Hard to believe that it's already been a week since graduation. It was a wonderful week--thank you to all of you for sharing in the celebration! This past week in Kiawah has been equally wonderful and relaxing (minus the unplanned roadtrip, which wasn't so bad). Here are some photos from the weeklong festivities:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Mindy's Graduation
We all had such a wonderful time at the week-long festivities surrounding Mindy's graduation. We are all so proud of Mindy's many accomplishments. It was a treat to see her amidst all her friends and her peers at Columbia. We love you Minds!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Movie shoot on Rechov Ahad Haam
Check out this adorable video starring some of your favorite Raaaaaananaa residents. Talya Agus, Baker boys, all the cute Ariel kids walking to school down Ahad Haam. A smart and healthy program. Way to go Raanana.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Small adjustment on blog video posting
It seems we're having memory problems. Accordingly, pls post all videos first to YouTube before embedding on blog. I'll try to correct this later this week for older posts, since our allotted memory is quickly diminishing.
Don't know why i didn't see this earlier
Michael O is Israel's new ambassador to US. Perhaps you already know this: apparently this has been news for two weeks. Somehow i missed it.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Remembering Zaidie
I woke up this morning thinking about Zaidie, and then I read an email from Mom and Dodi that his yarzheit starts tonight. He is often in my thoughts despite the fact that he passed away over 20 years ago. I was thinking about how gutsy he was when he walked into a bank for the first time to get his first loan to buy a house. And that was how the business began. The banker at the time recalled how he came in with his dirty shoes, and the only reason why he granted Zaidie the loan was because he was impressed with his determination.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Wheelchair b-ball in J-lem
Who knew that wheelchair basketball is ten times more exciting that running basketball? My friend Dyonna Ginzburg's exemplary organization, B'maaglei Tzedek, fought and won a commitment from the Jlem municipality to make the city sports arena (abt the size and quality of a middle american high school gym) wheelchair accessible. To mark the occasion, the place hosted the championship game of the Israeli wheelchair elite b-ball league.
The players, all nechei tzahal (disabled army veterans) were incredible. Very inspiring. They can get themselves upright even when they knock each other over. About twice as fast as regular bball.
And the best part: Since it was Jerusalem vs Tel Aviv, i learned the J-lem fight songs, which include Yerushalayim Shel Zahav as a sports cheer. Unfortunately, it's hard to post audio to blogger, but i recorded it on my phone for when i figure it out. "Yerushalayim, milchama!"
The players, all nechei tzahal (disabled army veterans) were incredible. Very inspiring. They can get themselves upright even when they knock each other over. About twice as fast as regular bball.
And the best part: Since it was Jerusalem vs Tel Aviv, i learned the J-lem fight songs, which include Yerushalayim Shel Zahav as a sports cheer. Unfortunately, it's hard to post audio to blogger, but i recorded it on my phone for when i figure it out. "Yerushalayim, milchama!"
Geffie's Special Visitors Day
Here are the pics from our visit to Room 8. Geffie was very excited to show us around.
Hangin' With Dean Quigley
We had our senior dinner last night. This is Dean Austin Quigley, the famed Columbia College dean's, last year, so he made it a memorable one. Good times all around. Thanks for the dress, Dana!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
My speech on Friday night
Here is the speech that I gave this past Friday night here at our Hillel:
Shabbat shalom. Before I begin, I want to thank Rabbi Chaim Brovender and Rabbi Menachem Leibtag for the main ideas in this dvar Torah.
As I sadly attended my last real class yesterday, I found myself finally forced to confront the fact that I am actually graduating from this wonderful institution. I turned to our parsha for some insight into the experiences that I’ve had over the past four years. Parshat Kedoshim, the second of this week’s double-header parsha, opens (Vayikra 19:1):
Vayidaber hashem el moshe laymor. Daber el kol adat bnei yisrael v’amarta aleyhem ‘kdoshim tihyu ki kadosh ani hashem elokeichem.”
"And God spoke to Moshe saying, speak to kol adat Bnei Yisrael - to the entire congregation of Israel - And say to them ‘You shall be holy’ because I, your God, am Holy.”
