VOLUME 8 NO. 2 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • MARCH 2002

www.yu.edu/news/publications

YUToday

Operation Torah Shield II repeats history

INS

IDE

On January 13, 200 Ye-shiva University stu-dents embarked on a

weeklong solidarity mission toIsrael, Operation Torah ShieldII. The program, created anddesigned by students, aimed touplift Israelis and lend supportto victims of terror.

Operation Torah Shield II isa sequel to Torah Shield I,which took place January14–28, 1991, during the GulfWar. Torah Shield I took 400students to Israel to demon-strate support for the countrydespite the US State Depart-ment’s advisory to avoid travelto the region.

Participants in Torah ShieldII met with Israelis who havebeen victims of terror, and at-tended lectures and seminarson Israel’s history, culture, and

sites. Students visited cancerpatients, took a tour of Jeru-salem’s Old City, and traveledto a kibbutz.

Student executive com-mittee member YehudaShmidman said, “While visit-ing communities, participantstook every possible opportuni-ty to meet with families, chil-dren, and soldiers to offerencouragement.”

The mission featured aunique component: the Tour-ism Ambassador Training Pro-gram. The Israel Ministry ofTourism appointed studentsofficial Tourism Ambassadorsof the State of Israel and theywill attend continuing train-ing sessions offered by theMinistry in the US.

Additionally, students willbe speaking in more than

1,000 venues across the coun-try including synagogues,community centers, and con-ferences, to promote tourismto Israel.

Student committee memberJoshua Kramer said, “Our mis-sion has not ended now thatwe have returned. In fact, ourreal work has just begun.”

They also visited more than20 yeshivot and seminariesacross the country to studywith students currently en-rolled in YU’s S. Daniel Abra-ham Israel Program.

Throughout the mission,several RIETS roshei yeshivajoined the group to lectureand participate in activities.They included Rabbi MeirGoldwicht, Joel and MariaFinkle Visiting Israeli Rosh

The Wilf family ofHillside, NJ, has made anew gift to Yeshiva Un-

iversity of $10 million, chieflyto underwrite major enhance-ments to its main campus inthe Washington Heights sec-tion of Manhattan.

In gratitude for the family’sextraordinary generosity, thecampus has been named the Wilf Campus of YeshivaUniversity.

Eight million dollars of thegift will, over the next fewyears, provide a facelift for theseven city blocks of the up-town campus, while the balance of the gift will con-tinue the family’s support of the Wilf Distinguished Un-dergraduate Scholarship Fundat YU.

The campus enhancementswill greatly improve the quali-ty of campus life and the over-

all academic experience of stu-dents. The Wilf Campus ishome to 3,000 students andmore than 1,000 faculty andstaff.

Key elements of the beauti-fication plan include alter-ations in the Tenzer Gardensarea adjacent to Belfer Hall;installation of a signaturesculpture identifying the cam-pus and new functional land-scaping of the lawn in front ofthe Max Stern Athletic Center;dramatic redesign and land-scaping of the southeasternentrance to the campus onAmsterdam Avenue; and in-stallation of new lighting postsand placement of new bannersthroughout the campus. Muchof the work may requireapproval by city government.

“I cannot overstate the im-portance of the Wilf family’s

Main Campus namedfor Wilf family

Israel President Moshe Katsavand Herbert Smilowitz, vicechairman of the Board of

Trustees of Rabbi IsaacElchanan Theological Sem-inary (RIETS), will be honoredat RIETS’ Chag HaSemikhahconvocation on Sunday,March 10.

The Chag HaSemikhah ceremony, which takes placesevery four years, will celebratethe ordination of 147 RIETSstudents.

This year’s event will alsomark the culmination of RabbiNorman Lamm’s quarter cen-tury as president of RIETS and

of Yeshiva University.Mr. Smilowitz has been a

consistent supporter of out-reach services through theMax Stern Division of Com-munal Services at RIETS. Heand his wife Marilyn recently made a new Guardian-level

President of Israel at RIETS Chag HaSemikhah–March 10

Dr. Carole Silver, longtime profes-sor of English at Stern College forWomen, reflects on the sweepingchanges at SCW during hertenure and discusses her passionfor teaching and writing.

You’ve been at Stern for awhile. How long has thisbeen your home?

It’s been thirty-three years,but as I said to PresidentLamm, I started when I wasten. I was chairman of the University’s Humanities Divi-sion from the late 1980s untilthe fall semester of 2001.

Earlier, while getting mydoctorate at Columbia, Itaught at Hunter and VassarColleges. I’ve also taught inthe graduate English depart-ment at New York University.

What changes have youseen during this time?

Stern has more than dou-bled in size and courses andstudents have become moresophisticated.

The number of courses wehave taught over the years hasliterally tripled (I’ve taughtabout forty different courses); we’re always working in new areas, trying to keep up with

Carole Silver: Looking back, looking forward

CAROLE SILVER

continued on p. 4

continued on p. 4 continued on p. 8

continued on p. 6

Faculty Profile

HYPE

Sam Hartstein:“The Voice of Yeshiva University”page 3

HOPE

Dr. Lamm goes theextra mile for MikeyButler graduationpage 5

HOOP

Jonny Halpert:Coach of “TeamTorah Umadda”page 11

2 YUToday March 2002

Dr. J. David Bleich, Herbert and

Florence Tenzer Professor of Jewish

Law and Ethics, CSL, authored

“Clergy Privilege and Conscientious

Objection to the Privilege,” Law

and Religion: Current Legal Issues,

vol. 4, “Genetic Engineering,”

HaMaariv, September 2001, and

“Use of Surveillance Systems on

Shabbat, Use of Contact Lenses on

Shabbat,” Tradition. Also, he was a

scholar in residence at Cong. Etz

Chaim, Livingston, NJ.

Dr. Louis Feldman, Abraham Wouk

Family Professor of Classics and Lit-

erature, wrote articles that ap-

peared in The Cambridge History of

Judaism; Jewish Quarterly Review;

Reinterpreting Revelation and

Tradition: Jews and Christians in

Conversation; Where We Stand:

Issues and Debates in Ancient

Judaism; Dictionary of Biblical

Interpretation; and Biblical Arch-

aeology Review. He delivered lec-

tures at the Colloquium on the

Antiquities of Flavius Josephus; the

Sorbonne in Paris; and the Society

of Biblical Literature, Denver.

Cantor Sherwood Goffin, coordi-

nator of outreach programs, BSJM,

lectured at Young Israel of Hollis-

wood on “The Music of Duchenen.”

He lectured at Young Israel of

Woodmere on “The Missinai Tunes—

The Sacred Melodies of the Yomim

Noroim.”

Dr. Jeffrey S. Gurock, Libby M.

Klaperman Professor of Jewish His-

tory, participated in a conference to

celebrate the inauguration of the

Center for Jewish History as a major

resource in Jewish studies. He spoke

on “American Jewish History: Per-

sonal and Professional Reflections

on a Discipline’s Path Towards

Scholarly Acceptance.”

Dr. Meir Havazelet, professor of

Bible, published “Unknown Cus-

toms of Hospitality and Protec-

tion,” Saadia’s Commentary and

Yemenite Midrashim, Bait Mikrah,

August 1962. He authored “The

Yemenite Midrashim as Historical

and Cultural Source,” Hebrew Lan-

guage and Jewish Studies, Jerusalem,

2000. Dr. Havazelet is an editorial

member of Tema World Center of

Yemenite Scholarship.

Rabbi Robert S. Hirt, assistant to

the president, RIETS, has been

appointed vice chairman, Conti-

nental Council for Day School Edu-

cation, being launched by the

United Jewish Communities and

the Jewish Educational Service of

North America (JESNA). He spoke at

the General Assembly of the United

Jewish Communities in November

on “Visions of Judaism in the

21st/58th Century—Where are We

Headed?”

Dr. Norman Lamm, YU president,

delivered the Harav Lord Jakobovits

Annual Memorial Lecture last

November at the Hendon United

Synagogue in London. He spoke on

“Jewish Leadership in Times of

Crisis: Duties and Dilemmas.” Also,

he led a session of world religious

leaders at the World Economic

Forum, the elite gathering recently

held in NYC. The religious leaders

were charged with developing rec-

ommendations of religious contri-

butions to setting priorities for the

globalization agenda.

Dr. Michelle Levine, assistant pro-

fessor of Bible, participated in the

Annual Association for Jewish Stu-

dies Conference, Washington, D.C.,

where she presented a paper, “The

Inner World of Biblical Character

Explored in Nahmanides’ Com-

mentary on Genesis.”

Prof. Edith Lubetski, SCW head

librarian, presided over a session on

the Pentateuch at the Society of

Biblical Literature 2001 Interna-

tional Meeting.

Daniel Pollack, WSSW assistant

professor, was interviewed by BBC

Radio about a Sixth Circuit Court of

Appeals ruling in the case of

Wilkinson v. Flagner. Prison officials

cut off a prisoner’s beard despite his

protests of First Amendment reli-

gious protection, and the Court

ruled that he has the right to sue.

Dr. David A. Rettinger, assistant

professor of psychology, was a

member of a five-psychologist

research team from across the US

that tested 167 participants on a

variety of tasks to discern the rela-

tionships among spatial abilities,

visuospatial working memory, and

executive functioning. Their results

appeared in the December issue of

the Journal of Experimental Psy-

chology—General, published by the

American Psychological Association.

Rabbi Bernard Rosensweig, ad-

junct professor of Jewish history,

delivered a paper at the 13th World

Congress for Jewish Studies in Jeru-

salem on “The Moral Status of the

Jews in Ashkenaz in the Aftermath

of the Black Death.” He wrote the

historical introduction to the schol-

arly edition of the Responsa of Rabbi

Jacob Weil, published by Machon

Jerusalem in Jerusalem. He was

scholar-in-residence at the Homo-

wack Hotel in Spring Glen, NY, dur-

ing Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot.

Dr. Alvin I. Schiff, Irving I. Stone

Distinguished Professor of Jewish

Education, AGS, spoke on “Biblical

and Exegetical Insights into Ancient

and Modern Travel.” He also lec-

tured on “Educational Implications

of the Reactions to the Twin Tower

Tragedy,” Cong. Torah Ohr, Boca Raton.

Prof. Peninnah Schram, associate

professor of speech and drama,

presented a talk on “The Jewish

Oral Tradition and Rhetorical

Theory,” Florida Atlantic University,

Boca Raton.

Rabbi Moses D. Tendler, Rabbi

Isaac and Bella Tendler Professor of

Jewish Medical Ethics, spoke on

“Bioterrorism: Anthrax is Not the

Real Assassin” in November.

