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Friday, December 25, 2009
8 Tevet 5770
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Parshat Vayigash
Candle Lighting at 5:17 PM
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Click on the images above to jump to the corresponding article
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What You Think
"Begin with the
End in Mind". This one of Steven Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People" is exactly what we say Friday night as we welcome in Shabbat- "sof
maaseh b'machshava techila". Decide where you want to be in the long run,
and then figure out what steps you need to take to get there.
High school curricular and extracurricular decisions
need to be driven by this guiding principle.
What do we want our alumni to be in 10, 25 and 30 years? What do we want
their commitment to Jewish practice and beliefs, family, profession, other
human beings, and the Jewish community and Israel to look like?
The 10th WYHS Graduating Class will walk
down the aisle this spring. It is time for us to take stock of how WYHS
prepares its students for life beyond high school. Are there students who we
are not reaching? Do our graduates feel that the high school played an
important role in their religious, academic and social development? Can we do
more for them after graduation?
Though we put more effort into Alumni Services than any
high school I know, I'm sure that we can do more. Visiting the students in
Israel (which I had the privilege of doing two weeks ago) and at universities
may only be the beginning. "Once YHS, Always YHS" is something we believe.
We will be sending out an online survey to our alumni
in the next month, asking them for frank feedback about their high school
experience, upon which they can reflect with the maturity that years provides. I
encourage all of you to take out the time to help us make WYHS even more
impactful in the lives of its students.
Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
Head of School
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The Weeks Ahead
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Friday 1/1
No school & No Yeshiva Highlites
Tues-Wed, 1/5-1/6
School Retreat
Tuesday 1/12
Alumni / Faculty Sheva Brachot for Jenn (Adler) & Danrel Poliak ('06), 7:30pm
Thursday 1/14
Study Day
Fri-Wed, 1/15-1/20
Midterm Exams
Thurs-Sun, 1/21-1/30
Winter Break
Monday 2/22
Golf Tournament
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David Berman ('02)
on his engagement to Nicole Yeroshalmi of Houston
Brandon Gelbart ('08) on his enlisting into Tzahal
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 Chesed Corner
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CHESED
FOR EVERYONE
By Andrew Wald ('12)
STAFF WRITER
At the moment, students of WYHS are participating in incredible chesed programs. From the Chanukah toy drive to the blood drive, chesed opportunities abound at WYHS.The toy drive, initiated by Vice President of Community Outreach Randi Prince ('11), gave the students of WYHS a chance to do something special for the children of Chai Lifeline and their families. The toy drive, which ended just a few days ago, collected toys that will be given by Chai Lifeline to all their patients and each of their siblings. The chesed didn't just end there; the students also hand-delivered the toys to the children, which proved to be a touching experience. On Wednesday, many students participated in a blood drive, which WYHS holds several times a year. Students who were 16 and older donated their time--and their blood--to those who need it. Jacob Hirth ('10) asserted, "giving blood is something I look forward to because it gives me an opportunity to help those who are less fortunate." As it has been in the past and will hopefully be in the future, the turnout was very impressive.Students at WYHS also have their own personal Chesed goals, outside from the in-school programs. On January 31st, Martha Baumgarten ('10) will be participating in the Chai Lifeline ING Miami Half-Marathon. She plans to walk the 13.1 miles on behalf of the cancer survivors and victims she has known. If you'd like to sponsor Martha and help change the lives of those suffering of cancer, click here. |
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News Brief |
MAKIN' THE MELODYGirls Choir Performance
By Leora Litwin ('12)
STAFF WRITER
Last Monday, the Jewish National Fund celebrated Chanukah with their annual donation recognition luncheon. The Weinbaum Yeshiva Girls Choir was honored to have been invited, for the second consecutive year, to enhance the occasion by entertaining the crowd with Chanukah medleys and other famous Jewish tunes. The girls sang beautifully and gracefully, adored and graciously thanked by all; guest Cantor Elaine Shapiro commended the choir for their uplifting singing and exclaimed, "When the choir started to sing in harmony, I felt G-d's presence in the room." Kol Hakavod to the entire girls choir for representing our school so wonderfully with their magnificent voices.
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News Brief
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FROM BOCA TO WASHINGTON
WYHS Students Attend
AIPAC Saban conference
By Ilana Ben-Ezra ('10)
CHIEF OF STAFF
This past week Randi Prince ('11) and Ilana Ben-Ezra ('10) were privileged to attend the AIPAC Saban Conference with 350 college students and 50 other high school students from across the country. The two learned the importance of building relationships with our congressmen and becoming involved in the legislative process. The experience was unforgettable, say Ilana and Randi, and they look forward to utilizing the knowledge they learned.
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News Brief
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By Aaron Zimmerman ('13)
Mrs. Greer's 9th grade Honors English class recently viewed and explicated "Dead Poets Society," an existentialist movie about teenage boys learning to express themselves through poetry. After analyzing the movie, we were given time to prepare for our own poetical society that would take place in just a couple weeks' time.
Finally, the long awaited day arrived: once we had made our way to a peaceful patch of grass, forming a circle, our very own Dead Poet Society had begun. Each one of us took turns either reading an original piece or citing a poem that had inspired us. Our Society filled the delicate atmosphere with emotion, profundity, and intellectualism as we elicited our personal interpretations from the many powerful words that we shared together. What a truly remarkable experience it was.
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News Brief
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By Jacob Levenson ('11)
STAFF WRITER
Talk about a whirlwind trip!
Last week Rabbi Tirschwell returned from his eventful six day visit to Israel where he traveled from one yeshiva to the next to meet up with WYHS alumni. He went to fifteen schools across the country and spoke with each graduate individually. Rabbi Tirschwell took meticulous notes about what he saw and how the recent alumni felt in their respective yeshivot in order to continue preparing WYHS students for their year (or years) in Israel.
