TYFFL - Week 6 Results
December 29, 2006

Tov Pizza defeats Allied Funding to go 5 -1
Goldberg's dismantles SunPride Nutrition

THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER...

Last year 35 boys attended. Let's double it this year!

The more oil in the pan, the less in your latke, right? Wednesday night's Chanukah party with Aish Teens was literally shaking the house. We danced up a storm! The dreidel game and upside down dreidel spinning contest were pretty cool too... they just left a plethora of mike and ikes ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! We had some words of Torah, awesome latkes and, of course, MANY sufganiyot.

Thank you to all the potato peelers, latke flippers and dance instructors - we couldn't have done it without you. Happy Chanukah!

Wishing everyone a Freilechin Chanukah!

Please remember to tell HS Girls about the upcoming Chanukah with AISH Teens, Wednesday evening Dec 20, 2006. Flyer can be found lower down in the blog.

There is no football this week, but we are looking for two referrees for next week's matchup...

Good Shabbos,

Gobbie

TYFFL Week 5, Dec 8, 2006

In a very cold edition of flag football, this week had its usual case of drama.

Sunpride defeated Allied by a large margin, and Goldberg's gave Tov Pizza its first loss in a game that came down to the last possessions.

We would like to thank the following people:

Yussi Openden and Yaakov Berkowitz for acting as referees.

Tzvi Moskowitz for setting up the field the first time and Shuie Hochman and company for setting up the field the second time.

The videographer.

Aryeh Pleeter's car.

We at TYA also hope that Aryeh Pleeter and his car made it home safely.

Good Shabbos!

NEXT WEEK IS A BYE WEEK FOR ALL TEAMS - A Freilechin Chanukah to All!

IF YOU ARE A GIRL OF HIGH SCHOOL AGE, YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!

AISH UPDATE

Women's Concert - November 29th

We're glad that we were able to get together in such short notice because we all had a great time at the concert. We definitely added to the excitement in the room by getting out of our seats and dancing up a storm. It was great meeting so many new girls and hope to see you in the future.

Aish Teens Scavenger Hunt at the Inner Harbor - December 3rd

The weather downtown was perfect for our slimy, sticky, fun scavenger hunt. We made sure to find all the items on the list, while still taking time to stop for some wacky activities at key locations in the Inner Harbor. The group skits were very creative and quite humorous as well. We had a great time and are looking forward to seeing you all on Chanukah!

The weekend DEC 2nd and 3rd was a busy one for Torah Youth participants.
On Motzai Shabbos we had tennis with a special twist...Father's were invited!
I would like to give a special thank you to R' Dave Finkelstein, Mayer Kohen, Tali Strum and Joel Pleeter for showing your support! Some would argue that the father's had a better time then their sons!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In WEEK 4 of the TYFL Allied Funding picked up their first win of the season over Goldberg's while Tov Pizza keeps rolling with another win over Sunpride to take them to 4-0!

TYA UPDATE

Due to the threat of thunderstorms throughout the afternoon, this week's games have been postponed and will be played on Sunday.

We are in need of volunteers to referee the games on Sunday. If you are available or know someone who might be, please call me 443-857-4304.

On another note, Rabbi Silber is having an Oneg for HS boys tonight at his home.

Good Shabbos!

THIS WEEK'S EVENTS

HS BOYS FLAG FOOTBALL (FRIDAY)

HS BOYS TENNIS - BRING YOUR FATHER! - (MOTZAI SHABBOS)

HS GIRLS (AISH) SCAVENGER HUNT (SUNDAY)

REPORTS WILL BE POSTED FOR EACH EVENT, STAY TUNED...

If you are available to volunteer your time at any of these events, please contact gcohn@torahyouth.org

Torah Youth Presents...

AISH TEENS SCAVENGER HUNT (DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE)

Week 3 proved to be a VERY competitive week.

Tov Pizza defeated Allied Funding

Sunpride Nutrition defeated Goldberg's (OT)

A special thanks to Yaakov Berkowitz and Yussi Openden for acting as our referees.

