(Published in the Kislev 5773 edition of the Nshei Chabad Newsletter)
Dear Shliach
As a fifth-year bochur in the Mesivta/Zal program, I have had 21 Shluchim over the course of my years as a student. Each one has helped me grow and achieve in different ways. I would not be where I am today without their guidance.
Every day, new Shluchim are sent out to yeshivos and cities worldwide. Some may not be aware of the special powers they have been given to help them succeed in their mission.
I dedicate the following poem to each and every Shliach and Shlucha there ever was and ever will be, reminding you to use the supernatural strength that you were given.
Dear Shliach and Shlucha, It’s up to you to search and findYour lost brothers and to bring them back.Young or old, man or woman,Do what you have been born to do. As a Shliach of the Rebbe,You have a tremendous power:To talk, guide, help and saveThe future of our nation. Whether you were placed in a school or city,You have all of the powers you will need.Never give up, no matter what;Light up the sparks around you. Every Jew is a precious gem,Yet some need to be cut and shined.But you were given the power to do so,Just look inside. Each Shliach and ShluchaHas the power to keep our nation alive.Each and every JewIs a Shliach on his own right.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Newborn
I make a couple into parents.
I make a house a home.
I make everyone laugh.
I can brighten your day.
I make the toughest men coochie-coo.
I wear the cutest outfits.
I can cry louder than you may think.
I am very good at getting your attention.
I love making messes.
I gurgle and toot.
I’m supposed to burp loud and clear.
I am: A NEWBORN.
In honor of the birth of my nephew, Shmuel Dovid Roetter, born 2nd day of Sukkos 5773
I make a house a home.
I make everyone laugh.
I can brighten your day.
I make the toughest men coochie-coo.
I wear the cutest outfits.
I can cry louder than you may think.
I am very good at getting your attention.
I love making messes.
I gurgle and toot.
I’m supposed to burp loud and clear.
I am: A NEWBORN.
In honor of the birth of my nephew, Shmuel Dovid Roetter, born 2nd day of Sukkos 5773
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Teshuvah, Teffilah, Tzedakah
The books are now open,
The quill is in His hand.
Yet, we have the power,
To decide our own fate.
מי יחיה ומי ימות
Which will it be?
מי ישפל ומי ירום
The latter we plead.
Teshuvah, Teffilah, Tzedakah,
Can change any decree.
In a forty-eight hour period,
We can wipe away a year.
Let us start anew,
Return – it’s never too late.
You won’t know,
If you don’t even try.
You can fight all odds,
You just need to believe.
True sincerity,
A few teardrops,
A broken heart.
The previous year may,
Have been a real bummer.
This coming one,
Who knows?
We must beg and plead,
For a good sweet year.
It’s up to us.
Teshuvah, Teffilah, Tzedakah,
Can change any decree.
The quill is in His hand.
Yet, we have the power,
To decide our own fate.
מי יחיה ומי ימות
Which will it be?
מי ישפל ומי ירום
The latter we plead.
Teshuvah, Teffilah, Tzedakah,
Can change any decree.
In a forty-eight hour period,
We can wipe away a year.
Let us start anew,
Return – it’s never too late.
You won’t know,
If you don’t even try.
You can fight all odds,
You just need to believe.
True sincerity,
A few teardrops,
A broken heart.
The previous year may,
Have been a real bummer.
This coming one,
Who knows?
We must beg and plead,
For a good sweet year.
It’s up to us.
Teshuvah, Teffilah, Tzedakah,
Can change any decree.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Driving Chessed All Around Town - Kosher Meals on Wheels
Published in the NCJW/GDS Newslink Winter/Spring 2013, with the following introduction:
Last summer, a recent high school student graduate, Dovid Nissan Roetter, came to the Prentis Apartments kitchen to fill in for the mashgiach for a week. The role of the mashgiach is to "supervise the kashrut status of a kosher establishment." When a young person either volunteers or observes our Kosher Meals on Wheels (KMOW) program, i often wonder - "what are they thinking?"
