CYHSB WEEKLY 12/03/21

December 3, 2021

CYHSB WEEKLY Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys

Volume 16, Issue 5 The More the Merrier?

Titans fans would claim otherwise Page 3

Exciting CYHSB Clubs and Extracurricular Activities Page 4 Calvin and Hobbes Page 5 Where is Chanukah in Torah Sheba’al Peh Page 6

This week’s CYHSB Weekly is sponsored by the CYHSB Weekly sta in honor of this week’s issue.

Calvin and Hobbes, the new comic strip of the Weekly. Source: businessinsider.com

Calvin and Hobbes: The Iconic Comic Strip Coming to the Weekly Shahar Cahana (’22) I had never heard of Bill Watterson until Rabbi Safier lent me a book containing a compilation of Calvin and Hobbes comic strips to read. I had heard about the comic book but knew little of the ingenuity that lay within its pages. As I read it, I became obsessed with it. The way that the humor was interlaced into the two characters’ lives was extraordinary, and I found myself laughing at every turn of the page. As I finished reading it, I couldn’t help but

think that perhaps I needed to buy myself a few more of these books for entertainment.

Imagine after a long day, instead of going on the phone, you instead relax to a bit of Calvin and Hobbes. As I continued to think about it, I thought to myself of the possibility of sharing this humor with other people, letting others also witness the creativity that Watterson brings out in his characters through humor and imagination. I thought to myself, the way toContinued do this was get page it ontonext

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Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys

December 3, 2021

Calvin and Hobbes Cont.

the best way to do this was to get it into the CYHSB Weekly.

I then approached the chief editor of the weekly, Michael Baum, and ran it by him to see if he would think if it was a good idea or not. He agreed with me that it might bring a little humor to the newspaper that we publish weekly. He told me that if I could get the publisher’s permission to print their comic, he would be fine having it printed.

After that, a few weeks passed before I gave any serious consideration of contacting the publishing company. I simply procrastinated and was not quite sure what to do. Eventually, I thought to myself: enough is enough.

I searched up on google, “How to get permission to publish Calvin and Hobbes.” Google returned a phone number that belonged to Andrew McMeel Universal. I called them, and no one answered despite it being the afternoon in the middle of the week. No problem, I would simply send them an email and hope that they would respond. A few days later, they contacted me back, requesting an example of our Weekly, to see what kind of paper they were allowing their comics to

Bi Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes. Source: thefamouspeople.com

be printed in. In response, I sent them some example newsletters back, this time far more excited than before, realizing that we may actually be on the brink of getting permission.

Several days later, the publisher responded this time with a PDF with an official document stating that we could print one comic strip for Calvin and Hobbes every week for no charge. To be honest, I had never considered that there may have been a possibility that we needed to pay

them, although, in retrospect, this makes sense as, in a way, they are selling us their “merchandise.”

However, we need not worry about that, as they let us have it for free.

Who knew that Rabbi Safier could inspire students to wear tzitzis and to read comics. So without further ado, I am excited to present the first of many Calvin and Hobbes comic strips.

Calvin and Hobbes

CALVIN AND HOBBES © Watterson. Reprinted with permission of ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION. All rights reserved.

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Students Cont.

