Torah Youth Association

TYA Shabbaton 2010 Review

2010-06-08T12:19:00.000-04:00

Due to the overwhelming success of the Shabbaton, I have been unable to sit down and write my thoughts until today. I have received amazing feedback from the students and parents of those students in response to this past week’s TYA Shabbaton. I am pleased to say that, though we would have liked to have more participate, those who did take part truly had an amazing, uplifting and meaningful weekend!

The Shabbaton began as we gathered into several vehicles and road out to the ropes course at Camp Shoresh to join Avi Gross and Dov Pear of Project Ascent for some exciting outdoor adventures! The boys climbed the wall and were able to jump on the “Leap of Faith”. With the help of a supporting cast, each boy was able to successfully complete their desired task. This created team building and an opportunity for some great camaraderie.

Following the ropes course, the guys had an opportunity to break-in the pool at Camp Shoresh and cool off with some pool fun. Some swam, some played water basketball, and some played water ultimate. Everyone had a great time!

Everyone then prepared for Shabbos and joined in an inspiring Kabbalos Shabbos led by R’ Shua Rose of Camp S’dei Chemed fame. The delicious meal, cooked by Yaakov Simanowitz and his illustrious staff, followed with beautiful zemiros and divrei torah from Dani Poliakoff. After the meal, we had an Oneg Shabbos with singing and an emotional story told by Yonasan Gavant.

It was late (midnight late), but the evening did not end at that point. The guys gathered around in a circle, and played an hour and a half game of Mafia! Dave, our security guard for Shabbos said, “it is like watching a circle full of lawyers”.

Shabbos morning began with a beautiful Shacharis from Yonasan Gavant, a great laining by R’ Shua Rose, and Musaf by Gobbie Cohn. After Kiddush, the boys joined R’ Boruch Leff in an “Ask the Rabbi” session. The session lasted an hour and a half and the boys asked great questions concerning a variety of issues.

Lunch followed with delicious food once again (thank you Yaakov!), great zemiros, and a fantastic story by R’ Yaakov Berkovitch. Mincha took place immediately after the meal, and then guys dispersed to do as they pleased. Many took naps, learned, and some even played more Mafia!

Before Shalos Sheudas, the boys gathered with R’ Leff in a ‘Round Table Discussion’. R’ Leff discussed the fundamentals of Judaism, and to talk about, why we, as religious Jews, do the things we do.

Shalos Sheudas followed with great food and zemiros, and then the guys gathered in a circle for a kumzitz and incredibly fascinating storytelling by R’ Shua Rose to take Shabbos out in inspiring fashion.

Since the guys had yeshiva the next day, we had a quick melava malka and then packed out of Camp Shoresh.

The Shabbaton was amazing and I hope we can make it bigger and better in the future!

The Latest News at TYA

2009-12-07T21:24:00.001-05:00

The guys have been giving me a hard time about not updating the blog in several weeks. So without further ado here is what has been going on in Torah Youth:

TYFFL has been hammered by some bad weather, but the guys play on. The standings are as follows:

Allied Funding 3-0
Wealcatch 3-0
Parisers 2-2
Recruiting Innovators 1-2
Sunpride 1-3
Knish Shop 1-3

Motzai Shabbos, Dec 5th was the 2nd TYA at the ‘J’. The guys enjoyed pizza and several games of basketball. Highlights of the evening was Yehuda Shuck’s layup off the backboard and the sight of Mordechai Friedman helping out in the Eden Cafe kitchen!

Last night, Sunday Dec 6, the title of the Sunday Night Shiur was Battle at Kruger. Rabbi Teichman showed a video which illustrated animal behavior and its relation to the fight between Eisav’s malach and Yaakov Avinu. Thanks again to the Knish Shop for a very creative combination of food!

TYA Reunion in Israel Nov 12-13, 2009

2009-11-17T11:46:00.004-05:00

I have returned from a fantastic trip to Eretz Yisroel.

The TYA Reunion Kumzitz, Thursday evening Nov 12, was better than I could ever have expected! 30 guys from a variety of yeshivos came out to join in an inspirational hour and a half of singing at the Kotel. Many tourists stopped by to take photos, and even chassidim stopped to listen. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate each individual who attended the event. It meant a lot.

The Kumzitz was one part of the reunion. I was privileged to watch the TYA flag football team on Friday afternoon, Nov 13 at Kraft Stadium. They were victorious in both of their wins and they were a lot of fun to watch!

After Shabbos, I attended Kraft stadium to watch more football and I met up with even more TYA alumni. It was very exciting to see everyone!

Hopefully, trips like this can become more commonplace!

Sunday Night Shiur November 8, 2009

2009-11-09T11:57:00.005-05:00

Over 20 boys came to R' Teichman's shiur Sunday night. Thanks to the Szajowitz family for their generous sponsorship in memory of Yaakov's sister Rachel Shoshana bas Chaim Tzvi.

R' Teichman spoke about overcoming one's instincts.

A special thank you to Mosie and the Knish Shop for the fresh deli roll that went along with the deli subs!

TYA TENNIS Nov 7, 2009

2009-11-09T11:40:00.003-05:00

We had a great turnout at Tennis/Football and now basketball night this past Motzai Shabbos!

Boys from T.A., Rambam, Neimus HaTorah and Ner turned out to spend there Motzai Shabbos in a productive and supervised environment. Of course there was pizza!

TYFFL WK3 Results

2009-11-09T11:35:00.005-05:00

On a beautiful but short Friday, only two games took place.

Allied Funding had a bye this week.

Parisers was forced to forfeit to Knish Shop due to not having enough players available.

In a romp, Recruiting Innovators defeated Sunpride 9-2 (yes Ozzie Marizan through a touchdown pass).

In the long anticipated matchup Wealcatch vs Tov Pizza, Wealcatch pulled it off in OT 7-6 thanks to a diving grab by Chaimowitz which he turned into a touchdown!!

Next Week: No Games - OFF SHABBOS

TYA Israel Update

2009-11-06T10:25:00.001-05:00

From our esteemed player/coach/correspondent Aaron "Fudgy" Feldberg:

on a beautiful at kraft stadium the following transpired
first game: mordi got a early td 2 give a 6-0 lead then jeremy furror team came back and tied it up followed by a josh poliakoff td and a 2pt conversion making it 14-6 tya gave up another td14-13 then tya gave up another td making it 20-14 .with a min left avi yudkowski took tya downfield and on a 4th and goal josh poliakoff had a diving td in the final secounds to tie it up followed by a baer rosenbloom pat 21-20!! tya wins
2nd game: an early td 2 baer rosenbloom gave tya a 6-0 lead great defense lead the rest of the way for tya until josh poliakoff caught another deep td to give a 12-0 lead on their next posesion tya punted as avi pinned them on the 2yd line the defense then called an all out blitz landing up with yoni mitnik getting a safety and tya with a 14-0 lead upon getting the ball bak avi yudkowski took a knee ,a classy way 2 end a great day

TYFFL WK3 Matchups

2009-11-02T19:10:00.001-05:00

Week 3

Wealcatch vs Tov Pizza

Recruiting Innovators vs Sunpride

Parisers vs Knish Shop

Bye: Allied Funding

TYFFL WK2 - RESULTS

2009-10-30T09:35:00.003-04:00

Week 2 Results

Though the rains ceased mid-week, the fields were quite muddy. The Wealcatch team had its first bye of the season.

Tov Pizza defeated the Knish Shop 11-7 in a slugfest. Akiva Topper looked impressive in his debut as QB.

Parisers defeated Recruiting Innovators 6.5 (the .5 was due to a Safety) - 3. It was a muddy battle and noone came out clean!

In a tough defensive battle, Allied Funding defeated Sunpride 4-2.

For more pictures click here.

TYA Reunion: Kumzitz at the Kotel!

2009-10-26T23:38:00.002-04:00

I cannot wait to see you there!
Gobbie
gcohn@torahyouth.org

Sunday Night Shiur 10-25-09

2009-10-25T23:46:00.003-04:00

Tonight's shiur discussed the influence that music has in the world. R' Teichman discussed where, in the Torah, music is the first used and its development to the use of music in today's world.

Please join us Sunday evening for interesting and unusual topics...