Well, Dovid answered that question for me by transferring his thoughts to paper in a special way. I hope you enjoy his poem as much as I did when he surprised me with it, and I hope it inspires you to join our KMOW volunteer team. Contact Richard Emmer at 248-967-0967 or meals@ncjwgds.org.
I’m sitting here watching,
The cooking and the packaging.
Delicious food all around,
Being delivered all over the town.
People waiting to eat,
These yummy packages that just can’t be beat.
Everyone working selflessly,
To help a fellow person in need.
It’s Meals On Wheels at its best,
100% dedication – not a drop less.
From the chefs to the drivers, and all in between,
You all make such an amazing team.
It’s hard to truly understand what chessed means,
Especially when you’re still just a teen.
But watching such a project, you just learn,
That there’s a person in need around every turn.
Day in, day out, you do so much good,
Not one complaint have I heard.
You enjoy what you do and I think that’s great,
And you do your best to not be late.
The smile on your face is shining,
And it passes onto the recipient’s when they are dining.
Meals On Wheels, you teach a lesson to everyone,
Chessed’s around the corner – let’s have fun.
To everyone who helps Meals On Wheels in any way,
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to learn so much about
the proper way to do chessed: the attitude, the love, the care, the desire,
and the joy of making someone smile.
You are all part of such an amazing team. May you each have much
success in all that you choose to accomplish.
Keep driving those smiles around!
May you someday light up the world one meal at a time.
Thank you for all that you have taught me this past week,
Dovid Nissan Roetter
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Yeshiva Life
Your mattress gets flipped,
It’s time to get up.
Say Modeh Ani and wash your hands,
Then into the mikvah you dip.
You slowly get dressed,
Wipe the gunk from your eye.
As you pull on your roommate’s sock,
You decide ‘Today I’m going to do my best!’
Welcome to Yeshiva Life,
A place where you can grow.
You’ll meet weird people,
Please ignore the strife.
Tanya is the first class,
It talks about our soul.
Maybe if you weren’t half asleep,
The subject would be a blast.
Then off you are to pray and eat,
We are not quite sure what it is.
Just hold your nose and swallow fast,
And try to not inhale the smell of dirty feet.
Yeshiva Life is very interesting,
By now I’m sure you can tell.
We have a strange way of doing things,
And of course there can be some bickering.
Niglah and Halachah,
These classes get confusing.
While one says you make a Mezonos,
The other claims a different brachah.
And let’s not leave out English Studies,
You’d think they would be easy.
But let me just warn you,
Not all teachers want to be your buddy.
Well I guess that just about covers it all,
Lights out – no Ipods!
Yeshiva Life is not for the faint of heart,
But do not worry – there are plenty of ways to have a ball.
It’s time to get up.
Say Modeh Ani and wash your hands,
Then into the mikvah you dip.
You slowly get dressed,
Wipe the gunk from your eye.
As you pull on your roommate’s sock,
You decide ‘Today I’m going to do my best!’
Welcome to Yeshiva Life,
A place where you can grow.
You’ll meet weird people,
Please ignore the strife.
Tanya is the first class,
It talks about our soul.
Maybe if you weren’t half asleep,
The subject would be a blast.
Then off you are to pray and eat,
We are not quite sure what it is.
Just hold your nose and swallow fast,
And try to not inhale the smell of dirty feet.
Yeshiva Life is very interesting,
By now I’m sure you can tell.
We have a strange way of doing things,
And of course there can be some bickering.
Niglah and Halachah,
These classes get confusing.
While one says you make a Mezonos,
The other claims a different brachah.
And let’s not leave out English Studies,
You’d think they would be easy.
But let me just warn you,
Not all teachers want to be your buddy.
Well I guess that just about covers it all,
Lights out – no Ipods!
Yeshiva Life is not for the faint of heart,
But do not worry – there are plenty of ways to have a ball.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
A Wall's Plea
A wall of stones,
So tall and strong,
Was once one of four.
Oh, they had a special job,
They surrounded Hashem’s house.
To our dismay,
The Romans did come,
And they knocked down all but one.
