yeshiva university • purim to-go • adar 5771 - YU Torah Online

SHOWING THEIR APPRECIATION, RIETS ALUMNI SPONSOR DAY OF LEARNINGEvery year, RabbiJonathan Grossand a few fellowgraduates of theRabbi IsaacElchananTheologicalSeminary(RIETS) gettogether to catchup, share theirexperiencesas communityleaders acrossthe country andexchange ideasabout how tobest serve theircongregations.At their last gathering,however,Gross startedthinking.“That we were able to learn at RIETS for free, withworld-class rabbis who I can still call up today—not tomention the network of relationships we built with otherrabbis and colleagues while we were there—is truly incredible,”he said. “My degree is worth hundreds of thousandsof dollars and I don’t owe a penny. I thought, ‘How can I insome way show my gratitude and acknowledge the value ofmy degree?’”When he learned about RIETS’ parnas hayom program,which offers the chance to sponsor a day, week or even amonth of learning, Gross shared it with the group. Hewanted to sponsor a day of learning in recognition of theeducation he’d received. Everyone wanted to pitch in.“There’s a lot about RIETS that I’m very appreciative of,”said Rabbi Yonah Gross (no relation). “The education andthe background there really prepared me for the challengesI face in my daily work, and we covered a lot of things, likepractical halachos (laws), which don’t get covered in manyyeshivas.” Like Rabbi Jonathan Gross, he felt the friendshipscreated in RIETS were critical, noting that it createda system of support for rabbis just starting out in communitiesacross America. “Yesterday, a rabbi from SouthCarolina threw out a question about minyan, and I happenedto have a book he didn’t have,” he said. “In someplaces, your library is the only thing you’ve got. But Icould scan a couple pages and send it to him.”The group of alumni hopes the sponsorship will set aprecedent for other students and alumni to follow. “Itwould be great if it inspired students in Yeshiva right nowto see a bunch of rabbis, not much older than they are, soappreciative of the education they received,” said RabbiYonah Gross.Every RIETS student is provided with a full academicscholarship and many receive other benefits, such as livingand housing stipends, which are made possible withthe financial support of alumni and affiliates of the institution.This investment allows the Yeshiva to continue itstradition of providing tuition-free semikhah [rabbinicordination] and post-semikhah kollel [advanced learning]study programs to attract quality candidates for rabbinicaltraining.“The truth is that all of our supporters have a cherishedchelek [share] in the constant and vibrant Torah learningthat takes place at our Yeshiva,” said Rabbi Yonah Reiss,the Max and Marion Grill Dean of RIETS. “The notion ofdedicating a day of learning has in its origins the famousstatement of our Rabbis that the words of Torah shouldconstantly be viewed as new and fresh each day, as if theTorah was given to us on that day (Rashi, Shemot 19:1).Likewise, the fire of Torah in our batei midrashot [studyhalls] is rekindled each day through the parnas hayon programand the committed benefactors who help sustain ourstudents one day at a time.”Did You Know?With nearly 1200 alumni in Los Angeles, we’ve discoveredthat:• 38 are rabbinic alumni• 19% are Yeshiva College graduates, 16% from SternCollege for Women and 11% are from the Sy SymsSchool of Business• 10% attended a Yeshiva University-affiliated highschool• 56 % attended a YU graduate school or program• 3%of our L.A.-based alumni are parents of current YUstudents• Los Angeles is home to one of our YU RegionalCouncils established in the last year• Outside of the tri-state area, Los Angeles has one ofthe largest concentrations of YU alumni.To learn more about YU alumni and the Office of AlumniAffairs, visit www.yu.edu/alumni