eventually become dated and their enduring message lost. Add to this the facts that the Rav himself occasionally stresses the personal, subjective nature of his thought, that he prefers phenomenology (the description of religious consciousness) to logical argumentation on behalf of faith, and that he presents ostensibly contradictory viewpoints in different places— and the task of extracting stable and enduring lessons becomes intimidating indeed.

In response let me point out, first, that the concern with obsolescence is about the Rav’s more strictly philosophic works and not about those works that are relatively free of technical philosophical vocabulary. The oft-quoted remark of Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf (writing in Shema, September 9, 1975) that “if I am not mistaken, people will still be reading him in a thousand years,” is true of works like Al ha-Teshuvah, even if there is a fear that other works may seem dated because of their less accessible vocabulary. More important, some rabbinic figures of the 19th century, for example, R. Samson Raphael Hirsch and R. Abraham Isaac Kook, flourished posthumously in the 20th, proving resonant and influential even though they too reflected themes and approaches of their times. Rambam is the most enduring writer in Jewish history, yet Guide of the Perplexed, and even parts of Sefer ha-Madda in the Mishneh Torah, are shot through with Aristotelian and Neoplatonic jargon and formulations.

If Rambam traversed the temporal gap, it is because people found in him elements that transcend the particular context in which he wrote, so that those elements could be applied creatively in later times. Just so, what we need to do to perpetuate the Rav’s thought is to find its timeless messages. We must feel the duty to expound his works in the idiom of contemporary men and women. Such themes as the dialectical character of religious existence, the need to combine intellect with emotion, the ongoing battle against evil, and the Halakhah as a source of Jewish philosophy—these and many more ideas can be framed in universal terms that give them ongoing relevance.

Historical studies of the Rav can also be of great importance. But we should develop such studies with an awareness of how a good history may address needs of the present. When R. Yitzhak Twersky z”l wrote history about Rambam or about law and spirituality in the sixteenth century in his capacity as a Harvard professor, he excelled at making the history contribute to an ongoing discussion. When a historian is skilled and thoughtful, he can make his subject relevant. It is to be hoped that histories of the Rav will not be written for history’s sake alone, but with the larger objective of conveying his teachings and establishing their continuing relevance.

In emphasizing the need for spreading the Rav’s teachings, I do not mean to minimize a very different way of memorializing him: stories. He himself often used stories of personalities in the thick of his own philosophical explorations. In the period after the Rav died, I was struck by how much of the eulogizing of the Rav took place through storytelling. There were wonderful anecdotes about his charming relationship with first-graders in Maimonides; his concern for one of his shamashim (aides) who was going out on a date but didn’t have the proper socks; his hesed toward the Irish Catholic housekeeper who had come on bad times; his hosting a party for a member of the YU housekeeping staff; and much more.

Why stories? The reason, I suspect, is twofold. First, the Rav was such a towering figure that we needed to remind ourselves of his deep humanity. Second, storytelling does not seek to display everything at once, a task that is simply undoable. Faced with the difficulty of articulating what this prodigious man stood for, we turned to glimpses. I would stress that the stories are valuable, not only because of what they say about the Rav’s humility and R. Hayyim-like kindness (R. Hayyim Soloveitchik was—as his matzevah attests— rav ha-hesed), but also because of the way they illustrate motifs of his philosophy. The story about his helping a first-grader who had been expelled from class because she didn’t know the Humash assignment illustrates beautifully, and concretizes, his words describing the Torah community: “The teaching community is centered around an adult, the teacher, and a bunch of young vivacious children, with whom he communicates and communes. ‘Yesh lanu av zaken ve-yeled zekunim katan ‘`We have an old father and a young child’” (Gen. 44:20). (“The Community,” Tradition (Spring 1978): 23.)

Similarly, the many stories of the Rav’s own hesed reflect a theme that is utterly central to his thought concerning the Jewish value system, from his writings on Zionism to his endorsement of technology to his analysis of the nature of teaching. Hesed, he stated in an address to Maimonides school, is the password of the Jew. The stories bring out not only the person but the integrity, the unity, between the teacher and his teaching, ha-rav u-mishnato. Storytelling and philosophizing are not mutually exclusive; as the Rav did, we must bring these genres together. Indeed, precisely by fusing personal reminiscences with learned exposition, the eulogies for him brought out many dimensions of the Rav, and ultimately the wholeness of his thought and personality.

