Mayor Cory Booker: "Use Your Faith to Help and Inspire Others" On the evening of May 8, students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the greater Yeshiva University community filled Lamport Auditorium to hear Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, New Jersey, discuss “The Role of Religion in Education and Public Life.” The event was the final installment of this year’s Great Conversation Series of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. [caption id="attachment_10494" align="alignleft" width="387" caption="Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik and Mayor Cory Booker discuss “The Role of Religion in Education and Public Life” at the final Straus Center event of the academic year."][/caption] The conversation—led by Straus Center Director Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik—bounced around from discussing how Booker’s personal faith influences his daily life, issues regarding the importance of improving education, and the nature of faith in the public square in America. Throughout the conversation, the mayor sprinkled his words with pointed anecdotes, quotes of important figures like the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, and—to the crowd’s delight—passages from biblical and rabbinic literature in English and in Hebrew. YU President Richard M. Joel introduced the event, noting that Booker has been an official alumnus of the University since he received an honorary doctorate at the 2010 Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation. “I am proud to welcome Mayor Cory Booker back to Yeshiva,” said President Joel. “I find the mayor to be one of those people in this world who profoundly matter.” Booker opened by discussing how his faith “is the core of my being,” he said. “It is how I orient myself to all things. Faith can help us find ways to help and inspire other people.” He went on to deliver a dvar Torah, comparing how Adam and Abraham responded to God calling on them. Booker spoke with awe as he described how Abraham announced the Hebrew word hinneini [here I am] and how Abraham would eventually argue with God regarding the imminent destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. “From this story I learned the importance of standing up before God and saying, ‘here I am,’” said Booker. [caption id="attachment_10499" align="alignright" width="426" caption="President Richard Joel welcomed Booker, a former honorary degree recipient, back to YU."][/caption] The mayor described how his study of the Bible influenced his world outlook regarding religion. He recited a recent post of his on Facebook that neatly summed up his ideology: “Don't speak to me about your religion; first show it to me in how you treat other people. Don't tell me how much you love your God; show me in how much you love all God's children. Don't preach to me your passion for your faith; teach me through your compassion for your neighbors. In the end, I'm not as interested in what you have to tell or sell as I am in how you choose to live and give.” The conversation then turned to education. “To deny someone an education is a sin,” said Booker. “Every time we lose a child to a poor education, we all are brought lower by it.” The mayor continued by describing his many efforts in finding ways to improve the school system in Newark and other lower income areas of the country. He said that he has been quite happy with the educational initiatives of President Barack Obama saying, “I give him an A, but an A equal to 90%. We still have a way to go until everyone in America has the education they deserve.” The event featured a few moments of levity as the mayor spoke glowingly of his mentor in all things Jewish, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who arrived a little late to the event. Early on, Booker inquired if Boteach was in attendance. When informed that Boteach had not yet arrived, the mayor responded, “Good, then we can talk some lashon hara [gossip] about him.” To close the event, Soloveichik asked the mayor if he could offer any advice to the many future YU graduates in the audience. Booker responded, “Go out and be ethical people. Teach and live your faith.” “Cory Booker is inspiring,” said Stern College for Women alumna Adina Schwartz. “When I heard he was speaking at YU, I had to see him in person and he did not disappoint. He was smart, funny and offered some valuable insights.” The evening closed out the Straus Center’s academic year that included conversations with Senator Joseph Lieberman, Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the United Kingdom and former United States Attorney General Judge Michael Mukasey. In an interview prior to the event, Soloveichik announced that “great conversations with significant public figures are already planned for next year.” Learn more about the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at www.yu.edu/straus. none