Missing Glasses

2009-10-25T22:31:00.002-04:00

If anyone has seen or has information on black framed D&G glasses that went missing from Friday's footall game, please contact me or Yaakov Szajowitz at 443-865-9413.

Sunday Night Shiur

2009-10-25T00:21:00.003-04:00

ATTN HS Boys:

Please join us this evening for the Sunday Night Shiur with Rabbi Teichman beginning at 7:30pm at Cong. Ohel Moshe. Dinner is included. Maariv to follow shiur.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Gobbie

TYFFL WK1 Results

2009-10-23T15:41:00.001-04:00

Everyone was excited to begin the new TYFFL season. The rain did not keep anyone away.
Each game was exciting including an overtime thriller between Knish and Sunpride.
I would like to thank the referees who came out and endured a wet outing!

To view all pictures please click here:
WK1 Results:
Allied Funding defeated Recruiting Innovators 5-3
Wealcatch defeated Parisers 6-4
Sunpride defeated Knish Shop (OT) 4-3

Bye: Tov Pizza

Torah Youth Flag Football League (TYFFL)

2009-10-23T09:40:00.003-04:00

Today marks Week 1 of the TYFFL. B'H over 80 boys are participating. This season there are 7 teams. Thanks to our sponsors: Allied Funding, Wealcatch Insurance, Knish Shop, Tov Pizza, Parisers Bakery, Recruiting Innovators, and Sunpride Nutrition.

WK1 Schedule:

Team vs	Team	Score
Allied Funding	Recruiting Innovators
Wealcatch	Parisers
Sunpride	Knish Shop

Bye: Tov Pizza

TYA Flag Football In Israel

2009-10-23T09:35:00.002-04:00

I am pleased to announce that this year, TYA has representation in the American Football in Israel League. The team was put together by TYA alumni Yoni Mitnick, Avi Yudkowsky, Josh Poliakoff, Mordi Spero, and Aaron Feldberg.

After a rough preseason, the first week of the regular season brought more success.

TYA Israel tied its first game 6-6 and won its second 12-6.

For more information and standings, check out www.israelfootball.net.

Good Shabbos,
Gobbie

ELUL RECALL NOTICE

2009-08-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

By Anon.

ELUL RECALL NOTICE

Regardless of make or year, all units known as "human beings" are being recalled by the Manufacturer. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named "Adam" and "Eve" resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect is technically termed, "Serious Internal Non-morality," but more commonly known as "SIN."

Some of the symptoms of the SIN defect:
[a] Loss of direction
[b] Lack of peace and joy
[c] Depression
[d] Foul vocal emissions
[e] Selfishness
[f] Ingratitude
[g] Fearfulness
[h] Rebellion
[i] Jealousy

The Manufacturer is providing factory authorized repair service free of charge to correct the SIN defect.

The Repair Technician, Hashem, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. To repeat, there is no fee required.

The number to call in for repair in all areas is: PRAYER.

Once connected, please upload the burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Hashem, into the heart component of the human unit.. No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Hashem will replace it with:

[a] Love
[b] Joy
[c] Peace
[d] Kindness
[e] Goodness
[f] Faithfulness
[g] Gentleness
[h] Patience
[I] Self-control

Please see the operating manual, TORAH, for further details on the use of these fixes. As an added upgrade, the Manufacturer has made available to all repaired units a facility enabling direct monitoring and assistance from the resident Maintenance Technician, Hashem. Repaired units need only make Him welcome and He will take up residence on the premises.

WARNING: Continuing to operate a human being unit without corrections voids the Manufacturer's warranty, exposes the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list, and will ultimately result in the human unit being incinerated.

Thank you for your immediate attention.

Please assist by notifying others of this important recall notice.

Have an uplifting Chodesh Elul!

TYFFL SUPERBOWL RESULTS: March 13, 2009

2009-03-19T10:45:00.001-04:00

In what turned out to be a cold Friday, Parisers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after touchdown passes to Rafael Nakhon and Josh Poliakoff. Sun Pride was finally able to muster some offense vs. the tenacious Parisers defense and scored a td rite before the half on a pass from Moshe Afrah to Gross. In the second half the game turned into a defensive struggle as both defenses refused to relent. With less than 5 minutes remaining and the game still up in the air Avi Yudkowsky connected with Josh Poliakoff on a deep ball to give Parisers the insurance they needed in order to hold on and win the super bowl by a score of 4-1.

Moti - They are still waiting for their danishes...

5th Annual TYA Superbowl Party!

2009-02-02T11:31:00.002-05:00

This year's Superbowl party was an incredible event. Between 40 and 50 guys came to witness a 135" of HD projection! We would like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to Yaakov & Essie Berkowitz for allowing us to use their house for the party and to Daniel Leichter and Andy Diamond at Marvel Title for sponsoring this event! A special thank you goes out to Mosey at the Knish Shop for the incredible deli subs and wings! Additionally, this year, we had the privilege of enjoying Jimmie's sushi (in the special TYA room off to the side!).

Last, but not least, we would like to thank R' Teichman for being our Halftime Show!

Motzai Shabbos Tennis & Football

2009-01-11T22:38:00.000-05:00

We had a very nice crowd at Tennis/Football this past Motzai Shabbos January 10, 2009. Approximately 35 guys were in attendance. There was NO pizza leftover!

Please enter the pictures section of the site to see more...

TYFFL WK7

2009-01-11T22:36:00.002-05:00

WK7 of the TYFFL took place this week on very muddy ground on January 9, 2009.

Wealcatch caught Parisers off guard with an upset victory 6-1; Tov Pizza made it two in a row with a 6-4 victory over Knish Shop; and Sunpride overcomes a 3-1 halftime deficit to defeat Allied 5.5 to 4.

Week 8 to take place IYH Friday the 23rd of January.

Sunday Night Shiur Jan 4th l'iluy nishmas Zvi Dovid ben R' Moshe

2009-01-05T23:27:00.000-05:00

R' Teichman spoke about Azza and the P'lishtim and how it is important for us to realize that the middah of laitzanus belongs to the Plishtim and we need to be more serious in our lives.

The audio of this shiur is available in the audio section of the website.

TYFFL WK6 Update

2009-01-05T23:24:00.001-05:00

On a cold January 2nd the guys played on frozen tundra (see pictures).

Parisers defeated Knish Shop 8-7 in OT to cap an exciting game. Pariser's QB Avi Yudkowsky through the winning touchdown pass to a diving Josh Poliakoff. Wealcatch recorded its first victory against Allied Funding 7.5 - 6, and Sunpride defeated Tov Pizza in a tight match up 6-5.

Baltimore Community Shocked Upon News of Tragic Petira of R’ Zvi (Fifi) Zhaler

2008-12-29T20:46:00.002-05:00

We at Torah Youth are saddened at learning about the sudden death of Fifi Zahler. For several years he participated in the TYA flag football league and continuing as a source of positive hasba'ah to the guys. He will be missed dearly by all.

Boruch Dayan Emes.

**
See below as reported from www.theyeshivaworld.com:

YWN regrets to inform you of the tragic Petira of R’ Zvi Dovid Zhaler Z”L, who was R”L killed in a serious car crash on Monday afternoon.

24-year-old Zvi Dovid Z”L, was enroute from Baltimore to Passaic, New Jersey when he was involved in a single vehicle accident on the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge. The force of the impact ejected him from the vehicle, and he was R”L pronounced dead by Maryland State Police who found his body.

R’ Zvi Dovid Z”L is originally from Toronto and was a member of the Kollel at Yeshiva ner Yisroel in Baltimore, MD.

[The Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge is located on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway in Maryland and carries Interstate 95 over the Susquehanna River between Cecil County and Harford County.]

Sunday Night Shiur

2008-12-14T12:04:00.002-05:00

The title of tonight's shiur is Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick: How to survive Nisyonos.

Many of you may not have heard from or seen me a lot this week. That is because I am recuperating from walking pneumonia.

I want to thank all those who helped make last Motzai Shabbos' Tennis/Football event a success.

I want to thank R' Yechiel Spero for pitching in last week with a discussion and stories from the events that took place in Mumbai.

Sponsors are welcome for all events!

