CYHSB Weekly 6/2/2023

CYHSB WEEKLY

Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys

Volume 17, Issue 19

Under Classmen

Addresses

Page 3

Upper Classmen

Addresses

Page 4

Parshat Nasso: Accepting Truth from all Sources

Page 7

Avi’s Awesome

Authorities

Page 7

This week’s Weekly is sponsored by the Jason Caplan in honor of his up coming event at Harris Hall in Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. (Page 4)

Final Message From the Past Editor in Chief

Ezra Wiener (23’)

This year has been quite the rollercoaster, and while I am relieved it's over, there is one question which I have to ask, “What makes a good leader?” Some may say a good leader requires reliability. Others, the strength to command and do what is necessary. Some might even say that all that is required for a leader is the ability to lead. I say it is all of these things and much, much more. I know this because I am a very good leader and possess all of these qualities. That is why I

was chosen to receive the esteemed position of Editor-InChief of the CYHSB Weekly. It has been quite the year, we’ve lost some good men, and had to deal with a variety of challenges. But through it all we persevered, and ended up being responsible for what many refer to as the greatest Weekly Volume of all time. In this piece I would like to break down my experiences as Editor-In-Chief and give some advice to the upcoming staff. So sit down, zip up your flies, tuck in your shirts, buckle your seatbelts, and get

Ezra Weiner hard at work on the CYHSB Weekly. Photo: Ezra Weiner

ready for the CYHSB Weekly’s yearly breakdown.

Being Editor-In-Chief without a doubt made my senior year a lot more stressful. This was primarily due to the fact that I had a lot of other responsibilities on top of having to get The Weekly done almost every week. It would be easy for me to move on from this year and only remember the late nights, stress, and difficulty of working on The Weekly, but I don’t believe that would be a proper reflection of my experience. Working on The Weekly, despite being stressful, was extremely rewarding and allowed me to interact with many other students and members of the community. As such, I am much more inclined to look back on this experience and remember the fun staff meetings, late night calls with the editors, and hearing feedback from the community members, although really only the good feedback, as I believe constructive criticism is overrated.

Now to address the staff. Working on The Weekly this year was extremely difficult for me, but without my amazing staff this year, it would’ve been impossible. In all my years of being on The Weekly staff I have never seen so many students willing to dedicate so much of their time and hard work to complete The Weekly, and I am really blown away by everybody’s commitment. I am excited to see what you guys will cook up next year, but I know that without advice from me it will probably be pretty bad, so I have decided to dedicate the rest of this article to advising you guys on how to make it good.

First, to the current Editor-InChief Ezra Davidovics. Ezra, you have a lot of weight on your shoulders right now and I know that must be scary, but it is a lot less scary when you trust your staff and let them help you. Don’t be like Atlas and carry the whole world on your shoulders. Also remember that if The Weekly isn’t good everybody

will blame you and you will be an embarrassment to the entire community.

Now to address the Layout Editor, Nathan Greenbaum. Nathan, I was the Layout editor my Junior year and I know that it is no easy task, but I also know that if there’s anybody who can do it well, it's

breaking the law, if it's for The Weekly, you have to do it.

To the managing editors: Ethan and Raanan Vanderwalde. You guys are best friends, and it shows. I am extremely jealous of your comradery and how well you get along when it comes to working on The Weekly. You guys just jive, and that’s really special. My advice to the both of you is this: When trying to get someone to write an article do the good cop bad cop routine. It works every time. First Ethan should come in with the bad cop, saying something like “You have two days to do this article or your off staff.” Then when the kid is freaked out, Raanan swoops in with the good cop, “Hey buddy, don’t believe what Ethan says, you are a valued member of this staff and really good at what you do, I would really appreciate it if you could get that article done.” See, easy as that.