Hashem’s house has been breached,
The Romans burnt it down.
Yet there’s one wall still remaining,
Strong it still does stand.
Collecting the tears of our people.
It knows in its heart that one day soon,
It will surround Hashem’s house once again.
Bnei Yisroel, please,
Help me be restored to my former glory,
Surrounding Hashem’s house like before.
All I need from you,
Is to be one.
One nation doing Hashem’s will,
And one family working all together.
For I know someday soon,
My brothers will be rebuilt,
And together we will work again.
I have kept all of your tears,
I’ve heard all of your cries,
And I bring them to Hashem each and every day.
There’s not much left to do, I know,
For Moshiach is speedily on his way.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Beraishes Bara Elokim
Young Shmulie walked into the room,
His little eyes dancing with joy.
His very first day of yeshiva has begun.
He looks around in excitement,
So many kids are there.
He wonders what he will learn this year.
His rebbie walks up to the front,
“Kinderlach please forever know:
Beraishis bara Elokim.
Hashem created you and I, and everything we see,
Nothing can stop you from being a jew.
You are so dear to Hashem, no matter what you do.”
As the years fly by,
Shmulie dropped out of school.
He leaves his old life behind.
His kippa falls off,
His peyos are chopped.
He believes nothing remains.
He meets new friends,
Has a new way of life.
Young Shmulie has changed, Sammy is his new name.
Sadly, things go bad,
He winds up in a gang.
Next thing you know he’s received 5 years.
One day he receives a visitor,
And old man with a white beard.
“Shmulie”, he says, “I think you’ve forgot:
Beraishes bara Elokim.
Hashem created you and I, and everything we see,
Nothing can stop you from being a jew.
You are so dear to Hashem, you can change.
It’s up to you.”
The Rebbie turns to leave,
Then slowly looks back.
“Shmulie, I know you can.”
Shmulie slowly returns,
Back to his old life.
Memories rush back, everything becomes clear.
Now he is called Rabbi Shmuel,
And he slowly walks to the front.
“Kinderlach, please forever know:
Beraishes bara Elokim.
Hashem created you and I, and everything we see,
Nothing can stop you from being a jew.
You are so dear to Hashem, and you can always return home.”
His little eyes dancing with joy.
His very first day of yeshiva has begun.
He looks around in excitement,
So many kids are there.
He wonders what he will learn this year.
His rebbie walks up to the front,
“Kinderlach please forever know:
Beraishis bara Elokim.
Hashem created you and I, and everything we see,
Nothing can stop you from being a jew.
You are so dear to Hashem, no matter what you do.”
As the years fly by,
Shmulie dropped out of school.
He leaves his old life behind.
His kippa falls off,
His peyos are chopped.
He believes nothing remains.
He meets new friends,
Has a new way of life.
Young Shmulie has changed, Sammy is his new name.
Sadly, things go bad,
He winds up in a gang.
Next thing you know he’s received 5 years.
One day he receives a visitor,
And old man with a white beard.
“Shmulie”, he says, “I think you’ve forgot:
Beraishes bara Elokim.
Hashem created you and I, and everything we see,
Nothing can stop you from being a jew.
You are so dear to Hashem, you can change.
It’s up to you.”
The Rebbie turns to leave,
Then slowly looks back.
“Shmulie, I know you can.”
Shmulie slowly returns,
Back to his old life.
Memories rush back, everything becomes clear.
Now he is called Rabbi Shmuel,
And he slowly walks to the front.
“Kinderlach, please forever know:
Beraishes bara Elokim.
Hashem created you and I, and everything we see,
Nothing can stop you from being a jew.
You are so dear to Hashem, and you can always return home.”
Sunday, June 10, 2012
My High School Yearbook Page Letter
Sitting here at a desk I have sat in practically every day this year, my brain starts to rewind back to January of 2010. It was then that my sister, Pesha Leah, was tragically taken from this world, a day that changed my life. Shortly afterwards, I lost interest in school, something I never thought would happen. In short, I was told my school would not accept me the following year. While I was at camp that summer my mother called me and said “Rabbi O moved to the States and is opening up a school in New Jersey. Do you want to go?”
