A Special Request From Yerushalayim

 

Dear Parents and Students,

 

In the wake of this week's terrible tragedy in Yerushalayim, the widows and families of the four men, z'l, who were murdered by terrorists while davening Shacharis in their neighborhood Shul are reaching out to the broader Jewish community and asking that we all dedicate this coming Shabbos, Parashas Toldos, as a day on which to display unconditional love for all our fellow Jews by refraining from argumentative conversation, slander, and gossip. An English translation of the letter, signed by the four widows, appears below; a copy of the original Hebrew is attached. I believe that it would be most appropriate for all of us who are affiliated with MTA to honor their request and participate in this worthwhile endeavor.

 

May we be privileged to share only besoros tovos, good news, in the future.

 

Rabbi Michael Taubes

                  

  

A Request from the Bereft Widows and Families,

 

With hearts broken and melted with tears over the spilled blood of the kedoshim - the heads of our families, may Hashem avenge their blood.

 

We turn to our brethren, the whole nation of Israel in every place they are found, and we ask: Let us all unite to elicit the mercy of heaven upon us, and let us accept upon ourselves to increase love and brotherhood between friends, between congregations, and between communities.

 

We request that each and every individual try to accept upon him or herself, at the time of Kabbolas Shabbos, to dedicate the day of Shabbos Kodesh Parashas Toldos (Erev Rosh Chodesh Kislev) as a day of unconditional love, a day on which to refrain from divisive and argumentative conversation and from speaking any lashon hara or rechilus.

 

May this serve to provide a great elevation for the souls of the fathers of our families who were slaughtered in the sanctification of His blessed Name.

 

May Hashem look down from above, see our affliction, wipe away our tears, and declare an end to our suffering. And may we merit seeing the arrival of the Mashiach speedily in our days, Amen.

 

Signed with broken and shattered hearts,

 

Chayah Levine, Breine Goldberg, Yakova Kupinsky, Bashi Twersky

And Families

 

This week, the boys in the "Names Not Numbers" Holocausr documentary program, along with other seniors from Rabbi Kerner's and Rabbi Tani Cohen's shiurim, took a trip to downtown Manhattan to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage. What I expected to be the just an average run of the mill museum visit turned into something much more meaningful.

 

We started with a presentation on ethical wills, written by people to their family members knowing that they might not survive. To be honest, some of at first thought this might be a bit dull - until we actually read the wills. My group received the will of a Rabbi Geliebter, which led us into a debate on what is meant by revenge. We agreed that true revenge against the Nazis is more than causing them physical harm - it is outliving them. They tried to destroy us but yet here we are, stronger then ever, living and thriving.

 

After this fantastic workshop, we took a tour of the museum, with our group split up into four sub-groups; every group had a unique experience with their guide. The tour was extremely informative and intellectually stimulating for everyone, even those who originally did not show much interest. In the end, all of us walked out humbler, with our heads held higher, and with a greater pride in our Jewish heritage.

This past Wednesday, the varsity Lions took on the Heschel Heat. The game went by very quickly and ended with a score of 12-0. Goalie Menachem Gans earned his first shutout of the season, Captain Ami Rosenfeld had four goals, and David Boim had a hat trick of his own. Add those to goals scored by Ezra Quint, Zev Markowitz, Yehuda Bencher, and Yosef Stern and  the result was the most goals in a game for MTA this season.