To the News Editors: Yaron, Joshua, and Akiva Levine. You guys are up and coming Weekly stars and I know you will probably do great things. My advice to you three is work together, and utilize the team you have been given.

you, not as well as me of course, but well. My advice to you is this, start doing the layout before you get the articles, that will make your Wednesday night a whole lot easier. Just remember, you’ll never reach my level when it comes to Layout, so don’t bother trying, just do the best you can.To the associate Editor in Chief: Nadav Lowell. Nadav, very few people have risen up the ranks of The Weekly as quickly as you have. You showed your commitment and talent in meetings and blew us all away with your ideas. My advice to you is this: Trust your gut. You have the talent necessary to make the right calls and you need to trust your ability to do what needs to be done, no matter what. Even if meeting means

To the Complaint Manager: J.J. Stein. J.J., you are the most important member of staff and no one can ever replace you. No one handles complaints as well as you, and that’s extremely admirable. My advice to you is this: Whenever you get a complaint that you just don’t know what to do with, ignore it and never think about it again.

To the rest of the staff: I apologize for not addressing each of you independently, but thankfully, there are just too many of you. All of you have written two or more articles this year, and I know that's not an easy thing to do. I am impressed with each of your work ethic and can’t wait to see what you do in the future. Overall, I will cherish this year for a little bit after I graduate, and I know all of you will do great things.

Printing the weekly is an arduous process. Photo: Ezra Davidovics

Underclassmen Addresses

Freshman Address Amit Zalman (’26)

As a freshman at Cooper Yeshiva High School, I know firsthand that high school is more demanding than middle school. The transition and adjustment to the workload definitely felt exhausting at times. This year, we were introduced to new subjects and faced more challenging coursework. In addition to the academic stringency, the high school also offered us a range of electives to choose from, including government, economics, and communications. These courses allowed us to explore our interests and develop valuable skills that may have not been taught to us in middle school. As we navigate the demanding workload and embrace the diverse options offered at Cooper Yeshiva High School, we have the opportunity to grow academically and expand our horizons, setting a foundation for a successful high school journey.

Sophomore Address Raanan Vanderwalde (’25)

The Sophomore year can be generally described as a turning point in our high school career. We go from freshman, just learning our way around, to Juniors, who are expected to face high school head on. Part of this segue into the harder parts of high school involves introducing ourselves to higher level classes. That being, one of our privileges as a tenth grader is that we are allowed to take one AP (Advanced Placement) course. Along with that, many sophomores have joined the higher level Gemara class: Rabbi Safier’s shiur. But for most of us, tenth grade was very academically similar to ninth grade. Along with academics, we also got to contribute to extracurriculars more than we did as freshman, such as being on The Weekly staff. Overall, 10th grade was an amazing experience for us sophomores and I am looking forward to junior year next year. - CALVIN AND HOBBES © Watterson. Reprinted with permission of ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION. All rights reserved.

Upperclassemen Addresses

Junior Address Yosef Vanderwalde (24’)

In a way, Junior year is a new beginning in high school. It was our first year as upperclassmen which comes with a lot of responsibilities. There are more advanced classes and we are granted more freedoms. The younger students in the school look up to us as role models and we have to teach them all the little things that make school easier. Towards the end of the year, it got a little more difficult with AP tests and standardized testing. We also have to start thinking about our future after high school which can be stressful. While difficult at times, this year was amazing and we can't wait to continue our high school career as Seniors.

Senior Address Reuven Marvin (’23)

In my four years at this school, I have accomplished quite a bit. From being a potential valedictorian to simply being known as a cool guy, I have embraced different roles. I had the honor of being the lead actor in the renowned Steak Dinner Ideas production and writing a popular weekly article featuring the top five Super Bowl commercials. There are many other achievements that I hold dear but choose not to mention here.

This school has provided me with opportunities to truly succeed and stay true to myself. As I look back, I have some advice for future freshmen: don't let ninth-grade English be a stumbling block, learn to seize the right moments, and embrace involvement while capturing precious memories through photos.

Parshat Nasso: Accepting Truth from all Sources

Avi Becker (’24)

Rabbi Rossman, a dear teacher at the CYHSB, suggested quite an interesting fact along with a fascinating question. He was asking for a connection between three seemingly coincidentally related things. Those three things? The amount of pesukim in Nasso (the longest Parsha ), the amount of pesukim in the longest perek of Tehillim, and the amount of dapim in the longest Mesehcta: all 176.

I would like to offer an answer that could relate these things and prove that perhaps they are not coincidental. In Rambam's introduction to the Eight Chapters he writes:

should listen to the truth, whoever may have said it.”

