The Official Newspaper of the Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys
Volume 19, Issue 13
Trivia Corner: Sports Edition
Page 2
The 2025 Tennis Season
Page 3
Model Beis Din 2025
Page 4
Aroma and Steam in Kashrut: Halachos of Microwaves
Page 6
Cooper Clicks
Page 7
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Cooper Macs take a team photo before their first game.
AJA Flag Football Tournament: The
Present and Future
Nadav Lowell (‘25)
The AJA tournament hosted six Jewish teams from across the country in a fierce flag football competition. The Cooper Macs were ready to prove themselves. Representing the underclassmen were Daniel Kahane (‘27) and Jonah Siegel (‘27)—Kahane as a wide receiver and Siegel as a safety as well as co-offensive coordinator. Both tried their hands at quarterback,
embodying the next generation of Cooper Macs.
From the junior class, Rafi Davidovics (‘26) proved to be a versatile player, covering flat zone defense, playing center on the offensive line, and contributing as a wide receiver. Benny Frieden (‘26), played a central role as the offensive coordinator and quarterback. Jack Kampf (‘26) played as a wide receiver and middle Cont’d on next page.
Photo: Coach Pinto
Vanderwalde ('25) played center on the offensive line and was a crucial linebacker on defense. Nadav Lowell (‘25) contributed at center, rush, and fl at zone defense.
MVP winners Gedalia Flinkenstein ( ‘25 ) and Ra fi Goldkin (‘25) played key roles in rushing throughout the tournament. Flinkenstein also contributed as a wide receiver on offense, while Goldkin started as a running back for the first three games before shifting to a dual threat quarterback role by game
team, while Rabbi Grunwald supported them in learning and tefilah before every game, offering brachot to each player before they ran onto the field. Practices in Memphis began after tryouts, focusing on conditioning with planks, suicides, and laps around the field. As the tournament approached, the team shifted to drills emphasizing flag grabbing and avoidance, running routes, and familiarizing players with offensive plays and defensive positioning. David “Dubs” Winestone provided valuable
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present to speak to the boys, explaining how the Israeli league works as well as a program where citizens or Olot Chadashot new immigrants can fulfill their draft requirements by playing football for the country.
Co-captain Raanan Vanderwalde described the overall experience as, “Exhilarating,” emphasizing that, “it was an opportunity to connect both over through the unique speakers and the annual Torah Bowl over Shabbos (a competition where schools compete to answer Judaic questions from Tanach and Gemara), and on the field where we saw fair sportsmanship and camaraderie.”
As underclassmen remark on their interest in returning in future years, we wish them the best of luck as we watch from Israel, university, and beyond.
Cooper Macs square up against Frisch Cougars. Photo: Benny Freiden (‘26)
Cooper Macs Tennis Season Begins
Amit Zalman (‘26)
Tennis is more than just a game, it’s a test of endurance, strategy, and heart. This is clearly showcased by Roger Federer’s saying, "You have to believe in the long - term plan you have, but you need the short- term goals to motivate and inspire you." At the CYHSB, the tennis team strives for these qualities, turning every single match into a demonstration of physical perseverance and unity. Every year, the school is privileged to participate in a tennis league, which becomes a high schooler’s favorite league to participate in while also finding new ways to grow.
As fourth-year athlete and senior Raanan Vanderwalde ('25) reflects, "Through the MHA tennis program, I have been able to grow both as a tennis player and an athlete. I have had countless opportunities to play with students from other schools, which has given me an invaluable experience." Overall, the team has experienced remarkable growth.
One of the most inspiring aspects of the tennis team is the way they rise to the challenge despite the odds. They frequently play against schools that practice up to six times a week. Despite having much fewer practice sessions, they compete giving it their all and often earn impressive and close wins. These victories are a
testament to the team's dedication and resilience.
Tennis has revealed itself to be a game that requires immense patience and unwavering focus. Every point demands complete attention to the ball, allowing a player to strategically plan a return in order to secure the point. The players understand that a single space out in concentration can change the direction of a match, and this discipline becomes a valuable life lesson even beyond the court.