Ambassador Yehuda Avner to Speak at May 24 Commencement; Honorees Include Alan Willner, Eleazer Hirmes and Ethel Orlian Former Israeli diplomat, Ambassador Yehuda Avner, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary doctorate at Yeshiva University’s 81st Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 24, at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. [caption id="attachment_10367" align="alignleft" width="138" caption="Ambassador Yehuda Avner"][/caption] Avner, an author of two books, served as speechwriter and secretary to Israeli Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir, and as an adviser to Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Shimon Peres. Visit the commencement page for dates, locations, directions and information on ceremonies for all Yeshiva University schools and affiliates. President Richard M. Joel will also confer an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters upon Dr. Alan Willner and Eleazer Hirmes. Willner, a 1982 graduate of Yeshiva College, is a highly decorated physicist, who has published more than 950 papers on his research in optical technologies. Currently a chaired professor of engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California, he holds 24 patents. His research has been supported by institutions such as Cisco, the Department of Defense, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel, the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency. [caption id="attachment_10373" align="alignright" width="143" caption="Dr. Alan Willner"][/caption] Hirmes’ family relationship with Yeshiva University dates back to the early years of the 20th century, when his father, Rabbi Abraham P. Hirmes, left the Slabodka Yeshiva in Lithuania to pursue his rabbinical ordination at YU-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Eleazer attended YU High School and graduated from Yeshiva College in 1944. He received an MBA from New York University and spent 60 years practicing as a CPA, becoming a noted philanthropist in the Five Towns of New York. Hirmes and his wife Greta have set up a scholarship fund in honor of his parents. [caption id="attachment_10375" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="Eleazer Hirmes"][/caption] Ethel Orlian, the associate dean of Stern College for Women, will be awarded the Presidential Medallion. Orlian has spent more than 50 years as a student, teacher and administrator at Yeshiva University. A graduate of YU High School and Stern College, she began her YU career as a researcher, but left to live in Israel before returning to Stern in 1979 as the assistant to Karen Bacon, dean of Stern College for Women. Known to generations of Stern College women, she has remained at the college since—serving as assistant dean and academic counselor and teaching chemistry prior to her appointment as associate dean. [caption id="attachment_10378" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Ethel Orlian"][/caption] “Each of our honorees embodies a different piece of the principles of Yeshiva University, their commitment to the Jewish people, the State of Israel, their hometowns and to the University itself,” said President Joel. “We hope they inspire our graduates to leave our school for success now, but know they always have a home at YU.” In all, more than 1,400 undergraduate 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. Learn more about the honorees here. none

Donation to YU in Honor of David J. Azrieli’s 90th Birthday will Bolster School of Jewish Education For most, birthdays are times for receiving gifts. For David J. Azrieli, however, a milestone birthday is the time to give a gift—a $10 million donation from the foundation he established to Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. [caption id="attachment_10429" align="alignleft" width="211" caption="The $10 million donation to YU in honor of David J. Azrieli (pictured above) is the largest single donation ever made by the Azrieli Foundation."][/caption] The gift, in honor of Azrieli’s 90th birthday, is the largest single donation ever made by the Azrieli Foundation. It will strengthen the Azrieli Graduate School, named in 1983 to train Jewish educators, specifically teachers and administrators at Jewish day schools and other organizations across North America. As an expression of gratitude to David J. Azrieli the school dedicated its current issue of Prism, an Interdisciplinary Journal for Holocaust Educators, in his honor to mark this special milestone. The Azrieli Graduate School is now the country’s largest post-graduate institution for Jewish education and has 260 students enrolled in various programs of advanced study, training and research in pursuit of master’s and doctoral degrees. The Azrieli School’s dean, Dr. David J. Schnall, recently announced that the school has received accreditation to award New York State Teacher Licenses in secular elementary, middle and high school subjects. The $10 million will be used primarily to make available scholarships for the school and to help attract more men and women to the field of Jewish education. “The entire Yeshiva University family is inspired and strengthened by this gift, especially during a time when Jewish education at North America’s more than 800 day schools is being challenged because of the economic downturn,” said YU President Richard M. Joel. “This historic gift will help graduate students pursue their career dreams and will strengthen the future of Judaism throughout hundreds of Jewish educational institutions.” Azrieli, a Yeshiva University Trustee since 1987, escaped the Nazis and landed in Israel in 1942, where he served in Israel’s Seventh Brigade in the War of Independence. He studied architecture at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology before moving to New York, where he studied at Yeshiva University for a year. He eventually moved to Montreal, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Montreal’s Thomas More Institute. Azrieli, a life-long learner, earned his Master’s Degree in Architecture from Carleton University in Ottawa at age 75. Azrieli