Bar Mitzvah Magazine 2014

Take more risks, get more rewards
By: Jonny Sultan
Comment on the lessons
you learn from the stories at TorahContest.com
Hillel Yeshiva
Lebron James entered the NBA at age 19.
Coming right out of college, he was ready
to play versus NBA stars like Shaquille
O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan.
At 6”8, Lebron played his first game with
only 5 points. He got so much criticism for
coming right after high school. The media
kept asking him, “Do you think you’ll be
good?” And he kept on answering, “Do
I look like a quitter or a loser?” The next
Taking risks:
game, he played the Lakers, Kobe Bryant’s
team. He had 32 points, one of the best
scores. He never quit.
If you win, you will
By: Rachel Nussbaum
Yeshivah of Flatbush
be happy. If you lose,
Without risks, life would be boring. In order
you will be wise.
to make your life more exciting, you
need to be daring and take risks. If you are
constantly scared to take risks, you will
By: Sharon Betesh
Hillel Yeshiva
Everybody in this world is afraid of something.
But, that doesn’t mean to be afraid
of everything. It’s not bad to take risks.
But, when you don’t take risks, you are
missing out on an opportunity. All your
friends are at an amusement park and
you don’t go on any rides. They all run
on to the biggest ride in the park and you
just stand there. You don’t want to go because
you’re scared. Scared of what? Your
friends come off the ride and had the best
time. You just missed out on a memory
that your friends could look back on. But,
you can’t because you were scared. When
you take risks, you thank yourself after
because being scared in life causes you to
miss out on great opportunities.
By: Eddie Catton
Barkai Yeshivah
In school, Jake wasn’t in the honors class.
He was in the regular class. He worked
very hard and became smarter. So, he was
offered to move up to the honor class.
Jake turned the offer down because he
was too familiar with the regular class.
He knew that he was smart enough to
move up to the honors class. He knew everything
that he was taught in the regular
class and got bored but still wanted
to stay there. If Jake took the offer, he
would have been able to become an even
smarter boy. Jake has to accept that life
is about taking risks and stepping out of
your comfort zone. There is no guarantee
that honors class would have been better
for him but he should’ve given it a try.
never be accustomed to new things. If you
constantly eat the same food, wear the
same clothes and have the same friends,
then you will just live a simple, boring
life. Some people might fear taking risks
because of the consequences or because
they don’t like to try new things. We need
to overcome this fear and train our minds
to let us take those risks. So, what do you
have to lose by taking risks?
To read the rest of Rachel’s story,
Log on to TorahContest.com
search: Rachel Nussbaum
By: Dina Huppert
Hillel Yeshiva
Because of fear in class, I am unable to answer
any questions. My hand slowly goes
up, but the fear pulls it down. My mouth
opens wide, but the fear shuts it closed.
Don’t let fear control you or you won’t
get anywhere. Because of my fear of getting
laughed at, I wasn’t sure what I know
Great prizes: Students who write the
most comments on the stories get
and I don’t know which made it hard to
study. Don’t let fear conquer you like it
prizes without a raffle. see page 89
conquered me.
74 Bar/Bat Mitzvah Magazine 718-909-6060 View magazine online at BMmagazine.com