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Winter 2017
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Volume IV / Issue II
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Alumni support helps YUHSB continue to provide a world class education in both Limudei Kodesh and General Studies.
As we begin our second century, your support is imperative for capital improvements as well as for educational and extra-curricular activities.
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10, 25 and 50 Year Class Reunions
Classes of 1967, 1992 and 2007: Planning is underway!
To get involved in your reunion planning, please contact Elissa Schertz, Director of Institutional Advancement, at: elissa.schertz@yu.edu
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A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Rabbi Josh Kahn
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Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to participate in two alumni gatherings. On
Shabbos,
Parshas Vayigash, New Rochelle hosted a Yeshiva University High School for Boys young alumni Shabbaton based in the Young Israel of New Rochelle. Following the young alumni dinner at the home of Rabbi Chaim Axelrod, a beloved MTA rebbe and the assistant rabbi of the shul, the entire community was invited to a beautiful Friday night
oneg, including singing and
divrei Torah. Proud alumni from multiple generations participated. It reminded me of the broad and impressive community of YUHSB, whose alumni range from doctors to lawyers to investment bankers, oftentimes representing multiple generations of YUHSB alumni. The proud legacy of YUHSB alumni was evident again during my recent visit in Israel. As Rabbi Taubes, Rabbi Shulman, Shuey Jacoby and I visited the yeshivas our alumni learn in, many of the Roshei Yeshiva and
rebbeim pointed out that they too were YUHSB alumni. Throughout our travels, we met successful Roshei Yeshiva and Roshei Kollel and accomplished businessmen who boasted of their YUHSB education and how it served as the foundation for what they have gone on to accomplish.
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Rabbi Kahn, center, along with Rabbi Taubes, Rabbi Shulman and Shuey Jacoby, visit with young alumni currently studying in Yeshivat Sha'alvim
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In
Parshas Va'era, prior to Moshe Rabbeinu's initial encounter with Paroh, the Torah interrupts the storyline and recounts the genealogy of the
shevatim of Reuven, Shimon and Levi. The
mefarshim are bothered by this seemingly unnecessary interruption in the midst of a captivating story of Moshe's ascent to leadership. The Seforno points out a profound lesson we can learn from the way in which the Torah sets up this genealogical record. There were fewer generations from Levi to Moshe, than from Reuven or Shimon to their offspring who are contemporaries of Moshe. Therefore, Moshe was more closely connected to the greatness of Yaakov and Levi. Moshe's readiness to lead
Bnei Yisrael emerged from his closer proximity to Yaakov, as opposed to the other generations who had a greater generational distance to the greatness of Yaakov. According to Seforno, greatness is achieved by stronger connection to the legacy of the past.
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Shana Aleph and Shana Bet students gathered together with YUHSB Leadership on Motzei Shabbos, January 21st |
In order to be able to look forward, we always need to be cognizant and proud of what brought us to the present day. This year, YUHSB is celebrating our centennial. There is much to be proud of as a yeshiva high school which charted the course for the American Jewish community by creating the model of a yeshiva high school, balancing a strong commitment to
Talmud Torah along with the pursuit of academic excellence. My experiences over the past few weeks is a reminder that it is not only what our yeshiva has accomplished that should give us
nachas, rather it is our accomplished community of our alumni that make us special! Like Moshe Rebbeinu, we are reminded that in order to lead for the future, it is this strong connection to the past that propels us forward. We are excited to create a vibrant vision for the future and look forward to your involvement and partnership in creating this vision so that we can continue to serve as the flagship yeshiva high school for the American Jewish community.
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Centennial Club
Join the 102 people who have already joined the Centennial Club! For more information and to join, visit the
Centennial Club webpage.
Media Content
Do you have old pictures (or videos)? Please share them with us! We are looking to build up our media archives as we look to share our history. Please send old pictures (and/or videos) to centennial@yuhsb.org.
Sponsorship
Numerous private and corporate Centennial sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, please contact Elissa Schertz at 212.960.5223 or via email at elissa.schertz@yu.edu.
