Kol Mevaseret 5776, Especially the Plethora of Tanach Articles, to Ezra Schwartz, Who Affected the Plot of Each Girl’S Life, Whether She Knew Him Personally Or Not
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
קול Kol מבשרת Mevaseret A Compilation of Insights and Analyses of Torah Topics by the students of MICHLELET MEVASERET YERUSHALAYIM Jerusalem, 5776 Editors in Chief: Brielle Broder ● Sarah Broniscer ● Dassi Solomson Editorial Staff: Elana Apfelbaum ● Leora Fertig ● Esther Shira Gaffin Naomi Sara Kolsky ● Anne Levine ● Naomi Mattuck Michali Mazor ● Esti Ness ● Sheindel Rusanov Talia Schiff ● Gaby Stemp ● Paulette Tawil ● Maya Woolich Faculty Advisor: Rabbi Eliezer Lerner © 2016 / 5776 – All rights reserved Printed in Israel מכללת מבשרת ירושלים Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim Rabbi David Katz, Director Mrs. Sharon Isaacson, Asst. Director Mrs. Sarah Dena Katz, Asst. Director Derech Chevron 60 Jerusalem 93513 Tel: (02) 652-7257 / US Tel: (212) 444-1657 Fax: (02) 652-7162 / US Fax: (917)-793-1047 [email protected] U.S. Mailing Address 500 W. Burr Blvd Suite #47 Teaneck, NJ 07666 www.mevaseret.org/mmy HaDaF Typesetting [email protected] CONTENTS Letter from the Editors............................................... 7 Introduction Rabbi David Katz ................................................... 9 תנ"ך The Ketonet Yael Blau............................................................. 15 Ehud ben Geira Alex Fuchs ........................................................... 19 Redefining Personalities Malka Furman ..................................................... 25 The Wives of the King Talia Ginsburg ..................................................... 33 Hachnasat Orchim Adina Goldberg .................................................... 41 The Brachot of Yaakov Ricki Gruenburg ................................................... 51 The Prophecy of the Imahot Naomi Sara Kolsky............................................... 59 The Secret to Long Life Naomi Mattuck..................................................... 65 Failures of the Firstborn Gaby Stemp ......................................................... 73 זמן מתן תורתינו .vs חג הקציר :Shavuot Paulette Tawil ...................................................... 87 'נ' The Mystery of the Inverted Kayla Wasser ...................................................... 91 ברוך שככה לו בעולמו Avigayil Weiner .................................................... 97 מחשבה ומעשה An Elitist Nation: Seven vs. 613 Elana Apfelbaum ............................................... 109 מה טובו אהליך יעקב Ayelet Besso-Cowan........................................... 121 The Trolley Problem Brielle Broder..................................................... 125 When Life Throws You a Curveball Nurit Esral ......................................................... 131 Microphones in Halacha :הרימי בכח קולך Naomi Javitt ...................................................... 137 Music to my Ears Adina Knapp...................................................... 145 Genocide: A Torah Perspective Esti Ness ........................................................... 151 Observance vs. Obsession Talia Schiff ........................................................ 157 To Return or Not to Return? Rivka Schwartz.................................................. 171 Between the Lines or Beyond the Borders Dassi Solomson.................................................. 183 Covering all Corners Elisheva Taragin ................................................ 195 הלכות שבת - מלאכת בורר Finding the Good in the Bad Elana Apfelbaum, Adina Knapp, Paulette Tawil ... 203 Discerning the ‘Object’ive Tehilla Berger, Shaindel Rusanov........................ 209 Borer and the Peeler Naomi Javitt, Rivka Schwartz ............................. 215 The Dilemma of Defining a Mixture Dassi Solomson, Tzipora Weinberger ................... 219 Faculty Why Choose a Nation? Why Us? Rabbi Jesse Horn............................................... 229 The Root of Rebuilding Avital Moritz, madricha....................................... 233 LETTER FROM THE EDITORS There are many ways to begin a story, each a unique phrase that sets the tone for the remainder of the work. All writing contains a small piece of the essence of the author, buried between the lines, just enough to catch the briefest of glimpses if the reader is attentive enough to allow her mind to delve into the pages. Writing has the power to convey personal thoughts and sentiments that can impact a broad audience, just one among many tools of self- expression. Every year, MMY facilitates an environment where each student has the ability to actualize latent potential on an individual level. She personalizes her schedule down to the last class, controls her time outside of the designated curriculum, and participates in the many outlets MMY offers. And this