Being as I had nowhere else to go, I said, “Sure. Why not?”
The school year started off great, but that did not last long. To be honest, I don’t know how it happened; things just kept unraveling. Once, twice, three times I went to New York with my return questionable. Countless fall-outs occurred between the staff and me. Then as quickly as the issues came, they all disappeared. By a miracle, I ended the year on a good note; I decided to come back this year.
The school year started a little shaky, with the events of the year before still etched deeply in my mind. Thank G-d the year has gone smoothly. Now, entering the final stretch of the year, I am getting ready to graduate high school - something that back in 2010 I never thought would happen.
Rabbi O, you gave me a brother my entire family is proud of, and you gave me a new look at life. Regardless of everything that occurred between us, I sit here, with tears forming in my eyes, as I think of all of the hows, the whys, and the times that we have shared, both good and bad. You gave me chances I never deserved, and you refused to give up on me. I have never seen people more dedicated to chinuch than you and your sons Moishe & Zalmi. I know it’s not enough, but all I can say is thank you - for EVERYTHING.
Moishe, Zalmi, I made your jobs needlessly stressful. I know “I’m sorry” does not suffice, but I truly apologize for all that I have done or said to you. The two of you shook me up when I needed it, and all I can hope is that if, G-d forbid, I need another shake, you will be the ones to do it. You put all you can into the students, and I was a fool for not realizing it sooner…
Mrs. Geller and the entire staff of Trocki High School for Boys, you really changed me. You all gave me an education that I could never have received elsewhere. I truly appreciate it.
To my fellow classmates, living with you—some one year, others two—has been a remarkable experience for me. Each and every one of you has taught me something I would have missed out on if I were not here. You helped me when I was down, and gave me reasons to get back up. You all are family to me. Thanks for all you have done!
Avi Slutzkin and Rabbi Amzalak, to hear someone is very simply done; to listen to someone is very uncommon. The two of you listened. A lot. You each helped me pass very difficult stages in my life, and for that alone I am boundlessly grateful. You each gave me advice for how to do it and the necessary courage to fulfill it. It meaning anything I put my mind to.
Pesha Leah, my dear sister, thank you for everything you taught me and the help and encouragement you have provided me with from up above. May your neshama have one aliya after another.
Moshe Daniel, although we were not in this world at the same time, I have always felt like I know you. You were my first mentor, and someone I knew I could always turn to. Your day and a half on this world managed to teach me so much about everything real. Since my early childhood, I had a strange inkling that you were more than just with me; that I had a section of your very soul within mine. If, somehow, you are living your life through me all I can pray is that I am doing enough, and that someday, very soon, you will be able to live it for yourself once again.
To the Rebbe, thank you for the advice and spiritual guidance you constantly provide me with.
To my beloved mother and dearest siblings [whether blood-related or action-related], no matter what was going on in my life you weren’t there for me; you were there with me. Whether it was advice, love, or even scolding, you did everything humanly possible to be a part of my life - no matter what stage I was in. I know I don’t say it often enough, but I love you each dearly and I’m beyond lucky to have a family like you. You each, in your own way, make it clear that family is family - and you are with me on whatever path I choose to take.
So here I am getting ready to graduate. However, in reality it is not I who am graduating, but all of you. If it weren’t for all of you combined who knows where I would be - but it definitely would not be here. You each made me who I am today. I would not have reached this milestone if even one of you were not in my life.
Therefore, with all of my heart, I would like to wish you Mazel Tov on OUR graduation.
Being as I had nowhere else to go, I said, “Sure. Why not?”
The school year started off great, but that did not last long. To be honest, I don’t know how it happened; things just kept unraveling. Once, twice, three times I went to New York with my return questionable. Countless fall-outs occurred between the staff and me. Then as quickly as the issues came, they all disappeared. By a miracle, I ended the year on a good note; I decided to come back this year.