Calling all Community & School Rabbinic Leaders
We are trying to gather information from our rabbinic alumni who now serve as school and community leaders across the globe. If you fit this category or know of someone that does, please complete this very short survey.
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Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman ('87) Appointed Next President of Yeshiva University
From YUNews
 The Board of Trustees has elected Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman '87YUHS, '91YC, '94BR, '95R as the fifth president of Yeshiva University. He will officially begin his tenure in July 2017.
"Rabbi Berman is a dynamic and inspirational leader, scholar and educator," said YU Chairman Moshael J. Straus, who led the Presidential Selection Committee. "He possesses a deep, life-long commitment to our mission and is a superb choice to lead Yeshiva University forward with excellence."
Rabbi Berman is the current head of Hechal Shlomo - Jewish Heritage Center in Jerusalem, where he is leading a transformation of the historic organization into an international modern Orthodox center for Jewish life, learning and leadership. He also serves as a lecturer of rabbinic literature in Herzog College's Department of Jewish Studies and was selected to sit on its Executive Leadership Council, the governing body that establishes policies and sets direction for all major issues regarding the operation of the college.
Prior to moving to Israel, Rabbi Berman served as rabbi of The Jewish Center in New York City and led the prominent institution through a period of growth in which it experienced a significant rise in congregational satisfaction, membership, programming, services, outreach, public activities and financial strength.
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Hundreds Gather for Centennial Yom Iyun Focusing on Inspiring the Next Generation
 With the founding of the Talmudical Academy of Yeshiva (now known as the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy/ Yeshiva University High School for Boys - more familiarly known as MTA) in 1916, for the first time in history a yeshiva offered both a premier Judaic Studies and a premier General Studies. Its founding set the trend for the model of Jewish education that has become popular today in America and around the world. RIETS President Rabbi Dr. Bernard Revel understood that with the changing times and with the new American generation a new way of educating and inspiring our youth was critical for the continuity of the Jewish mesorah and way of life.
 Over the next 100 years, the legendary school continued to set the trend for Jewish education both at the original MTA in Manhattan and the BTA Brooklyn branch (which merged back into MTA in 1981) and, impressively, continues to serve as a true leader and pioneer in Jewish education through this very day. With this in mind, MTA in partnership with other YU schools - the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls, the Center for the Jewish Future, and the Azrieli Graduate School for Jewish Education and Administration - developed a special Centennial Yom Iyun, which took place on Sunday, December 18th - to focus on how to inspire the next generation.
 Led by a keynote address by renowned educator and leader Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, and featuring breakout sessions by a large variety of noted and innovative educators, the goal was to provide parents, grandparents and other educators practical guidance for how to properly inspire the lives of today's youth who are inundated with technology and other challenges of the modern western world.
 After MTA Head of School Rabbi Joshua Kahn welcomed the packed Lamport Auditorium audience - which featured, in addition to the hundreds of guests, the MTA student body - YU President Richard M. Joel, a graduate of the MTA class of 1968, provided an introduction, noting that both YU's fourth president (himself) and fifth president (President Elect Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman) are proud graduates of the flagship high school. President Joel warmly introduced Rabbi Dr. Berman, a graduate of the MTA class of 1987, who made his first ever public address to the YU community. Rabbi Berman expressed his excitement to take the helm of Yeshiva and was inspired by how uniquely situated the university is to build upon its mission of Torah U'Madda.
To listen to recordings of the sessions,
click here.
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Rabbi Hyman Arbesfeld ('49) Establishes $1 Million Gift Towards Scholarships
From YUNews
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Elchanite 1949
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In honor of
the centennial celebration of The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy/Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), Hyman Arbesfeld has made a $1 million gift to establish the Abraham Arbesfeld Scholarship Fund, named in honor of his late father.
Arbesfeld is a YU Guardian and a Benefactor and vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). He has a long, personal history with YU. In 1945, Arbesfeld entered YUHSB, encouraged by his father to study Torah rather than attend The Bronx High School of Science, which was Arbesfeld's first choice. As a scholarship recipient, he was so grateful for the opportunity to attend that he never missed a day of high school in four years, feeling that it was his duty to make the best use of the support given to him.