TheAPMore the Merrier? Titans Fans Would Claim Otherwise

Avi Klein (’22) made the Titans seem like a team that not only affect the talent on the Imagine running a team of 53 that would be hard to outscore. The field but also the chemistry among players, some being the players on the team. veterans who have When the players on played for over ten the field have to rely years, while others are on and work with new rookies in their first players each week, the year of the pros. Such a chemistry, task is one that is not communication, and easy for NFL general knowledge among the managers and coaches. players are degraded, Out of all the which can cause major professional sports, issues on the field. football is the sport Despite such losses with the most players to the team, the Titans on the active roster at have continued to push any point. Along with through and keep their football comes injuries, record at 8-3 and stay which can then bring towards the top of the the total amount of entire AFC. Despite players even higher as their continued some players are taken Taylor Lewan giving the crowd at Nissan Stadium a thumbs up while being playing and off the active roster of carted o a er a scary injury in week 6. Source: The Spun determination, the 53, and others are put Titans sadly lost two on. games to teams with lofty expectations of winning a Looking at the 2021-2022 season, less than two wins which was sad for Super Bowl were sadly tainted by despite multiple injuries and the team and the fans. However, a injuries in the masses, including setbacks, the Titans still have a solid new schedule in the NFL may help some to these three stars. chance of making it to the Super the Titans stay in the Super Bowl Since 1993, no team has had Bowl. conversation. more than 84 players play in a game For the Tennessee Titans, this This year, the NFL has added one over the course of the season. So far, season has been one which many more game to the schedule bringing the Titans have had 86 players play looked forward to due to the extreme the total to 17 games per team. This at least one snap over the course of level of talent that is on the roster. In increase gives the Titans one more only 12 weeks, breaking the record the offseason, the Titans were able to week to get their players healthy after not even a full season. Included add star wide receiver Julio Jones to before the playoffs. The Titans also in these roster changes, the Titans the roster and therefore make a have a bye week coming up, which have placed 32 individual players on three-pronged offense attack should help players rest up and come the Injured Reserve (IR) list over the involving Derrick Henry, AJ Brown, back healthier. Once the playoffs course of the season so far, which and Julio Jones. start (where we should see Henry, then takes that player out for a Derrick Henry is an all-time great who is expected to be back by minimum of three weeks. who led the league in rushing yards January, Brown, and Jones play Furthermore, there have been many for back-to-back seasons and also again), it is as if each team is now other players, such as QB Ryan put up over 2,000 yards last season, starting a new season. In the Tannehill, who have been banged up which was only done by eight other playoffs, it is one loss, and that team and caused the hearts of Titans fans running backs in NFL history. AJ is out of the playoffs until the watching to skip a beat but were Brown is a player who put up over following year. If the Titans can fortunately never replaced. The 1,000 receiving yards in his second continue their determination and Titans broke this record this past season. Lastly, the new addition of fight until the playoffs, hopefully, week versus the New England Julio Jones is one that includes a the Titans can bring back the stars, Patriots, which is a scary record to player who has had over 13,000 reach for the Vince Lombardy break for a team that was expected yards over his 11 years in the league.

Trophy and bring a Super Bowl win to be a Super Bowl contender. Such Going into the season, having these to the state of Tennessee for the first bruises to a team’s roster are ones three core pieces on the offense time.

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AP Students CYHSB Cont.

Exciting Clubs and Extracurricular Activities

Nadav Lowell (’25) With the school year well underway, several of the school’s clubs are in full swing, and some new ones are just getting started. The CYHSB has a wide variety of clubs, including our athletic teams, “drip” club, rocketry club, numismatics club, stock market club, and chess club.

Additionally, the MHA offers yearly extracurricular activities such as the weekly newspaper, Yeshiva University Model United Nations (YUNMUN) team, mock trial, and

court. Every player learns teamwork and strategy, as well as plays and drills. This year, the new coach, Ian Tomas, led the new team of energetic and passionate players to a phenomenal start to the season. The Cooper Macs are currently 3-1 with many more wins on the way. The entire school hopes this streak continues and will lead the Cooper Maccabees to victory.

As basketball continues throughout the winter, there is a new rocketry club on its way. Led by

Ilan Lowe and Yidy Horowitz enjoy playing chess during lunch. Photo: Michael

the model beit din team.

At the beginning of every year, the school offered cross country. As winter approaches, sports transitioned to what is now prime time basketball season. The team practices or has games every day, with games varying from home to away games. Members of the team get the chance to hone their basketball skills both on and off the

Nathan bear and supervised by Mr. La Roux, the rocketry club is aiming to learn about rocket safety, propulsion, design, and more.

Students will be able to design rockets online and learn how to safely build and launch them.

CYHSB freshman Jojo Ardestani said, “I’m very excited to design things online and 3D print them for rockets”. One of the club’s

overarching goals is to make science more accessible to younger people, and overall to create more interest in science in a fun manner.

Another fun club that has returned to the school is the Cooper chess club. Run by Nadav Weiss and Michael Baum, they are excited to begin the second year of the chess club, and currently have even more participants than last year.

Members of the club have the chance to play against their peers during the school day, at home, and in tournaments. People from all skill levels can join the club and play for fun. At some point in the year, there will be a chess tournament and the winner will face off against Dr. Kennon for the title of chess champion.

Last year the school was introduced to the numismatics/coin collecting club. Led by Michael Baum, the club has shared interesting insights about historic coins and bills from all over the world. The coin club hopes to resume meetings soon and continue to invite more guest speakers!