GC

TYA Father vs Son Flag Football: Thanksgiving 11-27-08

2008-11-27T11:57:00.002-05:00

We would like to thank Chaim Spero, Yanky Lefkowitz, Levi Friedman, Sam Pleeter, Ron Mitnick, Manny Topper and Mayer Kohen for showing up yesterday.

In an unusual fashion, the father's needed a third 'half' to get romped by their sons 18-2. This game featured some unique action including 10 interceptions by Yossi Kohen and an 80 yard bomb from Ezra Pleeter to Mordy Spero.

The father's showed some resilience early, but, as the game went on, it appeared that age caught up to them.

Thank you goes out to Avi Yudkowsky for being the scapegoat referee.

We are planning now for next year's edition which will hopefully feature more father's and sons so we can have another game.

TYFFL WK4 11-21-08

2008-11-22T20:51:00.003-05:00

Week 4 brought some unexpected weather. As you can see from the pictures and video, there were gusts of snow which added to the excitement of the game! In the end, Parisers defeated Tov Pizza, Knish Shop defeated Wealcatch, and in a thrilling overtime game, Sunpride squeezed by Allied. In the Knish/Wealcatch game, Aron Lefkowitz caught an "80 yard" touchdown pass!

Next week no game.

Join us this Sunday Night for our Sunday Night Shiur! You never know what's for dinner!

Sunday Night Shiur November 16, 2008

2008-11-16T11:30:00.001-05:00

Sodom, Salt and the Messiah - Tonight 7:30pm

TYFFL WK3

2008-11-16T11:20:00.003-05:00

Following a league restructuring and a rainy Friday, we were able to get two games to take place. Parisers took the challenge of Allied Funding until the end when Allied Funding pulled out a 4-3 win. In a thriller, Tov Pizza and Knish Shop took it to overtime where a JT Gutman pass to Mordi Spero in the endzone ended the game.

Photos and video to be posted shortly...

Sunday Night Shiur 11-9-08

2008-11-10T09:54:00.002-05:00

Acharis Hayamim!?! Is the Geulah Approaching?

On Sunday night, R' Teichman's shiur had record breaking attendance and there was not enough FOOD!?! Next week, we will, bli neder, have enough food for everyone.

The audio should be available in a few days... Stay tuned for more info from TYA!

TYFFL WK2 11-7-08

2008-11-08T20:44:00.003-05:00

This week we experienced another competitive week. First and foremost I would like to thank the Rabbanim that come out and show their support to the guys. I would also like to thank our special guest referees.

In several high scoring games, Knish defeated Allied, Sunpride defeated Tov Pizza and Parisers defeated Wealcatch.

Stay tuned for more information on TYA events as they come your way!

Tennis/Football 11-1-08

2008-11-02T00:28:00.003-04:00

Tonight over 30 boys came to the Baltimore Fitness and Tennis to play tennis and football! I would like to personally thank all the advisers/supervisors who made this event a possibility:

Yaakov Berkowitz
Yonasan Gavant
David Herron
and star tennis player Yossi Burstein.

THANK YOU!

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of videos of this event (I would love video of Yossi Burstein playing tennis)!

TYFFL WK1

2008-10-31T16:37:00.002-04:00

Wow! Today was the first week of the 08-09 season of the Torah Youth Flag Football League (TYFFL). Over 70 boys came out to play and the teams have all shown that they are a scoring threat!

Allied Funding defeated Tov Pizza 8-4 in a rematch of last year's championship
Parisers defeated Knish Shop 6-3
Sunpride (new look) defeated Wealcatch in a thriller 7-6

We would like to thank Hashem for the awesome weather!!

Scheduling Notes: Motzai Shabbos there will be tennis/football beginning 9:30pm and Sunday Night at 7:30pm is the Sunday Night Shiur!

Have a great Shabbos! And in the words of Rafi Strum: "Have an incredibly incredible Shabbos full of incredulous incredibility :) (and an even better one if you manage to say that 5 times fast)!

TYA 2008 Strong Beginning

2008-09-24T22:41:00.002-04:00

Welcome back to another season of Torah Youth! The HS boys program has begun with a strong start. The first tennis/football night at the Baltimore Fitness & Tennis included 35 boys from 3 different schools!

The first Rabbi Teichman Sunday night shiur took place on Sunday Sept 21 and yes, we had fried chicken from the Knish Shop for dinner!

The Flag Football League is currently in development, stay tuned!

A Motzai Shabbos Shuva Melava Malka is also being planned.

Visit often for news, pictures, audio, video and more!

TYFFL BOWL!!!!!!

2008-03-14T16:11:00.002-04:00

I do not even know where to begin. There has never been, in Torah Youth's 4yr history a game like today's game. Tov Pizza, with their "owner" Ronnie Rosenbluth in their corner, took on Allied Funding, with Yitzi Shnidman in their corner. Throughout the season we saw about 10 - 12 overtime games, but none like this one. This was the first time that the overtime was longer than a half!

Tov Pizza took an early 2-0 lead after Chaim Finkelstein threw two easy touchdowns. Allied's defense brought them back in the game to make it 2-2. At that point, it was a back and forth battle until the very end.

Many people were on hand to watch and we would like to express our thank you to those who came to support these kids. Namely:

R' Melman
R' Fuchs
R' Flam
R' Rifkind
R' Berkowitz
R' Lefkowitz
Dave Finkelstein
Meir Kohen
Jack Jacobs
Yaakov Szajowitz
George Strum
Tali Strum

We would also like to thank our referees Yussi Openden, JT Gutman, and Aron Hertz.
A very special thank you to our camera crew and news team Avi Yudkowsky, Yosef Nachomowitz, and Mordi Spero. A special shout out to our photographers, Kramer & Drabkin (K&D Photography?).

For those of you waiting for pictures, have no fear, many were taken. It will take us time to post them but when they are up we are sure to let you know.

TYFFL 2007-2008 in the books.

Have a great Shabbos!

2nd Round TYFFL Playoffs

2008-03-07T15:34:00.002-05:00

When it rains it pours.

On a day which was cloudy, nobody really knew when the rain would fall. As the games began it was drizzling. As the games entered their final minutes, the rain started to fall harder.

This week presented another incredible week of playoff football. In a very heated battle, National Photo and Tov traded scores for much of the game. With thirty seconds left Tov took the lead and did not look back.

In another very hard fought battle, with the favorite - Parisers - without their starting QB Yisroel Tzvi Gutman, brought in Avi Yudkowsky to be their substitute QB against Allied Funding.

This game went into a very wet overtime. The ground was wet, the ball was slippery, and there were plenty of wet fans on the sidelines. After a grueling back and forth, Allied was able to overcome the odds and join Tov Pizza in the TYFFL Bowl.

Next week - Tov Pizza vs Allied Funding - TYFFL Bowl III

TYFFL Playoff WK1 UPDATE

2008-02-29T15:52:00.002-05:00

Today, Friday February 29th, 2008 was the first week of playoffs. With Parisers and Tov Pizza earning bye's it was up to four teams to stay alive.

In what turned out to be a no contest, National Photo defeated Knish Shop to secure a spot in WK2. The other game between Sunpride and Allied turned out to be an OT thriller.

With Avi Yudkowsky leading his team into the Red Zone ready to end the game, Rafael Gradon picked off a pass and ran it down the field for a game-winning touchdown!

Next Week it will be Allied vs Parisers & National Photo vs Tov Pizza. The winners of next week's games will go to the finals...

Stay Tuned!

Gut Shabbos

Torah Youth Weekend Update

2008-02-24T23:03:00.000-05:00

On Motzai Shabbos Feb 23, 27 boys came out to play. There was pizza, tennis and two football games. A special shout out to Chaim Finkelstein for playing in bare feet!

On Sunday eve, Rabbi Teichman spoke about the references in the Torah pertaining to mirrors and the reasons why houses have so many mirrors in them. He “reflected” on the idea that when one looks into a mirror, a window at a certain point in the day, or even someone else’s eyes, one sees a reflection of himself.

Stay Tuned for details about the Shabbaton May 30!!!

Next Tennis is scheduled for March 22^nd (Motzai Shushan Purim).

TYFFL - We hope to get the first week of playoffs underway this Friday!!!