Dr. Manfred Weidhorn, Abraham

S. and Irene Guterman Professor of

English Literature, authored “An

Early Modern ‘Failure of Nerve’,”

Colloquium: Essays in Literature and

Belief; “The Great Paradigm Shift,”

Journal of Thought, fall 2001; and

“Landmines of the Mind,” Michigan

Quarterly Review, fall 2001.

Dr. Walter S. Wurzburger, adjunct

professor of philosophy, was schol-

ar-in-residence at Cong. Shaar

Hashomayim, Montreal. He lec-

tured on “What is Unique in Jewish

Ethics?—Particularism or Universal-

ism?” and on “Is There a Problem

of Evil?”

Dr. Joshua Zimmerman, occupant,

Eli and Diana Zborowski Profes-

sional Chair in Interdisciplinary

Holocaust Studies, BRGS, presented

a reading of his chapter, “The

Attitude of the Bund to Polish

Independence, 1897–1905,” at the

Center for Jewish History. The event

was sponsored by the Yivo Institute

as part of a book party in honor of

the publication Jewish Politics in

Eastern Europe: The Bund at 100.

P E O P L E CSL Board of Directors Chairman

Earle I. Mack announced that fellow

Board member Eric M. Javits has

assumed his duties as ambassa-

dor and US representative to

the Disarmament Conference in

Geneva. He was appointed by

President Bush.

In December, 49 Marsha SternTalmudical Academy studentstraveled to Washington, D.C. as

part of their senior seminar course

for a weekend that focused on

achdut (unity). The high school stu-

dents visited the Senate where they

met with NY Senator Hillary

Clinton, Israel’s Embassy, the US

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

Robert M. Beren, ChairmanYU Board of Trustees

Dr. Norman LammPresident

Peter L. FerraraDirector of Communications and Public Affairs

Jay Schottenstein, Chairman, Board of Directors,Yeshiva College; Marjorie DienerBlenden, Chairman, Board of Directors, Stern College for Women; Bernard L. Madoff, Chairman, Board of Directors, Sy Syms School of Business; Robert A.Belfer, Chairperson, Board of Overseers, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; EarleI. Mack, Chairman, Board of Directors, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law;David I. Schachne, Chair, Board of Governors, Wurzweiler School of Social Work;Mordecai D. Katz, Chairman, Board of Directors, Bernard Revel Graduate Schoolof Jewish Studies; Jayne G. Beker, Chair, Board of Governors, Ferkauf GraduateSchool of Psychology; Moshael J. Straus, Chairman, Board of Directors, AzrieliGraduate School of Jewish Education and Administration; Julius Berman,Chairman, Board of Trustees, (affiliate) Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Semi-nary; Erica Jesselson, Chairperson, Board of Directors, (affiliate) Yeshiva UniversityMuseum.

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY TODAY

Hedy ShulmanManaging Editor

June GlazerEditor

Doug DayhoffGraphic Designer

Jerry Bergman, Kelly Berman, Adam Cohen, Esther Finkle, Michelle Fogel, Norman Goldberg, Peter Robertson

Contributors

www.yu.edu/news/publications

Yeshiva University Today is published monthly during the academic year by theYeshiva University Department of Communications and Public Affiars, 401 FurstHall, 500 West 185th St., New York, NY 10033-3201 (212-960-5285). It is dis-tributed free on campus to faculty, staff, and students. © Yeshiva University 2002

YUTodayV O L U M E 8 • N U M B E R 2

In December, YeshivaCollege alumnus Dr.Ephraim Kanarfogel re-

ceived the YC Alumni Assoc-iation Samuel Belkin LiteraryAward for his second book,Peering Through the Lattices:Mystical, Magical and PietisticDimensions in the TosafistPeriod.

A widely recognized auth-ority in the areas of medievalintellectual history and rab-binic literature, he is the E.Billi Ivry Professor of Jewish

Studies and chairman of theRebecca Ivry Department ofJewish Studies at Stern Collegefor Women. In 1992 he re-ceived the award for his firstbook, Jewish Education andSociety in the High Middle Ages,and is the only author thus farto receive the honor twice.

At the annual Yeshiva Un-iversity Alumni Awards Cere-mony, held at GeraldineSchottenstein Cultural Centerat the Midtown Campus, Dr.Kanarfogel noted wryly thathe has spent his entire adultand professional life at YeshivaUniversity. He also noted—seriously—that he believes abook like his could only have

been written by a YeshivaCollege or Stern College forWomen graduate.

“Having studied at Yeshivawith my rebbeim and teachersin all fields, it became clear tome” that one should “expectthe unexpected” when itcomes to people at YU, hesaid. “Though they were im-mersed in Torah study, theyoften had interests that werevery different.”

His book demonstrates thatmany tosafists (legal experts inthe Middle Ages) were in-volved in mystical and magi-cal doctrines.

Other YC awardees wereSam Hartstein ’43, for Pro-

fessional Achievement; RabbiChaim Brovender ’62, forReligion and Religious Ed-ucation; and Rabbi YechielEckstein ’73, for CommunityService Leadership.

SCW Samuel Belkin Mem-orial Award recipients wereElisheva Benovitz Kaminetsky’91, for Jewish Education;Barbara Cooper Radinsky ’65,for Community Relations; andDr. Jessica Wernick Grant ’62S,for professional achievement.

Judith Krotki Putterman,’71, received the NormanLamm Business LeadershipAward from Sy Syms School ofBusiness.

Dr. Kanarfogel amongalumni awardees

FA C U LT Y N E W S

continued on p. 4

“When you come to a fork inthe road, take it.”

—YOGI BERRA

Somehow, Yogi Berra’sloopy advice to make adecision and stick to it

makes perfect sense when re-flecting on the life of SamHartstein.

Mr. Hartstein came to a forkin the road in 1943, the yearhe graduated from YeshivaCollege. While his mentorspressed him to study for therabbinate at RIETS, his hearttold him to pursue a career injournalism, a childhood dream.He chose the latter.

As fate would have it, thispath would also keep himclosely tied to the Yeshivacommunity. Indeed, he wouldspend his entire career at YU asdirector of public relations,getting the University’s mes-sage out to the world.

From the Lower East SideSam Hartstein was born in

1921 on Manhattan’s LowerEast Side, the second child ofNathan and Lea (Harris) Hart-stein, a tailor and a housewife,recent émigrés from EasternEurope.

“My parents spoke Yid-dish,” he says, “but in orderfor us to become Ameri-canized, they encouraged mybrothers and me to speak Eng-lish. They wanted us to fit in.”

The Hartstein kids were alsoencouraged to get an educa-tion and, one by one, theyfound their way to YeshivaCollege.

The eldest brother, Jacob,was a member of YC’s firstgraduating class. Next wasSam, who enrolled at Boys’High School in 1935, and atthe Teachers Institute for Men(forerunner of the Isaac BreuerCollege of Hebraic Studies),and finally at YC.

All the while, Sam worked.“I was earning money by theage of sixteen, one way oranother,” he says, fiddlingwith his ever-present cigar. “Idid tutoring, preparing kids forbar mitzvah. I worked in thepost office Christmas and NewYear’s. I was also a bellhop, acamp counselor, and foreleven years head counselor ata number of Jewish sleep-awaycamps.”

Most notably, he was a col-lege correspondent for TheNew York Times, one of onlytwo at the time. (The otherwas Abe Rosenthal, who wenton to a long and distinguished

career at the paper.) He would also serve the

“Gray Lady” as a news clerk,working the graveyard shiftalongside some of the greats ofjournalism. The night editorscame to value his extensiveknowledge of Jewish life andJudaism, giving them a deeperperspective on the horribleevents unfolding in Europeduring the early ‘40s.

The only drawback to hisstint at the paper was that itoften made him late to morn-ing classes. This did not pleasehis rebbe, who once com-plained to Dr. Belkin.

But the young man, feetfirmly planted in both worlds,thrived. He even found time toplay on the YC basketballteam, eventually rising toteam captain, all the moreremarkable considering he isbarely 5'4".

“Put it in the paper”Then came an event that

would change his life.The occasion was Dr.

Samuel Belkin’s election aspresident of the College in1943. Yeshiva officials, awareof Mr. Hartstein’s ties to TheTimes, asked him if he could“put it in the paper.” He did.

Subsequent requests forpublicity were also handledwith success, and the adminis-tration eventually invited himto establish a publicity depart-ment at the College. Fouryears later, he was hired fulltime at a salary of $3,000 ayear.

Over the years, he publi-cized and chronicled a bewil-dering array of events andmilestones at Yeshiva, fromcelebrations to groundbreak-ings to literary symposia tohonorary doctorates.

He is particularly proud ofhis work related to the cre-ation of the University and thefounding of the medicalschool, Stern College forWomen, and the law school.

“The best part is that I’veseen all of them thrive,” saysMr. Hartstein, who has beencalled “the voice of YeshivaUniversity.”

His own department thrivedas well. In his 51 years at thehelm, the department evolvedfrom a one-man show into amultifaceted media and devel-opment operation, earninghim numerous industry hon-ors and the respect of hisemployees (although at timeshe could be a gruff, demand-ing boss.)

His term of service isbelieved to be the longest ofany public relations profes-sional at a university or Jewishorganization in America.

“When I started, every timeI called a newspaper I had tospell out the name Yeshiva,”he says. “The word ‘yeshiva’was an alien term in Americansociety. I do hope we haveovercome this handicap.”

The changes he witnessedduring his tenure at YU areastonishing. Enrollment grewfrom 850 to 7,000, the facultyfrom 94 to 1,092, the budgetfrom $444,000 to $315 mil-lion, and the physical plantfrom a single building inWashington Heights to fourmajor campuses, including af-filiates in Jerusalem and, untilrecently, Los Angeles.

But Mr. Hartstein, who haslived in Washington Heightssince 1935, is more impressedby what hasn’t changed.

“What is amazing about myexperiences here is how somany things have remainedconstant. For example, a com-mitment to Torah study, aswell the commitment to out-reach,” he says.

He knows of what hespeaks. Just after World War II,Mr. Hartstein studied Yiddishso that he could converse withEuropean refugees who cameto YU as students and faculty.And he reached out to helpmany students and employeesin the years since.

Meetings with remark-able men—and women

By staying at Yeshiva allthose years, Sam Hartstein did-n’t go out into the world; in-stead, the world came to him.

Over the years, a bewilder-

ing number of internationalfigures have come to YU todeliver lectures and to acceptawards and honors.