Mrs. Tsuna is prepared to lead the YUNMUN team to victory this year. After tryouts, the determined students are prepared to research world events, write their own position papers, and strongly advocate for what they believe in at the Model UN conference.

Members of the team meet every other Sunday to learn how the UN works and their country’s interests as well as to expand on their debating and public speaking skills.

Mock trial is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about our criminal justice system. Participants

Check out the CYHSB’s Instagram @weekly2k21!!

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have roles ranging from a witness, plaintiff, and team-leading lawyer.

Students study a mock court case from front to back, and simultaneously learn effective public speaking skills, especially when under pressure. Later in the year, the mock trial team debates on behalf of either the defendant or the prosecution against another school in hopes of proving their side correct to the judge. The competition consists

December 3, 2021

of the opening and closing statements, the witness’s testimony, forward and cross-examination, and more. CYHSB senior Gavi Lowell says “I had a lot of fun in mock trial and I learned a lot from it”. The team is led by co-coaches Rabbi Gerstein and Rob Goulder who have put in their own time and dedication.

All in all, the CYHSB has lots of great clubs to choose from for people of all interests. From the rocketry

club where students learn how to make science fun and exciting to the mock trial club where students learn about the court and law. As the year continues, these clubs will progress, grow, and inspire students to learn more about these fields. If someone is passionate about a specific subject, they are more than welcome to join a club or even begin their own. I hope everyone has a wonderful Shabbos and a wonderful Chanukah.

Chanukah Dancing Everyone had a great time at Chanukah Dancing Top right, the students circle Rabbi Gersten as he shows o his dance moves; bottom right, the CYHSB band plays Chanukah songs for the whole school; bottom le , Rabbi Gersten wows the crowd as Elvis; center, the CYHSB dances in celebration of Chanukah.

Photos: Michael Bau

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Where is Chanukah in Torah Sheba’al Peh? Ezra Wiener (’23) Chanukah is a holiday with a multitude of very detailed and specific halachos. It is covered extensively in the Shulchan Aruch, with 26 Se’ifim talking about it, yet it is hardly discussed in the Gemara, with only 2 Dafim dealing with its laws, and it is not mentioned in the Mishnah. What is the reason for this?

The Chasam Sofer says that the reason for this has to do with the Chashmona’im taking the monarchy for their own family following the events of Chanukah. This was something that was forbidden for them to do as the dynasty belonged only to the Shevet Yehudah, and the Chashmona'im were from Shevet Levi. As a result, when Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, who was a descendant of David and therefore may have harbored some resentment against the Chashmona'im, was editing the Mishnah, he didn’t include anything on Chanukah to avoid giving any prominence over Purim- another Rabbinic holiday.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe rejects this answer for a few reasons. One reason is that the Chashmona'im are praised throughout the Mishnah, which shows that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi didn’t resent them. The Rebbe also says that it seems strange that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would omit Chanukah from and deprive future generations of important information just because he may have harbored some resentment towards the Chashmona'im. Instead, the Rebbe says that the same question can be asked on other major mitzvot that are barely mentioned, like Mezuzah or Tefillin, two mitzvot that do not have their own Masechtos.

According to the Rebbe, this has to do with the fact that at first it was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah. Once the Beis Hamikdash

CYHSB Weekly

Chanukah never appears in the Mishnah and barely has a day written about it in the Gemara. Source: torah.org

was destroyed, there was legitimate fear that these laws would be lost, so the authorities of that generation decided it was necessary to write them down very concisely, and to only include halachos that could be lost forever if they were omitted.

This explains why mitzvot like tefillin and mezuzah were not recorded with great detail since everyone knew the halachos. This also explains why the laws of Chanukah were left out. The events of Chanukah happened not too long before the generation of the Tannaim. The miracles that occurred and the halachos that followed were relatively fresh in the minds of the Klal Yisrael, and there were other works on it like Megillas Ta’anis and Megillas Antiochus.

Therefore, it was unnecessary, and not even permitted for them to write those halachos down.

Another answer is brought by Rav Soloveitchik. He brings an apparent contradiction between a Gemara in Mo’ed Katan and a Gemara in Avodah Zarah. The Gemara in Moed Katan says that when one sees a Torah scroll being burned he tears kriya twice, one

kriya for the parchment, and one kriya for the letters. The Gemara in Avodah Zarah brings the story of Rav Chanina ben Tradyon, one of the ten martyrs who was burned at the stake along with a Sefer Torah.

