Construction Underway,

Dinner Registration in High Gear

by Rabbi David Katz

After months of planning and weeks of anticipation, our "bricks and mortar" plans and the capital campaign to help raise the funds are finally coming together! As the rest of Am Yisrael recall their many festive dinners and put their houses back together after the Pesach holiday,  we at MMY are busy preparing the menu for our 15th Anniversary Dinner as we anticipate the  "laying of the stones" on our new house in Baka. 

If you haven't yet done so, make sure to visit the special dinner website (www.mevaseret.org/mmy/dinner) and join with us - one way or another - in this momentous occasion.

We are counting on everyone's involvement and support!  We hope that those of you in the New York area will be able to make it to Battery Park on May 24th.   However, even if you are unable to participate in person, please share with us via a building dedication or contribution.  Every donation helps MMY develop and most importantly connects us all as we rally together to build the new MMY campus. 

We have lots of "bricks" to lay over the next four months. It's an exciting time for the MMY family.  The building's final design plans were made with the involvement and input of many parents and talmidot who shared their thoughts and ideas at various meetings and we look forward to everyone's continued involvement.

Please reserve your place at the dinner right away - we look forward to seeing you!

Reflections on Heritage Trip to Poland

by Rivka Holzer

Yom HaShoah in Israel is officially called "Yom Hazikaron L'Shoah V'L'Gevura".  We remember not just the Holocaust but also the "Gevura" (loosly translated as "heroism") that took place during - after after - the horrendous tragedy of Churban Europe.

Every year a large contingent of MMY students participates in the Heritage Seminar to Poland and gains inspiration by learning about and "tapping into" those acts of Gevura which came in so many different flavors.  One such example of that herosim is seen in those who somehow picked themselves up from the ashes, rebuilt their lives, and passed the flame of life and Judaism on to us - the 2nd and 3rd generations.  The Heritage Seminar doesnt just visit death camps and focus on the tragedy; the seminar celebrates 900 years of Jewish life in Poland and its legacy for us today.
 
One student who particpated in this year's trip had a particularly personal and introspective experience.   In honor of Yom Hashoa 5771, she shares her feelings and personal story with us.  

To quote Rabbi David Katz, "Each day of Heritage is like a week." If that is true, then I spent about a month and a half looking into my ancestors' history and -  perhaps more notably - looking into myself.

For about a week before I left, I spent hours on the phone and internet researching my Zaidy's history, getting details to the stories I had heard so many times before. I knew the course I had set for myself, thoroughly.  I was determined for this trip to not only be educational, but also personal and real.

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Megillat Rut

Leah Frenkiel

Shavuot is marked by the reading of Megillat Rut, which corresponds to the chag's agricultural aspect in that the story takes place during the barley and wheat harvest seasons. This harvest imagery can be seen in crucial scenes of the story which take place in Boaz's fields and threshing floor. Not only does Megillat Rut provide us with agricultural underpinnings, but the Megillah also relates to the holiday's historical nature. The element of Zman Matan Toratenu comes forth when we read of Rut's desire to become a member of Klal Yisrael, who are characterized by their acceptance of the Torah on Shavuot.  In addition to reading about Rut's desire to become part of Bnei Yisrael, we also see her acts of unyielding chesed throughout the story.  

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Alumnae Profiles / Testimonials 

Nechama (Friedman) Price,
Yael (Klein Leibowitz) and Dana (Wenig) Fishkin

MMY 5758

For this issue of The MMY Connection, we decided to profile three of our alumnae at the same time, in order to highlight a certain aspect of their lives, careers and MMY experiences that should make us all very proud! 

Many MMY talmidot whose passion and committment to Torah learning was sparked during their year in Israel are nervous about whether that passion will carry over into the next stages in their lives.  Of course, one solution to this problem is to attend a Jewish university which provides with Torah classes such as Yeshiva University or Touro.  

Tali Kern (MMY 5769) is one such student who studies at Stern.  When she saw Rabbi Katz on one of his trips to New York, she  shared her excitement about her Judaic studies classes there.  He pointed out that two of her teachers, who have phenomenal repuations in Stern, are actually MMY talmidot themselves.  In fact, he said, both Mrs. Nechama (Friedman) Price and Mrs. Yael (Klein) Leibowitz not only went to MMY, but they were in the same machzor (5758), and were chavrutot for in Mrs. Isaacson's Parshanut class!  At roughly the same time, Anna Bernard (MMY 5770) had a conversation in New York with Rabbi Haber in which she mentioned something she had learned from one of her professors at Touro's Lander College.  Imagine the scene when Rabbi Haber informed her that Dr. Dana (Wenig) Fishkin is also an MMY talmida, from the very same machzor 5758!   Recognizing the significance of these conversations, we decided to discuss this matter more closely with both "generations" of these women - the teachers and their students - and hear what they had to say about this chain of MMY continuity.

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MMY Travels Yam LeYam!

by Rachel Lunzer

1 country. 2 beaches. 3 adults. 4 Days.

On Sunday April 10, 24 girls set out to cross the entire country of Israel in four days by foot. It began at 3 oclock in the morning, when we set out on a bus to head up north and began our hike. Over the course of four days, we climbed Har Meron, one of the tallest mountains in Israel, crossed over rivers, scaled the sides of mountains with the most beautiful views in all of the country, walked through flowers in colors and varieties beyond our wildest imaginations, and most of all, bonded with the land we call our home and to our peers who made the journey with us.

Over Chodesh Nissan, every student in MMY grew close Eretz Yisrael in their own way. The girls who went home to be with their families have a better understanding of absence makes the heart grow fonder. The girls who had the opportunity to go to Poland on the Heritage trip, became connected through our history, and gained a profound knowledge of just how lucky we are to have a country to call our own. For the 24 girls who went on Yam lYam, it was a connection to the land itself, because for four days, we lived and breathed Israel. Every part of our day was spent traversing the land and taking in all that it has to offer. In the torah it describes Israel as Eretz Zavat Chalav uDvash, a land that flows with milk and honey. On Yam lYam, we were able to understand that the milk and honey is the beauty of the land that flows from its every inch. We soaked up the milk and the honey and grew close to Israel in an unbelievable way. We began with a goal- to cross the country in 4 days but we ended with so much more than that. It was only four days, but it was four days that we will never forget.