As head of public relations,Mr. Hartstein was fortunate tomeet most of them, includingPresidents Kennedy, Johnson,Nixon, Reagan, and Bush (theelder), David Ben Gurion,Bernard Baruch, Golda Meir,Earl Warren, and AlbertEinstein, to name a few.

Mention of the great physi-cist evokes one of Mr. Hart-stein’s fondest memories. “Imet Einstein several times,” herecalls. “One of those meet-ings, we brought a number ofour outstanding studentsdown to Princeton. One of thepeople with us was Dr. Ben-jamin Fine, who was going tointerview Einstein for TheTimes.

“When Dr. Fine askedEinstein for his opinion onhow mathematics is taught inschools, he replied, ‘I don’tknow,’ and that others knewmore about the subject thanhe did.

“It left a lifelong impressionon me. The other person ofgreat stature to react similarlywas the late Rav while beinginterviewed by a Life magazinereporter for a special issue onJudaism.”

From Revel to Belkin toLamm to…

Mr. Hartstein, now 80, alsohad the good fortune to knowall three Yeshiva presidents.“Remarkable people, outstand-ing scholars,” he says.

“Each one of them broughtto the job a special skill andtalent. And each one had thecourage of his convictions andwas forced to make very diffi-

cult decisions, which I’m notsure just anybody could havemade.”

Does he worry, then, aboutwho will succeed Dr. NormanLamm? “No, I don’t,” he says.“One of the advantages of get-ting older is that you worryless about certain things, andthis is one of them. There’snothing I can do about it. It’sup to the current presidentand the board.”

Mr. Hartstein “retired” in1994 at the age of 72. But hisdefinition of the word differsfrom most. He still reports reg-ularly to his old office, nowcalled the Department ofCommunications and PublicAffairs, where he handles avariety of projects.

“I retired in ‘94,” he insists.“It’s a difference of day andnight. I don’t live by the clock.I don’t have the administrativeheadaches or the meetings—they kill more time than any-thing.”

That same year, he was therecipient of two of Yeshiva’stop honors, an honoraryDoctor of Humane Lettersfrom the University and aLifetime Achievement Awardfrom the College.

“I have been blessed”Mr. Hartstein once said that

“YU is the greatest Jewishachievement on Americansoil. It has remained true to itsideals and has never lost sightof it major mission. I amproud that I have been blessedto have played a role in thisenterprise.”

Many would say that theYeshiva has been blessedbecause Sam Hartstein playeda role in the life of theUniversity.

Living History In this issue, YU Today inaugurates a series of profiles of YU faculty and staff who have spenta lifetime at the University, becoming invaluable threads in the tapestry that is YU. The firstsubject is Sam Hartstein, the first director of public relations, who has been associated with theinstitution for 66 years.

Sam Hartstein: ‘The Voice of Yeshiva University’

March 2002 YUToday 3

Holocaust Memorial Museum, and

Hillel houses at George Washington

University and University of

Maryland.

The following MSTA students have

been signified as commended stu-

dents in the 2002 National Merit

Scholarship Program: AvrahamAlbelda, Oren Epstein, SamuelFlaks, Asher Fredman, MichaelGordon, David Karnarfogel,Michael Lauer, Steven Rosen-bloom, Avi Strauss, and MichaelStrongin.

During Thanksgiving week, the

Association of Modern OrthodoxDay Schools and Yeshiva High

Schools (AMODS), under the aus-

pices of the Max Stern Division of

Communal Services, cosponsored a

principals’ seminar in Israel with the

Jewish Agency for Israel and the

New York Board of Jewish Educa-

tion. Dr. Jeremiah Unterman,AMODS director, and some 20

principals from the US and Canada,

joined together with 20 principals

of Israeli State religious schools in

Jerusalem to discuss methods of

making Jewish studies relevant to

American students in a changing

world. The principals also began

planning “twinning” projects

between schools in Israel and North

America.

Condolences toi

Dorothy Berman, vice chairman,

SCW Board of Directors who is a YU

Guardian with husband Julius, a YU

Trustee and chairman of RIETS’

Board of Trustees, on the loss of her

mother, Lola Gewirtz.

Marvin Bienenfeld, Benefactor

and member, YU Board of Trustees

and the RIETS and YC boards, on

the loss of his sister Elaine Silver.

Debbie Gibber, YU Museum Board

member and YU Guardian with her

husband Elliot, a RIETS Board mem-

ber, on the loss of her father

Charles Goldner.

Dr. Elazar Hurvitz, professor of

biblical and Talmudic literature and

the Dr. Samuel Belkin Professor of

Judaic Studies at YC, on the loss of

his sister Sarah Hurvitz.

Anthony Kelly, President Lamm’s

driver, on the loss of his son Tyrin.

gift to RIETS as part of theRIETS Capital Campaign.

President Katsav will re-ceive an honorary doctor ofhumane letters degree at theceremony, beginning at 11 amin the Nathan Lamport Audi-torium of David H. ZysmanHall on the Wilf Campus.

“He is most deserving ofthis honor,” said Rabbi RobertS. Hirt, assistant to the presi-dent and occupant, RabbiSidney Shoham Chair in Rab-binic and Community Leader-ship.

“President Katsav is one ofIsrael’s most distinguished lead-ers and an observant Jew whois deeply committed to themission of RIETS. In addition,his selection reflects the his-toric connection between ourinstitution and Israel.”

An Iranian Jew, PresidentKatsav began his politicalcareer as mayor of the devel-opment town of KiryatMalachi at age 24. He has beena member of the Knesset since1977, holding various minis-terial positions.

Between June 1996 and July1999, he served as minister oftourism, deputy prime minis-ter, and minister in charge ofIsrael-Arab affairs.

Mr. Smilowitz will receivethe Eitz Chaim Award, thehighest honor RIETS can be-stow upon those who havemade outstanding contribu-tions to the institution and theJewish community.

“In his person, his life’sdedication, and his family, heis the finest example of theancient partnership betweenZevulun, the tribe of maritimeand business, and Yissachar,the tribe of learning,” saidRabbi Zevulun Charlop, Maxand Marion Grill Dean of RIETS.

Among his leadership affili-ations, Mr. Smilowitz is vicechairman of CongregationAhavas Achim B’nai Jacob andDavid in West Orange, NJ,president of the Jewish Ed-ucational Center of Elizabeth,and member of the board ofThe Union of Orthodox JewishCongregations.

He is the former chief exec-utive officer of Allied BuildingProducts, a wholesale distribu-tor of building materials thathe established with his fatherand brother in 1950.

The Chag HaSemikhah willbe of special personal signifi-cance to Mr. Smilowitz and hisfamily as his son, Mark, will beamong those receiving ordina-tion. His son-in-law, RabbiEliyahu Teitz, associate rabbiof the Jewish EducationalCenter of Elizabeth, NJ, is aRIETS musmakh (alumnus).

Yeshiva; Rabbi MordechaiWillig, Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth Professor of Talmud and Con-temporary Halakhah at RIETS;Rabbi Michael Rosensweig,Nathan and Perel SchupfProfessor of Talmud; and RabbiHarold Reichman.

Another facet of the mis-sion was Project Kesher. Priorto departure, students organ-ized drives in communities

throughout the East Coast tocollect items to be dispensedto Israelis.

Each student took a secondpiece of luggage filled with the donated food and sup-plies, which were distributedthroughout the week.

The mission was coordinat-ed by the Orthodox Unionand cosponsored by the IsraelMinistry of Tourism, the Con-ference of Presidents of MajorAmerican Jewish Organiza-tions, the World Zionist Or-

ganization, the Jewish Agencyfor Israel, and private donors.

Members of the studentcommittee were instrumentalin organizing the program,developing its itinerary, andsecuring financial support.

Student committee mem-ber Julie Pianko said, “We wentto Israel with one purpose inmind—to support Israel and topublicly share the messagethat the best way to demon-strate solidarity is to go there.”

Torah Shield II

continued from page 1

RIETS Chag HaSemikhah

continued from page 1

Dr. Mitchell Orlian, associate pro-

fessor of Bible, on the loss of his

mother Fanny.

Mareleyn Schneider, associate

professor of sociology, on the loss

of her sister Estelle.

Helen Stone, wife of the late Irving

I. Stone, a Benefactor and Trustee

of RIETS, on the loss of her son,

Ricky Sill.

Cantor Moshe Tessone, BSJM fac-

ulty member and director, Sephar-

dic Community Activities, on the

loss of his father-in-law Isaac Omid.

We Mourni

Anna Tulin Elyachar, a distin-

guished communal leader who

with her late husband, Colonel

Jehiel R. Elyachar, was a Benefactor.

Judye Hauryluck, former manager

of the Production department. Col-

leagues called her a warm-hearted,

hard-working woman who helped

many people in her department.

Goldie Levine, a member of the

SCW Board of Directors who was a

Master Builder with her husband

Seymour. Condolences to her chil-

dren, alumni Helen (Mrs. Jacob)

Berman, Rebecca (Dr. Charles)

Sprung, and Daniel E. (and

Rosalind) Levine.

Binyamin Peled, a former Jewish

Telegraphic Agency correspondent.

Born in New York, he graduated

from YU before emigrating to

Palestine in 1935. In addition to

JTA, Mr. Peled also worked for The

Palestine Post and a number of for-

eign wire services, covering the

1948 establishment of the State of

Israel and the country’s first

decades.

Howard M. Squadron, attorney

and former member of the CSL

Board of Directors who established

Cardozo’s Squadron Program in

Law, Media, and Society and who

played a significant role in strength-

ening the law school.

Bronka Weintraub, a member of

the Albert Einstein College of

Medicine Women’s Division and a

Benefactor with her late husband

Jacob. They supported medical re-

search and education programs at

Einstein.

Mazal tovi

Gladys (Dr. Julius) Cherny, ad-

ministrative assistant to President

Lamm, on the birth of grandson

Samuel Cherny.

Dr. Norman Linzer, occupant,

Samuel J. and Jean Sable Chair in

Jewish Family Social Work, WSSW,

and his wife Diane on the bat mitz-

vah of granddaughter Aderet Sara,

daughter of Moshe and Rebecca

Linzer, in Israel.

Dr. Meir Havazelet and his wife on

the birth of a grandson to their son

Ehud.

Dr. Ephraim Kanarfogel YH ‘73, YC ‘77, R ‘79, B ‘87, E. Billi

Ivry Professor of Jewish Studies and

Chairman, Rebecca Ivry Depart-

ment of Jewish Studies, and his wife

Dr. Devorah on the marriage of

daughter Tova SCW ‘02 to Yossi

Milgrom YC ‘02.