It is unusual that Kedoshim starts “daber el kol adat bnei yisrael” instead of just “daber el bnei yisrael.” The extra phrase “kol adat” is only used two other times in the Torah when Moshe communicates God’s message to Bnei Yisrael.
What is distinctive about our parsha?
Rashi explains this unusual moment by elucidating,
מלמד שנאמרה פרשה זו בהקהל
“We learn from this that the parsha was said to the entire assembled nation.”
Later on in the Torah, in Devarim 31, we learn about the mitzvah of hakhel, which is when b’nei yisrael assembled every 7th year to listen to the king read from the Torah. Hakhel took place at the Beit HaMikdash on Sukkot in the year following shmita. The mitzvah is related with a number of verbs: yishma’u, yilamdu, v’shamru - As a nation, B’nei yisrael will listen to the Torah, learn how to do mitzvot even better, and then put those mitzvot into practice. Hakhel serves as a kind of chizzuk for Judaism, once every 7 years. It’s an opportunity to reaffirm the Torah together as a community. There is a certain power in the mitzvah of hakhel because the format of mass assembly is qualitatively, not just quantitatively, different than performing mitzvot as individuals. The fact that our parsha was said “b’hakhel” signals that this is a key parsha in the Torah.
Our parsha deserves this distinction because of the directive of “kdoshim tihiyu,” “you shall be holy,” that appears in Pasuk Bet. “Kdoshim tihiyu,” interpreted differently by various commentators, teaches us that we should sanctify the mundane and find ways to emulate God’s holiness by living our lives in the most halakhic, considerate, and ethical way possible. But it is only as a community that we can truly achieve this level of holiness. “Kdoshim tihiyu” is a directive that must be received and fulfilled by a community together.
Now, as a graduating senior, I would like to take a few moments to relate this idea to our community and to impart some “senior wisdom.” Over the past four years, I have continually come to Hillel as a place of community. It has given me a sense of belonging, and the people in this community have been friendly, welcoming faces in what can be a large, anonymous institution. At times, in the midst of the cultural relativism and nihilism that we’re left with at the end of CC and other philosophically challenging classes, Yavneh has been the place where I could go to find meaning. I have spent countless hours in this building discussing and debating ideas that I learned in class with fellow Hillel-goers and just hanging out with friends. I have come here to be challenged, and to challenge others in turn—but to always be accepted and be respectful of other views.
Virtually no one goes to university to seek out a community; they attend for individualistic goals of education and personal development. But for me, and I think for many people here, as well, the discovery of community became the most important part of this very individualistic period known as college, and that is something to take note of and celebrate.
Also, I have learned so much from the people in this place because of their dedication to the innumerable activities that go on in this building, on this campus, and in the surrounding neighborhood. I have such respect and admiration for my fellow classmates because of their dedication to their studies and their extra curriculars: from studying history to spending time in the Beit Midrash, and from tutoring local kids to planning community-wide events, everyone demonstrates an incredible amount of devotion and kedusha in whatever it is they do.
It is one thing, though, to be as welcoming and active as Hillel members are individually, but our real strength is doing these things as a community. Columbia has been an inspiring place, spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally. Everyone here has a true commitment to fulfilling “kdoshim tihiyu” by serving our own community as well as the broader New York community with love and care. This community truly exemplifies ‘kdoshim tihiyu’ – everyone here infuses this place with an intense level of holiness that uplifts the entire area surrounding us. I want to thank everyone here for giving me four memorable and invaluable years, and I want to wish the Yavneh community continued strength and inspiration for years to come.
Shabbat shalom. Before I begin, I want to thank Rabbi Chaim Brovender and Rabbi Menachem Leibtag for the main ideas in this dvar Torah.
As I sadly attended my last real class yesterday, I found myself finally forced to confront the fact that I am actually graduating from this wonderful institution. I turned to our parsha for some insight into the experiences that I’ve had over the past four years. Parshat Kedoshim, the second of this week’s double-header parsha, opens (Vayikra 19:1):
Vayidaber hashem el moshe laymor. Daber el kol adat bnei yisrael v’amarta aleyhem ‘kdoshim tihyu ki kadosh ani hashem elokeichem.”