As he was being burned alive his students asked him what he saw, and he answered that he saw the parchment burning but the letters flying away. The Rav raises the contradiction based on the fact that in Mo’ed Katan it seems that when a Torah scroll is burned both letters and and parchment burn, yet in Avodah Zarah it seems as though the parchment is only being burned, but the letters escape unscathed.

The Rav resolves this contradiction by explaining the difference between a Torah burned by Jews and a Torah burned by gentiles. In Moed Katan, it was referring to when King Yoshiyahu’s son Yehoyakim burned a Sefer Torah.

He explains that when Torah is given to us, we have the ability to defile and destroy it because we have a relationship with its holiness.

In the case of Rav Chanina ben Tradyon, the Torah was burned by the Romans who have no 6

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relationship to its kedusha and therefore can’t truly destroy it. Rav Soloveitchik explains that this was also the difference between what happened with Rome and what happened with Greece. The main theme of Tisha B’Av is destruction, while the main theme of Chanukah is defilement. The Romans could physically destroy a Sefer Torah, but they could never defile its holiness.

What happened with Chanukah is less Last Week’s Solution

December 3, 2021

about the Greeks and more about the Misyavanim. Even though the Misyavnim joined the Greeks, they were still Jews and could therefore destroy a Sefer Torah and defile its kedusha. Because of this, Chanukah isn’t as prominent as other holidays in the Mishnah and Gemara because it is to some extent a shame for us. The battle here wasn’t just Jews against gentiles, it was also Jews against Jews.

This doesn’t mean that Chanukah should not be celebrated. Chanukah is a remembrance of how much Hashem cares for and protects us; however, it is important for us to address the negative aspects of the story as well. It is crucial for us to look at our misdeeds, like the actions of the Misyavanim, and make sure they don’t happen again.

Crazy Crosswords

Can you gure out the names?

The rst one to send in a completed puzzle to nadav.weiss@mhafyos.org will receive a shoutout!

Note: All answers can be found in the articles themselves.

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Sponsor an Issue A sponsorship is a great way to honor the memory of a loved one, celebrate an accomplishment, or just show appreciation to the CYHSB Weekly. We reach hundreds of people each week, helping to get your announcement out for just $20.

CYHSB Weekly Staff Editor-in-Chief

From the Editor:

Michael Baum | michael.baum@mhafyos.org

As we celebrate the Festival

Assistant Editor

of Lights, we are inspired to

Zev Bosin | zev.bosin@mhafyos.org

Layout Editor Ezra Wiener | ezra.wiener@mhafyos.org

Editors Benjamin Siegel | benjamin.siegel@mhafyos.org Shahar Cahana | shahar.cahana@mhafyos.org Avi Klein| avi.klein@mhafyos.org

Complaint Manager Zevi Kirshtein| zevi.kirshtein@mhafyos.org

CYHSB Weekly Staff Coby Goldblatt | coby.goldblatt@mhafyos.org Nadav Goldkin | nadav.goldkin@mhafyos.org Noam Cahana | noam.cahana@mhafyos.org Aidan Kahane | aidan.kahane@mhafyos.org Gavi Peiser | gavi.peiser@mhafyos.org Ezra Davidovics | ezra.davidovics@mhafyos.org Yosef Vanderwalde | yosef.vanderwalde@mhafyos.org Ra Somer | ra .somer@mhafyos.org Ethan Vanderwalde | ethan.vanderwalde@mhafyos.org Ranaan Vanderwalde | ranaan.vanderwalde@mhafyos.org Nadav Lowell | nadav.lowell@mhafyos.org Jojo Ardestani | jonathan.ardestani@mhafyos.org Nathan Greenbaum | nathan.greenbaum@mhafyos.org Nadav Weiss | nadav.weiss@mhafyos.org

radiate our own metaphorical, spiritual light through our actions. For CYHSB students, the Night of Learning, numerous divrei Torah from rebbeim, and celebrations served as examples of this inspiration.

I hope that we continue sharing this light through the numerous activities that students engage in.

-Michael Baum

Administrative Advisors

Rabbi Baruch Harris & Mrs. Ashley Brown

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