We look forward to Week 4.

The Aish Teens first Melaveh Malka was a huge success. Girls showed up from Bais Yaakov, Beth Tfiloh and Rambam and created scrumptious pizza masterpieces. The highlight of the evening was the debut of…..JUULAGEE! The three teams maneuvered through the juulagee quest, working up an appetite (after their awesome pizza), for the sundaes. Whipped cream was spraying, sprinkles were flying, syrup was pouring, bananas were….yellow. All in all, the night was a blast and we can’t wait for our next event. Stay tuned for pictures and we can’t wait to see you at the next event …

- Temi & Eeta

TYFL WEEK 2

Tov Pizza defeats Goldberg's

Sunpride defeats Allied Funding

Thank you to Yaakov Berkowitz and Yussi Openden on acting as referrees for these games.

TYA FLAG FOOTBALL (TYFL) – WEEK 1

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!

The HS boy’s flag football season is officially underway!

The corporate sponsors for the 06-07 season are:

Allied Funding (Defending Champs 05-06)
Goldberg’s Bagels
Tov Pizza
SunPride Nutrition (my personal favorite)

I would like to thank all the sponsors for their support!

The anticipation to get to this day has been incredible. The participants of this league have been waiting since day one of the school year to put on their new jerseys and play some ball. In addition to playing the game, the boys were given their “surprise” at the end of each game. To the dismay of some, the “surprise” was not in the form of sweatshirts but rather personalized ski caps. It gets quite cold on the football field and we want to make sure these boys stay warm! They were excited to say the least.

- Goldberg’s defeated Allied Funding
- Tov Pizza defeated Sunpride

Stay Tuned for next week’s report!

HS GIRLS MOTZAI SHABBOS OCTOBER 28, 2006

HS BOYS TENNIS THIS MOTZAI SHABBOS OCT 21, 2006!!!

Motzai Shabbos Shuva Melava Malka

On Motzai Shabbos September 30, 2006 we had a melava malka at the home of Yanky & Cathy Dinovitz with Avraham Rosenblum and Rabbi Shmuel Silber. Rabbi Silber spoke about the essence of shiras haazinu. Avraham Rosenblum provided the "shira" and the beautiful playing.

I would like to personally thank Rabbi Silber, Avraham Rosenblum, the Dinovitz's, Scott Leder and all the boys who took the time out of their busy sukkah building schedule to join us for the beautiful evening.

SHABBOS SHUVA MELAVA MALKA FOR HIGH SCHOOL BOYS YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!!!

INAUGURAL AISH EVENT SUCCESS!

The Aish Teens kick-off BBQ, on September 17th, was a huge success! We started off introducing ourselves and our favorite activities through charades and over some delicious food.

Thank you so much to the Messing's for the use of their grill and backyard. It was a perfect setting for our three-legged races, water balloon toss and hoola hoop contest.

We topped the evening off with a watermelon challenge - to eat watermelon without using your hands. We all had a great time and we can't wait to see more of you at future TYA's Aish Teen events. Stay tuned...

Torah Youth Discussion Question

I will try to begin posting various discussion topics on this blog. We would love your input!

Question September 12, 2006/Yud Tes Elul 5766

For those who have never heard of Torah Youth please visit www.torahyouth.org

The Torah Youth Association intends to provide the youth of our community with many activities throughout the year. Please respond to this blog with your ideas for activities. It could be related to sports, chilling or chesed!!

Thank you for supporting your Torah Youth!

"Torah Youth It's In The Name!"

Motzai Shabbos Tennis (September 9, 2006) Report

I am pleased to report that our first Motzai Shabbos Tennis event of the year was a tremendous success. With only a weeks notice, 34 boys from three different schools (TA, BT, & Rambam) were in attendance.

Thank you to the Baltimore Fitness and Tennis for participating as a corporate sponsor and special thanks to Ronnie for putting up with us! Jon should be proud!

Thank you to Tov Pizza for providing the pizza. If this week’s turnout is any indication of what lies ahead, we will need to order more pizza!