The challenge of perpetuating the Rav’s legacy is great. But so is the opportunity to enrich generations to come. We need to engage his writings, extract the timeless messages in the time-bound parts of his oeuvre, and relate his biography to motifs of his thought. In this way we may see illustrated yet again that great principle of masorah: “There is no death and expiration among the company of the Sages of the tradition.”

Dr. David Shatz, professor of philosophy at Yeshiva University and editor of the MeOtzar HoRav series, will present at YU’s April 14 Day of Learning commemorating the Rav. 

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Rabbinical Theological Seminary (RIETS) and Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) will commemorate the 20th yahrtzeit [anniversary of death] of “the Rav,” Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt”l, Torah luminary and YU Rosh Yeshiva with a full-day learning program for all audiences on Sunday, April 14 on YU’s Wilf Campus, 500 West 185th Street, New York City. The program will run from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and will include lectures, discussions and presentations on the Rav’s life and legacy.

YU will commemorate the Rav’s 20th yahrtzeit with a day of learning on April 14.

“Over the course of almost half a century, Rabbi Soloveitchik served as a mentor and role model for tens of thousands of Jews around the word and ordained close to 2,000 rabbis. Through his landmark public lectures and writings he became, and remains, well-known for his unparalleled Talmudic scholarship and religious leadership,” said Marvin Bienenfeld, a member of the RIETS Board of Trustees and the chair of the event.

“The Rav is also widely recognized as the architect of Torah Umadda, the synthesis of Torah scholarship with secular wisdom, which serves as the motto and guiding ideology of Yeshiva University. There is no better way to honor his memory and his legacy than with a day of in-depth Torah learning.”

In what promises to be a fascinating presentation, “Multiple Faces of the Rav” will bring together Rabbi Soloveitchik’s daughter, Dr. Atarah Twersky (Former Chair of School Committee at Maimonides School), and several students of the Rav, including Rabbi Hershel Schachter, RIETS Rosh Yeshiva; Dr. David Shatz, YU professor of philosophy; and Rabbi Kenneth Brander, David Mitzner Dean of the CJF, to examine the many and varied roles played by the Rav during his lifetime.

The keynote lecture, “Mesorah & Modernity: The Role of the Rav,” will be delivered by RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Mayer Twersky, a grandson of the Rav.

Following lunch, the programming will take on a more interactive format with breakout sessions led by members of the YU and RIETS faculty. In the first time slot, Rabbi Schachter and RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Menachem Genack will lead a discussion on the Rav’s unique Derech Halimud [approach to learning]; Dr. Shatz and Dr. David Berger, dean and Ruth and I. Lewis Gordon Professor of Jewish History at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, will tackle Rabbi Soloveitchik’s thoughts and rulings on interfaith relations; and Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and senior scholar at the CJF, will explore the importance of the Rav’s teachings in modern society.

In the second time slot, Rabbi Shalom Carmy, YU assistant professor of Jewish philosophy and Bible, and Rabbi Michael Taubes, head of school at Yeshiva University High School for Boys, will delve into the Rav’s philosophy on prayer; and Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, rabbi emeritus at Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, and Rabbi Julius Berman, RIETS Board of Trustees chairman emeritus, will take an in-depth look at the Rav’s policies on relating to and engaging with other denominations in the Jewish community.

Throughout the day, participants can tour a special exhibition titled Celebrating the Rav: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, which will include rare photographs of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s early years through his tenure at Yeshiva University.

The multi-faceted learning program is made possible in part through the generous support of Rabbi Max N. Schreier and family. For a full list of sponsors and to register for the event, please visit: www.yu.edu/the-rav.

Two hundred Yeshiva University students and alumni had an opportunity to connect with more than 45 employers in 17 industries, ranging from finance and technology to fashion and healthcare, at the YU Career Center’s Spring Career Fair on March 15.

Employers such as the American Red Cross, Kenneth Cole Productions, Simon & Schuster and Young & Rubicam participated in the fair—networking with and interview promising YU students and graduates. “We came here because we’ve heard YU has a lot of great programs and as an IT company, we thought we’d find the people who have the background we’re looking for here,” said Jean Paul Jean-Louis, a representative for Capgemini. “It’s our first time here but we’ve already met a few very talented people with a lot of potential.”