The school year started a little shaky, with the events of the year before still etched deeply in my mind. Thank G-d the year has gone smoothly. Now, entering the final stretch of the year, I am getting ready to graduate high school - something that back in 2010 I never thought would happen.
Rabbi O, you gave me a brother my entire family is proud of, and you gave me a new look at life. Regardless of everything that occurred between us, I sit here, with tears forming in my eyes, as I think of all of the hows, the whys, and the times that we have shared, both good and bad. You gave me chances I never deserved, and you refused to give up on me. I have never seen people more dedicated to chinuch than you and your sons Moishe & Zalmi. I know it’s not enough, but all I can say is thank you - for EVERYTHING.
Moishe, Zalmi, I made your jobs needlessly stressful. I know “I’m sorry” does not suffice, but I truly apologize for all that I have done or said to you. The two of you shook me up when I needed it, and all I can hope is that if, G-d forbid, I need another shake, you will be the ones to do it. You put all you can into the students, and I was a fool for not realizing it sooner…
Mrs. Geller and the entire staff of Trocki High School for Boys, you really changed me. You all gave me an education that I could never have received elsewhere. I truly appreciate it.
To my fellow classmates, living with you—some one year, others two—has been a remarkable experience for me. Each and every one of you has taught me something I would have missed out on if I were not here. You helped me when I was down, and gave me reasons to get back up. You all are family to me. Thanks for all you have done!
Avi Slutzkin and Rabbi Amzalak, to hear someone is very simply done; to listen to someone is very uncommon. The two of you listened. A lot. You each helped me pass very difficult stages in my life, and for that alone I am boundlessly grateful. You each gave me advice for how to do it and the necessary courage to fulfill it. It meaning anything I put my mind to.
Pesha Leah, my dear sister, thank you for everything you taught me and the help and encouragement you have provided me with from up above. May your neshama have one aliya after another.
Moshe Daniel, although we were not in this world at the same time, I have always felt like I know you. You were my first mentor, and someone I knew I could always turn to. Your day and a half on this world managed to teach me so much about everything real. Since my early childhood, I had a strange inkling that you were more than just with me; that I had a section of your very soul within mine. If, somehow, you are living your life through me all I can pray is that I am doing enough, and that someday, very soon, you will be able to live it for yourself once again.
To the Rebbe, thank you for the advice and spiritual guidance you constantly provide me with.
To my beloved mother and dearest siblings [whether blood-related or action-related], no matter what was going on in my life you weren’t there for me; you were there with me. Whether it was advice, love, or even scolding, you did everything humanly possible to be a part of my life - no matter what stage I was in. I know I don’t say it often enough, but I love you each dearly and I’m beyond lucky to have a family like you. You each, in your own way, make it clear that family is family - and you are with me on whatever path I choose to take.
So here I am getting ready to graduate. However, in reality it is not I who am graduating, but all of you. If it weren’t for all of you combined who knows where I would be - but it definitely would not be here. You each made me who I am today. I would not have reached this milestone if even one of you were not in my life.
Therefore, with all of my heart, I would like to wish you Mazel Tov on OUR graduation.
My High School English Valedictorian Speech
BS”D
Kindergarden; Pre-school; Elementary school; Middle school; High school; College. They all aim for one goal: getting you ready for what lurks outside the school walls. In other words: preparing you for the real world. Their methods may vary; their training different techniques. Yet, the principle is the same; it has not changed. In short terms: a secular studies program; in a little bit longer terms: about eighteen years of education.
But what is education? Is education playing with a bunch of building blocks that have strange designs on them? Yes it is. That is really where it all begins. However, once playtime is over, it starts to get a little bit more complicated. No longer can you get away with hitting the boy next to you for stealing the toy truck that you grabbed away from the kid across the room.
You start to read and write. Once you have that down, your teacher decides to call you up to read Run Spot Run in front of the entire class! Then, next month, you need to write ten whole sentences on how you spent your Chanukah vacation. How can you be expected to get that done without a heart failure? A couple of years down the line and you have to write some essay on a topic you don’t care about. I don’t know about you, but I have yet to master the art of stretching the words ‘I honestly don’t care about this topic one bit’ to fill up three pages. If any one of you has, I beg of you, please teach me. To top it all off, your principal then comes over to you and informs you that you now have one week to write a five to six minute speech. Has anyone ever heard of the word ‘break’?