The Zucker Family on the birth of

a son to Erica Zucker, widow of

Andrew Zucker, a Cardozo Law

School alumnus who was killed in

the World Trade Center bombing,

may his memory live on.

Editor’s note: Mr. Rosenberg perished on September 11 in theWorld Trade Center tragedy.

1992 alumnus of Yeshiva University High School for Boys

Mark L. Rosenberg

Mark L. Rosenberg met his future wife, Jennifer, in 1995 on a seven-hour bus ride to Richmond, VA, for a Jewish youthprogram. He was trying to shine a flashlight on a book andturn the pages at the same time. She sat behind him, andfinally offered to hold the flashlight. He gratefully accepted. “I thought he was really cute,” said Mrs. Rosenberg, who recalled being smitten by his green-blue eyes and smile.

Mr. Rosenberg, 26, a software developer for Marsh &McLennan, was no stranger to buses, or subways, for thatmatter. His friends called him “Mr. Public Transportation”because he favored mass transit over driving because of concern for the environment. His wife recalls him hailing a cab only three times during their courtship and marriage.

Rosenberg also used to ride from his home in Teaneck, NJ, over the George Washington Bridge and down to CentralPark on Sunday mornings.

“He loved the city,” his wife said. “He never wanted to go anywhere else.”

(With permission of The New York Times)

Board Newsi

The following have been elected members of Yeshiva University

boards:

• Board of Trustees, Yeshiva University: Dr. Jayne G. Beker, Marjorie

Diener Blenden

• Board of Overseers, Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Neil A.

Clark, Dr. Roger Duvivier, Michael F. Price

• Board of Directors, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law: Hon.

Sandra J. Feuerstein, Morris Goldfarb, Terence A. Todman, Jr.

• Board of Directors, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish

Studies: I. Lewis Gordon

• Board of Directors, Yeshiva College: Joshua Annenberg

• Board of Directors, Stern College for Women: Joan Jakubovitz,

Doris Travis

• Board of Directors, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education

and Administration: Julius Berman, David E. Miller

4 YUToday March 2002

P E O P L Econtinued from page 2

Many people associatecommunity serviceexclusively with hos-

pital visits, giving charity tothose in need, and working in soup kitchens.

But for Mordechai Raskas, aYeshiva College sophomoreand Distinguished Scholar, theultimate act of communityservice means using his car-pentry skills for projects likebuilding an aron (holy ark)when his school needed one,or constructing houses forlow-income families.

Mr. Raskas, a St. Louis na-tive, came to YU this year afterspending two years studyingin Israel. He first learned basicwoodworking skills from anolder brother, who wantedthem to share something incommon despite an 18-yearage difference.

The initial exposure to wood-

working interested Mr. Raskasand he began to develop thoseskills, creating bowls, mallets,and signs by “woodturning,” aprocess of shaping wood intoforms on a lathe.

“My goal in life is not to bea carpenter, but I love usingmy woodworking skills as ahobby to create things thatpeople will appreciate and thatwill help them,” Mr. Raskassaid.

By the time he was in highschool, Mr. Raskas had alreadyset up a woodworking work-shop in his house, and hadspent a summer at Camp Mor-asha, a summer sleepawaycamp in Pennsylvania, build-ing a gazebo.

When he found out hisschool was planning to dedi-cate a new Torah, but wasusing a bimah (pulpit) in disre-pair, Mr. Raskas jumped at the

chance to put his skills to use. Over the course of four

months, he and a friend putapproximately 150 hours intobuilding a new bimah, aron,and shtender (lectern) for hisschool, which are still in use.

“Building the aron was def-initely the most satisfying ofall my woodworking projectsbecause it has such a specialand holy purpose,” he said.

“Every time I return home,I go to pray at my old highschool at least once. When Isee the aron, I am alwaysreminded of the experienceand fun [we] had building it.”

The following year, Mr.Raskas took his carpentry skillsand passion for communityservice to a new level. He vol-unteered at Habitat for Hu-manity, a worldwide organiza-tion that builds affordablehousing for underprivileged

families, helping to constructhouses for local families inneed of adequate shelter.

“There is really a sense ofservice and community know-ing that you are building uppoor neighborhoods and help-ing to rejuvenate them,” henoted.

“Some people actually livein the houses while they arebeing finished, and it means alot to them that you are build-ing a home for them.”

Mr. Raskas recently re-turned from a mission to Israelsponsored by Bnei Akiva, a

religious-Zionist youth move-ment in US and Canada,where he volunteered on anarmy base building a club-house for soldiers and repair-ing tanks. He is consideringmajoring in the sciences, al-though he has an interest inarchitecture, as well.

“I have always dreamedabout what it would be like tomove to pre-1948 Israel, culti-vate the land, and build thefirst modern structures,” heremarked. “Building houses inIsrael would in a sense be ful-filling this dream.”

Mordechai Raskas:Working with wood to help hisfellow man

Student Profile

Mr. Raskas’ gazebo at Camp Morasha.

When President Nor-man Lamm foundout that Mikey But-

ler, then a senior at YeshivaCollege, wasn’t well enough toleave his home in Pittsburghto sign up for the springsemester, he did somethingunheard of: he took Yeshiva

University to him.Mr. Butler, a popular and

active student who suffersfrom cystic fibrosis, spent mostof last semester hospitalizedand was advised by his doctorsnot to register for this term.Recognizing that the coursesMr. Butler was going to take

were additional credits overand above his degree require-ments, President Lamm sawno reason why the studentcouldn’t graduate then andthere.

Within 72 hours, he con-tacted the young man’s family,arranged a surprise graduationceremony at the city’s airport,and flew to Pittsburgh to con-fer the degree on Mr. Butlerhimself.

“I thought it was just goingto be a bikur cholim, a ‘get well’visit, from Dr. Lamm. In fact, Iwas worried he had come forprecisely the opposite rea-son—to tell me I had to dropout of this semester,” said Mr.Butler, who was vice presidentof Yeshiva College StudentCouncil in his final year.

President Lamm, mean-while, arranged to use Pitts-burgh Airport’s executive

boardroom for the ceremonyas he could only be on theground for 90 minutes, andMr. Butler’s parents gatheredtogether friends and family,some of whom came from asfar away as Detroit and NewYork City.

“I was extremely over-whelmed when I walked intothe room and saw all the grad-uation decorations and allthese people there. There wereeven friends who hadn’t beenable to travel to Pittsburgh tovisit me before,” he recalled.

It was the first time in his25 years as president that Dr.Lamm had personally givenout a degree, but it was anhonor he thought befitting astudent of Mr. Butler’s enthusi-asm and hard work.

“He is one of the most out-standing young men I haveever met. He never let hishealth become a handicap. Hecame along heroically,” saidDr. Lamm.

“It was one of the most

awesome experiences of mylife, especially at this point,now that my health has takena turn for the worse. I keep onthinking ‘Thank God I don’thave to sit for finals!’”

Receiving his bachelor ofarts degree was the culmina-tion of years of determinationfor the fifth-year senior, whowas rarely on campus for morethan four to six weeks in a row,frequently faxing and email-ing papers and tests from hishospital bed and keeping upwith his many extracurricularresponsibilities.

Mikey Butler’s special grad-uation was a fitting way for theUniversity to pay tribute to adedicated student.

Editor’s note: As we went topress, Mikey Butler underwent asuccessful lung transplant. Ourthoughts and prayers are withhim and his family during thisdifficult time.

Dr. Lamm goes the extra mile forMikey Butler’s graduation

It was Hanukkah, and nearing the end of the term. There were papers to be writ-ten and finals for which to study. But that didn’t stop a group of YeshivaUniversity students from driving six hours each way to see the newly-graduated

Mikey Butler, recuperating at home in Pittsburgh.“We were planning on going out to visit him anyway, but we realized we

should do it sooner because he was quite ill,” said Michael Davis, a senior at SySyms School of Business and president of its Student Council.

Together with Lou Shapp, president of Yeshiva College Student Council, and

Elana Soleimani, president of Stern College for Women Student Council, Mr. Davisgathered a crowd of Mr. Butler’s friends for the trip. “They were willing to pay forit with Student Council money, but Rabbi David Himber, dean of student affairs,decided his office would pay,” explained Avi Rosman, coordinator of student serv-ices, who accompanied the students on the trip.

“We left New York City at five thirty in the morning, arrived in Pittsburgh ataround noon, and then left for the drive back at six in the evening. We only gothome after midnight, so it was a long day,” said Mr. Rosman.“The tone of the visitwasn’t focused on him being sick at all. We had a barbecue, lit the Hanukkah can-dles and sang Hanukkah songs. It was a regular hang-out party,” said Mr. Davis.

“The trip was so inspiring. It gave all who participated much chizuk (encour-agement). Mikey was just overwhelmed with joy,” said Mr. Shapp.

Students pay Mikey Butlera ‘get well’ visit

March 2002 YUToday 5

6 YUToday March 2002

Undergraduate membersof the 2001 graduatingclass have continued

YU’s tradition of impressiveadmission to medical schools,with an acceptance rate that isnearly double the nationalaverage.

For the academic year 2000–2001, approximately 66% ofYU applicants were accepted,compared to 36% nationwide.

According to a report re-leased by the Office of Pre-Health Advisement, 50 YU students applied to medicalschool last year—38 fromYeshiva College, 12 from Stern

College for Women; 34 wereaccepted—26 from YC, 8 fromSCW.

Medical schools at whichstudents were accepted in-clude YU’s Albert Einstein Col-lege of Medicine, Boston Univ-ersity, Columbia University,Mount Sinai School of Med-icine, Sackler School of Med-icine (Israel), SUNY/ Down-state, UMDNJ-New JerseyMedical, UMDNJ-Robert WoodJohnson, and Yale UniversitySchool of Medicine.

Osteopathic schools wereNY College of OsteopathicMedicine and Sackler.

Students who took theMCATs last spring continued afour-year trend of test im-provement, as well, the reportnoted. The average scores were8.1 in verbal reasoning and10.2 in the physical sciences.YU students also averaged 10.2on biological sciences.

Of the 16 students whoapplied to dental schools, 14were accepted—10 of the 12YC students and all 4 SCW stu-dents. Overall, this translatesinto a 94% acceptance rate ascompared to 80% last year.

Dental schools at whichstudents were accepted in-clude Boston University, Col-umbia, Harvard, NYU, PennState, UMDNJ, and Universityof Pennsylvania.

2001 medical school acceptances impressive

The New York Times story describing the shemirah performedby Stern College students at the NY Medical Examiner’ssite in “The Nation Challenged” section, has generated

extraordinary coverage in the international, national and localmedia.

