Comment on the lessons you learn from the stories at Letting go of past experiences By: Sophia Rofe Hillel Yeshiva Rachel’s goal was to become a great actress. One day, Rachel was invited to do the play “Romeo and Juliet”. Rachel practiced for months for this play and now it was finally here. She went on stage and started to say her lines. Right before intermission, everyone applauded. During intermission, Rachel decided that, since she did so well, she didn’t really need to practice her lines anymore. When the play was back on, it was Rachel’s lines. She said a few lines, but then she messed up. After Rachel messed up her lines, she tried again but failed. Then, Rachel ran off the stage. A few months later, she was asked to perform in the play “Shakespeare.” When she received this message, at first, she didn’t want to enter. But, then Rachel realized, in life you only fail so that you can try again. The lesson here is that you should never give up. Even if you fail terribly, you should always try again. TorahContest.com Sometimes you have to let things go for better things to arrive. By: Miriam Zenilman Yeshivah of Flatbush When I was in third grade, I was diagnosed with a severe nut allergy. A month later, I had an allergic reaction and was sent to the nearest hospital. A couple of hours later, I was once again healthy. But, this traumatic experience had a huge impact on me. I carried the fear of having another allergic reaction with me for years. However, this past summer I was able to overcome this irrational fear. I went on a community service trip to Croatia and had to trust that the guide accompanying my group would read the ingredients on food packages correctly as I cannot understand Croatian. At first, I was very anxious about eating. However, my friends encouraged me to take risks and assured me that everything would be fine. I took their advice and found that they were right. As a result, I learned that taking a chance is definitely worth the risk. By: Orly Alchkifati <strong>Bar</strong>kai Yeshivah In order to live a happy life, you need to be successful. Successful is when someone had an embarrassing moment or experience in their life but is still trying. Someone who is not giving up, who forgets about the past and starts fresh; a person who learns from his mistakes and tries again the second time with confidence. For example, Sara has a goal to be a singer. She believed that she will be a good singer. But, when she was performing, she saw so many people staring at her. She forgot the song. But did she give up? No! Later on, there was another performance. She learned the song and learned from her mistakes. She started fresh, new and was confident in herself. That’s what I call a winner - a person who keeps on pushing and pushing until they get it right. A person who gets up when she falls. By: Bert Dweck Yeshivah of Flatbush One day, I decided to run a marathon and tried to be the winner. I never ran more than 2 miles in my life. I started training every day for 45 minutes and it was going fine. Then I ran a 10 mile marathon after training 45 minutes a day for 3 months and collapsed right before I reached 6 miles. I was really upset and ashamed of myself. I felt like I was a fool and couldn’t succeed. I just decided to think positive and forget about all of the stumbling blocks and mistakes that ever happened to me. I started my training all over again. I increased my training to 1 hour and 30 minutes a day and I ran the same marathon 1 year later. I was very nervous before the marathon that something might happen. I ended up succeeding and winning the marathon. I won a first place medal. The lesson I learned was to never give up and you will succeed. 82 <strong>Bar</strong>/Bat <strong>Mitzvah</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> 718-909-6060 View magazine online at BMmagazine.com
In Memory of I n m e m o r y o f R a l p h S . G i n d i A ” H I n memory of Ezra and Samira ben Rachel Abed A”H I n memory of Albert Manopla A”H I n memory of Maurice Elbaz A”H I n memory of Yitzchak ben Mazal A”H I n memory of Eliyahu ben Rachel A”H I n memory of Joseph M. Missry ben Arline A”H I n memory of Yoseph ben Latife Guindi I n memory of Ralphael Sarway A”H I n loving memory of Joseph S. Jemal A”H by his wife Ruth and children I n memory of Hy Serure A”H by his family
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