PLAYOFF BOUND

2008-02-10T00:28:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to inform you that this past Friday was the last regular season game for the 07-08 TYFFL league. Two of the three games had particular significance. The one with least significance was Parisers vs Allied. Pariser's QB JT Gutman is on IR and the team lost without him to the tandem of Rafael Gradon and Rafi Strum.

The battle for last place and the bottom seed in the playoff bracket was between Sunpride and Knish Shop. The winner of the game would face the 3rd seed, which was determined in the other significant game. Avi Yudkowsky led his team to a 6-5 win in OT in a very exciting matchup.

In the game with most significance, Tov Pizza, led by Chaim Finkelstein, defeated National Photo in a 4-3 Overtime win. The winner, Tov, now joins Parisers with a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Next week is winter break, but the week after that, the playoffs begin! Allied will take on Sunpride and National Photo will take on the Knish Shop. We hope to see you there!

TYA SUPERBOWL PARTY IV

2008-02-04T10:28:00.000-05:00

TYA Super Bowl Party was once again a HUGE success. The food and the game did not disappoint!
Furthermore, we had our own Halftime Show featuring Rabbi Teichman! Rabbi Teichman reminded the boys that although it is okay to enjoy and have fun, they should remember to act as mentsch and not as animals (as most teams are associated with animals).

TYA wishes to extend a thank you to the Elgamil family for allowing us to use their home for the party.

OTD Shiur Jan 20, 2008

2008-01-24T23:29:00.000-05:00

The topic of shiur this past week was whether or not extra-terrestrial life existed on other planets. Despite the, what will now be known as a classic, Packers/Giants game, boys still came out to hear words of Torah from Rabbi Teichman. There will be a shiur this Sunday the 27th and the week after, Rabbi Teichman will be the half time show of the Super Bowl!

4th Annual Superbowl Party; Need I say More?

2008-01-18T11:15:00.001-05:00

Torah Youth Update Dec 31, 2007

2007-12-31T23:11:00.000-05:00

Mazel Tov to Gobbie & Shayna Cohn on the birth and bris of their son Uriel Binyamin Cohn.

This muddy weekend in TYFFL was one of the more exciting weeks of the season:

National Photo defeated a Finkelsteinless Tov Pizza Team
Parisers snuck out a tough win against Allied Funding
In an overtime thriller Knish Shop defeated Sunpride

The topic in this week's OTD shiur was about SHOVIVIM. The shiurim have been recorded and we hope to soon have them available on the TYA website.

Next Motzai Shabbos Tennis is Jan 12, 2008.

Stay Tuned for Super Bowl Party and Shabbaton information...

Weekend Recap December 14 - Dec 16 2007

2007-12-17T15:04:00.001-05:00

Friday Dec 14

This jam packed weekend began with some very well played football games.

Tov Pizza continued to role versus Knish Shop.
In a defensive battle, National Photo defeated Allied Funding
In one of the best games of the season, Pariser grabbed an impressive victory in OT against Sunpride.

Standings can be obtained by visiting www.torahyouth.org/baltimore/football.aspx

Motzai Shabbos Dec 15

Torah Youth went global. Joined by an Australian camp, there was a lot of action and excitement at Tennis night. Not only did some guys play tennis, but the Australians (and one Mexican) played soccer (football to them), while others played football (American version).

It was a very exciting night, and we look forward to possibly doing it again!

Sunday Evening Dec 16

With R' Teichman away, R' Ari Storch filled in and gave shiur to the boys. He spoke about why we believe a "Bas Kol". Twenty two guys showed up and ate some delicious fried chicken from MKS (Mosi's Knish Shop!)

Off The Derech Dec 2, 2007 Chanukah Edition

2007-12-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

Although it is not yet Chanukah, this week's shiur featured the dreidel. There will be no shiur next week, so in addition to some very tasty Chinese food, partially sponsored in part by the Caplan family, this week also featured sufganiyot from Parisers!

27 boys attended to hear an exciting shiur about how the letters on the dreidel represent the four galiyos that B'nei Yisroel have endured. A dreidel has four side, yet when spun, looks like it is round. So too, we, the Jewish people have defied logic. A few guerrilla warriors should not have been able to take down the yevanim!

Oh - Rabbi Teichman spins a mean dreidel too...

Wishing everyone a lichtiga Chanukah,
Gobbie

Off The Derech Shiur Nov 18, 2007

2007-11-23T10:03:00.000-05:00

I would like to thank R' Yaakov Berkowitz for attending and writing the summary.

**

The miracle that we celebrate on Chanukah was the finding of the one pure jug of oil while all the others were contaminated by the Greeks. The Greeks wanted to prove that nothing exists beyond our sensory perception of the world. They wanted to show us that there is no difference between a sealed jug of oil and a jug that has been opened; there is no such thing as impurity; if you can’t see it, it’s not there. However, as Torah observant Jews we believe just the opposite. We believe that G-d and thereby Halacha determines reality. We discussed many different examples of this including an ox becoming a Muad on the same day of the month even though some months are Malei (full - 30 days) and others are Chaser (29 days) as well as a case where R’ Akiva was feared to have drowned but showed up on the shore alive because of how a certain Halacha in regards to Agunas is learnt and a few different cases in Chazal where the Halacha is what determined the reality not what would have been considered common sense.

We were also told a story with the Klausenberger Rebbe where a boy was feared to be deathly ill and his parents came to the Rebbe and instead of the Rebbe davening and saying Tehillim for the boy he sat and learnt for 2 hours and because of how he learnt the Halacha of a Treifa, determined that the injury to the boy’s vertebrae would heal contrary to the opinion of all of the doctors. Obviously, the Rebbe’s diagnoses was correct!! The shiur closed with a fascinating presentation of how the audible letters of the Aleph Beis, using Electrograhic equipment, produced visible representations of the letters that we know. This gave us a fantastic understanding of “הקולות את‫ רואים‫”.

TYA Article in the Where What When

2007-11-20T15:56:00.000-05:00

In tomorrow's (Nov 21) issue of the Where What When their will be an article about Torah Youth. However, it had to be cut down to size. I am pasting the full version of the article below.

Please feel free to pass around!

GC

***

Learning Life, Living Torah and Loving It: Torah Youth Association

by Margie Pensak

Raising even a good, frum teenage boy can be challenging today. Let’s face it. Our sons sit in yeshiva an entire day, for more hours than many adults would find bearable. Their daily schedules are jam packed with learning, chazara, b’chinos, homework, and night seder. Providing them with healthy, wholesome outlets, so they can blow off steam after such a day, is no easy task. Especially in a world where wholesomeness is passé and all sorts of “entertainment” are competing for their attention.

As a nice, frum teenager growing up in Baltimore in the 90’s, Gobbie Cohn, the son of Jeff and Karen Cohn, often found himself without anything to do. The co-ed scene was out of the question for Gobbie, and he was not the type to look for trouble.

Gobbie’s adolescent experience is what inspired him to create Torah Youth Association (TYA), together with Moshe Starkman. Standing in support of the Orthodox day school system, and not conflicting with its academic or extracurricular schedules, its year-round supervised activities include: volunteering for local chesed organizations, motzei Shabbos activities such as tennis, weekend flag football, barbeques, paintball, a Super Bowl party, and the TYA Shabbaton at Pearlstone.

With a focus on derech eretz kadma laTorah, TYA has grown into a national gender specific program currently operating in Baltimore, Silver Spring, and Philadelphia. Baltimore’s high school boys division is the largest program, and most recently, the AISH Teens program for high school girls entered under the TYA umbrella. Separate middle school boys and girls programs are being planned for the future, as well.

“Torah Youth fills a very large void and applies to students from all of our schools,” says Gobbie.

One Friday afternoon I saw, myself, that this was true, when I watched close to 70 Baltimore high schoolers play flag football at Gwynvale Park. Members of the six teams were as excited to be playing as they were to tell me about their experiences with TYA.

T.A. 10^th grader, Binyomin Meyer, came here from Ramat Beit Shemesh, and lives in the dorm. “I like Torah Youth because it is very organized, and they know how to do what they’re doing,” said Binyomin. Fellow dormer, Yonaton Hendry, says, “I much prefer playing flag football after school on Fridays, instead of sleeping, which is what I would probably end up doing before getting ready for Shabbos.”