Then you get to Math class. What was once 1+1=2 and 1+2=3 has now become 4*5=20 and 9/7=1.28. How do you solve it? You’ve run out of fingers and toes! Then, to make it more fun of course, your teacher decides to stick in some random letters! No wonder you can’t solve the problem, letters and numbers don’t mix. Pie. We all loved pie. I say loved in the past tense because by now every high school student want to throw the home-made pie their mother baked for graduation out the nearest window. Let’s not leave out all those weird symbols. They make perfect sense if you speak Greek or Latin. Guess what? We don’t!
After surviving math class, you walk into the lab for science. I’m telling you these science teachers are all confused. Pluto is a planet. Pluto is not a planet. It is. It isn’t. Every year they come out with new textbooks. No matter what we answer for the question ‘How many planets are there in the solar system?’ we will get it wrong. It’s bad enough we need to learn English, we now have to learn a whole new language for science as well? Carbonaceous film; White dwarf; Ultraviolet radiation; Kohanasey aquifer; Avioli; Gastronomies; Sternoclydomastoyd; Glutomus maximus. The list never ends. They must have some lottery where the next letter picked out is the next one in the name. Most teachers can’t even pronounce them.
Finally, the last class of the day, History and Geography. So many names, dates, places and events. Unless you were an eyewitness, there is no humanly possible way to remember them all correctly. Is it a coincidence that most history teachers are really old? Anyways, your school then decides to host a world fair. Do they not realize that you can barely remember your own family history, let alone American History? Now they want you to remember some culture in the middle of Africa? What is the point? We will never live there.
Then, to your horror, you discover that you must redo it all with your kids. The truth finally sinks in: Education never ends…
Throughout my years of learning, I have been in three different schools besides this one. In each one they pinpointed on a specific subject and focused on it for quite some time. Then I arrived here. In this school they don’t focus on any particular subject, because they understand that a subject is not the full thing. It is only a subcategory of the full object. This school makes it clear form the very beginning that ‘it is a package deal here’. They spend time on every angle that you might possibly need for future reference. I am proud and honored to be a graduate of YNS-Trocki High School for Boys – a school that puts education above everything else.
We might be too old to play with building blocks, yet we are still building every single time we listen to some boring lecture or take an aggravating test. This is what education truly means. Yes the person next to you may look at you in disbelief, wondering how you claim to have made a fortress if there are only three blocks, but that’s not the point. What’s important is that you see what you are building, and prevent it from ever getting knocked over.
Kindergarden; Pre-school; Elementary school; Middle school; High school; College. They all aim for one goal: getting you ready for what lurks outside the school walls. In other words: preparing you for the real world. Their methods may vary; their training different techniques. Yet, the principle is the same; it has not changed. In short terms: a secular studies program; in a little bit longer terms: about eighteen years of education.
But what is education? Is education playing with a bunch of building blocks that have strange designs on them? Yes it is. That is really where it all begins. However, once playtime is over, it starts to get a little bit more complicated. No longer can you get away with hitting the boy next to you for stealing the toy truck that you grabbed away from the kid across the room.
You start to read and write. Once you have that down, your teacher decides to call you up to read Run Spot Run in front of the entire class! Then, next month, you need to write ten whole sentences on how you spent your Chanukah vacation. How can you be expected to get that done without a heart failure? A couple of years down the line and you have to write some essay on a topic you don’t care about. I don’t know about you, but I have yet to master the art of stretching the words ‘I honestly don’t care about this topic one bit’ to fill up three pages. If any one of you has, I beg of you, please teach me. To top it all off, your principal then comes over to you and informs you that you now have one week to write a five to six minute speech. Has anyone ever heard of the word ‘break’?