is well-known in Canada, the US and Israel as a developer, architect and philanthropist. He revolutionized retail shopping in Israel, building the country’s first enclosed mall in 1985. Today, he owns 14 Israeli malls and coined the Hebrew word “canion” which combines the Hebrew words for “shopping and parking.” As a philanthropist, Azrieli established the school of architecture at Tel Aviv University, a chair of architecture at Technion and the Azrieli Institute for Israel Studies at Concordia University in Montreal, where he lives. He is a major donor to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem and inspired the Azrieli Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program, which collects, publishes and disseminates the written memoirs of Holocaust survivors—a project that was initiated and is managed by his daughter, Dr. Naomi Azrieli, who chairs the Azrieli Foundation. “The gift comes from a great personal friend and a truly heroic friend to Yeshiva University,” said Dr. Herbert C. Dobrinsky, YU’s vice president for university affairs, who encouraged David Azrieli to name the graduate school in 1983. “This and all of David’s gifts will help generations of Jewish children to know about their identity and their heritage.” “My family and my father can think of no better way to celebrate a 90th birthday,” said Dr. Naomi Azrieli, who oversaw the gift. “Seeing young people graduate from this school and move on to teach Judaism to the next generation has been one of my father’s greatest joys.” one

Daniel Hershkowitz, Minister of Science and Technology, Shares Insight with Students The Yeshiva University community enjoyed the opportunity to converse with and learn from Israeli Minister of Science and Technology Daniel Hershkowitz in a jam-packed evening on April 30. [caption id="attachment_10417" align="alignleft" width="344" caption="Minister Hershkowitz and President Joel"][/caption] Throughout the afternoon and evening, Hershkowitz met with students, faculty and administrators in a variety of settings to learn about the unique educational model of YU and share some of his insights. “It is my first time at Yeshiva University and I am very glad to be here,” said Hershkowitz. “It would be wonderful if we had a similar kind of institution in Israel.” Upon his arrival to the Wilf Campus, Hershkowitz was greeted by President Richard M. Joel and proceeded to meet with Yeshiva College Dean Barry Eichler and a number of senior faculty members to discuss common issues of interest regarding university life and current research underway at YU. “As the day progressed, it was clear that YU had made a new friend with whom we could cooperate in our close relationship with the State of Israel as academics devoted to our teaching and research, and in the continued quest for strengthening Jewish life here and abroad,” said Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, vice provost for undergraduate education, who took part in a number of meetings with the minister throughout the evening. At 8 pm, Hershkowitz delivered a short address in Furst Hall introducing an event sponsored by the Neuroscience Society, Medical Ethics Society, Yeshiva College Biology Majors Board, the Yeshiva College Philosophy Club, the Honors Program and the Stern College for Women Neuroscience Club. The minister described the fast paced rate of technological change wrought by advancements in computer technology. To illustrate this, he offered as an anecdote a common occurrence that he encountered as a graduate student: when he discovered a citation for a journal article not held by his library, he would have to send away for it, often to another country. “If I was lucky,” he said, “I would receive the article in a month. Now with computer databases, I can retrieve an article in seconds.” [caption id="attachment_10420" align="alignright" width="378" caption="Minister Hershkowitz met with Provost Lowengrub (left) and members of the YU faculty."][/caption] According to Hershkowitz, this improvement has led to an explosion of new research and journal publications, allowing people to delve deeper into sub-specialties of specific disciplines than ever before. With people so hyper-specialized, Israel now encourages more interdisciplinary collaboration in the sciences in order to maximize its scholars output and creativity. This is why Israel is currently focusing the attention of its research centers on the four interdisciplinary fields of neuroscience, marine biology, nanotechnology and computer technology. “When different fields come together, we can do amazing things,” said the minister. In closing, the minister offered a parable from the Book of Exodus to describe the compatibility of scientific inquiry and Jewish culture that he was pleased to encounter at YU. "We were delighted to have Minister Hershkowitz address the Neuroscience Society,” said Neuroscience Society President Daniel First. “Neuroscience is one of the hottest fields of scientific research today, and it was fascinating to hear how Israel is playing a prominent role in its advancement." Minister Hershkowitz earned a doctorate in mathematics from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in 1982. He has served as the rabbi for the Ahuza community near the northern Israeli city of Haifa. In early 2009, he won a seat in the Knesset as the Chairman of the Habayit Hayehudi party, a national religious party, and was shortly thereafter named Minister of Science and Technology. none

