Bar Mitzvah Magazine 2014

Finding success after failure - Sports
Comment on the lessons
you learn from the stories at
By: Eddie Catton
Hillel Yeshiva
During my first time ice skating, I fell tons
of times. I really wanted to start playing
ice hockey. After my first time ice skating,
I felt very frustrated. But, I thought
to myself every professional was once a
beginner. All these famous players in the
professional leagues all had a start. And,
they kept on trying and never gave up.
So, the next time I went skating, I tried
my hardest not to stay frustrated. Then,
I started to skate like a natural! I learned
a great lesson that day. At first, things
might be hard for you to do but never
give up on them.
Special thank you to
Rabbi & Mrs.
Yitzhak Yadid
for all their help with
Torah Contest
TorahContest.com
A winner is just
a loser who tried
one more time.
By: Arlette Cojab
Hillel Yeshiva
Caroline glided onto the ice at her rink.
Her friend Madison was right behind
her. Caroline invited Madison because
today was an important day. Today
was the day Caroline would try an Axel
jump in front of her ice skating instructor.
An Axel jump is a jump where you
push yourself off the ice, spin one and a
half times in the air and land gracefully
on one foot. You’re supposed to push
off with your left foot and land on your
right. Caroline had trouble with that,
but she practiced a lot. She skated over
to her instructor who was waving her
over. “Go on, show me,” she said smiling.
Caroline took a deep breath, she
gained speed and jumped. The push
didn’t give her enough speed. She fell.
To read the rest of Arlette’s story,
Log on to TorahContest.com
Search: Arlette Cojab
By: Mollie Grinberg
Barkai Yeshivah
Claire gulped in paralyzing fear. It was
a cloudy Sunday morning. The day that
her parents planned to go rock climbing
in the southeast, far away from her
hometown in Virginia. “Claire, are you
ready?” Claire snapped out of her daze.
“Yeah, I guess so…”Her mother bent
down to comfort her child. “You don’t
have to go, honey,” her mother said.
Claire hesitated. She would climb that
mountain, even if it was the last thing
she did. “Er, mom, can I go first. To get
it over with?” A smile formed on her
mother’s face. “Okay, if you really want
to.” Soon, Claire was strapped tight to
her harness and was ready to go. She
started climbing fast to the top of the
mountain. Halfway up, she looked down
and gulped. From 3 feet in the air, she
looked back up confident and continued
to climb. At one point past the three
quarter mark, one of the rocks broke
and she dangled from one hand, clutching
on to the rock. She was terrified and
wanted to give up. But she couldn’t and
climbed up all the way to the top. She
grinned over the peak. She did it. Keep
trying, and don’t give up. Just keep
climbing the ladder of success.
By: Sondra Bukobza
Yeshivah of Flatbush
There once was a basketball player who
always played offense because that’s
what he played since he was little. One
day, the coach asked him to play defense
because the starting defense was
injured. He took the risk and played defense
instead of the usual offense. He
continued playing defense and, three
years down the line, he got offered a
college basketball scholarship playing
defense. Even if you’re scared, take the
opportunity. It might come only once.
46 Bar/Bat Mitzvah Magazine 718-909-6060 View magazine online at BMmagazine.com