Perhaps this “limit” was set on the max amount of pesukim and dapim to teach that we shouldn’t learn everything from one source. If we spend every second learning

(Pirkei Avot 5:17)

Last Week’s Solution

Know, however, that the ideas presented in these chapters and in the following commentary are not of my own invention; neither did I think out the explanations contained therein, but I have gleaned them from the words of the wise occurring in the Midrashim, in the Talmud, and in other of their works, as well as from the words of the philosophers, ancient and recent, and also from the works of various authors, as one should accept the truth from whatever source it proceeds (עמשו ורמאש יממ תמאה).

Rambam wrote this because he was particularly captivated by the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plotinus; their ideas persuaded him that reasoned inquiry was not only reconcilable with Judaism, but in fact its central discipline. Blessed with a prodigious memory and ravenous intellectual curiosity, Maimonides adopted an expansive view of wisdom. He had little patience for those who cared more about the prestige of scholars than the merits of their assertions and admonished his students: “You

will have a biased and uneducated view on whatever we are working towards understanding. If we were only to learn Parshat Nasso, we would miss so much from the rest of the Torah; this also applies to both Tehillim and Gemara. We should all hear the truth from everywhere and not limit ourselves to one source.

There is a terrific mishnah that brings about this point:

“Every faction that exists for the sake of Heaven – will ultimately endure;

Every faction that exists not for the sake of Heaven – will not ultimately endure.

Which are factions that exist for the sake of Heaven? These are the factions of Hillel and Shammai. Which is a faction that exists not for the sake of Heaven? This is the faction of Korach and his edah.”

If one is to carelessly read this beautiful mishnah, they might conclude that each and every faction can be classified as either “for the sake of Heaven” or “not for the sake of Heaven.” But nothing about the mishnah denies a more complex reality in which factions are coalitions of people with different motives, and in which individual human beings often have mixed motives as well. The Meshekh Chokhmah implies that even “Korach and all his edah” must be read narrowly to exclude the 250 elders who came with Korach, as their motives were pure. The mishnah should be used as a mussar self-check rather than to dismiss opposing factions as ephemeral.

It should also be entirely clear that there is no necessary relationship between purity of motives and quality of argument. The best of arguments will be appropriated by the greedy if it serves their interests; and the righteous are fully capable of gross analytic or interpretational error. A demonstration of sordid motives does not absolve us of the obligation to accept the truth from whoever speaks it, and to reject the false likewise. For even the smart can speak incorrectly and vice versa.

But we must acknowledge that the halachah does not always follow the best argument. Philosophy is properly a world of emet vasheker, truth and falsehood, in which arguments are evaluated without regard to who makes them. But practical halachah is a normative

This week’s parsha discusses the concept of Birchas kohanim. Source: madmimi.com

Cont. From Last Page: system, which is to say it exists in the realm of tov vara, good and evil. In that world, it matters very much who has authority, and order is better than chaos. Therefore, at times one must follow a weaker argument made by a greater authority over a stronger argument made by a lesser or non-authority, and law has an inertial preference for continuity. This sounds problematic on a very superficial level, but one can see that we, as a community, assume this position quite often.

say that mechadshim (creative Torah scholars) should be evaluated like baseball batters: even the best only hit safely once every three tries, and those with power are regarded as successful at much lower ratios. Mechadshim with power are more likely to be wrong,

community. We suspect first of all that our nonscholars cannot distinguish weak from strong arguments, especially when they have a rooting interest in the outcome. Secondly, we suspect that many members of our community do not care about the strength of an argument, or about the consensus of scholars. Rather, they see the existence of any sort of argument as a matir, as giving them the right to do what they want.

Last Week’s Solution

On the other hand, Halachic decision-making must not be allowed to depend exclusively on who has authority rather than on the strength of arguments. Gd made halachah depend on textual interpretation and rational argument in order to ensure that Jewish religious leaders would always be intellectually accountable to the people. The mistaken idea that halachah depends exclusively on personal authority leads to a politics of personal destruction, in which the only effective response to disagreement is to delegitimize the disagreeing person (or community). This results in people who make bad arguments for positions we disagree with being attacked personally to deny them authority, and good arguments made by people without personal authority being ignored or dismissed until they are given authority. You must give everyone a fair chance and take each opinion into account.