Executive recruiting firm AC Lion was no rookie to the fair—their table sported a sign listing all the names of current and former interns and staff from YU. “This is the only career fair we do,” said Bonnie Zaben, COO. “Our CEO is a graduate of Yeshiva College and we’ve had great success here. YU students are serious about their professional goals, about applying themselves, about the endeavor of exploration, and we’re looking for interns that are bright, engaging and serious about their professional development.”

Members of the Career Center team staffing a table at the fair’s entrance greeted students and alumni as they came in and touched base with them as they left, offering quick pointers on their resumes and feedback about their interactions with employers as well as tips for future interviews.

For Desiree Kashizadeh, a junior majoring in accounting at the Sy Syms School of Business who hoped to add another prestigious summer internship to her resume, the Career Center had been a valuable guide to her professional journey from her first semester on campus. “They went over my resume with me, helping me understand what skills I needed for my field and what I had to do to build my career every step of the way,” she said, adding that she had attended every career fair held on campus since she began her studies with great results. “These events have been very helpful with networking. I actually found a summer internship with a nonprofit here last year.”

The event is one of the most important resources the Career Center offers students and alumni, according to Jocelyn Coalter, the Center’s director of employer and alumni relations. But it’s just one of many tools the Center uses to advance student careers. “We offer career development and counseling resources but also try to connect students to as many employers as possible through fairs, YU CareerLink, employer networking events, on-campus interviewing and a number of other programs,” she said.

The Center also recently received national recognition for its Women in Business Initiative, which has been named a finalist for a National Association of Colleges and Employers Innovation Excellence Award. The initiative provides a select group of women with unique professional development opportunities and a one-on-one professional mentoring relationship with a woman in their field of interest. This semester, there are 17 women on the Beren Campus participating in the program.

“Ninety-five percent of our 2012 graduates are employed, in graduate schools or both,” said Marc Goldman, executive director of the Career Center. “Events like this and the Women in Business Initiative are just a few of the ways we help our students pursue and achieve these goals.”

To learn more about the Yeshiva University Career Center, visit www.yu.edu/career-center.

What purpose do eruvin [ritual enclosures] serve? Where can they be constructed? What makes them kosher?

As Jews around the world delve into the subject of eruvin for daf yomi, the daily cycle of Talmud study, Yeshiva University and the Orthodox Union sought to shed light on an ancient practice that is still very relevant to Jewish life today. An evening of programming on March 13 fused the historical, cultural and practical dimensions of eruvin showcased in a new Yeshiva University Museum exhibition with rich halakhic grounding provided by RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel Schachter. A leading halakhic authority, Schachter delivered a shiur [lecture] titled, “Eruvin: The Streets, the Strings and the Shabbat.”

“Seeing the issues faced by Manhattan and other Jewish communities in completing an eruv­—when a train track goes up and when it goes down, is the sea wall kosher or not—and hearing from such a wide range of people who struggled to bring klal Yisroel out of their homes on Shabbat takes Torah learning to a unique and different level,” said Edward Stelzer ’90YC, a member of the YU Museum’s board of directors. “Many of us don’t have an opportunity to check an eruv on any given Friday, but this museum has the power to help us internalize the issues of eruvin and experience them almost firsthand by bringing the topic home to us in an immersive, powerful way.”

More than 240 visitors began the night with special curator tours of “It’s a Thin Line: The Eruv and the Jewish Community in New York and Beyond,” an exhibition that brings to life the process through which the rabbinic precept of the eruv has been dynamically interpreted and applied, as well as challenged, in New York and its surrounding communities. Drawing on artifacts that range from tie clips and belts designed to make keys wearable to a replica of the elaborate, decorative eruv holders of 19th-century Central Europe, the exhibition illustrates the complex development of eruvin throughout history and around the world. Modern elements, including light poles and an aluminum gate from the current Manhattan eruv and an intricate string sculpture by R. Justin Stewart depicting in the evolving form of the eruv in Manhattan over time, highlight the changing Jewish American culture that has made eruvin a staple of Jewish communities all over the United States.