Much of the team's success can be credited to the coach, Robby Rubin. His commitment to the teams improvement goes beyond just hitting balls on the court. After every match, whether it results in victory or defeat, Coach Rubin helps them carefully analyze their performance. He highlights what went well and where they can improve, which is incredibly helpful. As Coach Rubin notes, “We’ve been very competitive as a tennis team and won matches against some of the best tennis programs in the state, including a couple of matches against perennial- state champions such as Collierville. Everyone, especially some of the more beginner-level players on the team, have shocked me with their improvement both from a technique and tennis -IQ standpoint.”
Furthermore, the excitement and passion for tennis is definitely not limited to the
Amit Zalman (26’) about to Ace his opponent. Photo: JJ Stein (25’)
court. On game days, you may find students rallying on the blacktop out of anticipation and excitement. Players like Eli Weisfogel (27’), Raanan Vanderwalde, often warm up together, during each of their breaks, finding ways to improve from each other.
Ultimately, tennis at the CYHSB is about more than winning matches; it’s about personal growth, teamwork, and the lifelong lessons that are utilized beyond the court. As the season continues, they will remain determined to push their boundaries, finding ways to improve their game, and embrace every opportunity to learn.
Students compete in Model Beis Din at Landers College
Yakir Rovner (‘28)
A pair of conjoined twins with a shared heart and liver were born. Since Twin A was supporting both herself and Twin B, both babies soon became very weak and decrepit. For Twin B, there is no chance of survival. But for Twin A, there exists a surgery that can separate her from Twin B. This surgery would save Twin A's life, but result in the immediate death of Twin B. Our Model Beis Din team was tasked with presenting halachic sources for whether we could, or could not, do the surgery. About two months ago, we began to study and understand difficult sources in order to gain clarity of this issue. Two particularly difficult sources were that of Rav Moshe Feinstein and of the Meiri. This past weekend, we traveled to Lander College for a beautiful Shabbaton with Shabbos meals, singing, and a hypnotist show on motzei Shabbos. On Sunday morning, with a little bit of rest and some food in our stomachs, we did
some last minute preparations before beginning our first round. Our first round, we were defending the side that said the surgery could not be done. Each team had twenty minutes to bring their sources, before a few minute break to gather our thoughts, and a five minute rebuttal from each side. Our
second round was also structured like this, although we argued for the surgery instead of against it.
For both rounds of the competition, we brought the same concepts with different views. We asked whether the conjoined twins were one person or two. If they were one
Chagai Yorav('28) and Tzvi Steiner ('25) studying for Model Beis Din.
Photo: Nadav Lowel ('25)
person, doing the surgery would be like cutting off a limb in order to save a life, which is definitely allowed. If they were two people, it would be issur, forbidden, to kill one to save the other, as that is not allowed in Judaism. We also asked whether the baby who was definitely going to die could be considered a rodeif, a pursuer, and could therefore be killed in order to save the other twin.
everyone. The other opinion, of Reish Lakish, said that you could only turn the person over if he was selected, and sentenced to death by the government. There were also relevant cases in the Navi and Talmud, such as that of Sheva Ben Bikhri and Ula Bar Kotev, which brought up different concepts such as
There was a case in the Mishna of a group of robbers surrounding Jews in a forest, and telling them to hand over a person to be killed, or else they would kill everyone. We attempted to use the two opinions from that case to prove our point. One opinion, Rabbi Yochanan, was that if they select a specific person to be turned over, you are allowed to turn them over in order to save
Source: https://lcm.touro.edu/
that of Midat Chasiddim, the way of the righteous, which seemed to say we couldn’t do the surgery. We used Reb Moshe’s teshuvot, answers, in order to show how each side would allow or not allow the surgery. Once we had argued both sides, the Rosh Yeshiva of Lander College, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, asked us questions about the sources we had brought.