The mitzvah (commandment) of shemirah stipulates that aJewish body must never be left unattended and someone muststay with the body from the time of death until burial.

Outlets ranging from the BBC to the Associated Press, theJerusalem Post to PBS, and newspapers around the nation ran TheTimes story or similar reports on this selfless act. The total read-ership of the coverage thus far exceeds 18,000,000 readers. Also,individuals from all walks of life have made contributions tofunds for victims of the World Trade Center tragedy in honor ofthe students’ prayer vigils.

In addition, numerous congregations in the northeast regionhave requested that the students speak at their synagogues aboutthis special mitzvah to inspire their congregants. Our studentshave performed a true kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God’sname) that reflects positively on the entire Jewish community.

It should be noted that many Yeshiva College and RIETS stu-dents also played an important role in performing shemirahimmediately after the tragedy occurred both during the work-week and throughout the High Holy Days. Their efforts were nothighlighted in the media but are no less significant and merito-rious. All the students continue to maintain their vigil.

continuing philanthropic sup-port,” said University presi-dent Dr. Norman Lamm. “The

benefits of this new gift will beevident to all those who studyand work on the Wilf Campus.”

Joseph Wilf and his latebrother, Harry, founded Gar-den Homes Management, oneof the New York-New Jerseyarea’s foremost real estatedevelopment building andmanagement firms.

The family, which has sup-

ported Yeshiva University formany years, made its firstBenefactor-level ($1 million ormore) contribution 11 yearsago, when it established amajor scholarship fund for

financially needy and deserv-ing students of the threeundergraduate schools.

More recently, Joseph andhis nephew, Leonard Wilf,gave $2 million during theearly phase of the Campaignfor Yeshiva University to cre-ate a major scholarship pro-gram for undergraduate stu-dents at the highest level

of academic achievement—the Wilf Distinguished Un-dergraduate Scholarship Fund.This brings their total supportfor the Campaign to $12 mil-lion, making the Wilf familythe third largest Campaigndonor.

Joseph Wilf and LeonardWilf are chief executive officerand president respectively, ofGarden Homes. Joseph Wilf’ssons, Mark and Zygmunt, arealso principals of the firm andactive partners in the family’sphilanthropic activities.

Along with support forIsrael, Jewish education as thepathway to leadership in theJewish community has longbeen a top priority for the Wilffamily in their philanthropicendeavors.

“Jewish education is veryclose to our hearts,” saidJoseph, a YU trustee and amember of the Board ofDirectors of its Sy Syms Schoolof Business.

“Our concern is for the wel-fare of Yeshiva University andwe are enthusiastic about mak-ing the campus as attractiveand conducive to learning andstudying as possible.”

Wilf Campus named

continued from page 1

Leonard and Joseph Wilf

Seventy Faces: Articles of Faithby Dr. Norman Lamm, president, Yeshiva UniversityKTAV Publishing House, Inc.Hoboken, NJThis two-volume compendium includes 60 of Dr. Lamm’s most important “popular” articles, someof which were first delivered as lectures in various forums. The first volume includes chapters onModern Orthodoxy, faith, community, morality and the family, and education. The second vol-ume examines themes including Halakhah, holidays, the rabbinate, Israel and Zionism, and theHolocaust.

Halakhic Correspondence of Rabbi Joseph B. SoloveitchikEdited by Haym Soloveitchik, PhDMerkin Family Professor of Jewish History and Literature, BRGSDr. Soloveitchik has published a double-columned folio volume of some 325 pages. He and twoassociates worked eight years on the project. The book appeared in late August 2001 and is in itssecond printing.

Bookshelf

Stern College for Women saluted Dr. Norman Lamm for his25 years as president of YU and honored Jessica M.Bibliowicz, Susan Rosenblatt, and Daryl Roth as Women ofAchievement at its annual dinner at the Pierre. From left:appellate lawyer and SCW parent Ms. Rosenblatt, dinnerchair and YU trustee Ronnie Heyman, theatrical producerMs. Roth, and financial services executive Ms. Bibliowicz.

Yeshiva College honored Benefactors Harriet and Joshua L. Muss at its scholarship dinner at the New York MarriotBrooklyn. The event established the Harriet and Joshua L.Muss Scholarship Fund at YC. A record $1.1 million wasraised. From left: Dr. Lamm, Harriet and Joshua L. Muss,Mindy Lamm, and Ruth Muss.

Stern and YC annual dinners held

‘Shemirah’ story garners international coverage

Ask Elie Rosenblatt, aviolinist and senior atYeshiva College, about

his favorite kind of music, andhe’ll launch into an animateddiscussion about the evolutionof klezmer, a long-term interestand by no coincidence the topicof his senior honors thesis.

He is one of a select groupof students at Yeshiva Uni-versity pursuing their passionfor knowledge through the Jayand Jeanie SchottensteinHonors Program at YeshivaCollege and the S. DanielAbraham Honors Program atStern College for Women.

The senior research project,the culminating requirementof the honors programs, offersstudents the challenge of mas-tering a particular field.

“The honors program is aunique opportunity,” saysPhilip Green, a chemistrymajor whose senior researchtopic is “The Effects of Angle Strain on Transition Metal Carbene Alkyne Ben-zannulation.”

“You get smaller classes, thebest professors, and coursesthat add new and challengingdimensions to your degree.”

Dr. Will Lee, associate professor of English and actingdirector of the men’s honorsprogram, says the senior re-search project enhances theundergraduate academic envi-ronments of Yeshiva University.

“As the senior honors stu-dents grow more and moreinterested in their research,many naturally talk with theirfriends about it. In the spring,

many will present their ideasin a public forum. All studentshave more opportunities to seethe life of the mind at work,”he said.

This year, both programshave the highest number ofstudents completing seniorresearch projects since theirestablishment. About 16 wo-men and 12 men are hopingto submit research projects bythe end of this academic year.

“The senior project is theculmination of the honors stu-dents’ academic career,” saysDr. Cynthia Wachtell, assistantprofessor of English and direc-tor of the women’s honorsprogram.

“Although the project mightseem daunting at first, it ulti-mately becomes a source ofgreat pride.”

The senior research projectrequires students to applyselectively the methods, criti-cal thinking, and intellectualand communicative skills they

have been developing over thecourse of the program.

“You learn more about yoursubject when you have towrite about it,” explainsMichael Helfand, whose topicfor the research project is “TheJudaic Social Contract andSocial Contract Theory.”

Students writing researchprojects work with a facultymentor, who helps themdevelop as critical thinkers.

“I found it very beneficialworking with my mentor, Dr.Marcel Perlman, professor ofpsychology, as he is a practic-ing clinician and has a broadknowledge of the issues in hisfield,” says Lisa Helprin, whoseproject proposes that thereshould be a professional codeof conduct for the advertisingindustry in the United States.

Mr. Rosenblatt admits thatthe research project is toughbut adds, “It’s easy to underes-timate your potential. You cando more than you think.”

Schottenstein and Abraham honors programs honing minds

With a double cur-riculum, most un-dergraduate students

have little time to seriouslypursue an interest in the arts.

This is especially true at theWilf Campus, where the work-load is coupled with a prevail-ing expectation that youngmen enter professional careers,and so must prioritize theirtime accordingly.

While there are studentswho are talented and seriousabout art, to others it mayseem a frivolous pursuit, ac-cording to Shoshana Golin,adjunct associate professor ofart at Yeshiva College.

But, said the former SternCollege for Women art major,in reality art has a great deal tooffer students who might nothave given the discipline a sec-ond thought.

“The majority of studentsat YU come from a yeshiva dayschool background wheretheir exposure to art was mini-mal, so they may not knowthat there’s a way of interact-ing with the world that’s verydifferent yet very wonderful,”said Ms. Golin, a professionalprintmaker and painter.

A graduate of the yeshivaday school system herself, shebecame serious about pursuingart as a career while a studentat SCW.

“Exploring areas that makeyou think in a different waybroadens your overall think-ing ability. Art utilizes yourphysical self and your mentalenergies at the same time, soit’s a more complete way offeeling and perceiving.”

Matt Krieger, a historymajor who graduated in Jan-uary, called his introduction tothe arts “eye-opening.” Hisfirst encounter was with arthistory to fulfill a YC require-ment, and it spurred him tobroaden his horizons through

painting.“It seemed like something

that was fun and interesting.What I found was that it chal-lenged me as much as anyother class I’ve taken here. Ilearned about color, brushstrokes—sometimes I’d be inthe studio late at night inorder to finish a project.”

Mr. Krieger took two semes-ters of painting and through

the medium foundthat he became moreaware of his surround-ings. “Walking outsideand seeing the wayshadows fall, the waycolors change at differ-ent times of the day—being sensitive to thebeauty around you isdirectly connected toCreation, to God.”

YC senior DanielGalvut signed up forMs. Golin’s drawingclass because he waslooking to “find” him-self culturally. Aftertraveling through Eu-rope and visitingmany of its museums,he decided that thehands-on experienceof an art class would“help me define

myself more articulately.“For me, art is an escape.

There are no limitations, noboundaries. Art helps openpeople up, helps them to seethings from another perspec-tive.”

And then there’s the satis-faction of seeing a finishedpiece hanging.

“It’s the best feeling,” Mr.Krieger said. “The paintingsthat now hang on the walls ofmy apartment—I look at themand say, ‘that’s my work.’ It’ssomething I’m really proudof.”

“When you’re done with adrawing, let’s say, you think,wow. I’ve worked hard andI’ve really accomplished some-thing,” said Mr. Galvut.

Student artwork was on dis-play at the YC/SCW Arts Festi-val, Feb. 10–19.

Events included gallery pre-sentations, as well as studentconcerts, prose and poetryreadings, and a night of one-act plays.

Gauging the importance of art

Adjunct Associate Professor Golin in theYC art studio.

YU Senior Honors Student, Philip Green

Dr. Karen Bacon, Stern College for Women dean since 1977, was invested as the inaugural Dr.Monique C. Katz Dean at a ceremony at Jerome and Geraldine Schottenstein Residence Hall inNovember. The deanship was endowed by a gift from Dr. Monique C. Katz, SCW Board of Directorsmember, and Mordecai D. Katz, YU trustee and chairman, Bernard Revel Graduate School of JewishStudies Board of Directors. Their gift was made in conjunction with the Mozes S. Schupf Foundation,and also establishes an endowed scholarship fund at the College. Pictured: Mr. and Dr. Katz; MarjorieDiener Blenden, SCW board chairman; and Dean Bacon.

March 2002 YUToday 7

8 YUToday March 2002

students’ interests and withnew trends in the teaching ofliterature—all the while mak-ing sure that students get thebasic skills they need.