Ambassador Yehuda Avner to Speak at May 24 Commencement; Honorees Include Alan Willner, Eleazer Hirmes and Ethel Orlian Former Israeli diplomat, Ambassador Yehuda Avner, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary doctorate at Yeshiva University’s 81st Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 24, at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. [caption id="attachment_10367" align="alignleft" width="138" caption="Ambassador Yehuda Avner"][/caption] Avner, an author of two books, served as speechwriter and secretary to Israeli Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir, and as an adviser to Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Shimon Peres. Visit the commencement page for dates, locations, directions and information on ceremonies for all Yeshiva University schools and affiliates. President Richard M. Joel will also confer an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters upon Dr. Alan Willner and Eleazer Hirmes. Willner, a 1982 graduate of Yeshiva College, is a highly decorated physicist, who has published more than 950 papers on his research in optical technologies. Currently a chaired professor of engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California, he holds 24 patents. His research has been supported by institutions such as Cisco, the Department of Defense, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel, the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency. [caption id="attachment_10373" align="alignright" width="143" caption="Dr. Alan Willner"][/caption] Hirmes’ family relationship with Yeshiva University dates back to the early years of the 20th century, when his father, Rabbi Abraham P. Hirmes, left the Slobatka Yeshiva in Lithuania to pursue his rabbinical ordination at YU-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Eleazer attended YU High School and graduated from Yeshiva College in 1944. He received an MBA from New York University and spent 60 years practicing as a CPA, becoming a noted philanthropist in the Five Towns of New York. Hirmes and his wife Greta have set up a scholarship fund in honor of his parents. [caption id="attachment_10375" align="alignleft" width="135" caption="Eleazer Hirmes"][/caption] Ethel Orlian, the associate dean of Stern College for Women, will be awarded the Presidential Medallion. Orlian has spent more than 50 years as a student, teacher and administrator at Yeshiva University. A graduate of YU High School and Stern College, she began her YU career as a researcher, but left to live in Israel before returning to Stern in 1979 as the assistant to Karen Bacon, dean of Stern College for Women. Known to generations of Stern College women, she has remained at the college since—serving as assistant dean and academic counselor and teaching chemistry prior to her appointment as associate dean. [caption id="attachment_10378" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Ethel Orlian"][/caption] “Each of our honorees embodies a different piece of the principles of Yeshiva University, their commitment to the Jewish people, the State of Israel, their hometowns and to the University itself,” said President Joel. “We hope they inspire our graduates to leave our school for success now, but know they always have a home at YU.” In all, more than 1,400 undergraduate 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. Learn more about the honorees here. none

Yeshiva University Present Shavuos / Memorial Day Weekend Yarchei Kallah with YU Roshei Yeshiva and Torah Scholars, May 25-28 Yeshiva University-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) will present its second annual Yarchei Kallah [Gathering for Torah Study] Program this Shavuos, May 25-28, at the Rye Town Hilton in Westchester, NY—just 35 minutes from New York City. The Yarchei Kallah will feature round-the-clock Torah learning, children and teen programs, and inspirational lectures by renowned Yeshiva University personalities including President Richard M. Joel; Chancellor Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm; Rabbi Yona Reiss, Max and Marion Grill Dean of RIETS; Rabbi Elchanan Adler, Rabbi Hershel Reichman, Rabbi Hershel Schachter and Rabbi Jeremy Wieder, RIETS roshei  yeshiva and roshei kollel; Rabbi Kenneth Brander, David Mitzner Dean of YU’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF); Mindy Eisenman, staff connector at YUConnects and Bible instructor at Stern College for Women; Dr. Rona Novick, director of the Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Division of Doctoral Studies at Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration and senior fellow at YU’s Institute for University-School Partnership; Dr. David Pelcovitz, Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Chair in Psychology and Jewish Education at Azrieli; and Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and senior scholar at the CJF. “The Yarchei Kallah is a wonderful opportunity for members of our larger Yeshiva community to celebrate z’man matan toraseinu [the time of the giving of the Torah] by learning with our roshei yeshiva and celebrating Shavuos together in a congenial and convivial setting,” said Rabbi Reiss. “This retreat is perfect for all those who want to indulge themselves in both terrific shiurim and a warm and welcoming recreational environment during the upcoming holiday.” To learn more about the RIETS Shavuos Yarchei Kallah, visit www.yu.edu/riets/shavuos or call 646-592-4021. To sponsor a shiur or Tikkun Leil Shavuos in memory or in honor of a loved one, please call 212-960-0852. none