On our way to the airport on Sunday, we drove over a screw and got a pretty severe flat. We called the rental company and someone from Chaveirim, a jewish volunteer emergency service, before deciding to just change the tire ourselves. Eventually, we returned the car and got through the airport to our gate. Things seemed to be going pretty well until an alarm went off and we were informed that there was a bomb being investigated in the airport. We were all a little nervous, but after a while it was announced that the bomb was a false alarm and we were good to go. We switched gates and everything went smoothly after that. Although we did not win I learned a lot from Model Beis Din, and hope to be able to participate again next year!
Aroma and Steam in Kashrut: Halachos of Microwaves
Rafi Goldkin (’25)
Disclaimer: Do not folow any instructions/halachot on this article without first checking with a competent authority, I am just a high schooler.
The Gemara in Pesachim 76:B tells us the opinion of Rabbi Meir, that if one removes hot bread from an oven and places it on top of an open barrel of wine that is terumah, a nonpriest is not allowed to eat that bread. He holds that the bread absorbs the aroma from the terumah wine and attains the status of terumah bread, which is forbidden to any non-priest.
This Gemara, while seemingly specific, really brings the issue of whether aroma has any substance in kashrut. On this topic, Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel, also known as the Rosh, addresses a question in his responsa in which the questioner asked whether one is allowed to put a dairy pot under a meat pot in the oven. The Rosh answers the question stating that this action is prohibited because the steam from the dairy pot is considered dairy and will go into the meat pot. It seems to be that in halacha, steam is dairy or meat depending on the food it rises from.
A very common situation where this can create a problem is when using the same microwave for meat and dairy. Since the steam will rise from the dairy or meat food, it will either be absorbed into the
walls of the microwave making the microwave either meat or dairy, or the condensation of that steam will drip back into the next dish you put into the microwave. So, either you’ll have a dairy/meat microwave where you are cooking the opposite as well, or the dairy/ meat steam would drop back into the next dish which could potentially be a problem.
Rav Moshe Feinstein insists in his responsa that one should not use the same microwave for meat and dairy. Rav Moshe Isserles, or the Rema in Yoreh Deah 92:8 provides a potential solution. He writes that covering a food avoids any kashrut issue of steam.
This solution seems to pose a few different issues depending on how you go about covering
the food. You would first have to resolve to always cover dairy or meat products. Then when you cover it, the steam should not be able to rise. Additionally, there are many microwave- safe covers with slits in the top of them for venting. This would seemingly prove a problem with the steam and is therefore not recommended. Secondly, the cover must stay fully on the food until removed from the microwave, because if the cover has to come off before you remove the food, the steam will rise instantly.
A possible fix would be to kasher the microwave every time you want to heat up meat in a dairy microwave or vice versa. However, the Magen Avraham rejects this and states
Rafi Goldkin (‘25) posing with the school microwaves in the lounge.
Photo: Jojo Ardestani ('25)
that one should not do this anymore for cooking vessels. The best way to remove these issues is to cover the food with a cover with no holes and
that can remain on the food the entire time it is in the microwave. Rav Belsky recommends a double covering for safety. One could possibly use two napkins over the top of their meat food in a dairy microwave or vice versa to resolve most issues.
Top Lef: Rafi Goldkin takes to the skies at AJA.
Top Right: Jonah Siegel ('27) goes to DC on an important lobbying trip.
Center: The Cooper Macs footbal team sleepy.
Bottom Lef
Jack Kampf ( hanging fom a footbal
Bottom Right: Seniors watch a meaningful movie about October 7th.
This issue takes a look at the wide range of extracurricular happenings around the school, from the football field and tennis court to the beit midrash, and even the complexities of microwaves (not exactly extracurricular, but still noteworthy from the student body!). We’re excited to share action shots from all kinds of events, so make sure to check them out attached to the articles and Cooper Clicks. Our layout team is already preparing for the new year, so you might start to notice some design changes as the grades shift.
