This past Friday, during the Aseret Yemi Teshuvah, we had the privilege of hearing from Rabbi Saul J. Kassin, YOF alum and Rabbi of Congregation Magen David of West Deal, for our annual Teshuvah Assembly. Rabbi Kassin enlighten us with the power of teshuvah. He opened up with two short, inspiring stories and made us aware of the Jewish tradition that holds that even someone who sinned his whole life can do teshuvah on his last day. Rabbi Kassin expressed that we need to take advantage of the spiritual moments in our lives and make sure to come back to Hashem. Also, Rabbi Kassin brought up Ben Ish Chai's interpretation of the law of making a protection on a new roof. He explains that the word new in the pasuk can be interpreted as someone to start anew. The only way for someone to do teshuvah is to recognize his or her weaknesses. The fence around the roof is meant to keep ourselves in check and look inside ourselves.
The main takeaways from Rabbi Kassin's speech was that we have to remain focused on Hashem. We have to feel our Jewish identity, get emotional, and most importantly create a plan for the future to integrate measures into our lives in order to do this. We all walked out of the program feeling inspired to work on ourselves during the Aseret Yemi Teshuvah and for the upcoming year. ~Marcelle Setton, Class of 2017
On Monday September 26, the College Guidance Department hosted Mr. Bob Friedman, Director of Student Finances at Yeshiva University, to speak with parents of seniors about how to apply for financial aid at colleges across the country. His informative presentation provided parents with a thorough understanding of the financial aid process and how to make college affordable.
This past Wednesday the Yeshivah of Flatbush AP Biology classes went on a trip to the American Museum of Natural History to explore the "Dinosaurs Among Us" exhibit. We learned about the evolutionary relationship between dinosaurs and modern-day birds. Then we explored the Hall of Human Origin to learn about the evolution of Homo sapiens. We also learned about biodiversity to further expand our understanding of the variation between species over time. Thank you Rabbi Lubner and Dr. Fruchter! We had a great time!
~Mary Jajati, Class of 2018
Last week the Class of 2017 visited the National 9/11 Memorial Museum. Each year the senior class visits Ground Zero and experiences the inspirational and moving tribute to the events that took place on September 11. 2001. In school, we were introduced to the day by watching a recap of all the events that took place because we were too young to remember what had occurred. There was not a sound in the room while we watched a video about the event. In the museum, we looked at artifacts and pictures and watched videos about the tragic event. The museum had everything from newspapers from the morning of the event to pieces of metal from the buildings' structures. Tears were in my eyes as I heard voicemail messages from the people who were on the planes to their loved ones during their final moments. One story that particularly touched me from a film in the museum was of a woman who made sure to hold her skirt down while jumping out of a building so that it wouldn't fly up. Her modesty amazes me. I couldn't believe the courage of the firemen and volunteers who continued going in to the buildings even when they were collapsing. We learned a lot of interesting things that we didn't know before. What happened on 9/11 and those who died will never be forgotten.