Then you get to Math class. What was once 1+1=2 and 1+2=3 has now become 4*5=20 and 9/7=1.28. How do you solve it? You’ve run out of fingers and toes! Then, to make it more fun of course, your teacher decides to stick in some random letters! No wonder you can’t solve the problem, letters and numbers don’t mix. Pie. We all loved pie. I say loved in the past tense because by now every high school student want to throw the home-made pie their mother baked for graduation out the nearest window. Let’s not leave out all those weird symbols. They make perfect sense if you speak Greek or Latin. Guess what? We don’t!
After surviving math class, you walk into the lab for science. I’m telling you these science teachers are all confused. Pluto is a planet. Pluto is not a planet. It is. It isn’t. Every year they come out with new textbooks. No matter what we answer for the question ‘How many planets are there in the solar system?’ we will get it wrong. It’s bad enough we need to learn English, we now have to learn a whole new language for science as well? Carbonaceous film; White dwarf; Ultraviolet radiation; Kohanasey aquifer; Avioli; Gastronomies; Sternoclydomastoyd; Glutomus maximus. The list never ends. They must have some lottery where the next letter picked out is the next one in the name. Most teachers can’t even pronounce them.
Finally, the last class of the day, History and Geography. So many names, dates, places and events. Unless you were an eyewitness, there is no humanly possible way to remember them all correctly. Is it a coincidence that most history teachers are really old? Anyways, your school then decides to host a world fair. Do they not realize that you can barely remember your own family history, let alone American History? Now they want you to remember some culture in the middle of Africa? What is the point? We will never live there.
Then, to your horror, you discover that you must redo it all with your kids. The truth finally sinks in: Education never ends…
Throughout my years of learning, I have been in three different schools besides this one. In each one they pinpointed on a specific subject and focused on it for quite some time. Then I arrived here. In this school they don’t focus on any particular subject, because they understand that a subject is not the full thing. It is only a subcategory of the full object. This school makes it clear form the very beginning that ‘it is a package deal here’. They spend time on every angle that you might possibly need for future reference. I am proud and honored to be a graduate of YNS-Trocki High School for Boys – a school that puts education above everything else.
We might be too old to play with building blocks, yet we are still building every single time we listen to some boring lecture or take an aggravating test. This is what education truly means. Yes the person next to you may look at you in disbelief, wondering how you claim to have made a fortress if there are only three blocks, but that’s not the point. What’s important is that you see what you are building, and prevent it from ever getting knocked over.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Lo Mais
Leaving behind a legacy
so holy and true;
His teachings spread forth
for all eternity.
The nation of Yisroel
was charged with a mission:
To live the life of a yid;
and do as the Avos did.
* * *
Chorus:
Yaakov Avinu lo mais -
When we follow in his ways
we keep alive his name.
We are his children - his life, his soul
We keep him alive when we do as he told.
* * *
The Torah is our heritage
passed from father to son.
Our ancestors -our loved ones- are remembered
each time we accomplish a mitzvah with love.
Let us promise to always
keep the legacy going.
No matter what the future
may possibly bring.
so holy and true;
His teachings spread forth
for all eternity.
The nation of Yisroel
was charged with a mission:
To live the life of a yid;
and do as the Avos did.
* * *
Chorus:
Yaakov Avinu lo mais -
When we follow in his ways
we keep alive his name.
We are his children - his life, his soul
We keep him alive when we do as he told.
* * *
The Torah is our heritage
passed from father to son.
Our ancestors -our loved ones- are remembered
each time we accomplish a mitzvah with love.
Let us promise to always
keep the legacy going.
No matter what the future
may possibly bring.
Teshuvah - Always Possible
Charged with a mission
the child is brought to life.
Wrapped in the warmth of Kedusha
he does grow.
His family instills within him
the beauty of the Torah.
What a person he has become.
* * *
Pressured by his friends
the child changes ways.
Wrapped in the coldness of Klipah
he does grow.
His family tries to show him
the beauty of the Torah.
What a person he has become.
* * *
His soul reignited
the child returns.
Wrapped in the love of learning
he does grow.
His family instilling in him
the beauy of the Torah.
What a person he will become.
* * *
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