"I was lucky enough to go through my entire YU education, from high school to RIETS, supported by scholarships," said Arbesfeld. "I made this gift in honor of my father because without his encouragement and love, I would not have had the rich Jewish life that I have been so fortunate to lead. This gift will reassure families that they can send their sons to the high school without worrying about tuition, just the way my scholarships reassured my father."
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From Financial Analyst to Stage Manager for The TODAY Show
At Syms, he pursued a bachelor of science in finance and then in 2007 took a post-graduate job as a financial analyst with The Bank of New York Mellon in mortgage-backed securities, just as the Great Recession kicked into high-gear. "About a year after I went through my interviews," he said, "The Bank of New York Mellon was one of the few banks left standing."
But while he liked the work well enough, something else tugged at him. "Growing up, we didn't have a television," he recalled, "which made me always want to watch it." He also had a talent for managing logistics behind the scenes. By happenstance, after a couple of years at the bank, he found himself applying to the NBCUniversal Page Program, described on its website as "a 12-month rotational development experience designed for high potential early career talent." The Program accepts around 1.5 percent of applicants, reportedly making it more selective than Harvard admissions.
Herzog made it into the program, which set him on the career path of working on assignments at
Saturday Night Live
and
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
and now has him working as a stage manager for
The TODAY Show
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To continue reading,
click here.
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YUHSB Mourns the Loss of Former Maggid Shiur Rabbi Samuel Borenstein ('60)
To read Rabbi Borenstein's farewell message upon his retirement as a Rebbe in 2014, please
click here.
Click here for the
hesped
delivered by former Dean and
Maggid Shiur
, Rabbi Dr. Michael Hecht ('57) as transcribed by Avraham Wein ('12).
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Alumnus Profile: Rabbi Yosef Weinstock ('97)
by Zachary Schreiber ('07)
 Rabbi Weinstock, who grew up in New Haven, CT, graduated from MTA in 1997 and after earning his smicha from RIETS, and an MA from YU's Wurzweiler School of Social Work, he has served as the associate rabbi at the Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale in Florida. While attending MTA, he lived in the dorms.
How did MTA help get you to where you are today?
It provided me with the foundation, both in Torah and General Studies subjects, to have the confidence to continue to learn more.
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Elchanite 1997
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What did you enjoy most about your time in MTA?
I enjoyed my time in shiur. I was privileged to study under Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen twice. I also loved living in the high school dorms and having the opportunity to utilize all the college facilities. Amazing memories.
Looking back, what was your favorite MTA memory?
Studying history, especially under Dr. Taylor and his AP European History Course. He's the reason I studied in history in college.
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On August 1st, members of the Class of the Class of 1991 convened at Mike's Bistro to celebrate their 25 Year Reunion
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| On December 4th, members of the Class of 2006 returned to campus for their 10 Year Reunion |
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Jobs for the next generation of Lions
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Willing to let a current MTA student shadow you at your job?
Have an internship opportunity?
Please share these opportunities with us so that we can try to pair up interested students with appropriate opportunities.
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February 5 - 26
February 12th is YUHSB Alumni Day! Bring
this coupon for a 5% discount.
February 8 - March 15
February 28
YUHS Annual Dinner of Tribute
Join Us at our Annual Dinner of Tribute when we celebrate the past and the future of Yeshiva University High Schools. For more information, to join the scroll of honor and/or to register, visit
yuhsb.org/dinner
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1930s
Ira Bernstein ('30) was honored, along with Meir Uretsky ('18) as the first "Point of Light" at YU's 92nd Annual Chanukah Dinner and Convocation.
1940s
Joseph Appleman ('47) was conferred an honorary degree at YU's 92nd Annual Chanukah Dinner and Convocation.
1950s
Mazel Tov to Sandy and Nat ('52) Geller upon the marriage of their grandchildren Moshe Shlomo Rothenberg to Sara Koltai, Ezra Rothenberg to Chavie Glatter and Tamar Rothenberg to Gedalya Gluck.
