Menahel's Message - Mesivta Ateres Yaakov

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2 NOVEMBER 2011 THE ATERES YAAKOV STAR Letter from the Editors By Eli Pollack & David Waldman After last year’s paper’s success in timely publishing, we knew that there was no option in failing to produce a stunning paper to distribute at the open house. This year we decided to go above and beyond the norm. We set ourselves a goal to publish more editions of the paper this year then have been published in previous years. In order to accomplish our goals, scores of hours of work were put into this paper. Our paper must also meet with the School’s high - standard and likely surpassed it. We decided to keep last year’s professional looking layout and improved on it with some special additions of our own. We improved on the star itself, which represents our title perfectly, by adding some color, making the “A” and “Y”, which overlap to form a Jewish star, more discernible. We blue and orange, in the title to give the paper more of a homey feel. Many thanks are owed to Ari Begun, our Art Director, for spending countless hours working to create the masterpiece we have produced. We have also added graphics to our newspaper to inform the reader of certain columns that appear in every edition of our paper. The columns, Menahle's Message, Principal’s Perception, and Greetings from the G.O. which you can identify them. There are many challenges and obstacles that we are faced with when trying to put together a publication such as this one. One of the most daunting challenges we were forced to overcome this year was the absence of Mr. Salzbank and Mrs. Levinson from knowledge of the workings of this paper would have proven extremely helpful in facilitating the smooth production of our paper. We miss them dearly. We have once again managed to accomplish the task of keeping the articles all in the correct amount of space without the liberty of adjusting their size. In fact, one of the more arduous aspects of publishing a tails that are necessary to perfect range from learning the editing product, however, gives all of us who worked on the paper a sense of deep satisfaction. That joy, gained through hard work, is the most rewarding feeling, more than any tangible reward. The metaphor of a mountain climb is often used to describe such satisfaction. This year, we are climbing Everest. As with many mountains, sometimes when you think you are almost at the top only then do you realize that there is still so much more to climb. With our ambitious goals this year, our journey has only just begun. With that, we must thank the many people who dedicated themselves and their time to our journey. Accolades of praise are due to all of our writers for this edition. Without them, the paper simply would not have been a paper at all. Our hard working team gave everything they had to offer, to ensure that the paper was done to the best of their ability. Yitzchak Eisenberger, our photographer, is only his part to work responsibly to get only the best photos for the business and management team, Yossi Koppel and Moishy Neu- Eli Pollack David Waldman man, a fantastic duo, negotiated with businesses throughout the 5 Towns, Queens and abroad to purchase ads with which to fund our paper. Ari Begun and Naftali Engel, our layout and design masters, worked hard to produce this paper. Naftali our new "Caught On Camera" addition. Ari spent countless our banners, headers, text boxes and article sizes; he truly put his all into this publication. It would have been impossible for us to make this paper without the help of the tireless faculty a special thanks to Mrs. Shapiro for always answering our com- smile, despite the more pressing matters that she must be busy with. Thank you to Mrs. Tausch for always helping out however she can, despite her immensely busy schedule. We welcome Rabbi Niman and Mrs. Diamond who have joined us this year in the place of Mr. Salzbank and Mrs. Levinson. Rabbi Niman has offered to help us in any way he can as he gets to learn even graciously offered to write an article for the paper. A thank you is in order for Rabbi Yaffe, Rabbi Rudansky and the yeshiva staff for patiently helping us get all the articles in. We are deeply indebted to Rabbi Oratz for his willingness to assist us throughtout our arduous journy. Rabbi Oratz spent countless hours reading and editing our paper to ensure its perfection. Thank you very much Rabbi Oratz. Baruch Hashem, with tremendous siyata d'shmaya, we have made it this far. We with the conclusion of this paper; we hope to surmount a few more this year. We hope that The Ateres Yaakov Star, 2011. THE ATERES YAAKOV STAR The Student Newspaper of Mesivta Ateres Yaakov of Greater Long Island Ruth & Hyman Simon High School Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, Ph.D., Menahel Rabbi Sam Rudansky, M.A., J.D., Principal EDITORS Eli Pollack David Waldman LAYOUT & DESIGN Ari Begun Naftali Engel BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Yossi Koppel Moishy Newman PHOTOGRAPHY Yitzchok Eisenberger COLUMNISTS Dovid Blinder Mordy Goldstein Aharon Polatoff Avi Terebelo Yaakov Zupnick FACULTY ADVISOR Rabbi Shmuel Oratz 131 Washington Avenue, Lawrence, NY 11559 (516) 374-6465 TheAteresYaakovStar@gmail.com WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. PLEASE SEND ALL QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, AND ADVERTISEMENT REQUESTS TO THEATERESYAAKOVSTAR@GMAIL.COM