Torah Youth allows the kids in the community to interact on a social level outside of school. We are looking forward to a very active year.

Please stay tuned as we are just getting warmed up. More to come!

Thank you for supporting your Torah Youth!
Gavi Cohn
443-857-4304

"Torah Youth, it's in the name!"

INAUGURAL AISH BBQ!!!!

BIG NEWS!!!

The Torah Youth Association is proud to announce the revival of the AISH Teens girls program!!!

AISH Teens, based in Baltimore, MD, is now a Torah Youth affiliated program. Leading the AISH Teens will be the team of Itael Evgey, Eeta Berger & Temi Pieprz. Itael is one of the founders of the AISH Teens program.

The NEW AISH will have its first event on Sunday September 17, 2006.
Details will follow…

Thank you for supporting your Torah Youth!!!
For more information please visit www.torahyouth.org or email gcohn@torahyouth.org

Dear Torah Youth Supporter:

The Torah Youth Association (fka Daas Torah) is now a Goodsearch.com verified charity. Every time you use GoodSearch.com, money goes to your favorite charity or school. I hope you'll give it a try and support The Torah Youth Association.

The site is powered by Yahoo!, so you'll get the same quality search results that you're used to. Start searching!!!

www.goodsearch.com

TORAH YOUTH TENNIS IS BACK!
We hope to see you there!

I hope that everyone had (or is still having) a great summer. I have begun planning events for the upcoming Torah Youth season. There will be more great events and we expect more kids to participate.

As our program is not yet known to everyone, I wanted to repost our mission:

Mission Statement

- We are an association of socially active Jewish day school students and observant youth

- Our programs are designed to be engaging and motivational while maintaining the appropriate levels of modesty in speech, behavior, dress, and attitude. Our members are some of the most well rounded, self-disciplined students around.

- This is a gender sensitive organization. Our programs are not co-ed and thereby open the doors to equal learning opportunities and free expression for both young men and women.

- Our membership is comprised almost exclusively of students from Jewish day schools and/or observant homes. This creates an environment that is universally knowledgeable in basic Torah concepts and is familiar with the various Jewish customs and practices.

- Our goal is not to introduce Jewish students to Judaism; it is to demonstrate to them how it's done outside of school, on the basketball court, at the skating place, on the mountain, Saturday nights, Sunday afternoons, via instant messenger, on campus, and at work!

With the help of dedicated families along the east coast, almost all of our events and programs are subsidized. We recognize that Jewish families are pushed to their financial limits in paying for their children's Jewish education. Therefore we work very hard to keep our events as inexpensive as is practically possible!

Please stay tuned for news on program expansion...

Thank you for supporting your Torah Youth!

2005-2006 Recap

The third season of Torah Youth, Baltimore has come to a close with an End of Year 2-on-2 Basketball Tournament, with a BBQ. Despite the rain and relocation, around 28 HS boys participated and they loved every minute of it. The final game pinned the team of Yossi Lurman & Jeremy Sykes against Ari Raskas & Josh Zaslow. In an exciting game that went down to the wire, Yossi & Jeremy came out victorious. The first place team will be getting gift certificates to Dick's or Modell's while the second place team will be treated to RITA’S.

It should be noted that the boys who attended this event were from 5 different schools:
- T.A.
- Rambam
- Beth Tfiloh
- Ner Yisroel
- Yeshiva in Atlanta

Who says that these boys cannot get along?! Thanks go to:

Our Sponsors (you know who you are)

My Parents for watching my kids while we had to leave the house to transport the grill

Yaakov Berkowitz for shlepping the trash cans, "reffing" the games and being a constant support

Ashi Wildman for enabling the rest of us to eat hamburgers and hot dogs in the middle of a really rainy day

Scott Leder for showing up

R’ Teichman for allowing us to use TA at a last minute's notice

Larry the Janitor for not kicking us out even though "nobody told me you were coming.

