THE RAMBAM RECORD
The eNewsletter of Rambam Mesivta High School
December 8, 2006 / 17 Kislev

RABBI FRIEDMAN VISITS ALUMNI IN ISRAEL

Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, returned from Israel this week exhausted but elated after a whirlwind week of visiting Rambam graduates learning in Yeshivot. “It was wonderful to reconnect with the students and see all the wonderful progress they are making,” said Rabbi Friedman. As in previous years, Rabbi Friedman, was thrilled to have the opportunity to catch up with his talmidim. "Machon HaTorah takes a vested interest in all its students and we delight in seeing their growth and development."

Rabbi Friedman spent the Alumni annual Shabbaton in Jerusalem at the home of Rambam alum parents Mr. and Mrs. Brown. The shabbaton included joyful and spontaneous singing and a return to classic "Rambam-style" interactive learning which the students, especially former students of Rabbi Friedman's shiur, particularly enjoyed. "It's a style of learning that's hard to recreate," said one alumnus, "even in the top yeshivot Eretz Yisrael." Rabbi Friedman spent time with the boys through Sunday, discussing how their year is going and their future plans. “I still think of them as ours,” says Rabbi Friedman. “From the minute they walk into the door as freshman they are our talmidim and that doesn’t end just because they graduate.” For their part, the boys still feel very connected to Rambam. They talked late into the night, and asked after their rebbeim, various shiurim, other students, sports and all the Machon news.

One of the purposes of Rabbi Friedman's visit is also to keep abreast of developments at the different yeshivot and thus be able to better advise parents who are considering options for their children currently in their senior year.

Virtually all Rambam students continue to learn at one of the yeshivot Eretz Yisrael after high school, many for more than one year. "There are good choices that can be made," says Rabbi Friedman. "Parents need to understand these choices and get involved in the decision-making process. That way their children will be able to get the maximum benefit from the experience."

MACHON STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT LIFE FOR ISRAEL'S SOLDIERS

Israel came alive at Rambam on Tuesday with the arrival of guest speaker Aviad Amichai of the IDF’s Seder Givati. Under the heading of “Bringing Israel To You,” Amichai offered students a real-life look at the situation in Israel and his army experiences. Amichai relayed stories of heroism, both in wartime and in the every day lives of Israelis and the devotion of every solider to avoid risk to civilians at all costs. He explained Israel’s stance on the war against Lebanon. Students also viewed a short film on IDF operations.

Amichai’s presentation gave students a perspective on Israel that they do not ordinarily have access to. As part of their education about Eretz Yisrael and their growing commitment to it, students need to be presented with information that is more than just history and geography,” said Rabbi Yotav Eliach, Principal. “They need to come face-to-face with the people, and most importantly the soldiers, who stand on the front lines on their behalf.”

RAMBAM EXPANDS SCHOOL FUND DRIVE INITIATIVES

Rambam’s Chanukah toy drive on behalf of Chai Lifeline is in full swing and toys will continue to be collected until Wednesday, December 20. Student Coordinator, Eli Naghdi, is hard at work, reminding students and faculty to bring their unwrapped toys to benefit this worthy cause.

Chai Lifeline provides crucial social, emotional and financial help to children diagnosed with serious illnesses and their annual toy drive collects new toys and gifts for children in need. The piles in Rambam hallways are growing by the day!

As part of Rambam’s school fund drive initiative, Faculty Advisor Prof. Lisa Korman is laying out plans for a coat and canned food drive. Students are also busy preparing for their December 20 visit to the Long Island Living Center and the December 27th blood drive. “School fund drive initiatives are a central component to our students’ education,” says Prof. Korman. “Students see that they can make a real, tangible difference in the lives of others.”

AND THE RESULTS ARE IN!

Sophomore and juniors were a bit jumpy as they came to school on Tuesday, anxious to hear the results of their November PSAT/NMSQT Exams. They had no reason to worry. As we have come to expect from our students, mean scores for the juniors (adjusted to reflect the scale of the SAT) are equivalent to more than 100 points above national SAT averages. And though they still have a year to go, early peeks into sophomore scores indicate that we will see many of them receiving recognition next year. “While it is too early to say for sure, I think the Rambam Mesivta student body will be very well represented in next fall's announcement of National Merit Scholarship contenders,” says Director of Student Guidance, Prof. Lisa Korman, who was beaming with pride. “It is always exciting to see the academic achievements of our students.”
Students met with Prof. Korman on Tuesday morning, eager to understand their individual score reports and sign up for information about the prep tools on the College Board website to prepare for the spring SAT’s.

