Havdallah When Tisha B'av
is on Saturday NightRabbi Eliezer Lerner | 
How does one recite Havdala when Tish'a B'av occurs right after Shabbat?
The Gemara Brachot (20b) states that the mitzvah of Kiddush is a Torah obligation derived from the pasuk: "Zachor et Yom HaShabbat L'kadsho". However, the nature of the mitzvah of Havdala is unclear. The Rambam (Hilchot Shabbat 29:1) writes thatHavdala is also a mitzvah from the Torah, derived from the very same pasuk. Kiddush and Havdala are two parts of the same mitzvah. The Maggid Mishne comments that there are those who disagree with the Rambam and claim that Havdala is a Rabbinic obligation. Even according to the Rambam, the Torah obligation of Kiddush and Havdala involves only the recitation of certain ideas. The need to say these brachot over a cup of wine is mandated by Rabbinic decree. (Hilchot Shabbat, 29:1, 6)
With this background in mind, let us examine the question of saying Havdala when Tish'a B'av occurs on Motza'ai Shabbat. The problem is self-evident: one is required to recite Havdala on Saturday night on a cup of wine. Someone must drink the wine. It is Tish'a B'av and we are prohibited from drinking or eating.
The Rosh (Ta'anit 4:40) cites four possible solutions to the problem.
Read more>>
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MMY 5772 Comes to an End
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The weekend of Parshat B'haalotecha 5772 marked the end of another incredible MMY year. The weekend was full of bittersweet emotions - sadness at the end of something so special, celebrations of real accomplishment and hopes for the future. Of course, in MMY there is no such thing as a "former student" and so we don't actually say "goodbye" but only "l'hitraot".
Click the image below to watch the funny and moving video the girls prepared for the end-of-year Banquet!
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Alumnae Profiles / Testimonials
Miriam (Srolovitz) Epstein (MMY 5763-5764)
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Miriam (Srolovitz) Epstein made aliya five years ago to Ramat Bet Shemesh. Immediately upon her aliya, she returned to MMY to serve as a rakezet. Sadly, she is leaving our faculty now because she and her family are moving to the Northern community of Maalot, where Miriam will be working as an English teacher.
We asked Miriam to talk about her aliya experiences, how coming back to MMY fit in with that, and what caused her to make the dramatic decision to leave the comfortable Anglo community of RBS and venture up to the North.
The year is 2004. I have just completed my shana bet semester at MMY. I am returning to study at Stern College, along with many of my MMY classmates, where I will later declare a major of English literature. I have it all worked out: I will finish my B.A., get a Masters in Social Work through the Wurzweiller Block Program, and make aliya by the time I finish my M.A.
Then I get engaged. David is a musician living in Boston, studying music arranging at Berklee College of Music. I transfer to a small school in Boston called Simmons College, where I decide on a degree in teaching English as a Second Language, a degree I hope will make me easily employable when we make aliya.
In 2005, we bought an apartment on paper in the then-new neighborhood Ramat Shilo, in Ramat Beit Shemesh. David had learned at Yeshivat Lev Hatorah (around which the neighborhood was built), so it seemed like a perfect fit to live in a neighborhood where we would be comfortable and where we knew people. In 2007, when I graduated from Simmons, we packed our bags and made that next big step: we made aliya with our 11-month old, Shlomo. That summer, I emailed Rabbi Haber, asking him if any positions were available at MMY. I was hired as a rakezet the next year.
read full article>>
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MMY Talmidot Participate in
Rav Scheinberg's Levaya
by Allison Alt | 
It was an ordinary late night at MMY when I heard the news that Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, zt"l, had died. To be honest, I was - for the most part - disinterested. The next morning, however, I found out that class would be canceled and we would be encouraged to go to his funeral. Prior to the funeral we heard a brief hesped for, and biography of, Rabbi Sheinberg by Rabbi Teller, and then at about 10:00 am, we were off.
I heard mixed feelings from my peers about Rav Scheinberg. Some were shocked about his sudden death, while others felt disconnected from this gadol of whom they had barely heard. Personally, I went to the funeral in order to pay homage to a great Tzadik, and to have the experience of being amongst tens of thousands of Jews who came for the same purpose, and perhaps to walk away with some sort of understanding of who Rav Scheinberg was.
My experiential goal was quickly accomplished, as I saw over 10,000 Jews gathered in the heat of the day to listen to the eulogies of their rebbe over a loudspeaker.
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| MMY Torah Moving to YU Torah |  | |
As mentioned in our last newsletter, we'll be upgrading our website over the coming months.
One of the improvements is that our Torah articles will be hosted by YU Torah - available on our website and on theirs.
Some of the shiurim have already been uploaded, and more are being added just about every day.
You can see all of the currently uploaded shiurim, and sign up for automatic updates by email, RSS feed, podcast and other methods, by clicking this link.
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BAKAhilla Yom Iyun
for Yom Yerushalayim | 
MMY hosted over 100 members of the Jerusalem community at an experience of learning, touring and reflecting on Sunday 28 Iyar/ May 20th, Yom Yerushalayim.
This was the largest event yet in our new BAKAhilla program - offering learning opportunities for our talmidot in Israel and adult education classes to the wider Yerushalayim community.
Click here for links to the shiurim. |
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