Josh Zaslow for taking down names, making calls, and for picking up the trash cans, trash bags, and aluminum foil

Yisroel Katz for signing people up, creating the rankings, creating the brackets, acting as commissioner during the actual tournament

Shayna for allowing us to use the grill, and for lifting it and taking it out of Yossi Openden's truck

Yossi Openden (and truck) for enabling us to bring the grill to and from the event site

We appreciate your support and we look forward to taking this program to the next level over the next year with your help!

Gut Chodesh,
Gavi Cohn 443-857-4304

Torah Youth Today

Torah Youth – A Proven Method

In 2003, I and my dear friend Moshe Starkman, created an initiative for a problem that has been neglected for years. There are many organizations working on kiruv r’chokim (bringing the far ones closer) and there are plenty of organizations that focus on youth who are already ‘At Risk’. I had an opportunity to volunteer time for one of these organizations, and while watching how the youth were brought closer to Judaism, it dawned on us, that there is something lacking. Participants of this group included perfectly religious kids, who took the opportunity to spend time with their ‘loved’ ones. There were many who did not belong.

We asked ourselves, why is no one paying any attention to the kids ‘in the system’? Why don’t we focus on the children who daven (pray) and learn Torah everyday? Some of these kids are fantastic kids with no juvenile issues. However, many pretend that they are emotionally intact on the outside but in reality they feel (rightfully so) they have no outlet. They feel that they are being pushed to the limit. They start to begrudge learning Torah. These kids are potential for becoming ‘At Risk’.

Today, we have programming in the Baltimore and Greater Washington areas, separate programs for both boys & girls of middle and high school ages. Support has come from the likes of Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky, to our local school principals. In the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore, one Rebbi (teacher) stopped class to tell the boys how important it was to participate in our events. From the positive feedback we have received it is evident that this is a long awaited solution.

Case Studies

I hope that the background information provided gives a sense of appreciation to what we are trying to accomplish. Let me give a few examples of where our programming has proven itself:

Ø From the month of September through March, we have Saturday Night Tennis Tournaments. The program spans from 9pm until 12am with pizza as the nightly nutritious supplement. It took only the first tournament for one of the “cooler” kids to scream out, “I did not even hang out at the pizza shop with the girls tonight!” Need I say more?

Ø “Cooler” kids. These are the kids who speak in “cool” and who hang out with only a select number of friends who act as if they need nobody else. When planning our first Super Bowl party, I found out that there was a group of 10 or so “cool” kids who were not going to come to our party, and hang out by themselves. I decided to confront the leader of the bunch in his home.

I said to him, “I heard that you are making your own party. Why are you not joining us?”

He responded, “Well…tell me what you are having?”
I said, “Let’s see…we are renting a 57” big screen television, we will have 15 feet of deli sub, a few pans of BBQ wings, and we will have a great time.”

He then responded, “Uh…hold on.”

He went to the back to make a phone call to one of his buddies, and when he came back he told me that they (all 10 of them) would join our party. However, the story does not end there. During the Superbowl, one of the boys pulled out a siddur when he wanted his team to score! The guy to grab the siddur was the leader of the “cool” kids.


Ø Paintball Trip May 2006. Paintball is an opportunity for a teenager to let loose and even potential to act in a wild manner. I am however proud to report, that the kids were on their best behavior. So good in fact, that the owner of the Paintball operation made it a point to come over to the boys before they left to tell them that it was the best group he has ever had.

It is much easier for a teenager to open up to those who are allowing them to act as themselves than it is for them to open up to the teachers and Rabbis who push Torah. Do not get me wrong, the Torah is the guide by which we live and is extremely important and I hope the kids continue to learn it everyday. However, we at Torah Youth have an understanding that in order to encourage the growth of these teens, they need to be stimulated outside the bais medrash as well. If I had to describe our mission statement under 10 words, I would have to say it is Derech Eretz Kodma L’Torah.


We are always looking for volunteers and sponsors, so please do not hesitate to come forward.

I can be reached at 443-857-4304 or gcohn@torahyouth.org.
Gavi Cohn