After the tour, Schachter delivered a detailed shiur that took listeners on a tour of intellectual Jewish history, explaining how philosophies about everything from what constituted a public space to what kinds of structures could be used in an eruv had developed in multiple veins of Jewish thought. He also discussed the process for setting up an eruv such as the YU eruv and noted popular misconceptions about eruvin.

“People now feel as if when Rav Moshe Feinstein said that you could not make an eruv in Manhattan, he was the major position and the Chazon Ish came along afterward with his unusual position that you could,” said Schachter. “It was not so. Feinstein writes himself that he had original opinions about this subject which were contrary to Tosfot and the Shulchan Orech, whereas the Chazon Ish was repeating the traditional opinions offered by poskim [halakhic decisors] before he was born.” He added, “The Chazon Ish was the one who really made Masechet Eruvin understandable to the public. Before his time, many people really didn’t know much about it.”

For Rabbi Eitan Rubin, it was an eye-opening and personal evening. The exhibition features a comprehensive guide to the Five Towns’ eruv compiled using satellite imagery, a blend of age-old practice and modern technology, which Rubin helped to develop. “It was a tremendous accomplishment and a bit tiring,” he said. “It took us three months of walking and many long nights by the computer on Google Maps.”

Now responsible for maintaining the eruv in Great Neck, Rubin was fascinated by the history and diverse traditions behind the tasks he has been carrying out for years. “It’s fascinating to see all the different periods eruvin have gone through over such a span of time,” he said. “I feel like Masechet Eruvin is what we see in this room.”

The night was hosted by YU’s Center for the Jewish Future and the YU Musuem in cooperation with the Orthodox Union.

“What sustains us in many ways as a people is the notion of our constructing boundaries, and the beauty of an eruv is that it does not lock us in and does not lock us out,” said YU President Richard M. Joel. “It’s a reminder that we’re a community, and based on that community, we can take on the world.”

To learn more about It’s a Thin Line, on view through June 30, visit the Yeshiva University Museum website at www.yumuseum.org or www.yumuseum.tumblr.com/ItsAThinLine.

Dr. Raji Viswanathan, associate dean of academic affairs and professor of chemistry at Yeshiva University’s Yeshiva College, was recently selected as a Fulbright Specialist. The competitive position will enable her to create new opportunities for collaboration between YU and Israel’s Bar-Ilan University as well as share her own research in computational chemistry with an advanced cadre of Israeli scholars.

Dr. Raji Viswanathan

The Fulbright Specialist program promotes linkage between American academic and professionals and their counterparts at host institutions overseas. Project activities focus on strengthening and supporting the developmental needs of host institutions abroad and can include short-term lecturing, conducting seminars, teacher training and special conferences of workshops, as well as collaborating on curriculum planning or institutional and faculty development. Each application is peer-reviewed.

“My goal is to initiate faculty and student exchange,” said Viswanathan. “We already have some connection with BIU through our summer science research program, which places talented undergraduates from Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women in one of the state-of-the-art research laboratories of BIU’s life science, exact science or engineering faculties.”

She added, “I would like to share the research our students have done to help grow that program on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as create exposure for our faculty and similar opportunities for exchange among them—our students are familiar with universities in Israel, but our faculty haven’t had as much experience with them.”

Viswanathan will visit BIU from May 19-31. In addition to fostering bonds between YU and BIU faculty, she will discuss Yeshiva College’s innovative new undergraduate curriculum and share the curriculum review process that was used to devise it. Viswanathan will also talk about Project START! Science, a student-run initiative at YU that sends undergraduates to public schools in Washington Heights to teach science, and gauge possible student interest in implementing a similar project at BIU. And to enhance her own research in understanding the intermolecular interactions between polypeptides as well as between inorganic surfaces and proteins, Viswanathan will visit BIU labs whose focus overlaps with her work.

Hillel Jacobson, a sophomore at Yeshiva University High School for Boys, faces challenges and acts on them.

Inspired by Shakespeare, YUHSB sophomore Hillel Jacobson built a stock similar to the one used in King Lear.

In his study of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Jacobson took a strong interest in the Globe Theater, where the plays were performed. Along with his father, Jacobson constructed a model of the theater, capturing the beauty and intricacies of the stages and seating as well as the area where the groundlings stood.