FRIDAY TISCH

Rabbi Hochbaum shmoozes with students

Almost 60 current and future Rambam students gathered in West Hempstead this past Friday night for a tisch at the home of Associate Principal, Rabbi Peretz Hochbaum. Students came from all over Queens and Long Island with students haling from YCQ, Southshore, North Shore, HANC and Har Torah. The evening included lots of zemiros, divrei torah and an endless supply of food, which all the boys declared to be amazing. Rabbi Hochbaum gave a dvar Torah which used the example of Yaacov’s journey in Vayetzei to reflect upon the students’ journey through high school. As Rabbi Hochbaum explained, Rambam is a school that offers its student both the academic tools and emotional encouragement to chart their futures. “Awesome” divrei Torah were also given by senior, Sruli Spiegel, and junior, Avi Levy. “The boys really went out of their way to offer a message to the incoming students,” said Rabbi Hochbaum. Avi Levy imparted to the students the unity and achdus of Rambam, which was also obvious in the ruach of the evening. “The incredible warmth and friendship that the upper classmen showed the younger boys was apparent and it’s what makes the chevra at Rambam so special,” said Rabbi Hochbaum. “The prospective students are a fantastic group and I know they will have much to contribute to the school. I was pleased to offer them a taste of the wonderful experience that awaits them.”

A SPECIAL TLN EVENT

This week’s TLN featured a very special Thursday night event. Instead of hosting a night of learning, Rambam students headed to Yeshiva University for a night of learning with shiurim led by YU rebbeim. Students get to learn from top rebbeim and Rambam alum, and meet friends and chavrutas from other schools. And, of course, there was lots of Dougies.
Shiurim the rest of the week were business as usual with Monday night’s shiur given by Rabbi Lichtman, Tuesday night shiur by Rabbi Oppen and Wednesday night alumni shiur by Rabbi Rothstein.

RAVENS HOCKEY

Monday night’s hockey doubleheader ended with two losses for the Ravens against DRS (Davis Renov Stahler). The Varsity game finished with a 2-0 loss for Rambam.

On the JV side, the Wildcats were at the top of their game and though the Ravens fought hard, and even managed a hat trick courtesy of Sholom Hammer, the game ended with a 6-3 loss for Rambam. Though it wasn’t their best game, the JV team was sporting new Machon uniforms and from an aesthetic perspective has never looked better.

RAVENS BASKETBALL FAILS TO OUTSCORE HANC

The Raven’s Varsity basketball team squared off against HANC this past motzei Shabbat. Though the Ravens were defeated 47-33, Eli Shulman showed his amazing defensive skills with repeated rebounds and a strong offense was displayed by high scorers Jeremy Siegel, Kivi Hershenov and Eli Shulman.

Tuesday night’s game against TAB Eagles was the beginning of a turnaround for the Ravens. From the beginning, Rambam’s speed and quickness put the Ravens up 18 at the half, and they ended the game with a 74-42 win. Eli Shulman led the scoring for Rambam with 22. "We played a good game and with a win behind us are looking forward to our Saturday night’s game against Sharei Torah," said player Sruli Szpigel.

FLAG FOOTBALL SEASON KICKOFF

Rambam is excited to announce the beginning of flag football club season. The first game on Wednesday was a lot of fun and many good games were played. There were great catches, interceptions, and touchdowns. The kids not only played, but were referees as well. "The games were a lot of fun,” said team captain, Aaron Kornbluth, “I love being able to play football as part of school.”

BOWLING SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE

Rambam’s bowling season has finally come to an end. Last night, the Turkeys played #1 seed Brookdale Bulldogs (HANC), and lost a tough game, ending the season with a 3-3 record, and earning 3rd place in the league. "It has been a great season, and we tried our best. I hope they have a spring season so that we have a chance to take the championships," said Captain Sruli Szpigiel.

CHESS TEAM HAS GREAT PROSPECTS THIS YEAR

“The chess team has never been better,” says Eli Moskowitz, a Rambam senior and assistant captain of the chess team. There are several new freshmen this year who have greatly compensated for the loss of last year’s seniors. The year is already off to a great start with a 6-1 victory in the opening game of the season.

As the number one contenders of our division, we have the ability to go all the way this year, a chance Rambam has not had in several years.

• Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Hirshel (Rambam '96), on the birth of a boy

• Mr. and Mrs. Ari Isaacs (Rambam '97), on the birth of a boy