THE RAMBAM RECORD
The eNewsletter of Rambam Mesivta High School
June 29, 2005 / 22 Sivan

Graduation Day 2005!

The Rambam Graduation Ceremony for the Class of '05 was laden with both happiness and tears on Thursday evening, June 23rd at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst as 36 young men received their well-earned diplomas and began the next phase of their life journey.

Rambam Rosh HaMesivta Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman began the ceremony by promising to "err on the light side tonight," and light it was as two of the graduates, Simcha Gross and Elan Kattan, delighted the audience with a tongue-in-cheek Power Point presentation of the four years of class highlights at Rambam. No one was spared their good-natured barbs - the administration, faculty, parents, classmates and even Dov, the custodian.

Following a tough act, Rabbi Friedman then spoke to the graduates about the life-long mandate of internalizing the message of the mitzvos.

"The techailes on tzizis was designed to remind us of Hashem and our obligation to put halacha first before worldly success," said Rabbi Friedman, "While wearing tzizis out has become more common, one should remember the message of the tzizis and how it should impact our daily lives."

Salutatorian Elliot Wiesenfeld urged his classmates to "use the integrity we've learned from our teachers and the honesty from our administrators" as steps up the ladder of success in life.

Graduate Daniel Bauer then honored those present by making a siyum on Meseches Beitzah.

Valedictorian Yisrael Herzberg addressed his classmates with a reminder that "we are responsible for the associations we make in life... It is our responsibility now to maintain a proper association with the Torah way of life."

Rambam Principal Rabbi Yotav Eliach then delivered a brief but powerful keynote speech wherein he challenged the graduates to greatness. "We had high expectations for you at Rambam, but we expect even greater things from you now," he said.

Rabbi Eliach pointed out to the graduates how fortunate we all are to be living in a time when we have our own country - the State of Israel - and such a free, generous and hospitable host country - the United States of America.

After the ceremony, everyone shared in the ruach of some chagigah-style dancing accompanied by the father of one of our juniors, Rabbi Shur, on the guitar and Zvi Lampert on the keyboards. The celebration continued on into the night as the boys enjoyed a post-graduation barbeque.

Incoming Freshman

The incoming freshman class at Rambam got to know one another in a fun-filled get-together at Rambam on Sunday, June 19th. The talmidim played softball and basketball on the Rambam campus and enjoyed sumptuous Chinese food served buffet-style!

Current Rambam students played and ate with the incoming freshmen and welcomed them as big brothers. All in all, the spirit of the day boded well for the academic year ahead! Welcome!

The faculty and staff enjoyed some good food and good times at the Annual Faculty Appreciation Luncheon on Monday, June 20th. Both Rosh HaMesivta Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman and Rambam Principal Rabbi Yotav Eliach expressed warm appreciation and gratitude to the staff. Some heartfelt goodbyes were also extended to the faculty members who will be moving on next year.

Thank you, faculty for all your hard work and care on behalf of the students!

Have a safe and happy summer and everyone at Rambam Mesivta looks forward to your happy return in September!