What has not changed isthe quality of our students andthe intimacy of the student/faculty relationship.

One of the most importantdevelopments within the cur-riculum is women’s studiescourses. For example, Dr. EllenSchrecker [professor of history]and I are team-teaching anhonors course this semestercalled Women, Culture andSociety. It’s about women’shistory and women’s literaturein England, the US, and Franceduring the nineteenth andtwentieth centuries. This is thesecond time we’re teaching it.

The S. Daniel AbrahamHonors Program has beenimportant and successful forStern, combinng enrichedconventional courses andnewer, innovative ones, often

using films, computers, andother media.

The Senior Honors Thesis isthe final project for honorsstudents and it can be excitingto work with them on a one-to-one basis.

Do you think women ben-efit from single-sex educa-tion?

Yes. When women raisedwith traditional values startcollege, they often do not feelas free [as others] to expressthemselves in coed classes. Asingle-sex environment em-powers and liberates them.They feel more freedom todevelop.

By the time they graduate,

they have been transformedand no longer fit into themold of women who thinkthey are supposed to keeptheir hands down and theirmouths shut lest they be con-sidered “too brainy.”

Another positive outcomeis that they network withother women; they are increas-ingly successful in the businessworld and follow more diversi-fied career paths.

Tell me about your inter-est in fairies and Victoriansociety. Is Tolkien’s popular-ity part of that interest?

Many of the same princi-ples that underlie people’s sto-ries of, and belief in, aliensgenerated the fairy tales of ear-lier times. Fairies have merelychanged color and shape inour era.

Tolkien comes from thistradition of Victorian fairy lorealthough his tales are based onScandinavian folklore as wellas English sources.

My most recent book,Strange and Secret Peoples:Fairies and Victorian Conscious-ness, discusses how a givensociety uses and interprets

fairy lore and people’s fascina-tion with it.

The book actually derivedfrom one of my courses, a classon Myth and Folklore: Re-lations to Literature. It was oneof those rare occasions whenone’s teaching and researchcoincide.

Who were your mentors?Carl Ray Woodring, with

whom I did my dissertation atColumbia, Jerome HamiltonBuckley, John Rosenberg, andMarjorie Hope Nicholson,chair of Columbia’s EnglishDepartment. I did take classeswith Lionel Trilling, MosesHadas and others.

Why did you choose to

do your thesis on WilliamMorris?

I chose Morris because Ifound the late poetry of RobertBrowning unintelligible andthere was very little written onMorris. He fascinated me be-cause he was so multifaceted.He was an artist who alsodesigned wallpaper, fabrics,stained glass windows, andfurniture.

This was in addition tobeing a leader of Englishsocialism, a poet, and greatthinker. His motto was: “Havenothing in your home thatyou do not know to be usefulor believe to be beautiful.”That resonated with me and Iwas drawn to him.

My dissertation was on hislong poem, “The EarthlyParadise.” My first book, TheRomance of William Morris, andthree collections of essays weredevoted to him.

Mainly, I worked on Morris’poetry and prose fantasies, butthat got me interested in hisart, design, and political theo-ry. His decorative art is emulat-ed and imitated to this day.

My research led to my

becoming interested in fieldsoutside of literature and mywork has become increasinglymultidisciplinary.

I was a cocurator of an ex-hibit of Morris’ art and designin 1992 that was sponsored bythe Art Gallery of Ontario andshown all over Canada. As partof the exhibit I helped create aroom typical of those decorat-ed by Morris. It was thrilling tohave an opportunity to workin areas that complement myexpertise in literature.

What books have youread recently?

I just started Margaret At-wood’s The Blind Assassin. I’vealso been reading Philip Roth’s

The Human Stain and LouiseErdrich’s Love Medicine. And, Idesperately try to keep up withThe New York Times and TheNew Yorker.

I am very interested in nonWestern, postcolonial writersfrom India, Japan, and SouthAfrica including Salman Rush-die, Anita Desai, Murakami,and Coetzee. I would love tohave time to read more nonfiction, especially good biogra-phies.

What are some of yourhobbies?

Who has time for hobbies?When I can, I walk, cook, andlisten to music.

What are some of youraccomplishments?

I’m proud of my books,proud of my writing, proud ofmy teaching. I’m also proud, Ithink, of having a reasonablyhappy, contented life. I’ve beenlucky but I’ve had to workhard to achieve that balance.And, I have a wonderful hus-band.

He was a South Africanpolitical activist and did a lotto try to help South Africa gain

independence. He was impris-oned and later went into exilefor a time.

By profession, he is an eco-nomic historian specializing inthe history of labor. He retiredlast year to write his own bookon South Africa since the1920s.

What are you working oncurrently?

I am working on a group ofnineteenth-century novelswritten by women who wereeither South African or visitorsto the country from 1860 for-ward. Oliver Schreiner is prob-ably the only author in thatgroup that people know.

I discovered about twentyinteresting novels by her con-temporaries—women whowere popular in their day butare now forgotten.

I’m working on bringingsome of the novels back intoprint and perhaps doing abook on the novels and novel-ists. I anticipate that this willbe a lengthy project. I’m alsoinvolved in another exhibit ofVictorian painting, again witha curator in Toronto.

Poet Maya Angelou was the inaugural speaker of the Dr. MarciaRobbins-Wilf Scholar-in-Residence Program. The program bringstop scholars, authors, artists, and opinion-shapers to SternCollege. Ms. Angelou presented a unique lecture-performance atthe Geraldine Schottenstein Cultural Center at the MidtownCampus.

The Innocence Project, apath-breaking pro-bonoclinic founded in 1992

at Benjamin N. CardozoSchool of Law that works tofree wrongfully convicted pris-oners through DNA testing,has opened a window on thecriminal justice system. Itspostconviction exonerationshave spurred the passing of

new legislation, shifting ofpolicies, and a heightenedpublic awareness of issues sur-rounding wrongful convic-tions.

It has also helped establishan Innocence Network of sim-ilar wrongful conviction clin-ics in law and journalismschools across the nation.

Now, the Innocence Project

has launched a comprehensivewebsite, innocenceproject.org,that will be a critical aid fordefense lawyers and otherlegal professionals, for prison-ers and their families, for themedia, and for individualsinterested in the subject.

"The site will be a techno-logical springboard for ourcontinuing work and the

expansion of the InnocenceNetwork," according to Prof.Barry Scheck, project codirec-tor with Prof. Peter Neufeld. "Itwill create synergy amongstthe various organizations thatshare two important goals: thecorrection and the preventionof wrongful convictions."

By March 2002, 102 prison-ers in the US have been exon-

erated through postconvictionDNA testing, 11 off death row.More than half of these caseswere handled by Cardozo'sInnocence Project, worked onby Cardozo law students andthe clinic cofounders. Theclinic has generated legislativereforms and helped focus thelegal community on efforts toprevent the miscarriage of jus-tice and the cause of wrongfulconvictions.

Cardozo Innocence Project launches website

Carole Silver

continued from page 1

Faculty Profile:

• Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, and Albert Einstein College of Medicinehave developed a method of gene therapy that corrects sickle celldisease in mice, suggesting future therapies designed to treat thegenetic disease in humans. The new method is described in theDecember 14 issue of the journal Science.

• Lupus, an incurable autoimmune disease that destroys the cen-tral nervous system, has remained an unexplainable mystery fordecades. Now, scientists at Einstein, led by Betty A. Diamond,MD, chief of the division of rheumatology, report that they mayhave identified exactly how lupus antibodies kill nerve cells. Thediscovery eventually may lead to new therapies for the disease,the Einstein researchers said.

• Dr. Diamond recently received the Distinguished InvestigatorAward of the American College of Rheumatology, which is givenannually to a senior scientist who is making significant contri-butions to the field of rheumatology.

• The US Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Pro-gram recently awarded a $626,000 grant to Robert Burk, MD,professor of epidemiology and social medicine and a leadingmedical geneticist at Einstein, for his ongoing study to identifygenetic markers that might increase a man’s risk for developingprostate cancer.

For nearly three years, Dr. Burk and his colleagues have beenstudying DNA samples from Jewish men. “Studying a homoge-nous group such as Jews, Amish, or French Acadians is helpfulbecause fewer genetic mutations have occurred within such pop-ulations,” he explained.

Einstein Roundup

Rabbi David Horwitz, a rosh yeshiva (professorof Talmud) in the

undergraduate Yeshiva Pro-gram/Mazer School of Tal-mudic Studies (MYP), has beennamed inaugural occupant ofthe Rabbi Dovid Lifshitz Chairin Talmud.

Rabbinic Alumni, the alum-ni association of Rabbi IsaacElchanan Theological Sem-inary, has made a $1 milliongift to establish the chair atRIETS.

Rabbi Dovid Lifshitz, knownas the Suvalker Rav, was arevered rabbinic sage andlong-time rosh yeshiva atRIETS. He first joined the sem-inary in 1944 and was theoccupant of the I. Meier andHenrietta Segals Chair inTalmud.

He taught thousands of stu-dents and was beloved by them.A world-recognized authorityon Halakhah, elder statesmanamong rabbinic leaders, andesteemed communal leader, hedied at age 86 in 1993.

Rabbi Horwitz, an alumnusof YU High Schools, YeshivaCollege, Bernard Revel Grad-uate School of Jewish Studies—where he was an Irving andHelen Spatz Scholar—andRIETS, where he was a fellowof the Gruss Kollel Elyon, givesa shiur (discourse) at MYP.

In 1997, he was recipient ofYU’s 13th Annual Moshe andMadelaine Baumel Judaic Fac-ulty Incentive Award, whichhonors outstanding Jewishstudies educators at the Uni-versity and RIETS.

“He is one of the youngbrilliant talmidei chachamim[scholars] with broad Jewishscholarly sweep who help toassure RIETS’ Torah primacynow and in the future,” ac-cording to Rabbi ZevulunCharlop, Max and MarionGrill Dean at RIETS.

In November, a plaque wasdedicated in memory of RabbiLifshitz in the main beit mid-rash (study hall) of ZysmanHall, where Rabbi Lifshitzspent much of his time.

Alumni Rabbi Berel Rosensweig,adjunct professor of Jewishhistory at Yeshiva College, andRabbi Max Schreier wereinstrumental in securing thefunds to establish the gift.

The large gathering includ-ed faculty, students, RabbinicAlumni, and members ofRabbi Lifshitz’ family. The pro-gram included reminiscencesof Rabbi Lifshitz by RIETS roshhayeshiva (president) RabbiNorman Lamm and RabbiCharlop, and a shiur by RabbiHorwitz.