Mazel Tov to Roslyn (Shelkowitz) and Moshe ('54) Berlin upon the marriage of their grandson Yair Berlin to Elisheva Jacobs.
Joshua Muss ('58) was conferred an honorary degree at YU's 92nd Annual Chanukah Dinner and Convocation.
Mazel Tov to Sara Gail and Nechemiah ('58) Reiss upon the engagement of their daughter Fruma '95 to Dan Remin, son of Robert Remin and the late Julie Remin A"H.
1960s
Mazel Tov to Toni (Feltscher) and Phil ('65) Chernofsky upon the birth their granddaughter Tamar Perach, born to Ora and Noam Kotler.
Mazel Tov to Regina & Michael ('65) Koenig upon the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson, Adir Koenig.
Mazel Tov to Roslyn and Rabbi David ('65) Savitsky upon the birth of a granddaughter, Victoria Faye, born to their children, Danielle and Josh Strauss.
Mazel Tov to Barbara and Alan ('66) Zelenetz and Beth and David ('67) Cohen upon the birth of a granddaughter, Sophie Rae, to their children Tali (Cohen) and Mike Zelenetz.
David I. Cohen ('67) was honored by the State of Connecticut upon his retirement after 37 years as State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk. Cohen was awarded the Homer S. Cummings Award for Prosecutorial Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the State of Connecticut's Division of Criminal Justice.
Mazel Tov to Helene and Rabbi Kenneth ('67) Stein upon the birth of a granddaughter, Maya Neshama, to their children Lauren (Stein) and Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz.
Mazel Tov to Dr. Esther and President Richard M. Joel ('68) upon the birth of a grandson to Leora (Goodman) and Noam Joel.
Mazel Tov to Vivian and Rabbi Moshe ('68) Neiss upon the Bat Mitzvah of their granddaughter, Bella Neiss. Mazel Tov also to parents Mindy and Jonathan ('94) Neiss.
Mazel Tov to Amy and David ('69) Grauer upon the birth of a grandson, Simcha, born to their children, Rachel and Ezra Obstfeld.
Mazel Tov to Miriam and Dr. Ira ('71) Parness upon the birth of a granddaughter, Eva Simona Goldman, born to their children Michal and Avi Goldman.
Mazel Tov to Amy and Joel ('72) Wolfson upon the birth of a granddaughter, born to their children, Talya and Marc Braunstein.
Mazel Tov to Leah (Peyser) and Terry ('73) Rifkin upon the marriage of their son David to Deborah Shnay.
Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg ('74) and his non-profit, Kids Kicking Cancer, were featured on NBC's "Today" show in their "Hope to It" series. Rabbi Goldberg, the author of "A Perfect God Created An Imperfect World Perfectly", was honored at Mass General Hospital Cancer Center's 2016 One Hundred Gala for his inspiring work in the fight against cancer.
Phil Rosen ('74) has been Named Vice Chairmen of the Board of the Birthright Israel Foundation. Rosen recently shared negotiation secrets on The Real Deal: New York Real Estate News.
Mazel Tov to Annie and David ('75) Blumenthal upon the engagement of their son Akiva ('12) to Amanda Lax.
Mazel Tov to Laurie & Robert ('76) Koppel upon the birth of a granddaughter Avigayil Gnendel (Hannah Grace). Mazel Tov also to the parents Rebecca and Joshua Rubin.
Mazel Tov to Joel Spier ('76) upon the birth of a grandson to Tamar and Rabbi JZ Spier.
Mazel Tov to Maggid Shiur Rabbi Shimon Kerner ('77) and his wife upon the marriage of their daughter Meira to Yehoshua Dear. Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Kerner also on the birth of a grandson, a son to Dov ('07) and Adeena Kerner.
Rabbi Saul Zucker ('77) was appointed Head of School at Ben Porat Yosef.
Mazel Tov to Sharon (Toporovsky) and Gerald ('78) Unger upon the birth of their first granddaughter.