YU to Honor Longtime Men's Basketball Coach Jonathan Halpert with Court-Naming Ceremony, Scholarship Fund Yeshiva University's University's Alumni Office will be celebrating the 40-year career of men's basketball Coach Jonathan Halpert '62YUHS, '66YC, '78F with a court-naming ceremony in his honor on May 6, 2012 at the Max Stern Athletic Center on YU's Wilf Campus in Manhattan. The event will include the unveiling of Halpert's signature on the men's basketball court as well as the launch of the Coach Jonathan Halpert Scholarship Fund, an endowment that will be awarded annually to children of YU alumni living in Israel wishing to study at the University. Halpert, who took over the YU Maccabees roster in 1972, is the longest tenured men’s basketball coach in New York City history.  He was named coach of the year in the NCAA's Skyline Conference twice, and at one point compiled a streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons.  Above all, Halpert has served as a role model for core Jewish values to three generations of Yeshiva University students. "For four decades, Coach Halpert has imbued the Melvin J. Furst Gymnasium with the values of sportsmanship, teamwork and Jewish pride," said President Richard M. Joel. "With this deserving honor, Coach Halpert’s example and leadership will inform the play and actions of the future scholar athletes of Yeshiva University for generations to come." Over the last 30 years, Halpert has visited Israel twice a year to recruit Israeli talent interested in representing Yeshiva University on the court while receiving a top-notch Torah and academic college education. The Coach Jonathan Halpert Scholarship Fund was established under his guidance to benefit YU alumni who have immigrated to Israel. "When I heard that YU wanted to mark this milestone in my tenure, I insisted that the celebration include the establishment of the scholarship fund," said Halpert. "This grant is an expression of gratitude to Yeshiva University alumni who have made Aliyah and my way of ensuring that Israel's future leaders obtain the tools they need to continue to build the Jewish State." Individuals interested in honoring Halpert's significant contributions to YU and the Maccabees can contribute from anywhere in the world via the University website. Donors to the Coach Jonathan Halpert Scholarship Fund will be recognized in the interactive display documenting the history of the Maccabees in the Max Stern Athletic Center and in an honorary book to be presented to Halpert later this year. none

Students Commemorate Israel with Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut Programs Hundreds of students filled the Wilf Campus' Lamport Auditorium on April 25 for Yeshiva University's Yom Hazikaron (Israel Memorial Day) ceremony honoring the memories of Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror. [flickrslideshow acct_name="yeshivauniversity" id="72157629905512039"] The student-organized event featured readings by the Yeshiva College and Stern College Dramatics Societies, an a capella performance by the Y-Studs, a video presentation and a memorial candle lighting service. President Richard M. Joel delivered an emotional El Male Rachamim [memorial prayer] and was followed by keynote speaker Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer '71YC and Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, Joel and Maria Finkle Visiting Israeli Rosh Yeshiva at RIETS. The ceremony concluded with a Yizkor prayer led by Rabbi Yosef Blau, senior mashgiach ruchani [spiritual advisor], and closing words from Avital Chizhik '12S, president of the YU Israel Club. The moving program 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 64th birthday. Yom Ha’atzmaut festivities continued on April 26 with more dancing, a barbecue and carnival on the Wilf Campus. Download YU Torah’s Yom Ha’atzmaut To-Go, featuring articles from Roshei Yeshiva, faculty and prominent Torah personalities. none

Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony Honors Those Who Rescued Jews A moving Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yeshiva University focused on an uncommon narrative of one of the darkest periods of human history—that of the rescuers. [caption id="attachment_10272" align="alignleft" width="387" caption="Dr. Eva Fogelman delivers the keynote address at Yeshiva University's Yom Hashoah Ceremony. "][/caption] The theme of the ceremony, organized by YU’s Student Holocaust Education Movement (SHEM), was “Remember the Future.” The Lamport Auditorium on the Wilf Campus overflowed with students who came to participate and hear personal testimony from survivor Sally Frishberg, a child of eight when her family was forced to flee their home in 1942, and the research of Dr. Eva Fogelman, the Pulitzer-nominated author of the book Conscience and Courage: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust, who was herself born in a displaced persons camp. Fogelman’s work studies the thought processes and actions of those who sheltered and provided assistance to Jews during the Holocaust. “The rescuers did not change the course of history, but their behavior shows us that even under the worst conditions of terror, there are people who disobey a malevolent authority, there are people who risk their own lives and that of their family to save human beings,” Fogelman said. [caption id="attachment_10275" align="alignright" width="387" caption="Survivor Sally Frishberg lights a memorial candle with Sara Malka