YNA Newsletter 1 of 12
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YNA Newsletter 1 of 12 In This Issue Parshat Miketz Letter from A Departing Shabbat Chanukah Talmid Remembering HaRav Aryeh Bina zt"l Part III HaRav Nebenzahl on Parshat Miketz Staff Dvar Torah By Rav Benish Ginsburg ~ PLUS 18 more! Netiv HaChinuch - For Parents and Teachers ALUMNI CHUG IN NY WITH RAV YOEL Petuchei Chotam on Parshat Miketz Picture Gallery, Dedications, Visitor Log, Mazal T ov' s, T ehilim List, NEW PICTURE GALLERY Join Our List Links There will be an alumni chug next week on Tuesday, Dec 27 (Zot Chanukah) at 8:30 Rabbanit Malke Bina´s PM with Rav Yoel Rackovsky at the home of Tzvi (5763-64) and Gali Goodman, Parsha Glimpse 630 W 246th St Apt 831, Riverdale, NY. Please spread the word. Rav Yoel will be in the NY area from Sunday night until Wednesday night. He can be reached there at 718-404-8219. ~~~~~~ CHANUKAH AT THE KOTEL HaRav Bina has once again been invited to light the menorah by the Kotel on Friday, 27 Kislev (Dec 23rd). The Western Wall Heritage Foundation will be live-streaming the lighting and singing at 3:30 PM IST (8:30 AM EST) on the Kotel website here. CHANUKAH IN THE OLD CITY YNA Newsletter 2 of 12 (Click to view last years Chanukah video) ~~~~~ CHANUKAH SPIRIT Click below to see a YouTube Video of Maoz Tzur made by three of our alumni - Rob Shur (5757-58), Rabbi Mark Mays (5757-65, YNA British Programme Coordinator) and Rabbi Ephraim (Ephy) Greene (5755). ~~~~~ SCHEDULE The Yeshiva will have Chanukah vacation Sunday-Tuesday SHABBAT CHANUKAH "IN" SHABBAT 3:30 PM Menorah Lighting at Kotel 4:00 PM Mincha at the Kotel followed by Kabbalat Shabbat on the Porch 6:00 AM Vatikin at the Yeshiva 3:00 PM Mincha at Porat Yosef YNA.EDU | Ask Rav Nebenzahl | Suggestion Box Contact Us | Alumni Update Form | Parsha Archives Letter from A Departing Talmid Dearest Rabbeim, It's been a long time since I've choked back tears. YNA Newsletter 3 of 12 As you know this week I departed from Yeshiva after 3.5 years of study. I can only use the posuk Ach Tov VChessed Yirdifuni to describe my experience in Yeshiva.Through the Dapim of Gemara and Halacha which you have taught me I feel I have attained an understanding of my role in this world as an Eved Hashem, and how to fight the constant struggle for self-improvement. I also take note of the Yeshivas unique tolerance for my eccentricity, and the second, third and fifteenth chances that I was given when I was caught in violation of the Yeshivas policies. As I continue on in my education I now have a framework for my life. I have goals which better align with the Torahs views of the way a Jew should live. I wish you success in educating many more Talmidim successfully. As you know my absence in Eretz Yisrael is very temporary. I eagerly await our reunification. We should merit to see the coming of Moshiach and the building of the Beit Hamikdash in Zechut of all the good you have done for generations of students. Please pass this letter on to Rav Bina as well. Mordechai Rav Aryeh Bina zt"l The following is a translation from an Israeli newspaper of an article about HaRav Aryeh Bina z"tl published during the week of his yahrzeit. Part III-ROSH YESHIVA AND MAINTENANCE MAN The one picture hanging on the wall of HaRav Bina's office was that of HaRav Yerucham Levovitz, the Mashgiach of Mir who had the most influence on him. Stories abound regarding how ethical HaRav Bina was, how well-balanced he was. His standard of ethics extended even to the finest of details. HaRav Re"em HaKohen relates that he was once learning in the Beit Midrash on the afternoon of Erev Rosh Hashana. HaRav Bina entered and collected the papers in the Beit Midrash. He then took his special Rosh Yeshiva chair and moved it to the Ezrat Nashim for the Rabbanit to sit on during the Yom Tov. In his biography - MiMir Netiv Meir, the story is told of a student who poured garbage over the head of one of the Rabbanim, while another poured garbage over a cleaning woman. HaRav Bina elected to expel only the one who threw garbage over the cleaning woman. The Rav in question approached HaRav Bina asking: "what about kavod haTorah?" Rav Bina responded: "you were a talmid chacham before and will remain a talmid chacham, the cleaning lady on the other hand feels downgraded because of her work. The little self-respect she possessed has been taken away and we cannot remain silent. HaRav Re"em HaKohen recalls that immediately prior to the sounding of the Shofar he noted that the radiator in the women's section was