Binyomin Barer and Ariel Kramer, both seniors, are equally impressed with how well it is run, and are grateful that it keeps them occupied on Friday afternoons. Avi Yudkowsky and Itiel Latova said they would be at home watching TV if not for flag football. And, a brutally honest sophomore, Raphael Nakhon, admitted, “I’d rather be doing this than be home helping my mom erev Shabbos.”

Rabbi and Mrs. David Finkelstein, whose son Chaim, participates in the program, find it to be a wonderful positive environment for the boys in the community. “We are appreciative to Gobbie for all his efforts in starting this program,” says Rabbi Finkelstein, director of Camp Shoresh. Chaim is in his senior year, and has been the captain and quarterback of his football team for three years. He is as enthusiastic about TYA as his cousin, Yossi Kohen. “It’s awesome, it’s great,” says Yossi, “it’s the best program out there.”

Tali and Michelle Strum’s son, Rafi, is a senior at T.A, and has attended the football and tennis programs for years. The Strums have encouraged Gobbie to expand the organization. “The boys work hard in school, they are growing kids, and they deserve a healthy outlet for their energies,” says Mr. Strum. “TYA provides this, and there is no better person than Gobbie to relate to the kids in this fun, no pressure, kosher environment.”

Alex Porcelain, a senior at Rambam, is enjoying his fourth year with TYA. Although he likes to drop in at its barbeques and kumsitzes, his favorite activity is attending Rabbi Teichman’s Sunday evening dinner shiur which is open to all program participants who do not have night seder at that time.

“I look forward to the shiur,” says Alex. “About 20 guys attend. It is always on an interesting topic, and it doesn’t hurt that there’s food! We learn about all sorts of things that most rebbeim don’t deal with. TYA is a great additional support to do fun and interesting things outside of school, where it is more relaxed and we can still grow and learn and hang out with friends from a different school.”

Yaakov Berkowitz, a TYA volunteer, was drafted by Gobbie to be a flag football referee three years ago when he was a single bochur at Ner Israel. He feels the highlight of TYA is the Shabbaton at Pearlstone. “I was very impressed with the Shabbaton. Everyone came together with a lot of singing and ruach. It allowed the adult role models and kids, alike, to really come together and bond.”

TYA has received haskamos from notable gedolim in and outside our community, as well as local rabbanim. Rabbi Moshe Hauer, Rav of Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion, is among TYA’s supportive rabbanim. “I think it is a wonderful organization that fulfills a serious recreational need.”

“Torah Youth is gevaldik!” believes Rabbi Zvi Teichman, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of TYA since its inception. As the Rav of Congregation Ohel Moshe, the former T.A. high school menahel, and parent of sophomore Zecharya Teichman, sees its value from several vantage points.

“In this generation, kids need to have healthy fun,” feels Rabbi Teichman. “It is impossible, at their age, to expect them to learn 24/7. You can’t say things are asur (forbidden) and not offer a healthy alternative. I always felt the best thing you can do for kids, is to fill in their time with clean, healthy fun.”

As both a parent and educator, Mrs. Sherri Zaslow, T.A. Middle School coordinator, and parent of TYA graduate, Josh, couldn’t agree more. “People look to the schools to do everything for these kids. We can’t, and Gobbie Cohn stepped up to the plate…I think the concept of Torah Youth is just brilliant! It is definitely a selling point for keeping our boys in town, and not sending them away to yeshiva.”

To learn more about TYA, to volunteer, or to become a sponsor, please contact Gobbie Cohn at 443-857-4304 or gcohn@torahyouth.org.

©Margie Pensak-2007

TYFFL Week 4 Results

2007-11-19T14:09:00.000-05:00

Friday November 16, 2007
TYFFL WK4

It was the first truly cold day.

In a game that was close through the first half, Tov Pizza found a way to decisively defeat Allied Funding.

In a high scoring game, Knish Shop edged Parisers getting their first win and giving Pariser's its first loss of the season.

In another exciting game, National Photo continued with momentum and defeated Sunpride.

2007-11-11T22:19:00.001-05:00

Off The Derech Shiur November 11, 2007

Tonight R' Teichman talked about the "ohr haganuz" and illustrated how certain people have the ability to tap into this special "light". As an example, R' Teichman read a story from R' Aryeh Levine "A Tzaddik In Our Time" in which R' Aryeh Levine used a goral haGra to identify 12 victims of a Gush Katif ambush.

There were seventeen boys in attendance this week.

We would like to thank Sholom Michael and Chaim Abraham on sponsoring this week's dinner!

2007-11-11T14:59:00.000-05:00

TYA Tennis - November 10, 2007

This was truly a unique evening. Around 18 guys showed up, some came to play while others came to hang out.
However, those who came to play did not realize what they were in for. We did not play tennis! We played football!
This was truly one of the more creative ideas in Torah Youth history. I would like to thank Scott Leder for this idea and helping out as well as David Vegh for dropping by!

2007-11-11T14:51:00.000-05:00

Better Late then Never!

As we head into another Sunday evening Shiur with Rabbi Teichman, I would like to show you a picture from last week's shiur. I am proud to say that each week the shiur is a bit larger in size.

This past week, 19 guys attended. Rabbi Teichman spoke about "tiredness". Did you know the first person recorded as tired in the Torah was Eisav ("...min hasadeh v'hu ayeif")? Additionally, he spoke about the power of dreams...

I do not know what this week will bring, but I am sure it will be interesting!

2007-11-08T23:41:00.000-05:00

The Latest and Greatest From Torah Youth!

High School Boys

This Motzai Shabbos (Nov 10, 2007) there is a tennis event at BFT from 9pm-12am.

High School Girls Go-Karting!!! Sunday Nov 11, 2007. CALL TEMI!

2007-10-29T15:45:00.000-04:00

R' Teichman Shiur
10-28-07

I would like to thank Azi Rosenblum for being on call this week!

Laughter, good thing or bad thing?

Many references to laughter in the Parsha, some turn out good results others bad, even g-d laughs (tehilim), whats the deal?

Answer: Laughter is mans response to something absurd, unexpected and unusual. It’s mans natural reaction, as an intelligent being, to something that is the opposite of normal. That said, when one laughs, there could be many different sources. You can laugh out of arrogance, feeling of supremacy, haughtiness, or other types of putting people down in order to elevate yourself, or, in a more pure form you can laugh in astonishment at having realizing how great hashem is and how powerless you are. Avraham laughed at the news of a son to be born not because he thought is was impossible, but because he realized in a moment that it was foolish of him to think that hashem’s reach would be limited by age, time, or other physical limitations. He laughed in amazement of how absurd the laws of nature are in comparison to hashem’s power. Lots son-in-laws on the other hand, laughed at his warnings out of mockery, that laughter, is no good and rooted in the bad in people.

2007-10-22T13:07:00.001-04:00

2ND "OFF THE DERECH" SHIUR A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS

This week, Rabbi Teichman discussed gilgulim and why Jews have large noses!

This event was well attended! I would like to thank the Knish Shop for providing the sandwiches.

2007-10-20T21:21:00.000-04:00

TYFFL WK2 Results:

The forecast for Friday October 19, 2007 was grim. With thunderstorms supposed to run through the afternoon, we were not sure whether there would be a game or not. B"H at game time, the sun came out from among the clouds and the games were able to begin.

Tov Pizza defeated Sunpride 2-1 in a very tough defensive battle.
Allied defeated National Photo 5-3 in an exciting matchup that even brought R' Melman to watch!
Parisers defeated Knish Shop 3-2. The much anticipated return of Knish Shop's QB was cut short due to an injury. Their top receiver comes off the DL next week.

Current Standings

Parisers 2-0
Tov Pizza 2-0
Sunpride 1-1
Allied Funding 1-1
Knish Shop 0-2
National Photo 0-2

Stay Tuned for next weeks results!

2007-10-14T22:02:00.000-04:00

The much anticipated shiur series "OFF THE DERECH" - Unusually Interesting Torah Topics for High School boys, began Sunday evening at Congregation Ohel Moshe. I would like to thank Cong. Ohel Moshe for the use of their location and Rabbi Zvi Teichman, for offering his time to give such an interesting shiur.

