| Shalom!
Welcome to The MMY Connection! We hope you'll like our new newsletter, which will be coming out on a regular basis from now on. This is part of our ongoing effort to increase our contact and communication with you - our talmidot. All of the articles here are also available on our website, and will remain archived there in the future.
Like any of the features? Have suggestions for new ones? Any ideas for alumnae activities or projects that you think would be beneficial? Please email us and let us know.
We also want to take this opportunity to remind you about some upcoming programs:
1. First of all, for those of you in the New York area, we'd like to remind you about our upcoming Shabbat (Parshat Beshalach) in West Hempstead with Rabbi Katz, and Boker Limud on Sunday, January 31 in Bergenfield. More information is available here.
2. Secondly, for those in Israel, we'll be starting a series of "Thursday Night Torah" learning programs in the MMY Bet Midrash, approximately once a month. Watch your inbox for details of our first program, hopefully sometime during February.
3. And finally, our Summer Programs!! Those of you who are currently in university or shortly afterwards can come to learn for up to a month, in our amazing Summer Program. And if you know high school students who can benefit from a really innovating learning and touring program, please tell them about TILT, our high school summer learning program. (Details of both programs available at the links above).
We hope to hear from you soon!
Rabbi Haber
Rabbi Katz
Mrs. Katz |
| Why Egypt?
by Miriam (Herskovits) Berman - MMY 5767 |
The story of our redemption from Egypt is an event that plays a central role in our everyday lives. We remember Yetziat Mitrayim in our daily Tefillah, in Kiddush on Shabbat, and one of our major holidays, Pesach, is completely dedicated to remembering this monumental occurrence.
I would like to ask a specific question about this phenomenon: why Egypt? Yes, they may have been considered the world superpower of the time, but there were many other powers that certainly existed, such as Edom, Moav, Midyan, Amalek. Why were these nations not chosen by God to serve as objects of His might and splendor? Obviously, there must have been something unique about Mitzrayim that made them fit for this task.
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| Alumnae Profiles/Testimonials
Yael Saden Barach (MMY 5763) |
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In each issue of The MMY Connection, we'll be profiling a different one of our alumnae. We'll be highlighting talmidot from different years, different geographic locations and different professions. The goal of this is to help build and strengthen our community, get to know one another a bit better and see what different MMY Talmidot are involved in.
Each profile will contain an article written by the talmida herself, describing what she is doing now, and how she feels her MMY experience impacted on her and helped make her who she is today.
Our first alumna to contribute is Yael Saden Barach from Teaneck, NJ, who was in MMY in 5763 (2002-2003). Yael went to Bruriah high school in Elizabeth, NJ, and after her year in MMY studied biology in Stern College. During her years in university, Yael also spent a summer back in MMY on our Summer Program. Yael is enrolled in a doctoral program in biomedical research, and is currently working full-time in research, investigating an exciting new theory in the field of cancer immunology.
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| Blev Echad - One Year Later
by Deena Klein |
 A few weeks from now, Rosh Chodesh Adar, will be the second anniversary of the terrorist attack at Yeshivat Merkaz Harav. Although this event shocked and horrified Jews and all decent human beings around the world, it resonated particularly with MMY students. After all, Merkaz HaRav is located just a few blocks from MMY, and we go there for Tefillot during every "In" Shabbat, Purim, Yom HaAtzmaut, and other occasions. Every MMY girl has powerful memories of tefillot in their Bet Midrash, and in some cases in the very library where the attack took place.
As part of the effort to eternally memorialize the martyrs and to use the tragedy as a springboard for positive accomplishments as the best weapon to combat the terrorist's evil designs, three MMY Alumnae, Deena Klein (5767), Aliza Kranzler (5768) and Tova Levin (5768) joined with several other individuals to organize the world-wide "B'lev Echad" campaign to unite Jews all over the world. To commemorate the yahrzeit and the one-year anniversary of this event, we present the following reflections, written by Deena shortly afterwards.
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| Alumnae Melave Malka in Yerushalayim |
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 MMY hosted a Melave Malka Dinner on Motzei Shabbat, January 9, 2009, for its Alumnae. It was a beautiful event.
In attendance were representatives from almost all 13 past "machzorim" of the school amounting to approximately 50 women of various ages. These talmidot who came are in various stages of adulthood (some are in college, some working, some are mothers, some live in Israel and some abroad) yet all are connected by the unique experiences they had in MMY. Additionally, much of the faculty (some of whom are MMY alumnae themselves!), came to catch up with their talmidot.
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| New Shabbat Hospitality Program Pairs Shana Aleph students with alumnae living in Israel |
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| Remember when you weren't in the mood to stay in the dorm but everyone you called to go to for shabbat couldn't have you? Well, that scenario is a lot less common now in MMY, thanks to our new "MMY-Links" Shabbat placement program!
Elana Dvinsky, MMY's new Programming Director, happily connects any student in need of Shabbat plans with one of the many MMY alumnae living all over the country. This program allows for alumnae to meet students currently learning in MMY, while also providing the students with an opportunity to see different communities and meet families living in Israel. The added "MMY connection" they have with the woman of the household creates an instant bond, and helps bridge the gaps created by age and culture.
So far this year, students have visited communities as far north as Afula and as far south as Be'er Sheva. They have enjoyed the beach town of Herzliya and seen what the newly developed area of Yad Binyamin has to offer the many new olim who have moved there. As always, visiting different communities, each with its own unique qualities, lifestyle and ideology, expands our students' horizons and introduces them to new and exciting aspects of life in Israel today. |
| New Mechanechet Program Gives Senior Female Teachers Higher Profile |
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MMY has always tried to provide its students with diverse approaches to Jewish thought. To this end, we have established the new Mechanechet Program this year.
The four senior women on our faculty - Mrs. Mali Brofsky, Mrs. Ora Derovan, Mrs. Sharon Issacson and Mrs. Sarah Dena Katz - have been appointed to the role of Mechanechet. Each Wednesday night, one of them gives an inspiring shiur to all of the students. Additionally, programs like our special breakfasts with workshops or panel discussions lay the foundation for personal conversations and intensified growth for many of the talmidot. | |
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