Rabbi Tirschwell discussed with the graduates their personal opinions of the yeshiva's environment, which prospective WYHS students would flourish in that specific yeshiva, and if they felt sufficiently prepared. He even pulled over a few non-graduates to further learn about each yeshiva. He also met with all of the female alumni on Friday morning, and again with all of the guys on Motzei Shabbat for dinner at Big Apple Pizza.
While traveling across the country and reconnecting with dozens of graduates, Rabbi Tirschwell somehow found the time in his jam-packed, productive trip to do laps in an Olympic-sized pool in Jerusalem.
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Spotted!
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Spotted: Rabbi Dr. Moshe Sokol
Dean of: Landers College for Men
Speaking to: Junior and Senior Boys
Speaking about: the significance of the fast of Asarah B'Tevet and a related discussion in the Gemara
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Spotted: Dr. Marian Stoltz-Loike
Dean of: Landers College for Women
Speaking to: Junior and Senior Girls
Speaking about: the miracles of Chanukah, and an overview of Landers College,
from the admission process to the dual curriculum
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Spotted: Mrs. Allie Goldenberg
Daughter of: Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner
Speaking to: All WYHS Girls
Speaking about: the details and purpose of the halachot of tzniut,
modesty
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News Brief |
PIXEL PERFECT
WYHS Photography Elective Learns about Engineering
By the Highlites StaffToday, young Air Force pilots conduct reconnaissance missions and shoot missiles in Afghanistan and Iraq while safely sitting in front of joysticks and computer screens in Tampa, by using high-tech, unmanned aircraft like the Predator.
The Predator is outfitted with high speed and high-resolution cameras designed by John Egri, father of Adam ('12), at the Boca Raton-based company Imperx.
Last Wednesday, Mr. Egri visited Mrs. Claudia Cohen's Videography and Photography electives and taught the students about cameras from the engineer's point of view, speaking about topics ranging from photons and light sensors to pixels and digital image processing. Mr. Egri explained how his cameras are used in the military, as well as in factories for quality control and in surgery for making precise measurements.
The students were shown cameras that capture images at speeds faster than 210 frames per second and were in shock when the little cameras picked up clear images of text from what looked like just a fast-spinning blur.
Thank you to Mr. Egri for giving up valuable time to enlighten the students about this mind-blowing technology.
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Pictures of the Week
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Click on the image above for an X-TREME video recap of the event.
Last week, WYHS had its annual Extreme Sports--a Chanukah classic. The ballroom was transformed into a mini basketball court, soccer field, bowling alley,
football field, and and hockey field. Students and teachers alike
competed in these "mini sports," which culminated with the annual,
highly-anticipated Rabbi slam dunk contest. | |
Storm Headquarters
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TAKING MEMPHIS BY STORM
By Adam Poliak ('11)
STAFF WRITER
This past weekend, the Boys Varsity Basketball team participated in the 3rd annual Cooper Yeshiva High School Invitational tournament hosted by the Cooper Yeshiva of Memphis. Despite severe color war-induced exhaustion, the boys played a solid first game against American Hebrew Academy of North Carolina; although the Storm lost, they still played hard. The next day, after some long overdue sleep, the Storm walked onto the court determined, and impressively beat the Moshe Aaron Yeshiva High School of New Jersey by almost 30 points.
After a restful Shabbat, the Storm played against the Yeshivat Haderech HaTorah Bulldogs from Brooklyn. While the boys ultimately lost, it was a very close game. Early Sunday morning, the Storm faced their rivals, the Hebrew Academy Warriors from Miami Beach, and won an impressive victory. Overall, the Storm won 3rd place in Tier 2. The team had a great time in Memphis--they had fun and became more unified. All of the players look forward to applying what they learned at the tournament to their upcoming district games.
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In Focus
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Spirituality D'var Torah
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The Challenges of Society
Parshat Vayigash
By Rebecca Fuchs ('10)
D'VAR TORAH EDITOR
In this week's Parshah, Vayigash, Yosef introduces his father and brothers to Paraoh. He understands that Bnei Yisrael will be in the land of Egypt for an extended period of time, and therefore makes sure that they settle separately in the land of Goshen. He does so in the hopes that they live a more appropriate lifestyle, separate from that of their Egyptian counterparts. Why is it so important that Yosef set this boundary between the Egyptians and Bnei Yisrael? He even goes so far as to tell Paraoh that his brothers were shepherds, knowing that such a revelation would offend Paraoh, an animal worshiper, and deter him from recruiting them as courtiers and officials. Why is Yosef so insistent that the Jewish people be kept separate from their surrounding environment?
Most people would seem to agree that the secular world can be incredible. We have gained tremendously from science, literature, and philosophy, and have benefited intellectually from the secular world. Although there is so much to gain, we must always be aware of the risks and make every attempt to guard ourselves from that which could distance us from G-d.
Chiddushei HaRim suggests that Yosef wished to set an example for future generations: we should not try to win the favor of those who rule over us, nor try to adopt their culture. Living in a certain society, it can be overwhelmingly difficult for people to distance themselves from the culture in which they are immersed. Yosef wised to teach us that while we may be able to seemingly integrate ourselves into another culture, we are, by nature, separate. Our lifestyle, governed by thousands of years of tradition and, of course, G-d Himself, is incredible. In a society that is simply described as a melting pot of many cultures, we must work harder than ever to hold on to our beliefs. May our strong religious communities and our true home of Eretz Yisrael continue to give us support and assistance in keeping true to our culture. May we strive to use the Torah as our guide for life and attempt to emulate not foreign rulers, but the example of our religious leaders.
Shabbat Shalom!
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