Rabbi Zevulun Charlop shlita, Dean Emeritus of RIETS, likes to

Learning fom our mistakes is very important for our lives. Source: dreamstime.com

and their mistakes are likely to be doozies.

What happens to a Torah community that delegitimizes public intellectuals after their first error, and rejects all disruptively creative ideas out of hand? A Torah community needs to be able to tolerate and survive significant and even potentially dangerous errors, or else it will stifle the creativity that is essential to its intellectual and spiritual health. Our panic when confronted by presumptive halachic authorities who make bad arguments about important issues, or presumptive non authorities who make good arguments, reflects a deep lack of trust in our

By the same token, error should not be without consequences, especially if the error is not acknowledged. On Gittin 43a, Rabbah bar Rav Huna tells us that “A person does not find his footing in words of Torah unless he stumbles in them first” – in the context of correcting his previous mistaken ruling. Home run hitters usually strike out a lot because they take big swings, but not everyone who takes big swings is a home run hitter. Some people simply can’t hit at all.

This Dvar Torah is totally in waste if one is not to understand, still, that the Rabbis who determine these Halachic positions are incredibly genius and are not doing so without basis. However, if you spot clear Halachic problems with a ruling made. The best option is not to blindly follow, however it is also not to argue back. The best option is to ask the one who gave you this ruling for clarification, so not only can you follow the correct law, but also learn more and grow as a Jew.

Avi’s Awesome Authorities

Summachus

Summachos ben Joseph was a Jewish Tanna sage of the fifth generation. Rabbi Meir is considered to have been his main teacher. After R. Meir died, and despite R. Yeudah ben Ilai's reluctance to teach R. Meir's students, Summachos joined R. Judah ben Ilai's class and debated halacha with him. He was absolutely brilliant (like all Tannaim). Summachos' brilliance was described as follows: “R. Abbahu stated in the name of R. Johanan: R. Meir had a disciple of the name of Summachos who said: "On every rule concerning a ritual uncleanness, there are forty-eight reasons in support of its uncleanness, and on every rule concerning a ritual cleanliness, forty-eight reasons in support of its cleanness.”

There is not much else known about him, for he only appeared in talmud five times, with only three of his own teachings.

- Avi Becker (’24)

Have a good summer!

CYHSB Weekly Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Ezra Davidovics | ezra.davidovics@mhafyos.org

Associate Editor-in-Chief

Nadav Lowell | nadav.lowell@mhafyos.org

Layout Editor

Nathan Greenbaum | Nathan.greenbaum@mhafyos.org

Managing Editors

Ethan VanderWalde | ethan.vanderwalde@mhafyos.org

Raanan Vanderwalde | raanan.vanderwalde@mhafyos.org

Assistant Layout Editor

Amit Zalman | amit.zalman@mhafyos.org

News Editors

Joshua Parcover | joshua.parcover@mhafyos.org

Yaron Weiss | yaron.weiss@mhafyos.org

Akiva Levine | akiva.levine@mhafyos.org

Complaint Manager

J.J. Stein | jacob.stein@mhafyos.org

CYHSB Weekly Staff

Avi Becker | avi.becker@mhafyos.org

Baruch Finkleman | baruch.finkleman@mhafyos.org

Rafi Davidovics | rafael.davidovics@mhafyos.org

Benny Freiden | benjamin.freiden@mhafyos.org

Rafi Goldkin | rafael.goldkin@mhafyos.org

Jojo Ardestani | jonathan.ardestani@mhafyos.org

Yosef Vanderwalde | yosef.vanderwalde@mhafyos.org

Administrative Advisors

Rabbi Dov Rossman

Mrs. Ashley Brown

From the Editor:

Looking back on this year, and specifically this last quarter in which I acted as Editor in Chief of this publication, a few trends become immediately clear to me. These trends include leadership, tumult, and getting out of my comfort zone. This is year was often amazing but also very stressful. Hopefully next year will be just as great as this one was. Have a good summer!

- Ezra Davidovics