Rabbi Horwitz is inaugural RabbiDovid Lifshitz Professor of Talmud

Anew program at FerkaufGraduate School of Psy-chology is providing

psychological services to anunder-served segment of Heb-rew day school children, fami-lies, and teachers in New YorkCity.

The program was made pos-sible by Benefactor-level giftfrom Dr. Jayne G. Beker, YUtrustee and chairman ofFerkauf’s Board of Governors,and her husband HarveyBeker.

Beth Jacob Beth Miriam inthe Bronx is the first school toparticipate in the program, ac-cording to Dr. Abraham Giv-ner, Silverstein Professor ofSchool Psychology at Ferkauf.

“The school was eager toexpand its psychological serv-ices and offered an opportuni-

ty to serve a multicultural pop-ulation,” Dr. Givner said.

Many of the boys and girlsat Beth Jacob Beth Miriam areBukharian, from families thatemigrated from parts of theformer Soviet Union borderingAfghanistan and Pakistan.

The Beker Program for Psy-chological Services in Schoolsis under the leadership of Dr.Judith Silver, the full-time pro-gram coordinator and a Fer-kauf graduate with prior Heb-rew day school experience as aschool psychologist.

She is assisted by MiryamBenovitz, a fifth-year doctoralstudent at Ferkauf and a certi-fied school psychologist, whois the full-time intern at theschool.

“Several years ago, we be-gan thinking about ways to

help strengthen psychologicalservices in the Jewish commu-nity,” said Dr. Beker, whoearned her masters and doc-toral degrees at Ferkauf and isa psychologist in private prac-tice and at the Bank StreetCollege of Education.

“We came up with the ideathat Ferkauf could serve as abridge to provide psychologi-cal services to some of theneedier schools in the Or-thodox community.”

“By next September,” Dr.Givner said, “we plan to add asecond school to the program.We also are exploring linkageswith Stern College for Womenand Yeshiva College that willenable undergraduates to serveas mentors or big brothers andsisters.”

New Beker programprovides vital servicesto schools

Dr. Silver (left), program coordinator, is assisted by MiryamBenovitz (center), a doctoral student at FGS.

Students of The MarshaStern Talmudical Academy–Yeshiva University High Schoolfor Boys (MSTA) gathered inNovember to demonstratetheir gratitude for the heroicefforts of New York’s firefight-ers and police officers follow-ing the World Trade Centertragedy.

MSTA held a ceremony atthe Wilf Campus to applaudNew York’s bravest and finestand to honor the memory ofMark L. Rosenberg, a 1992

alumnus who perished on the96th floor of the TradeCenter’s north tower (see WeMourn, p. 4).

Students raised $1,000,which was donated equally tothe Widows’ and Orphans’Funds of the New York FireDepartment and the New York Police Department inmemory of Mr. Rosenberg, and presented the firefightersin attendance with a plaque of appreciation signed by allMSTA students.

High school students raise $1,000 forheroes and fallen alumnus

RABBI HORWITZ

March 2002 YUToday 9

Thanks to a generous grant by the President’s Circle, a group of undergraduate alumni thathelps advance undergraduate programs, this season Macs basketball marked an importantmilestone when its December 27 game was broadcast live over the Internet.

The gift, to purchase needed equipment, also makes possible Internet broadcast of the Macs’remaining season home games, perhaps including post-season tournament competition, withplay-by-play, pre-game, half-time, and post-game shows hosted by students.

The project was the initiative of seniors Adam Cohen and Avi Bloom, whose tireless efforts wererewarded when the President’s Circle agreed to provide $4,500 and the YU administration offeredspace on the University’s official website. During the games, Mr. Cohen calls the play-by-play andMr. Bloom contributes color commentary.

The broadcasts can be found on the University’s official website, www.yu.edu/athletics. Thelast scheduled home game was February. 13. The Red Sarachek Memorial Basketball Tournament,for which the University is negotiating broadcast privileges, is scheduled for March 14–18.

Flashbulbs popped, thecrowd rose to their feet,and the noise built to a

crescendo at the Max SternAthletic Center as Yossy Gevreceived a pass from Eli Hamiin transition and scored theway he had done 1806 timesbefore—with power and fi-nesse.

Backing in against the larg-er Istvan Nyilas, Gev spunaround in a power move andkissed the ball off the glass topass Ayal Hod's 13-year-old all-time scoring record at YeshivaUniversity.

Immediately after scoringthe record-breaking basket,Gev pumped his fists andwaved his arms in the air,clearly euphoric at the dramat-ic moment. At the next stop-page of play, Gev was immedi-ately surround by all his team-mates as he hugged his coach,Dr. Jonathan Halpert.

During a brief ceremonybefore the game continued,Hod, who was in attendance,presented Gev with a ballinscribed with the words,"Yeshiva University All-TimeLeading Scorer Yossy Gev."

With the record safely in

hand, the Maccabees turnedtheir attention to the game,which they desperately need-ed, yet almost let slip away.Having started the evening in5th place in a tight SkylineConference playoff race, theMacs would move up to 3rdwith a win against the Stevens

Tech Ducks, but almost cer-tainly lose their first-roundhome game with a loss.

Using a pair of 14–6 and7–2 runs and terrific shootingby Eli Hami (17 points), theMacs jumped out to an early 8point lead, but were unable tohold it, going into halftime

with a slim 31-30 advantage.Upset at the lack of offen-

sive rhythm, a distraughtHalpert insisted that the Macsneeded to "execute better onoffense" and "control the big-guys inside" on defense.

The Macs seemed to heedtheir coach's instructions—atleast at first. Coming out in anew defense, a 3–1–1, theMacs played very aggressively,jumping out to a 12–2 run.After forcing a bad shot on theDucks first possession, theMacs scored at the other endwhen Zev Hendles grabbedtwo offensive rebounds in arow and converted the put-back on the second one.

Hendles (7 points, 13rebounds) would score againon a jump shot off a steal byHami, and another steal byHami led to a Gev bucket. Onthe ensuing possession, Hamifed Gev for a three-pointer infront of his own bench. Aftertwo free throws by JohnAlmonte, Jack Yulzary (9points) drained a three-pointerfrom the same spot as Gev (28points) to give the Macs a 43-32 lead.

The lead grew to as much as15 points, but as soon as Gevbroke the scoring record, theMacs fell back into their first-half woes, unable to preventthe ball from being passed into

the low post. The Ducks began to pound

the ball each possession downto Nyilas (19 points), and theMacs were helpless to stophim. Over a short span ofabout four minutes, the leadshrunk to four points. ButHami ended any chance of acomeback, hitting two freethrows with 1:24 left, and con-verting the conventional three-point play on the followingpossession with 59 secondsleft.

It would give the Macs amuch-needed victory, eveningtheir record at 11–11, andboosting them to 8–6 in theSkyline Conference.

But the story of the nightwas Gev. A native of Rehovot,Israel, the 6'4" power-forwardhas earned the respect of hiscoaches and teammates for hischaracter off the court asmuch as his prowess on it.

“He had a spectacular night,and he's had a spectacularcareer,” Halpert said after thegame. “He's a great player;more significantly, he's a greatindividual.”

When asked for somethoughts on the game, an ec-static Gev responded, “can Iscream?”

“First of all, it's a big win,before my achievement. But it'san honor to hold this record.”

Yossy Gev all-time leading scorer at Yeshiva

The Stern College for Women basketball team, newcomersto the Hudson Valley Women’s Athletic Conference, tooktop honors at the Third Annual Betty Shabazz Memorial

Tournament hosted by Medgar Evers College of the City Uni-versity of New York, December 8–9.

Over the course of a tough two-day tournament, the LadyMacs played Medgar Evers and the College of New Rochelle.Coached by Dr. Karen Green, Yeshiva defeated the College ofNew Rochelle by a score of 87–71 on the first day of the tourna-ment. First-year team member Shayna Greenwald scored 31points and second-year team member Lisa Misher scored 21points.

The second day, Yeshiva won the tournament championshipby defeating Medgar Evers with a score of 71–66 in an excitingfinish. Ms. Greenwald was named tournament MVP, and captainand third-year team member Stephanie Aaron was named to theAll Tournament Team. Ms. Aaron said, “All the women displayedtheir potential and capability to play well and excel.”

Coach Green noted the women’s increased high level of per-formance, which enabled the Lady Macs to enter the HudsonValley Women’s Athletic Conference for the first time this year.“The team is demonstrating excellent teamwork, sportsmanship,and aggressive play, which has resulted in our success this sea-son,” she said.

Lady Macs winShabazz tournament

Ayal Hod congratulates Yossy Gev on breaking his 13-year-old all-time scoring record.

10 YUToday March 2002

Women’s tennis team capturesawards in 2001 Skyline Conference

Now hear this: Broadcasting Macsgames on the Internet

Winding up a success-ful season, the SternCollege for Women

tennis team earned severalhonors at the 2001 SkylineConference Women’s TennisAwards.

The Lady Maccabees cap-tured the Sportsmanship Award,given to a team that demon-strates respect for fellow play-ers and opponents and cele-brates group spirit. CoachHeidi Nathan said, “I’m gladthe coaches saw that our girlsare honest and commendedthem for that.”

Individual accolades in-

cluded Skyline ConferenceFirst-Team All-Star honors tosophomore Rachel Guimoyeand Skyline ConferenceSecond-Team All-Star honorsto senior Shoshana Pensteinand junior Randi Schwartz.

Ms. Guimoye finished theconference with a 5–1 record,playing in the team’s number-one and number-two posi-tions. Her overall seasonrecord in singles was 6–1. Ms.Penstein scored 3–1 in theconference and her seasonrecord in singles was 4–1. Ms.Schwartz, playing in the num-ber-one position, finished 3–2

at the conference and ranked4–2 overall in singles.

This year’s team is com-prised of nine women, six whoreturned from last year andthree new players. “The wo-men keep getting better everyyear and the longer they staywith the team, the more theyimprove,” Coach Nathan said.The individual awardees are allsecond-year members.

The Sportsmanship Awardand All-Stars were chosen bySkyline Conference coaches.Awards will be presented at adinner in May 2002.

March 2002 YUToday 11

Mention Yeshiva Uni-versity and colle-giate basketball and

one name instantly comes tomind: Jonny Halpert.

Dr. Jonathan Halpert beganhis 30th season this past Nov-ember as coach of theMaccabees, the renownedYeshiva College basketballteam.

Only seven men’s basket-ball coaches in the NCAA’sDivision III schools (no athlet-ic scholarships) have coachedlonger than Dr. Halpert. How-ever, Coach Halpert has thedistinction of having coachedall of his 30 years at oneschool—YU.