"And God spoke to Moshe saying, speak to kol adat Bnei Yisrael - to the entire congregation of Israel - And say to them ‘You shall be holy’ because I, your God, am Holy.”
It is unusual that Kedoshim starts “daber el kol adat bnei yisrael” instead of just “daber el bnei yisrael.” The extra phrase “kol adat” is only used two other times in the Torah when Moshe communicates God’s message to Bnei Yisrael.
What is distinctive about our parsha?
Rashi explains this unusual moment by elucidating,
מלמד שנאמרה פרשה זו בהקהל
“We learn from this that the parsha was said to the entire assembled nation.”
Later on in the Torah, in Devarim 31, we learn about the mitzvah of hakhel, which is when b’nei yisrael assembled every 7th year to listen to the king read from the Torah. Hakhel took place at the Beit HaMikdash on Sukkot in the year following shmita. The mitzvah is related with a number of verbs: yishma’u, yilamdu, v’shamru - As a nation, B’nei yisrael will listen to the Torah, learn how to do mitzvot even better, and then put those mitzvot into practice. Hakhel serves as a kind of chizzuk for Judaism, once every 7 years. It’s an opportunity to reaffirm the Torah together as a community. There is a certain power in the mitzvah of hakhel because the format of mass assembly is qualitatively, not just quantitatively, different than performing mitzvot as individuals. The fact that our parsha was said “b’hakhel” signals that this is a key parsha in the Torah.
Our parsha deserves this distinction because of the directive of “kdoshim tihiyu,” “you shall be holy,” that appears in Pasuk Bet. “Kdoshim tihiyu,” interpreted differently by various commentators, teaches us that we should sanctify the mundane and find ways to emulate God’s holiness by living our lives in the most halakhic, considerate, and ethical way possible. But it is only as a community that we can truly achieve this level of holiness. “Kdoshim tihiyu” is a directive that must be received and fulfilled by a community together.
Now, as a graduating senior, I would like to take a few moments to relate this idea to our community and to impart some “senior wisdom.” Over the past four years, I have continually come to Hillel as a place of community. It has given me a sense of belonging, and the people in this community have been friendly, welcoming faces in what can be a large, anonymous institution. At times, in the midst of the cultural relativism and nihilism that we’re left with at the end of CC and other philosophically challenging classes, Yavneh has been the place where I could go to find meaning. I have spent countless hours in this building discussing and debating ideas that I learned in class with fellow Hillel-goers and just hanging out with friends. I have come here to be challenged, and to challenge others in turn—but to always be accepted and be respectful of other views.
Virtually no one goes to university to seek out a community; they attend for individualistic goals of education and personal development. But for me, and I think for many people here, as well, the discovery of community became the most important part of this very individualistic period known as college, and that is something to take note of and celebrate.
Also, I have learned so much from the people in this place because of their dedication to the innumerable activities that go on in this building, on this campus, and in the surrounding neighborhood. I have such respect and admiration for my fellow classmates because of their dedication to their studies and their extra curriculars: from studying history to spending time in the Beit Midrash, and from tutoring local kids to planning community-wide events, everyone demonstrates an incredible amount of devotion and kedusha in whatever it is they do.
It is one thing, though, to be as welcoming and active as Hillel members are individually, but our real strength is doing these things as a community. Columbia has been an inspiring place, spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally. Everyone here has a true commitment to fulfilling “kdoshim tihiyu” by serving our own community as well as the broader New York community with love and care. This community truly exemplifies ‘kdoshim tihiyu’ – everyone here infuses this place with an intense level of holiness that uplifts the entire area surrounding us. I want to thank everyone here for giving me four memorable and invaluable years, and I want to wish the Yavneh community continued strength and inspiration for years to come.
Friday, May 1, 2009
צפירה
The memorial siren on Yom Hazikaron in the tashach (1948) plot on Har Herzl. The soldiers buried in the graves in the immediate foreground were born in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Belgium, Iraq, Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Poland.
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