Mazel Tov to Halana and Alan ('79) Greenberg and Dina and Michael ('75) Kollander upon the engagement of their children, Cynthia Greenberg to Evan Kollander.
Mazel Tov to Shifra and Perry ('79) Garber upon the birth of a grandson, born to their children, Leora and Ari Perl.
Mazel Tov to Jacqueline (Klausner) and Rabbi Dr. Marc ('79) Mandel upon the engagement of their son Daniel to Rachel Goldberg.
1980s
Dr. Marc Berger ('80) and Dr. Alan Berger ('82) received the Shomer Eretz Yisrael Award from the American Friends of Bet El Yeshiva Center at its 34th Annual Dinner, acknowledging their efforts on behalf of the US-Israel relationship.
Mazel Tov to Shari and Dr. Ari ('80) Greenspan upon the birth of a granddaughter, to their children Etanna and Yair Koplovitz.
Mazel Tov to Naomi and Rabbi Mark ('83) Landsman upon the engagement of their daughter Rina to Jeremy Bienenfeld.
Mazel Tov to Reshi and Yosef ('84) Isaacs upon the marriage of children Noah ('11) to Ayelet Prero and Aryeh ('12) to Tehila Feinberg. Mazel Tov also to brother Gabe ('18).
Mazel Tov to Jonah Kriger ('85) upon his engagement to Miechal Lefkowitz.
Mazel Tov to Lisa and David ('85) Schlussel upon the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Kayla.
Mazel Tov to former Head of School Rabbi Mark ('87) Gottlieb, and his wife on the engagement of their daughter Kayla to Yair Miller. Mazel Tov also to brother Akiva Gottlieb ('14).
Mazel Tov to Alisa and Moshe ('88) Karash upon the birth of their grandson, Yaakov Aryeh, to children Avigail & Yosef Karash.
1990s
Mazel Tov to Melissa (Gabel) and Dr. Jay ('90) Keehn upon the bar mitzvah of their son, Benjamin.
Mazel Tov to Serena and Rabbi Moshe ('90) Benovitz and to Chaviva and Rabbi Larry ('91) Rothwachs upon the engagement of their children Shani Rothwachs to Yisroel Benovitz. Mazel Tov also to brother Yisrael Rothwachs ('20).
Mazel Tov to Michelle and Rabbi Dovid ('92) Bistricer upon the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Yossi.
Mazel Tov to Mindy and Jonathan ('94) Neiss upon the bat mitzvah of daughter Bella.
Rabbi Eliezer Schnall ('95) was promoted to Clinical Professor of Psychology at Yeshiva University.
Mazel Tov to Michal & Rabbi Ari ('97) Zahtz upon the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Adina.
Mazel Tov to Yael and Elliot ('98) Schwarzenberger upon the birth of a baby girl, Avigail Masuda (Sadie Avigail).
Mazel Tov to Rebecca (Halstuch) and Rabbi Ariel ('99) Schochet upon the birth of their son, Chaim Yosef.
2000s
Mazel Tov to Julia Frankston-Morris and Shmarya ('01) Gasner upon the birth of a boy, Saul Irving (Yisroel Chaim).
Mazel Tov to Jessica and Yossi ('02) Held upon the birth of a daughter, Arianna Rose.
Mazel Tov to Tova and Yosef ('02) Jacoby upon the birth of a boy, Eitan.
Mazel Tov to Chevi and Eli ('02) Sabo upon the birth of a daughter.
Mazel Tov to Michael Scharf ('02) upon his engagement to Raizy Mushell.
Mazel Tov to Chayim Goldberg ('03), YUHSB Instructor of Chemistry, upon his engagement to Elana Rosengard.
Mazel Tov to Aviva and Steven ('04) Baumser upon the birth of a boy.
Mazel Tov to Lani (Lederer) and Josh ('04) Berman upon the birth of a baby girl.
Mazel Tov to Ashley and Rabbi Raphi ('04) Mandelstam on the birth of a daughter, Aliza Shoshana.