Succeeds SarachekIn 1972, at the tender age of

26, Dr. Halpert succeeded thelegendary coach, Bernard“Red” Sarachek, only six yearsafter having captained theMaccabees during the 1965–66season.

“When Red tapped me forthe coaching position, I wasvery excited to be representingYU and the Jewish communi-ty,” Dr. Halpert said. “It was adream come true for me.”

“I felt he had a love of thegame, and that showed in thethree or four years he stayedwith me,” said mythical coach“Red” Sarachek. “Jonny is awonderful man, and an excel-

lent coach as proven by hisrecord,” a high complimentfrom this seasoned veteran.

“He’s an excellent studentof the game and a tremendousasset for YU and for Judaism.”

For decades, Dr. Halperthad to scrounge around themetropolitan area to find loca-tions where the Maccabeescould hone their court skills—Xaverian in Brooklyn, St.Helena’s in The Bronx, or TheFashion Institute of Technol-ogy. With the opening of theMax Stern Athletic Center atthe (then) Main Campus in1985, the team finally had aplace to call its own.

“The building of the gym, afirst-class facility, enhancedstudents’ perception of them-selves as well as their image ofthe school,” said Dr. Halpert.

The gym also influencedperspective athletes and was afactor in recruiting good ath-letes to YC.

Overcoming obstaclesYC players have had to con-

tend with other limitations aswell.

At YU, basketball is anextracurricular activity giventhe students’ rigorous dualprogram. But these pressureshave not prevented the teamfrom racking up wins. In fact,the 1986–87 season was theonly non-winning season

since the opening of thegym.

Coach Halpert’s legion ofacolytes does not have to becoaxed into singing hispraises.

“For me, Coach Halpert’sleadership has meaning onseveral levels,” said DaveKufeld (YC ’80) a star centerfrom 1976 to 1980 who wasdrafted by the PortlandTrailblazers in 1980.

“On the basketball level,he transcended the teach-ings of Red Sarachek withhis own strategies that pro-vided his players with astrong fundamental base inthe game.”Mr. Kufeld emphasized that

the lessons he learned fromCoach Halpert also inspiredhim off the court.

“His perspective on theimportance of basketball inthe greater scheme of life iswhat truly sets him apart fromother coaches. I genuinelybelieve he cares about eachplayer more than just abouthis wins or losses.”

“For me Coach Halpert hasbeen like a father figure since Iarrived here from Israel threeand a half years ago,” saidYossi Gev, captain of the cur-rent team.

Dr. Halpert’s colleagues inthe close-knit collegiate coach-ing community also hold himin high regard.

Renowned Hall of FamerLou Carnesecca dubbed Dr.Halpert “a great man, greatteacher, and a great coach.”

His colleagues at YeshivaCollege echo Mr. Carnesecca’ssentiments.

“One of the attractions forcoming to YU for me was thatI would have the opportunityto work with Dr. Halpert,” saidDr. Richard Zerneck, YU direc-tor of athletics. “After fouryears, I am even moreimpressed with his expertise asa game coach, his ability toovercome obstacles, and hisextraordinary caring aboutyoung people.”

A family affair

Dr. Halpert’s remarkable af-filiation with YU is intergener-ational. His father, Max, was agraduate of Teachers Institutefor Men (renamed Isaac BreuerCollege of Hebraic Studies in1982); YC; Bernard RevelGraduate School of JewishStudies, and Ferkauf GraduateSchool of Psychology.

Dr. Halpert senior workedfor all three presidents ofYeshiva University as afundraiser for 40 years, in-cluding stints as a Yiddish andHebrew translator at Revelduring his high school andundergraduate days.

Currently Dr. Halpert’s son,Rafi, a YC sophomore, playsfor his father. “There has beena Halpert at YU for over seven-ty years,” Dr. Halpert summedup proudly.

Family friend, former Mac-cabees assistant coach, andLibby M. Klaperman Professorof Jewish History JeffreyGurock said, “The Halperts arethe quintessential YU familyand he is coach of Team TorahUmadda.

“All five of Dr. Halpert’schildren are graduates of ourhigh school, two are graduatesof our undergraduate schools,his brother, Danny, is a gradu-ate of YC, and Dr. Halpert is agraduate of three of ourschools including Ferkauf[PhD ’78].”

“Making us proud”At a pre-home opener cere-

mony organized by basketballalumni, President Lamm pre-sented Coach Halpert with acommemorative plaque. Dr.Lamm affirmed the value ofphysical fitness within Jewishtradition as documented inscholarly writings from theRambam to Rav Kook whendone with concern for civilityand good sportsmanship.

“I want to express my ap-preciation to you, Jonny, onbehalf of the students of YUand the entire University com-munity, for your thirty years of

coaching and leadership,” hesaid. “Your Maccabees contin-ue to make us all proud.”

Grateful for the opportunity

Looking back, Coach Hal-pert expressed satisfactionwith his accomplishments andis grateful for the opportuni-ties he has been afforded.

“I want to be known as agood coach and I’m proudthat we’ve had winning sea-sons for sixteen out of seven-teen years and have gone tofour ECAA post-season tourna-ments.

“I’ve coached over onehundred and seventy-five kids,among the best of YU. Theysucceeded in their studieswhile playing basketball andwent on to be prominentmembers of their communitiesthroughout the country.

Enabling dreams“What I’ve been trying to

do here is give kids an oppor-tunity to dream a little bit.They could succeed in school,play basketball, and not onlymaintain their Jewish identity,but actually represent theJewish community. In the eyesof the world, Yeshiva Uni-versity represents the Jewishcommunity in the realm ofcollege basketball.”

Dr. Halpert was awardedthe College Basketball OfficialsAssociation Schoenfeld Awardin 1981 and again in 1997. Hereceived the MetropolitanBasketball Writers Association“Good Guy” Award in 1998. In1999, he was named SkylineConference Coach of the Year.

Off the court, for the last 14years Dr. Halpert has beenchief executive officer ofCamelot Community ResidentProgram, an agency that pro-vides group homes for severelyretarded adults.As we went to press, CoachHalpert won his 300th careergame when his son, Rafi, scored athree-point shot that took thegame into overtime. Mazal tov!

Jonny Halpert: Coach of ‘Team Torah Umadda’

Mark Sokolow

Mark Sokolow (YC’79,CSL’82) has beentwice blessed. On

September 11 he was on the38th floor of the World TradeCenter’s south tower when thefirst airplane struck the adja-cent building. An attorney andpartner in the law firm ofThatcher Proffitt and Wood,he dashed out of his buildingto safety.

On January 27, he wassaved again when he and his

family were shopping at a shoestore on Jerusalem’s Jaffa Roadwhen a terrorist blew herselfup yards away, killing oneother person and injuring atleast 150. He was knocked offhis feet and sprayed withshrapnel on the right side ofhis body. His wife, Rena, suf-fered a fractured leg, and twoof their three daughters alsosustained injuries, none life-threatening.

“We were waiting outsideon the sidewalk to meet a rela-

tive when a powerful blastknocked us apart,” Mr. Soko-low said. “A huge puff [ofsmoke] filled the air. I sawthings flying up and over. Imust have been knockeddown.”

Later, Mr. Sokolow was in-terviewed on TV from his hos-pital bed. He said it was impor-tant for Jews to visit Israeldespite the threat of terror.

Spotlight on Alumni: Twice BlessedDr. David J. Schnall delivered a public lecture based on hislatest book, By the Sweat ofYour Brow: Reflections on Workand the Workplace in ClassicalJewish Thought , in conjunc-tion with the opening of theannual Student Organizationof Yeshiva (SOY) Seforim Sale at Yeshiva University.The third annual lecture, presented by the YC AlumniAssociation, the AzrieliAlumni Steering Committee,SOY, and the undergraduatestudent organizations, tookplace Sunday, February 3. The sale opened afterward.

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Top corporate leaders offer Kukin seminars at Sy Syms School

Where can studentsmeet New York’stop executives and

hear first-hand insights abouttheir corporate ventures?

Every Friday morning fromFebruary to May, the Sy SymsSchool of Business undergrad-uate course, ContemporaryProblems in Business, featuresthe success stories of industry’sfinest.

The classes are a free ex-change of ideas with students.The topics cover issues, chal-lenges, and initiatives thathave been instrumental in thespeakers’ success and theirthoughts on what qualitieshelp shape future leaders.

Each Friday from 10 am to12:30 pm, starting February 1in Jerome and GeraldineSchottenstein Residence Hall atthe Midtown Campus, a dis-tinguished business leader pre-sents issues and challenges con-fronting his or her industry.

Students receive three cred-its for this entrepreneurialseminar course, a vital compo-

nent of SSSB’s Rennert Entre-preneurial Institute, endowedby Ira L. Rennert, a notedJewish communal leader andchairman and CEO of TheRenco Group, a private hold-ing company for industrialproduct companies.

The program, in its eighthyear, known as the Doris andDr. Ira Kukin EntrepreneurialLecture Series, is named for itsBenefactors. Dr. Kukin, vice

chairman of Yeshiva Univer-sity’s Board of Trustees, was afounding member of SSSB’sBoard of Directors, and hiswife is a member of the SternCollege for Women Board ofDirectors. Dr. Kukin is founderof Apollo Technologies Inter-national Corp. in Livingston, NJ.

Coordinated by Dr. Law-rence Bellman, assistant pro-fessor of marketing and man-agement, the program is one

of only a handful of its kind inthe nation at the undergradu-ate level. “The willingness ofkey executives of our country’sleading industries to interactwith our business undergradu-ates indicates the value theyplace on the preparation oftomorrow’s captains of indus-try,” said Dr. Bellman.

Steven E. Bernstein, chair-man, SBA Communications,kicked off the series on Feb-

ruary 1, followed by MatthewPittensky, Blackboard Inc.chairman on February 8, andRuss Berrie, CEO, Russ BerrieInc. on February 15. Dates forthe other speakers, subject tochange, are as follows:

• Nurit Amdur, CEO, Alex Toys—March 1

• Aaron Dobrinsky, CEO, GoAmerica—March 8

• Erel Margalit, managing partner, Jerusalem Venture Capital Fund—March 14

• Nina McLemore, president, Regent Capital Partners—March 15

• David Neeleman, CEO, JetBlue Airways—April 12

• Jessica Bibliowicz, president,National Financial Partners—April 19

• Mary Farrell, managing director and senior investment strategist, UBS Warburg—April 26

• Richard Grasso, chairman, New York Stock Exchange—May 3

JESSICA BIBLIOWICZ RUSS BERRIE STEVEN BERNSTEIN