Recently, when studying King Lear in Harriet Levitt’s English Sophomore Honors class, Jacobson became fascinated by the stocks—a punishment apparatus used in the story to hold Kent. With the help of his father, Jacobson constructed a solid wood, five-foot structure, replicating the stocks used in King Lear.

“The study of Shakespeare is not limited to the famous lines,” said Levitt. “It incorporates all the stage devices that enlarge the imagination. Reading ‘Kent is put in the stocks’ is not as meaningful as actually seeing Kent put into stocks.”

She added, “If a picture is worth a thousand words, the actual object is worth many more.”

Jacobson and Levitt

From March 7-11, 20 yeshiva high school basketball teams from across the U.S. and Canada met at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Yeshiva University’s Wilf Campus in Washington Heights to battle it out for the top spot in YU’s 22nd Annual Red Sarachek Invitational Basketball Tournament. When the buzzer sounded, the Shalhevet High School Firehawks of Los Angeles, CA were crowned the tournament’s Tier I champions.

In a thrilling championship bout, the Firehawks defeated the Frisch School Cougars of Paramus, NJ by the score of 62-53. Playing before a packed crowd and a broadcast audience in the thousands, Shalhevet shooting guard and Sarachek MVP Joseph Fallas held off a determined Frisch squad with an impressive 25 points. Cougar guard Judah Cohen kept the contest close by putting up 21 points of his own.

The tournament, named for legendary former YU Maccabees Coach Bernard “Red” Sarachek, was established in 1992 to honor his contributions to the sport of basketball and his dedication to the Jewish community. In addition to basketball, the long weekend included several off-court activities, including a lively Shabbaton and tours of the University’s ever-expanding campus, to help the young all-stars gain an early appreciation for YU’s unique educational environment and culture.

In addition to Shalhevet and Frisch, this year’s field included: Magen David (Brooklyn, NY); North Shore Hebrew Academy (Great Neck, NY); Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School (Woodmere, NY); RASG Hebrew Academy (Miami, FL); YULA High School for Boys (Los Angeles, CA); Weinbaum Yeshiva High School (Boca Raton, FL); Cooper Yeshiva (Memphis, TN); Valley Torah (Valley Village, CA); Beren Academy (Houston, TX); Maimonides School (Brookline, MA); Ida Crown Jewish Academy (Chicago, IL); Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy (Rockville, MD); Bnei Akiva Schools – Or Chaim (Toronto, ON); Fuchs Mizrachi School (Beachwood, OH); Columbus Torah Academy (Columbus, OH); Akiva Hebrew Day School (Southfield, MO); Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) and Yeshiva University High School for Boys / Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (New York, NY).

The Yeshiva University High School Lions claimed the Tier II title with a decisive 53-27 win over the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy Cougars. The Lions retained a commanding lead throughout the game thanks to a collaborative effort by forward Ezra Teichman (14 points), guard Zak Lenik (10 points) and forward Ben Zion Feld (10 points).

Tier III went to Weinbaum Yeshiva High School and Tier IV to Fuchs Mizrachi School.

For the second straight year, the tournament was broadcast in high-definition video provided by MacsLive. For complete tournament coverage, including scores, statistics, game summaries and awards, visit MacsLive.

On March 7, members of Yeshiva University’s Sports Management Club had the opportunity to ask their biggest questions to someone who knows a little about the business.

NBA agent Leon Rose spoke about his career at a Sports Management Club event on the Wilf Campus.

That would be Leon Rose, attorney and sports agent, who represents National Basketball Association stars including Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul, and formerly LeBron James. During the informal discussion on YU’s Wilf Campus, which was attended by dozens of students and community members, as well as visiting participants of the Annual Red Sarachek Invitational Basketball Tournament, Rose recalled his journey from aspiring basketball coach to legal professional and, eventually, adviser to some of the biggest names in the game.

“The reason I got into this is the same reason I wanted to be a basketball coach—I wanted to help people in a different way,” he said. “In my field, you may not be a coach on the court, but hopefully you’re a coach regarding life and business.”