Mazel Tov to Alyssa and Adam ('04) Hertzberg upon the birth of a baby boy.
Mazel Tov to Jessica and YUHS Board of Trustees Member Dov Quint ('04) upon the birth of a boy.
Mazel Tov to Sarah and Marc ('05) Merrill upon the birth of a baby girl, Naomi Rachel.
Mazel Tov to Tova and Gabi ('06) Berman upon the birth of a daughter.
Mazel Tov to Lauren and Binyamin ('06) Cooper upon the birth of a boy.
Mazel Tov to Shaul Rutta ('06) upon his marriage to Penina Droyan.
Mazel Tov to Jodi and Tzachi ('07) Popowitz upon the birth of a boy, Shlomo Zalman Yehuda.
Mazel Tov to Ari Margolin ('08) upon his marriage to Aliza Kaye.
Mazel Tov to Yair Tilson ('08) upon his engagement to Nathalie Hofer.
Mazel Tov to Dovi Brick ('09) upon his engagement to Sari Ambrose.
Mazel Tov to Eli Nichtberger ('09) upon his marriage to Rachel Robbins.
Mazel Tov to Estie and Evan ('09) Rottenstreich upon the birth of a baby girl.
2010s
Mazel Tov to Uri Elhyani ('10) upon his engagement to Talya Carmen.
Mazel Tov to Moshe Jaroslawicz ('10) upon his engagement to Ellie Lichtman.
Mazel Tov to Sam Nussbaum ('10) upon his marriage to Noemi Stern.
Mazel Tov to Aharon Watson ('10) upon his engagement to Merav Silverstein.
Mazel Tov to Gary Younger ('10) upon his engagement to Kelly Bernstein.
Mazel Tov to Noah Isaacs ('11) upon his marriage to Ayelet Prero.
Mazel Tov to Akiva Blumenthal ('12) upon his engagement to Amanda Lax. Mazel Tov also to parents Annie and David ('75) Blumenthal.
Mazel Tov to Sam Dratch ('12) upon his marriage to Sari Borenstein.
Mazel Tov to Aryeh Isaacs ('12) upon his marriage to Tehila Feinberg.
Mazel Tov to Ezra Mishkoff ('12) upon his engagement to Chani Hirschey.
Mazel Tov to Yosef Penner ('12) upon his marriage to Elana Kaminetsky. Mazel Tov also to Rabbi Menachem Penner, Max and Marion Grill Dean of RIETS.
Mazel Tov to Eli Rozenberg ('12) upon his marriage to Blima Farkas.
Mazel Tov to Avraham Yhakubovich ('12) upon his marriage to Kayla Brown.
Mazel Tov to Devir Kahan ('13) upon his engagement to Sarah Steinfeld.
Mazel Tov to Eitan Rosenfeld ('13) upon his engagement to Zoey Glaubach.
Ori Putterman ('14) was featured in an article on ynet showcasing IDF soldiers who also play competitive sports.
Mazel Tov to Gedaliah Zemel ('14) upon making aliyah after his first year at Har Etzion. Zemel is intending to enter the Hesder Program.
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WE MOURN THE LOSS OF....
Joseph Yoshor ('45)
Rabbi Samuel Borenstein ('60)
Rabbi Sigmund Handelman ('66)
Stuart Schochet ('70)
Victor Schnitzer ('74)
Correction: In the last edition of A Lion's Legacy, we inadvertently wished condolences to David Deutscher ('09) upon the loss of his father. We should have wished him condolences upon the loss of his mother.
May the families know of sadness no more and be comforted amongst the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem
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Please share with us your significant family milestones so we may appropriately acknowledge events and losses and properly communicate information. Please contact Shuey Jacoby ('02), Executive Director, at sjacoby@yuhsb.org.
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Shop at Target, Amazon or Stop & Shop to Support MTA!
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Rabbi Samuel Borenstein ('60) who taught at MTA for over 40 years passed away in October. Although Rabbi Borenstein had retired a few years ago, Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael Taubes ('76) addressed the student body after davening and discussed how all members of the YUHSB community are 