blowing out hot air. He went up and closed the vent. "Who even worries about such things at the time of shofar blowing?" wondered HaRav Re-em HaKohen. It was not beneath the Rosh Yeshiva's dignity, especially in the early years when the Yeshiva was not yet on solid ground, to assist in the maintenance of the Yeshiva. There was once a blockage in one of the pipes. After the students had entered the classroom, the Rosh Yeshiva went out to release the blockage using a makeshift tool. On one occasion he tried to explain to the Arab worker that the sidewalk corner was not laid properly and as a result water may enter the building. At a certain point the Rosh Yeshiva elected to fix the problem himself while still clad in his Rabbinic garb. HaRav Bina was a man of such integrity that no one received any preferential treatment. One of his students related years later that his father and Rav Bina were good friends from their days in Mir. However, when the young man was suspected of cheating, HaRav Bina did not hesitate to send him home demanding that he return together with his father. Another student, the son of a well-known public figure, attended a Bnei Akiva activity without permission - he too was sent home. Suspending a child would at times have serious effects on the budget - if it involved the son of a public figure who had the power to rescind monies allocated for the Yeshiva. This had no effect on HaRav Bina's decision. HaRav Bina boasted that his mussar sichot were better than those delivered by the famed Mashgiach HaRav Yerucham Levovitz. Why? For the simple reason that HaRav Bina would carefully study HaRav Yerucham's sichot, choose the most appropriate among them, and add to them. His sichot mussar often included sharp words of rebuke, yet he always waited until the customary time for the sicha - Motzaei Shabbat - before speaking his often sharp YNA Newsletter 4 of 12 words. HaRav Meir Tauber relates that Rav Bina viewed his Yeshiva as a mussar Yeshiva placing great demands. He wanted his Yeshiva to be an outgrowth of the Mir Yeshiva where they educate to greatness in Torah - just as in Mir there was totality in learning and mussar. His relationship with his students was one of love on the one hand and toughness on the other. HaRav Re"em speaks in the same breath about Rav Bina's love for his students on the one hand, and their trembling at the sight of him on the other. HaRav Stefansky relates that when the students would hear that HaRav Bina left his house en route to the Yeshiva, still a few hundred meters away, the atmosphere would immediately change. HaRav Mordechai Sternberg, who learned in HaRav Bina's shiur (Rav Bina was a Ra"m in addition to being RoshYeshiva) relates HaRav Bina was not close and informal with his students, yet at the same time was not distant - he remained easygoing and unassuming. HaRav Chaim Sabato describes the discipline of the Mussar Yeshivot of Europe to which the Rosh Yeshiva always remained strongly connected along with the love he showed for his students, at times showing signs of youthful mischief. He was a man of great stature yet shared a common language with his students. HaRav Grossberg relates that one evening he arrived in the Yeshiva and found it empty - they all decided to hold a kumzitz at Mount Herzl. HaRav Grossberg decided to rebuke them for having left Yeshiva. Upon arriving at Mount Herzl he began speaking at which point the students all burst out laughing for a very simple reason, the Rosh Yeshiva was seated among them. HaRav Bina maintained good relations with his Rabbanim. HaRav Grossberg relates that HaRav Bina did not act as a ruler and in general gave the Ram"im a free hand. He would never insist that they accept his view, yet due to his stature the Ra"amim and students generally conceded to his opinions. HaRav Grossberg relates that HaRav Bina's multi-faceted approach was beneficial for the students. He would never pressure any student to attend or particular Yeshiva, or for that matter attend Yeshiva at all. He may have identified with the Religious Zionist movement (he was often seen at the Yom Ha'Atzmaut parade wearing his Lithuanian-style kippa), yet he would never stand in the way of anyone wishing to attend a Haredi Yeshiva. HaRav Sternberg, for example, spent time learning in the Knesset Chizkiyahu Yeshiva in Kfar Chassidim before moving on to Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav. He said that HaRav Bina never steered him towards a Haredi Yeshiva while at the same time did not prevent him from studying in one.