Boys from T. A., Rambam and Beth T'filoh participated in this shiur.

R' Teichman touched upon the concept of Pi and discussed the mystical nature of the Bermuda Triangle. In addition, using a reference from Parshas Noach regarding why the earth itself was corrupt, he showed the boys pictures of results from a Japanese scientist who tested the impact of words on water.

Next week, same time same place 7:30pm @ Cong. Ohel Moshe followed by 8om maariv.

2007-10-14T00:49:00.000-04:00

Motzai Shabbos October 13, 2007

This was the first Motzai Shabbos tennis event of the year! About 30 kids participated.

I would like to thank Scott Leder and Dovi Turner for volunteering their time and I would like to thank the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox for keeping things interesting while everyone was eating their pizza. That being said, I would like to thank Tov Pizza for not just delivering once but twice!

Enjoy the pictures!

2007-10-14T00:33:00.000-04:00

Torah Youth Flag Football (TYFFL) WK1 Results:

To quote a parent who stopped by for a few minutes to watch the games, "WOW, I am impressed!".

On Friday October 12, 2007 68 boys came out to play flag football. This season, there are six teams, three of which have returning sponsors. Returning to support the league are Allied, Sunpride and Tov Pizza. We happily welcome our new sponsors for this season, National Photo, Parisers Bakery and the Knish Shop.

As usual, I would like to thank Yaakov Berkowitz and Yussi Openden for refereeing, and a special thank you to Donny Poliakoff who was not going to ref, but decided to stay because he was having sooo much fun!

WK1 Results are as follows:

Tov Pizza defeated National Photo
Sunpride defeated the Knish Shop and in a defensive battle,
Parisers defeated Allied Funding.

We look forward to keep you updated each week.

As usual, if you know anyone who may be available to volunteer some time, please contact me at gcohn@torahyouth.org OR 443-857-4304

2007-09-20T14:11:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to inform you that there will be 6 teams taking part in this year's Flag Football Tournament. 56 boys have signed up to play.

This year's lineup:

Allied Funding
Sunpride Nutrition
Tov Pizza
Knish Shop
Pariser's Bakery
National Photo

If you know anyone who will be able to help referee and volunteer on Friday afternoons from approximately 12:15pm - 1:30pm, please have them contact me gcohn@torahyouth.org or 443-857-4304.

Let the games begin!

2007-09-11T17:05:00.001-04:00

TORAH YOUTH IS PROUD TO ONCE AGAIN PRESENT MOTZAI SHABBOS TENNIS!!
SEE FLYER BELOW:

2007-09-10T12:16:00.001-04:00

The following is a letter I wrote and submitted to the Yated as a reaction to R' Teitelbaum's article. I do not know if the Yated will publish this, but I felt that it was a good read for all:

GC

**

I was very pleased to read R’ Eli Teitelbaum’s article regarding the need to provide kids with constructive extracurricular activities. As a former camper (3 years) of S’dei Chemed under R’ Teitelbaum’s leadership, I have a great respect for R’ Teitelbaum and the passion with which he was able to run this outstanding summer success; I have Hakaras Hatov for all he did for my fellow campers and me.

Over the past few years, my experience with teen-centered extracurricular programs has expanded and deepened from my own S’dei Chemed years. It is clear that we are in an era with more distractions and with what seems to be more neglect for “regular” frum kids. In his article, R’ Teitelbaum mentions that these kids are “at-risk.” That is true to some extent, but I believe that the bulk of the kids to whom he refers are “potentially” at-risk.

The frum community at large has been asleep at the wheel ignoring the needs of these kids under the premise that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It has incorrectly presumed that these good, “trouble-free” kids are always occupied with only wholesome and enriching activities; this is NOT SO!

While meaning well, the frum community has not provided healthy outlets where our children can “blow off steam” after a jam packed schedule filled with learning, chazara, b’chinos, and, oh yes, a few hours of homework and night Seder.

That is why, four years ago, my good friend & chavrusa, Moshe Starkman, and I, created an organization for “frum” kids called Torah Youth Association (TYA). Torah Youth was created with the purpose of creating positive environments for Middle & High School students. The opportunities we create allow these teens to experience Torah, play sports, do chesed, perform community service activities, and build lasting friendships within a positive, growth oriented culture.

We provide our students with an environment that promotes religious exploration, responsible social interaction, and leadership development within the framework of Halacha. The values of our schools are not being reinforced within the confines of society and, therefore, can not be sustained in a real-world environment that bombards our students with numerous challenges.

We stand, in support of the Orthodox Jewish day school system, as an organization dedicated to bringing "real life" Judaism to our students in a way that is engaging and meaningful. If even one Jewish student feels Torah is oppressive and inhibits self-growth, that is one student too many! Unfortunately, in today’s society and “free” culture, too many of our children have become disenchanted with the Torah lifestyle resulting in devastating consequences.

Torah Youth Association consists of parents, teachers, students, and supporters working together to empower our children and students. Through developing stronger decision makers grounded in a Torah education fortified through real-world experiences, our children are better prepared to succeed both personally and morally. Some of our “kosher” supervised outlets include working with local chesed organizations, Motzai Shabbos activities, weekend Flag Football, BBQ’s, and many other exciting events and programs.

Notable gedolim are in support of this program, and are very excited that action is being taken to provide activities and a support system for these kids. As one Rosh HaYeshiva noted, “Kids have to have fun.”

TYA is a national program which currently operates in Baltimore and Silver Spring, MD as well as Philadelphia, PA. All programs are gender specific and each city has a different strength. For example, Baltimore has a tremendous program for High School boys and a more recent program for High School girls. The Torah Youth program in Philadelphia for middle school boys has replaced the local Pirchei.

Our motto is “Learning Life, Living Torah and Loving It.” Our goal is to develop kids who live Torah while engaging in other activities outside of seder or the classroom. We provide a focus on “Derech Eretz Kadma LaTorah.”

It is important to express the concern as R’ Teitelbaum has done and even more important to take action. If you would like to be involved in fighting the tide of losing our children to drugs, violence and other inappropriate behavior chas v’shalom, step up today. Become an active member of the Torah Youth Association and help us protect the Jewish tomorrow. Please contact me at 443-857-4304 or gcohn@torahyouth.org. Be a part of this great mitzvah. Save a Life – Save a world!

Rabbi Teitelbaum, thank you for doing your part in providing a unique outlet for thousands of youth. I am just one of many, but feel I speak for all. Our Torah Youth thank you as well!

2007-09-06T10:01:00.001-04:00

The following article was posted on theyeshivaworld.com and was previously published in the Yated. I would like to thank my father for bringing it to my attention. I went to Camp S'dei Chemed for three years and R' Teitelbaum's inspiration has helped me create the Torah Youth program.
**

I give great credit to the Mirer Yeshivah in Yerushalayim that has realized the great problem of what happens when their bochurim have nothing to do during bein hazmanim. The yeshiva organizes trips at subsidized prices which take their talmidim around Eretz Yisroel. If only other yeshivas would follow their example, many tragedies would be avoided.

When sports and concerts are forbidden, and all forms of kosher entertainment are off limits, we are asking for trouble. If our kids cant find a place to vent their energy within a kosher environment, then they will find it elsewhere. In a time of war even the Torah itself permitted one to marry a captive non-Jewish girl under certain conditions. Chazal explain the logic behind this law. The Torah understood that a person is only human and therefore in this instance, while fighting a war, it gave him some leeway. The Gemora tells us that for everything the Torah forbade it gave us something similar that was permitted. Today’s war with the Yetzer Horah is far greater than ever before.

But in every generation we have the likes of Doeg and Achitofel who misled great people such as Shaul and Avshalom with falsehoods and lies that caused them to try to kill Dovid. Doeg even succeeded in getting Shaul to kill all the Kohanim in the city of Nov. This shows how falsehoods can be spread, how easily they are believed, and the terrible damage that can result. Even the greatest of the great are vulnerable to such camouflaged slander and can be misled by advisors they trust. Just turn to Shmuel II chapter 16 and read the story of how Dovid who knew better than anyone else of the great dangers of an evil tongue was himself taken in by Tziva who fabricated a false story about Mefiboshes. If even the greatest of the great can be misled, then wed all better be very careful and constantly on our guard least we too fall into the same trap.

