Students Present North America’s Largest Jewish Book Sale from February 5 to 26

The students of Yeshiva University will hold their annual Seforim Sale, North America’s largest Jewish book sale, from February 5 to 26 in Belfer Hall, 2495 Amsterdam Ave on YU’s Wilf Campus in Manhattan. The sale is operated entirely by YU students—from ordering to setting up the premises, marketing and all the technology the project entails.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrP0UG743W4&feature=player_embedded

Last year the acclaimed Judaica book sale drew more than 15,000 people from the tri-state area and grossed more than $1 million in sales. The annual event provides discounted prices on the latest of more than 15,000 titles in rabbinic and academic literature, cookbooks, children’s books, and music.

The Seforim Sale has become a highlight for the Yeshiva University community, as students, alumni and members of the community congregate to visit their alma mater, see old friends and add books to their personal libraries. Proceeds from the sale support various initiatives, including student activities on campus and undergraduate scholarships.

Scheduled events at the sale include:

• Alumni Family Day and Meet-the-Alumni-Author Event (Feb. 12), featuring a musical workshop with the Y-Studs, arts-and-crafts with educators from the YU Museum and story-telling with Stern College Professor Penninah Schram, followed by a panel discussion with noted alumni authors: Rabbi Benjamin Blech ’54YC, ’56R; Sara Diament ’96S, ’98BR; Ann Koffsky ’93S; and Rabbi Dr. Saul Hillel Landa ’65YUHS, ’69YC
• Book signings with Susie Fishbein and Mazal Alouf-Mizrahi
• Live musical performances by YU’s own a cappella groups, The Maccabeats and Y-Studs, as well as Ta Shma, The Groggers, Except Saturday and Shlomo Gasin
• Lectures by the Bostoner Rebbe, Rabbi Nati Helfgot, Rebetzin Smadar Rosensweig, Rabbi Natan Slifkin, and Rabbi Gil Student

Those who cannot attend the sale can take advantage of the great prices and vast catalog selection by ordering online on the Seforim Sale’s Web site. For a complete listing of dates and times, to purchase gift certificates or to view the online catalog, visit www.theseforimsale.com.

All YU graduates with valid YU Alumni ID cards will receive five percent off their Seforim Sale purchases on Alumni Day. To obtain your YU Alumni ID card, please submit a request by February 6 to alumni@yu.edu.

Read The New York Times coverage of last year’s Seforim Sale…

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Hundreds Attend Annual YU Chanukah Concert Featuring Shwekey, Y-Studs and Shimon Craimer

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Student A Cappella Groups Find Their Voices at Yeshiva University; Maccabeats’ Success Continues

When the Maccabeats were founded in 2007 by Yeshiva College student Michael Greenberg, no one could have imagined the world-wide success they currently enjoy. Since the release of last year’s “Candlelight”—their Chanukah-themed YouTube hit which has drawn more than 6 million views—the group has performed in England, Israel, South Africa, and throughout the United States, including a performance at the White House for Jewish American Heritage Month and a meeting with President Obama.

On a more local scale, the group’s success has given rise to two a cappella groups at Yeshiva University: the B’notes, an all-female ensemble on Stern College for Women’s Beren Campus, and the Wilf Campus Y-Studs, a musical group in the style of contemporary all-male collegiate a cappella.

Both groups have performed primarily for YU events but recently have emerged as viable choices for off-campus venues. The Y-Studs performed at last year’s Dreidel-Palooza, where Yeshiva students broke the Guinness Book world record for the most dreidels spun simultaneously, as well as at the University’s Yom Hazikaron program. This year, they are set to make a mark for themselves, having recently performed at the YU Hannukah Dinner and scheduled for the upcoming Annual YU Chanukah Concert. They have also begun performing at bar mitzvahs and shul dinners.

The B’notes, now in its fourth year, only performs in front of female audiences, mostly at Stern College. The 13-member group practices twice each week and is anticipating increased gigs in upcoming months. Recently, they were excited to sing for the Center for the Jewish Future’s Rebbetzins’ Yarchei Yallah.

“It was thrilling to perform for an audience outside of Stern, which we had never done before,” said Tali Muroff, administrative director of the B’notes.

Muroff, a senior at Stern College, hopes the group’s music will “convey a sense of fun and positive energy to our audience, as we have so much fun performing.”

The Maccabeats’ success has kept the group’s Jewish identity in the limelight. “We believe that what we do with our music and with our videos is merely an expression of what we believe in as modern Orthodox Jews: that we can infuse the modern and mundane with meaning, that we can be proud of and express our Jewish heritage in new, interesting and accessible ways,” said Noey Jacobson, associate director of the Maccabeats and senior at Yeshiva College.

Although they have a rigorous traveling schedule, the group remains dedicated to their YU roots. “We still owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the University and try to perform there as often as we can,” said Jacobson.

The Maccabeats have recently released another Chanukah-themed video, “Miracle,” featuring a cameo appearance by TV star and self-proclaimed number one Maccabeat fan, Mayim Bialek. The Maccabeats and Bialek have also teamed up with The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation for a Miracle Match Campaign, hoping to raise $80,000 ($10,000 for each night of Chanukah) to help test cheek swab samples from potential bone marrow donors.

Watch the Maccabeats’ latest music video, “Miracle”…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHwyTxxQHmQ

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