Rose played and coached basketball at both the high school and college level and initially dreamed of becoming an NBA coach. But he decided to pursue a legal education at Temple University as well, following the advice of his father—also an attorney—who felt it provided more financial security. After graduation, Rose continued to coach teams while working for the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.  As an attorney with the law practice of Sherman Silverstein Kohl Rose and Podolsky in 1994, Rose met Bill Simmons, the uncle—and agent—of NBA player Lionel Simmons, who needed a lawyer to help him negotiate a contract. “That was the first time I ever got involved in this process and thought, ‘Wow, this is an opportunity for me to bring together my passion for basketball with my legal education,’” Rose said.

Gabriel Davidoff and Max Stern, president and vice president of the Sports Management Club.

After several unsuccessful attempts to get started on his own, Rose had almost given up on the idea when a coach recommended him to NBA-hopeful Chris Anstey, an Australian player looking for an agent in the United States. “I got this call about a player who was seven feet tall, could run the floor and was being compared to Marcus Camby,” Rose recalled. “I looked at my phone and thought, ‘Why is this guy calling me?’”

After flying to Australia to meet Anstey, Rose agreed to represent him—and Anstey went on to become a first-round pick in the 1997 draft. After that, more players began to gravitate toward Rose, including NBA stars Allen Iverson and LeBron James. Creative Artists Agency approached Rose in 2006 to head a new basketball division, where he has been ever since.

At YU, Rose gave students an inside perspective on the day-to-day life of an agent representing major clients, hitting on everything from negotiating salaries and contracts to player endorsement deals and relationship building. He also discussed some of the more challenging aspects of his career, talking about his experience as an agent during the 2011 NBA lockout, the impact of collective bargaining and James’ free agency. “Your job as an agent is to explain the pros and cons and make sure your clients have all the information necessary to make the best possible decision for themselves,” he said. “You give them your advice and your thoughts, but ultimately they make the decision, and when you walk out of that room, you and your client are one. You support that decision.”

Rose answered student questions after his presentation.

Max Stern, vice president of the Sy Syms School of Business-affiliated Sports Management Club, was impressed by Rose’s openness and accessibility. “For someone of his status, he’s a humble person who offers a good lesson for college students,” he said. “His message is, ‘Work hard. The luck comes afterward.’”

Gabriel Davidoff, the club’s president, felt Rose offered an important perspective to a group considering the relationship between business and sports—that of individual players. “Last semester we brought in Scott O’Neil, an executive who could speak about the team as a group, but seeing it from Rose’s view is also critical,” he said. “We want to keep the student body informed about sports management because it’s one of the fastest-growing industries out there and we want them to hear about it from the best in the field, people they can really learn from. So we went straight to the top.”

For Efraim Wakschlag, a marketing major and accounting minor hoping to pursue a career in sports marketing, the talk offered just that.

“He’s one of the top agents in the world, so to hear from someone like him about the field I want to go into is a huge deal,” he said.

Biotechnology researcher or social entrepreneur? Entertainment lawyer or city engineer? Pulpit rabbi or web developer?

At Yeshiva University, students can pave their way to all of these exciting careers and more. But for those  just beginning their university studies, the wide range of options can, at times, be overwhelming. How do you know which field—or which track in that field— is the right fit for you?

To help students answer this question, academic advising will host two events next week. On March 11, a Majors Panel (Rubin Shul, 5:45-6:45 p.m.) will convene students from a wide array of majors chosen by their department chairs to speak about their experience choosing and pursuing their major and take questions from fellow students. On March 13, major-hunters will have the opportunity to meet and speak directly with department chairs of each major at the Majors Fair (Furst Hall 501, 5:45-6:45 p.m.) to learn more about specific fields, network with faculty mentors and plan their academic career. Deans, academic advisers and Career Center representatives will also be on hand.

“These are great opportunities for students to get a sense of what they can do here and what professions or fields play to their strengths and interests,” said Dr. Stu Halpern, academic adviser on the Wilf Campus. Below, Halpern offers five tips for students deciding on a major.

1. It’s Never Too Early to Start Thinking About Your Major

It’s always helpful to have a sense of what you might be interested in majoring in when you first hit campus. That way, you can dive right in, while also beginning to fulfill your core requirements. If you don’t start off your first year on campus knowing what you want to major in, that’s okay. Talk to friends or members of your community to broaden your sense of what’s out there—do any of their fields appeal to you? Reflect on your own passions or even hobbies. What do you enjoy doing? How can that skill or action be employed in the workforce? There’s no magical formula to decide on a major besides trying things out.