Things haven’t changed much since ancient times. Today, too, we have self proclaimed agitators and charlatans who have nothing to do with their time but to go around to our leading Torah sages and try to convince them that separate-seating concerts are a threat to our Yiddishkeit and to ban them. They falsely claim that there is pritzus in the hallways plus other fabrications. Exaggeration is a blood relative to falsehood, and almost as bad. A gossip is one who can give you all the details without knowing all the facts. Unfortunately, they often succeed in their mission. All it took was one Korach to convince the 250 heads of Sanhedrin of the holiness and purity of his mission.

Some have organized special activities and places for these "at risk kids? to get together under proper supervision, but this is not the real solution. The problem must be addressed long before young people reach the "at risk? stage. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If the money we spent on rehabilitation where to be spent on prevention, wed get far more for our money, and fewer people who need intensive intervention

It must be clearly noted that despite all that was said, one is required to follow the ruling of our sages even when they say "Right is left and left is right”. Nowadays when there is no Sanhedrin, one must seek a leading posek and follow his ruling on all matters and not go "posek hopping”. This applies not only in the above case but in all other areas as well. There are some disagreements among our leading poskim in Hilchos Shabbos which can be an isur sekilah. One can’t pick and choose stringencies from one or leniencies from another. (Gemora ) The Agudas Yisroel follows the ruling of the Moetzes Gedolai HaTorah. Others can decide on their posek whom they wish to follow. But whoever it is, the psak must be followed even if it hurts.

Yes, there are legitimate concerns that must be addressed in order to make sure that concerts are conducted in a true Yiddish atmosphere and flavor. Performers should not be Jewish rock or rap singers and the music should not imitate todays street hip-hop culture as some performers unfortunately do. Sadly, I’ve gone to frum weddings where the music and dancing felt like one was in a disco with only the flashing lights missing. Roshei yeshivas and rabbonim danced in the middle of the circle having no idea as what type of music they were dancing to. I hope no one is going to ban music at weddings because of this, but rather the msader kidushin or rabbonim should meet with the band leaders as well as the mechutonim to rectify this outrage. Serious concerns must be discussed between the concert organizers and rabbonim beforehand. Instead of seeking to ban these concerts, we must make sure that they are a kiddush Shem Shomayim. Music has a powerful effect upon the listener and we must ensure that it follows in the footsteps and style of Dovid Hamelech the "nim zemiros Yisroel”, to whose words our music is often put.

We definitely need our gedolim to guide us, and if we come to them with sincere requests to teach us to run activities al pi Torah, they would respond wisely and constructively. We should no longer leave the field open to those few agitators and connivers who choose to deprive our young people of positive outlets. For if we close the doors to that which is permitted they’ll unfortunately, soon find other places to fill the void!

2007 Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum.

2007-08-27T11:40:00.000-04:00

The 2007-2008 Season is HERE!!!!

The Tentative Motzai Shabbos Tennis Schedule is below.

Oct 13

Nov 10

Dec 15

Jan 12

Feb 23

March 22

IMPORTANT: PLEASE SAVE THE DATE: MAY 30, 2008 - June 2, 2008 SHABBATON

2007-06-25T12:36:00.000-04:00

SUMMARY OF END OF YEAR BASKETBALL/BBQ EVENT

The 2nd Annual Basketball Tournament and BBQ was a tremendous success! Boys from Yeshivat Rambam, TA, and Ner Yisroel gathered together to play basketball and eat delicious hamburgers and hot dogs.

TYA would like to thank the following individuals for their help with this event:

Yaakov Berkowitz (lead supervisor)
Elgy (truck)
R' Teichman (support)
Joe Loeb (with Gym)
Ashi Wildman (on grill)

We hope that everyone has a GREAT Summer!!!!

2007-06-21T22:28:00.000-04:00

AISH END OF YEAR LASER TAG A SUCCESS!!!

Girls from Bais Yaakov, Rambam and Beth Tfiloh joined together for Aish Teens' last day of school celebration. We started off eating pizza and fries from Tov Pizza while we we went around with brief introductions because we had so many new particpants. Then, we headed off to laser tag where we played two fun-filled games. Whether you were on the red, yellow or green team and however many points you did (or didn't get), everyone had a great time!

Have a great summer and we'll see you all in August!!

2007-06-15T14:58:00.000-04:00

Mazel Tov to all of the 2007 Graduates!!

Mazel Tov to long time volunteer Scott and Beth Leder on the birth of a girl!

2007-06-15T00:12:00.000-04:00

END OF YEAR EVENT!!!!

TORAH YOUTH HS BOYS
2nd Annual Basketball Tournament with BBQ!

June 24, 2007

SPONSORS AND VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
PLEASE CONTACT GOBBIE @ 443-857-4304

2007-06-14T23:56:00.000-04:00

END OF YEAR EVENT!!!!!!

AISH TEENS - HS GIRLS LASER TAG

June 20, 2007

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING A SPONSOR OF THIS EVENT PLEASE CONTACT GOBBIE COHN @ 443-857-4304 OR gcohn@torahyouth.org

2007-05-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

Torah Youth Shabbaton Review

I am pleased to inform you that the first ever TYA Shabbaton that took place this past weekend, May 11 –May 13, 2007 exceeded all expectations. Despite several external challenges that prevented a larger number of students to attend, the 24 boys who participated had an incredibly meaningful and exciting experience.

The weekend began as the boys arrived at 3pm on Friday afternoon. After putting their stuff in the teen center, all the boys went down to play sports. Some guys played basketball while others played football until it was time to get ready for Shabbos. Each boy received a new TYA Learning Life t-shirt for attending the Shabbaton.

Shabbos began with a bang! Kabbolas Shabbos, led by advisor Yaakov Ehrman was inspiring. There was beautiful singing and lively dancing! At the meal Friday night the beautiful singing and continued and divrei Torah were given by Ari Raskas and Moshe Starkman. The meal was followed by an Oneg Shabbos which included cholent from O’FIshel and a dvar Torah from R’ Ari Storch. Once again the boys sang with heart capping off the incredible evening.

Shabbos morning began with Shacharis at 9am. Ariel Kramer and Ari Raskas split the laining as they celebrated the anniversary of their Bar Mitzvahs. Prior to mussaf, Dov Ocken gave an insightful d’var torah to the boys. Davening was followed by a Kiddush (it was good cake). After Kiddush Moshe Starkman gave a very interesting discussion to the boys entitled What’s in it for me? I’d rather be sky diving! The discussion focused on the structure and the meaning behind the Sh’mona Esrai. At lunch Josh Zaslow and Donny Poliakoff gave divrei Torah. Lunch was followed by mincha which was followed by menucha. Many of the boys chose to sleep (they did not get much the night before), play Shabbos friendly games or learn.

An hour before Shalosh Seudos R’ Ari Storch led a shiur on Pirkei Avos. This turned out to be a highlight of the afternoon with some very deep discussions. At Shalosh Seudos the heartfelt singing continued. Toward the end of the meal, everyone pulled their chairs into a circle and continued to sing and hear divrei torah and stories from R’ Yaakov Berkowitz. Then, of course, maariv and havdalah.

At this point of the Shabbaton all the boys had experienced the first ever Shabbos Torah Youth style. What was next on the agenda? Madden and Ping Pong Tournaments.

In truth, the ping pong did not end up being a tournament, but the boys (me included) played many games through the night into morning (no exaggeration).

For those who do not know what Madden is, let me explain. The game Madden, named for NFL broadcaster John Madden, is the most popular sports video game in the market today. It is a football video game. Madden is available on several different game stations including Xbox (made by Microsoft), Playstation (made by Sony), the WII (made by Nintendo) and even available on a regular PC. We set up four different Xbox gaming stations allowing 8 people to play at one time. At 2:30AM Shuli Hochman was crowned the winner of the Madden tournament.
The next morning we had davening, breakfast (yes, with a dvar halacha) and an exciting flag football game. Every student had a great time and wants to do it again.

Students participated from TA, Rambam, and Ner Yisroel.

