| Shalom!
We hope you enjoy this next edition of The MMY Connection email newsletter! This issue was greatly delayed (it was supposed to come out before Chanukah), due to the fact that we here in the MMY office have been extremely busy!
It's an exciting time here in MMY as we settle into our new home in Baka. Lots of adjusting all around, and a lot of new beginnings.
Below you'll find some interesting highlights of some of what's been going on, and you can read more in the next edition - hopefully on time in just a few weeks!
Rabbi Haber |
Nach B'kiyut Program in its Second Year
Integrated Tiyulim Study Tanach on Location | |
One of the special parts of living and learning in Eretz Yisrael, a land rich in the history of our people, is that the Torah we learn is not theoretical- it is alive in the land around us. One of the unique programs in MMY is our Nach Bekiyut program, in which girls learn 6-10 prakim of Navi per week, with a bi-monthly shiur to go over what we learned and explore themes and transformations. By the end of the year, the girls will have finished learning all of Neviim Rishonim. This is an incredible opportunity that allows students to see Tanach in its macro-form, covering a lot of material to gain a big picture of the Nach reality. In order to enhance the unbelievable breadth of material that we learn, we put the learning to action by going out to the places the stories actually took place and studying in-location. Our learning is more meaningful and memorable when we have the opportunity to add an image to the words, especially when covering all of Nevvim Rishonim, which took place in its entirety, in Eretz Yisrael.
Here are some pictures from recent tiyulim!
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| Kol Mevaseret 5771 | |
The 14th edition of Kol Mevaseret was recently released, by the talmidot and faculty of MMY 5771.
This edition is the largest ever, with 23 student articles and 3 faculty pieces spanning a total of 221 pages.
The entire journal or individual articles can be read online or downloaded from our website here. Alternatively, if anyone is interested in hard copy editions, you can contact us and we'll be happy to send you complimentary copies.
The Dvar Torah below is taken from one of the articles.
Yasher Koach to all of the authors and to the editorial staff, headed by editors-in-chief Ronit Goldberg, Rebecca Ihilchick and Yaelle Lasson! |
Yosef and the "Ish"
by Bracha Robinson (MMY 5771) | 
The brief narrative in Breishit 37:12-17 tells the story of Yosef 's fateful journey to meet his brothers - a journey which, as we know, ended with Yosef being sold into slavery.
On the way, he met an "Ish" - a man - who asked him what he was seeking. He told the man that he was looking for his brothers, and the man told him that he could find them in Dotan.
At first glance, this strange narrative contains a lot of superfluous information. Why does the text focus so much on the names of places (Shechem, Emek Chevron and Dotan)? Also, who was the "Ish" that Yosef met?
One can assume that Yosef had asked many people for directions in his lifetime. Why is this particular encounter written up for us? To make the question stronger, we can ask why this event took place at all? Why did Yaakov need anyone to tell him how his family and livestock were faring? The brothers were all adult men;they could take care of themselves without someone checking up on them. Why was Yaakov worried that something might have happened to them? And even if Yaakov did need someone to check on the flock, why did he specifically send Yosef ? Couldn't he have sent one of his servants?
It is clear that this narrative has a purpose, and that there
must be embedded significance. Many commentators, bothered by the larger question, have developed different ways of finding meaning in this seemingly pointless story.
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| Alumnae Profiles/Testimonials
Batya Cohen and Oritt (Levi) Sinclair |
 Batya Cohen (MMY 5762) decided to stay in Israel after her year in MMY (5764). She spent a year doing Sheirut Leumi, figuring that it would be a great way to learn Hebrew, and learn about and contribute to Israeli society. Little did she know how much of an effect it would have on the rest of her life. Her Sheirut ended up being at Laniado Hospital in Netanya, in the delivery room. "I fell in love with the delivery room," Batya said, "I realized that when I stood there, in a room where a new life was joining the world, I didn't want to stand anywhere else." Seeing how much she loved the work during her 8 months of volunteering, Batya decided to pursue midwifery as a career, with the goal of choosing for a career something she feels very passionate about. "I got really excited when I realized my parents named me Batya Chaya, which felt prophetic."
Oritt (Levi, MMY 5764) Sinclair knew she wanted to make Aliya since a family vacation in Israel at age 10. After spending two years learning in seminary, Oritt's Aliya plans became more concrete. "I was overcome with emotion and knowledge that I needed to be in Israel now because it is my home, the place I am happiest, the place I am meant to be and where Am Yisrael is meant to be," Oritt shared. After officially making Aliya, Oritt was a madricha in MMY for 2 years (together with Batya) and an assistentit for one year. Concurrently, she studied accounting in Machon Tal, a religious women's college in Yerushalayim. She is now finishing her internship to become a CPA.
In an uncanny statistical anomaly, Batya has actually been fortunate to deliver the babies of 4 MMY talmidot! One of those, was her close friend, Oritt. Read more>>
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| Rabbi Finkelman Publishes Book |  | |
MMY is proud to share in the accomplishment of faculty member Rabbi Yoel Finkelman, who recently published Strictly Kosher Reading: Popular Literature and the Condition of Contemporary Orthodoxy.
A product of years of painstaking academic research, Rabbi Finkelman surveys the large body of English-language popular literature aimed at the contemporary Orthodox community.
By examining genres as diverse as Torah texts, parenting guides and cookbooks, Rabbi Finkelman makes some interesting and important observations - and challenges some common assumptions - about today's Jewish world.
For more information or to obtain a copy, click here. |
| Shiur at 4:30 in the Morning??? |  |
This is probably a first in MMY history: shiur from 4:30-7:00 am!
Why in the world did they do that?
Well, it all started in Rabbi Haber's Gemara class, which was in the middle of a very difficult sugya at the end of the first semester, and they needed an extra class or two to finish it.
There were no classes scheduled on Asara B'Tevet, so someone suggested having the shiur that morning. Someone else protested, "But I don't fast well!", and the response was "Yeah, but at 9:00 am who cares?" And then someone else said "Hey, why don't we eat breakfast together before the fast?". Rabbi Haber responded, "Well that would be about 4:00 am! If you girls want to get up, I'd come in...."
Five minutes later, the event was planned! They all got together at 4:00 am in the chadar ochel for a delicious breakfast of pancakes, muffins, cakes and - of course - coffee (as well as a Dvar Torah connecting the Rambam's comments on the uniqueness of learning Torah at night to the upcoming fast day!). At 4:30 they all went into the Bet Midrash to begin preparing for the shiur, and then Rabbi Haber taught the Gemara class. The morning ended at 7:00 shacharit at one of the local shuls (Bet Knesset Nitzanim).
To use the common seminary term, it was quite a "chavaya"!
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