2. Always Get Your Feet Wet Before Jumping in the Pool

Try out a class in your intended major before you declare it. You want to make sure that a) you connect with the material, and b) you are able to do well in the introductory class. If a principles class is too challenging, you might want to consider a different option for your major.

3. Keep a Career in Mind

Speak to the Career Center about what professional options are available to students in your major. Every year, the Career Center surveys graduating seniors on their future graduate school and career plans, resulting in lots of data at your disposal to help make your major choice an informed one when it comes to career prospects. The Career Center also maintains relationships with alumni in many fields who can provide personal insight into their profession and help you determine if that path is right for you.

4. Don’t Forget to Balance

Keep in mind that while it is important to choose your major, not falling behind on your core and Jewish studies requirements is also important. Each semester, try to balance courses that fulfill requirements with those that count towards your potential major. Having trouble? An academic adviser can help you create a manageable course load that still keeps you on track to graduate.

5. It’s Okay to Change Your Mind

Changing your major is done by filling out a simple form. Don’t be afraid to make the switch if your original plan is not working out.

Have more questions? Visit Yeshiva University’s Academic Advisement Office.

With a win this Sunday, the Yeshiva University High School for Boys / Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (MTA) Lions will make Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Hockey League history—becoming the first team to win ten championships.

The MTA Lions go for their league record tenth championship Sunday, March 10.

After a dramatic comeback in their semi-final matchup against Davis-Renov-Stahler Yeshiva High School, which saw the Lions score two goals in the final two minutes of a 3-2 victory, the Lions are set to face off against the Torah Academy of Bergen County Storm in the Varsity Championship Game. MTA won both regular season meetings this year against TABC: 2-0 in Teaneck on November 17 and 3–2 in Washington Heights on Feb. 11.

Led by senior Captain Menachem Mermelstein, MTA enjoyed an 11-2-0-1 season, finishing second in their division. The Lions last championship came in 2011.

The Championship Game will take place on Sunday, March 10 at 3:45 p.m. at Lawrence Middle School, 195 Broadway, Lawrence, NY. To purchase tickets to the game, email Head Coach Dovie Quint at dgquint@yahoo.com.

Yeshiva University’s 22nd Annual Red Sarachek Invitational Basketball Tournament tips off Thursday, March 7 at 10 a.m. at the Max Stern Athletic Center on YU’s Wilf Campus. The tournament, named after legendary former Maccabees coach Bernard “Red” Sarachek, features 20 Jewish high school basketball teams from across North America in a dramatic five-day tournament before live crowds and broadcast audiences in the thousands.

This year’s field is seeded as follows:

1. Shalhevet High School (Los Angeles, CA)
2. Frisch School (Paramus, NJ)
3. Magen David (Brooklyn, NY)
4. North Shore Hebrew Academy (Great Neck, NY)
5. Yeshiva University High School for Boys / Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (New York, NY)
6. Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School (Woodmere, NY)
7. RASG Hebrew Academy (Miami, FL)
8. YULA High School for Boys (Los Angeles, CA)
9. Weinbaum Yeshiva High School (Boca Raton, FL)
10. Cooper Yeshiva (Memphis, TN)
11. Valley Torah (Valley Village, CA)
12. Beren Academy (Houston, TX)
13. Maimonides School (Brookline, MA)
14. Ida Crown Jewish Academy (Chicago, IL)
15. Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy (Rockville, MD)
16. Bnei Akiva Schools – Or Chaim (Toronto, ON)
17. Fuchs Mizrachi School (Beachwood, OH)
18. Columbus Torah Academy (Columbus, OH)
19. Akiva Hebrew Day School (Southfield, MO)
20. Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)

Complete coverage of the tournament, including live play-by-play broadcasts, as well as updated scores, statistics, game summaries and pictures will be provided by MacsLive. All of the coverage of the Sarachek Tournament will be broadcast live in high-definition video to fans around the world. This broadcast is made possible with the support of Yeshiva University’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Center for the Jewish Future.

View photos from last year’s tournament.