Torah Youth Association would like to thank the following people (not in any specific order) for making the Shabbaton a success:

Azi & Rikki Rosenblum

Dov & Shira Ocken

Moshe & Rachael Starkman

Yaakov & Essie Berkowitz

Rabbi Moshe Hauer

Rabbi Shmuel Silber

Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb

ALL THE SPONSORS OF THE EVENT

I would also like thank those families who participated in the event:

Yussi & Yona Openden

Israel & Chava Elgamil

R’ Ari & Tiffy Storch

Elie & Libby Goldstein

I would also like to thank the advisors:

Yaakov Ehrman

Sammy Schnitzer

Donny Poliakoff

Yaakov Khaver

I would especially like to thank my wife Shayna for putting up with me during this process!

Keep your eyes open for our next Event:

2-on-2 Basketball Tournament & BBQ – June 24, 2007

2007-05-09T10:36:00.000-04:00

LASER TAG WITH AISH!

PLEASE PASS ALONG AND INFORM HS GIRLS!!!!!!

2007-04-18T12:15:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Pesach!

The HS Boys Torah Youth Shabbaton is just 3 weeks away!

If you have a son that is HS age and he has not yet signed up please have him do so immediately. The deadline is April 26th, 2007.

For further information or any questions please contact Gobbie at 443-857-4304 OR gcohn@torahyouth.org

2007-03-26T23:20:00.000-04:00

We are pleased to announce the first ever TYA HS Boys Shabbaton!

Below you will find two different posters. One geared for fundraising while the other highlighting the event.

We need to raise $10k to subsizide the event. $2k of which I have received. If you know anyone who would be able to help, the kids would appreciate it!

THANKS!

2007-02-11T23:29:00.000-05:00

TYFFL's Runner Up Tov Pizza is treated to a pizza party!!!

Tov Pizza owner Ronnie Rosenbluth told the boys that they have to win it all next year, but since they played well, they earned some pizza!

Stay tuned for the Goldberg's Championship reward...

2007-02-09T15:31:00.000-05:00

TYFFL BOWL - February 9th 2007

WOW! On a very cold and windy day, Goldberg's Bagels battled Tov Pizza in the 3rd TYFFL BOWL. Tov Pizza QB Chaim Finkelstein led his team to a 3-0 start. However, Goldberg's QB Naftali Gardyn ran for touchdown after touchdown and threw for a couple to make the game close.

With 30 seconds let, and the score tied at 5, a pass intercepted by Goldberg's gave them the ball with 16 seconds left. The next play Naftali Gardyn ran in for another touchdown, taking a one touchdown lead.

With only 7 seconds to play, Tov Pizza was unable to tie the game, and the upset win went to Goldberg's Bagels!!!

It was an exciting game and everyone had a great time as they had the entire season.

We look forward to next year's season and we are considering the possibility of expanding as well.

Special Thanks to: Yaakov Berkowitz, Yussi Openden, Tali Strum, Dave Finkelstein, Yanky Lefkowitz, Shuie Hochman, Aharon Leib Wealcatch, Ronnie Rosenbluth, Yaakov Drebin

2007-02-08T12:23:00.000-05:00

RECAP FROM AISH EVENT (Motzai Shabbos Feb 3rd, 2007)

We had a great time Moztei Shabbos, eating, decorating, and hot-chocolating in front on the fireplace. The picture frames came out spectacular and now we're total modge podge experts! The hot cocoa and marshmallows were delish, but the covers made it all worthwhile. It was great seeing you!!

2007-02-05T10:40:00.000-05:00

TYA HS BOYS SUPER BOWL EVENT

This year's Super Bowl party was relocated to 7508 Lisburne, across from Wellwood. A record crowd of over 50 boys attended this event! The boys that were in attendance came from four different schools within the community. We cannot wait to next year's event!

Special Thanks to Ethan Berner, the Knish Shop, Eli Goldstein for donating jerseys as prizes, Scott Leder, and all the Sponsors of this event.

2007-02-05T09:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday February 4th was the most anticipated day of the year! Before the Super Bowl took place, 7 of the finest flag football players played flag football against a team made up of some "older" guys. In the end the younger, more agile boys were able to pull off the win.

A great time was had by all!

Special Thanks to Eli Goldstein, Yussi Openden, Danny Steger, Reuven Goodman, Tali Strum, Yaakov Berkowitz, Moshe Starkman, and Scott Leder for participating in this event.

2007-02-05T09:49:00.000-05:00

TYFFL UPDATE

On Friday February 2nd, 2007 the first round of the TYFFL Playoffs took place.

In the end, it was Tov Pizza defeating Allied Funding and Goldberg's defeating Sunpride.

This coming Friday February 9th will be the TYFFL Torah Youth Bowl!

Tov Pizza versus Goldberg's

12:30pm

Feel free to come out and watch the game!

2007-01-29T23:52:00.000-05:00

Week 8 TYFFL (January 26, 2007)

The final week of the regular season was a cold one. However, the competition kept things heated up.

Tov Pizza (7-1) defeated Goldberg's (4-4)
Sunpride (4-4) inched by Allied (1-7)

Playoffs begin this Friday February 2, 2007...

2007-01-22T16:36:00.000-05:00

TYFFL Week 7

Allied Funding loses to Goldberg's in a hard fought game while Tov Pizza continues to roll as they defeated SunPride.

Tov Pizza (6-1) defeats Sunpride (3-4)
Goldberg's(4-3) defeats Allied (1-6)

2007-01-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

FOR AISH TEENS!!!!

2007-01-05T14:49:00.000-05:00

Mazel Tov to AISH's own EETA BERGER on becoming a Kallah to David Bermanski

MAZEL TOV!!!!

2007-01-04T22:58:00.001-05:00

Below, I have copied an email that I received. I do not know the original source for this, but it was from an Ask the Rabbi column:

Question of the Week:Dear Rabbi,

Why does the Jewish religion seem to obsess over insignificant details? How much matza do we have to eat, which spoon did I use for milk and which for meat, what is the right way to tie my shoelaces? It seems to me that this misses the bigger picture by focusing on minutiae. Is this nitpicking what Jews call spirituality? (I actually already sent you this question over a week ago and didn't receive a reply. Could it be that you have finally been asked a question that you can't answer?!)

Rob

Answer:Dear Rob,

I never claimed to have all the answers. There are many questions that are beyond me. But it happens to be that I did answer your question, and you did get the answer. I sent a reply immediately. The fact that you didn't receive it is itself the answer to your question. You see, I sent you a reply, but I wrote your email address leaving out the "dot" before the "com". I figured that you should still receive the email, because after all, it is only one little dot missing. I mean come on, it's not as if I wrote the wrong name or something drastic like that! Would anyone be so nitpicky as to differentiate between "yahoocom" and "yahoo.com"? Isn't it a bit ridiculous that you didn't get my email just because of a little dot?No, it's not ridiculous. Because the dot is not just a dot. It represents something. That dot has meaning far beyond the pixels on the screen that form it. To me it may seem insignificant, but that is simply due to my ignorance of the ways of the web. All I know is that with the dot, the message gets to the right destination; without it, the message is lost to oblivion. Jewish practices have infinite depth. Each nuance and detail contains a world of symbolism. And every dot counts. When they are performed with precision, a spiritual vibration is emailed throughout the universe, all the way to G-d's inbox. If you want to understand the symbolism of the dot, study I.T.If you want to understand the symbolism of Judaism, study it.All the best,
Rabbi B.

2006-12-31T13:47:00.000-05:00

TYFFL - Week 6 Results
December 29, 2006

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

2006-12-26T23:23:00.000-05:00

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

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

2006-12-21T13:10:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-12-15T11:16:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-08T14:49:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-12-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-12-04T11:55:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-12-01T11:41:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-11-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

Torah Youth Presents...

AISH TEENS SCAVENGER HUNT (DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE)

2006-11-05T17:02:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-11-01T08:54:00.000-05:00

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

2006-10-27T15:12:00.000-04:00

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.

2006-10-20T15:20:00.000-04:00

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!

2006-10-19T16:27:00.000-04:00

HS GIRLS MOTZAI SHABBOS OCTOBER 28, 2006

2006-10-19T16:15:00.000-04:00

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