Continued from Page 1 with total devotion. It was particularly this attribute that made him Yitzchak Avinu, the second link of the critical chain that constituted our Avos, the foundation of the Jewish people. However, an unusual byproduct of the Akeidah can teach a very valuable lesson regarding the effects of our experiences and how they shape us. In Parashas Toldos, the Torah tells us that when Yitzchak became elderly, his eyesight became nating Midrash which explains that when Yitzchak was bound on the Mizbayach about to be slaughtered, that at that moment the heavens opened up and angels saw what was occurring and began to cry. Their tears fell into Yitzchak’s eyes and this had the effect that in his old age, Yitzchak’s eyesight was affected. It was only the second week of school and already time for the ninth grade to go on a trip. Traditionally, each year the yeshiva takes the freshman class on a trip to Project CARE, a ropes course geared toward building camaraderie and trust among peers. The anticipation was tangible; you could practically touch it. Everyone was excited to find out what they were going to do there. After an abbreviated morning shiur the ninth graders and their rebbeim boarded the bus and set out towards their destination. lunch, the grade was promptly divided into two groups. Each group was assigned to a specific activity. Initially, these tasks appeared difficult to the hesitant kids. However after ob- Menahel's Message There are a number of problems with this Midrash. First, why would angels cry on this occasion? Surely they understood that if this was the will of Hashem that it was absolutely Also, do angels have emotional responses? Given that they do not have free will, we know that they are the shlichus for which they have been designated. What does it mean for these messengers of Hashem to cry? Finally, whatever else this Mi drashmay be conveying, isn’t it amazing that from the entire world for this to happen, that their tears fall directly New Beginnings serving many of their peers completing these daunting objectives, even the more tentative students were suddenly filled with confi- dence. Together with team effort and perseverance, the grade, unilaterally, attacked these intimidating missions. To elaborate in some detail, one of the more challenging initiatives was ‘the platform’. This measly platform was only about 4 1/2 was to fit the entire group of 25 onto this small surface after somehow reaching it from somewhat of a By Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, Ph.D., Menahel into the eyes of Yitzchak? What aim! What does all this mean? There can be no doubt that Chazal are revealing to us a very deep message in this Midrash through an incredible mashal, a symbolic analogy. Perhaps one could explain the above as follows. Angels in fact are the messengers of Hashem and are created for a singular purpose. It would seem that these angels were created for and sent on a mission that By distance-without stepping on the ground. O u r tools- a rope s u s - pended from a cable, and two planks which didn’t s e e m to reach. One doubtful student exclaimed his concern, “there are way too many of us, the platform is simply not large enough and how will we even get there?” At first, the group was perplexed and unsure of how to accomplish the goal. It wasn’t long, however, before they put their heads together and came up with a brilliant plan that involved the skill and teamwork of every group member. There were many other fun, yet challenging attractions at the ropes course. The rock climbing wall was certainly a favorite for all, once you tried. It was tall and scary looking but af- STUDENT SPECIAL $5.00 Waffle with fudge & frozen yogurt THE ATERES YAAKOV STAR NOVEMBER 2011 3 was critical for Yitzchak Avinu’s development. The imagery of angels crying demonstrates a midas harachamim, an attribute of mercy that would now temper the strict justice being forged in Yitzchak, particularly at this time. The experience of the Akeidah was the crucial step in permanentlyestablishing this midah in him and setting the path for the rest of his life. The tears from their “eyes” into the eyes of Yitzchak were meant to soften his outlook on the world. This helped Yitzchak to be able to overcome his natural attribute of justice which manifested itself in weakened vision in his old age. If Yitzchak ter the first few kids made a successful attempt, the rest couldn’t help but to give it a try. A personal favorite was the suspended beam. Two opponents stood opposite each other on a long narrow beam suspended between t w o trees, about thirty feet off the ground. The objective was to remain the last man standing. We were having so much fun with the available courses that we forgot all about the disappointment of the zip line being closed for the day. As the day came to a close and it neared time to leave Project CARE, the ninth grade students were exhausted. Don’t be fooled, this is not the kind of exhaustion you are thinking had only his natural attributes to rely on, it is unlikely that he would have been able to maintain his relationship with his evil son Esav. Without Esav’s being reined in by the respect he had for his father, there is no telling the extent of the havoc he could have wreaked on the rest of the world. We see that without a tempering force, Yitzchak’s experiences would have left him without the ability to counter his natural inclinations. He actually to offset his own characteristics. How careful we must be in choosing our own experiences! We see that the decisions we make and the experiences to which we expose ourselves do nothing less than actually shape who we become. We may not merit the “tears of the angels” to guide us. Instead, we must rely on our parents, rabbeim and friends and daven that we too should have the siyata dishamaya to choose our experiences wisely. of. This is exhaustion with a new sense of accomplishment, and companionship with their new classmates. The freshman gained some powerful tools for a future of growth on this inspirational trip. We learnt how to work together as a unified team in order to overcome difficult tasks. We also learnt the valuable lesson of friendship and the vitality of enjoying creative entertainment with our friends. Most impor- tantly, e a c h and every student had the opportunity to prove to themselves that they can surmount any fear, challenge or obstacle placed in their path. STUDENT SPECIAL Buy any medium iced or hot coffee GET A FREE COOKIE
Page 1: A Student Publication of Mesivta At
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Page 9 and 10: Chesed. It’s not just a word or a
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Menahel's Message - Mesivta Ateres Yaakov

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