Berger, president of SHEM and Rachel Renz, speaker coordinator."][/caption] Frishberg related how her family hid in different haystacks until a Polish Catholic farmer agreed to let them stay in his attic for two years. She lost two siblings and many other family members to starvation, sickness and Nazi brutality, but Frishberg emphasized the importance of sharing the stories of survivors. “I was condemned to die at the age of eight and yet here I am,” she said. “Jews were meant to be eliminated from the world forever and yet here you are, and we are together. In spite of the heavy burden of memories that many of us bring with us, we will never give up and we will keep remembering because the future must know of the past.” The night was replete with prayer and reflection. Rabbi Yosef Blau, senior mashgiach ruchani [spiritual advisor] at YU, recited a yizkor memorial service for the murdered masses and YU President Richard M. Joel intoned “Kel Maleh,” a prayer for the souls of the departed. Six candles were lit on stage in commemoration of murdered children, religious leaders and scholars, as well as those who risked their lives to help Jews and those who survived to live on with the pain of grief and loss. [caption id="attachment_10277" align="alignleft" width="387" caption="The Maccabeats perform"][/caption] The evening also featured an a cappella performance by the Yeshiva Maccabeats, who sang “Habeit” and “Kol Berama” and led students in a stirring rendition of “Hatikva” at the night’s conclusion. “On this night we remember those who perished in the Holocaust and honor those few men and women who showed what impact individual actions can have,” said Israel Katz ’13SB, vice president of SHEM. “We will not forget the past. However, we hope to learn from it and from the lofty example set by these heroes, embedding in ourselves and in others the belief that we can affect change, one action at a time, to help forge a better future.” The ceremony was co-sponsored by the Stern College for Women Student Council, the Torah Activities Council, the Yeshiva College Student Association, the Yeshiva Student Union, the Student Organization of Yeshiva, the Jewish Studies Council, the Syms Schools of Business Student Council and the Isaac Breuer College Student Council. none

Reception Celebrates Publication of Volume Honoring David Berger On March 5, Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School hosted a special reception to mark the publication of a scholarly volume of collected essays honoring Dean David Berger, Ruth & I. Lewis Gordon Professor of Jewish History. [flickrslideshow acct_name="yeshivauniversity" id="72157629577504015"] Before a gathering that included three past Revel deans and noted scholars in academic Jewish studies, co-editors Dr. Elisheva Carlebach, Salo Baron Professor of Jewish History, Culture and Society at Columbia University, and Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought at YU, presented Berger with an honorary copy of the book, New Perspectives on Jewish-Christian Relations: In Honor of David Berger (Brill Academic Press). The two spoke about Berger’s substantial contributions to academic Jewish scholarship in multiple fields over the last 40 years, including the impact he has made on their own careers. “Dean Berger opened up for me a scholarly path I had no idea existed, serving as a model of how to be a colleague and teacher in academia and how to conduct oneself when many difficult questions hang in the balance,” said Carlebach. Schacter recalled his first academic Jewish studies class with Berger as a student at Brooklyn College: “I encountered a teacher who gave me language, categories and a sense of optimism that somehow these two worlds could coalesce,” he said. “To learn about rishonim in the college classroom for me was not just an intellectual exercise but a profound personal experience.” The reception was hosted in the President’s Office by Dr. Mordechai Z. Cohen, professor of Bible and associate dean of Revel, who has worked closely with Berger since they assumed leadership of the graduate school in 2008. “Dean Berger has a profound vision of academic Jewish studies and its importance among the Torah U’madda community that makes YU distinct and the flagship of Modern Orthodoxy,” said Cohen. “For YU to be YU, we needed someone of your vision, goodness, learning and scholarship to take us down the winding road that would strengthen our unique commitment to honoring Torah, honoring thought and making this a center for the world of Jewish ideas and Jewish ideals,” said YU President Richard M. Joel. Before friends, colleagues and students, Berger reflected on his own multifaceted academic history, describing his journey as a high school student from the Yeshiva of Flatbush to a Yeshiva College graduate and Columbia PhD candidate, including his more than 35 years teaching at YU on both a part and full-time basis. “There’s something very special about YU students and the ideals for which this university stands,” said Berger. “The principle of Torah U’madda applies of course to virtually all academic and cultural fields, but nowhere does it play out more strikingly than at the intersection of Torah in the focused, traditional sense and the disciplines that go by the name Academic Jewish Studies. Many manifestations of this intersection go to the core of a sophisticated understanding of Judaism itself.” Berger added: “To return to YU full-time in 2008 was to realize one of my central commitments in the ideal environment.” none