past year was no exception. For some, the most effective way to concretize a year dedicated to Torah learning is to demonstrate freshly-refined skills by writing a comprehensive article focusing on a particular subject of one’s own selection. Kol Mevaseret is a forum for the expression of the analytical, rhetorical, and textual abilities painstakingly honed over long hours in a busy beit midrash – the culmination of a productive year. However, not all students studying in Eretz Yisrael for the year had these opportunities. One student in particular began this year along with every other student, but he will never return home with a host of accomplishments to proudly present. He never had the opportunity to reach his emotional or spiritual goals, having been stripped time and opportunity. Ezra Schwartz, our peer, started the year with the intention of following all the way through. Yet, his story abruptly came to a close. Not a single MMYer will forget the moment of fear that accosted her when information about the attack was scarce, before a name was released. In those brief moments, anyone fitting the description of a yeshiva student could have been the victim – a friend, a classmate – universal emotions uniting everyone. Because Ezra was not able to finish the year himself, it is up to those of us who shared in his journey to continue writing our personal stories on his behalf, intertwining his legacy with our own in order to perpetuate his memory. We would like to dedicate Kol Mevaseret 5776, especially the plethora of Tanach articles, to Ezra Schwartz, who affected the plot of each girl’s life, whether she knew him personally or not. The beauty lies in the interaction between individual stories that comprise the whole of the novel, slowly being written as time continues its journey. While this year in Israel was certainly spent productively, a new chapter will begin with fresh pages, anticipating the words that will eventually fill its length; another opportunity to accomplish any unfinished goals. We hope that everyone’s story continues to unfold, resulting in something resembling a happy ending, and that the words of Torah will continue to fill the pages. Sincerely, The Kol Mevaseret 5776 Editors INTRODUCTION Education is, of course, one of the central requirements parents must provide for their children. The commands to teach one’s child Torah, both on a practical-mitzvah performance level as well as on a historical-experiential level, are repeated multiple times in Teaching .ושננתם לבניך, ולמדתם אותם את בניכם, והודעת לבניך ולבני בניך :Chumash one’s child Torah is one of the essential responsibilities listed in the mishnah in Kiddushin that a parent (more specifically, a father) must either fulfill himself or arrange via someone else. However, Pesach night in particular is seemingly singled out as a In addition to the .והגדת לבניך ביום ההוא :specific time for education general mitzva of Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim, the unique focus on educating our children is evident from many aspects of the seder night (the four questions, the tactics to keep children awake, changes in the routine to spark their interest , etc.). Why is this so? What is unique about the Pesach experience that requires this special focus on Talmud Torah? Why does the Torah continuously emphasize the need to retell the story of the Exodus to the next generation? The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the child’s asking questions stimulates G-d’s love for us, like the love of parents for כי נער ישראל ואהבהו (their young child, as is written in Hoshea (11:1 The Yalkut Shimoni (527) on this verse references .וממצרים קראתי לבני Sefer Yechezkel (perek 16) where the imagery presented is of the newborn baby, still covered in blood from birth. But then, as we quote in the Haggadah, Hashem passes by and sees us all dirty and wallowing in blood. Even though we are still “naked from merit.” He comes and takes us under His wing, and rinses us off, like parents do for their newborn. The Yalkut Shimoni says: Moshe says to Yehoshua: “This nation that I am entrusting to you, they are still young goats, they are still children. Do not be irritated with them for what they do, for their Master too was not irritated with them for what they did” … When Israel rebelled against G-d at the Red Sea, the angels said to G-d: “They are rebelling” and G-d said to the angels: “They are children. And one does not get irritated with children. Just as a child emerges soiled from the womb and is then washed, so too Israel.” Pesach night is really a commemoration of Hashem’s unconditional love for us. We were redeemed even though we really had no merits and were on the 49th level of tumah, impurity. By commemorating that unconditional love of the past, we pray we can invoke His mercy once again in the present, to bring about the future geula – even if we are not deserving.