"The relationship between the students and faculty at Yavneh really is similar to that of a child-parent relationship," said Yonah.  "The teachers here will do anything to help the students and it is amazing. All of my teachers did their best to make me feel welcome and they helped me whenever I had a problem or struggled with something. They were definitely more than 'just' teachers to me."

"Yonah is quiet, but he is obviously a thinker," said Assistant Principal, Dr. Tim Cloward.  "You can tell the wheels are always turning in his head and we are very fortunate that he came to Yavneh.  He is a great addition to our student body - he is intelligent, respectful and a pleasure to work with.  I only regret Yonah didn't get here any sooner.

The Bulldog uniform has been Yonah's, on the soccer and track fields this last year.  A defensive player for our Soccer Team, Yonah enjoyed working together as a team with his friends, and Track & Field - in this Yavneh's inaugural season with the sport - was a natural for Yonah who seems to always be on the run - in the field, or on his way to class.  "All of the coaches 

were great and even though I hadn't participated in sports for many years, I believe
I improved in both stamina and skill, and I enjoyed being amongst my friends. Both teams were fun to be a part of."

A Dallas native, Yonah is the son of Chana and Joel, and the brother of Saralinda and her husband Josh.  Off-Campus, Yonah volunteers in the kitchen at Congregation Shaare Tefilla, is a regular participant of the National Council of Synagogue Youth's "Chill N' Cholent," led by Yavneh's own Rabbi Michel Lomner.  He has worked in a lab at UT Southwestern, learning how to genotype by performing polymerase chain reactions, and attended Camp Nageela, in New York.

Just returned from the March of the Living, Yonah believes the experience will last him his lifetime.  While he is not a descendant of any Holocaust victims or survivors, an academic career in Jewish Day Schools had given him a strong foundation, and annual attention to the history of the Shoah.  "Being there, with Max Glauben and the other survivors, was life changing and so many things we saw and did, firsthand, have given me much to think about," said Yonah.  "I couldn't identify with much of what I learned about in the classroom - but now I have seen the places, behind the lessons, with my own eyes and I really expect it to affect me for many years."

Having only been to Israel once before, on a brief family trip, Yonah has returned from the MOL's Israel visit more excited than ever to study in Israel next year.  "I really enjoyed the spirituality of our time in Israel, from visiting holy sites and dancing together with my friends at the Kotel, to experiencing Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut in person, in Israel, and seeing as much as we could in our short time.  I'm glad I'll be back there soon," he said.  "The March, both parts of it, really strengthened my Jewish identity, and I look forward to studying Jewish subjects, and acquiring the ability to speak Hebrew more fluently, in my homeland." 

Accepted to Lander College for Men/Touro College, University of Texas/Dallas, Yeshiva University, Yeshivat Reishit, and Yeshivat Yesodei Hatorah, Yonah will spend next year studying in Israel, at the latter, "an opportunity to learn more about Torah, myself, and my country," he said.  "At Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah, they focus on reading skills and on becoming a ben-Torah, son of the Torah, in the very best way."   Once back in the U.S., Yonah plans to study engineering at Yeshiva University, where he believes, combined with the studies of his year in Israel, he will "certainly become an awesome Jew for throughout his lifetime," whatever career path he takes. 

"Yonah has a tremendous amount of intellectual honesty, thinking long and hard about weighty issues, and he will not rest until he has satisfied himself with the results of his intellectual explorations," said Rabbi Tannenbaum.  "As his teacher and study partner, I appreciate and have enjoyed his seriousness and thoughtfulness."

Yonah, you set the bar higher through your neshama, than any bar could be reached on the field, the example of a mensch, of one committed to his heritage and religion - never letting it waver.  Whatever your future, we know that your core, will be the Jewish man that you are, and that core, will lead you learned, strong, and soulful.