Issue #19; Nissan 5759

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Begin With Shame And End With Pride

News about Ohr Somayach

Our Readers Write

Simchas & Announcements

How to contribute to B'Yachad

Ohr Somayach Alumni Dinner

Subscription Information

Ohr Somayach Home Page

Begin With Shame And End With Pride

by Mendel Weinbach

When we sit about fulfilling the mitzvah of "Vehigadta levincha" at the Pesach Seder with the recitation of the Haggadah, we follow the formula established by Chazal in Mesechta Pesachim: "Begin with shame and end with pride."

In the Haggadah itself this is achieved by contrasting the shame of ancestral idol worship with the pride of being given the opportunity to worship Hashem, the shame of slavery with the pride of freedom.

Each of us, in our own lives, can reflect on the contrast between past and present - where we came from and where we are today. As we reach the conclusion of our 27^th year at Ohr Somayach, we proudly reflect on the privilege that we have enjoyed in being the catalysts of the transformation we celebrate at the Seder on the Festival of Freedom.

The Pesach Seder is also a time for questions and answers. So many of the questions that you and your fellow talmidim have asked at Ohr Somayach throughout the years are being asked by many Jews of all ages in the broader Jewish community. To provide this public with some of the answers our rabbanim have been giving to these questions for the last 27 years, Ohr Somayach is conducting a Yom Iyun on Sunday, May 2^nd at the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan.

This exciting four-hour program will give you, other alumni and the Jews of Greater New York an opportunity to hear such world famous educators as Rav Nachman Bulman, Rav Berel Wein, Professor Dovid Gottlieb and Dr. Akiva Tatz who have touched the lives of thousands of Jews throughout the world.

We look forward to meeting you at this historic event and seeing you renew the thrill you enjoyed at Ohr Somayach of going from question to answer, from slavery to freedom, from shame to pride.

A New Service!

Ohr Somayach Alumni Directory

On Line

http://www.ohr.edu/web/alumni

You can submit your personal information on-line.

Our Readers Write

NEED A PLACE FOR PESACH?

Dear B'Yachad,
Recently you asked for people to host returning alumni. My husband, (Aharon Meltzer aviron@concentric.net OS '73-'76) and I would be very happy to have alumni to our home in Kew Gardens Hills NY. We particularly would like to invite them for Pesach since we too know the difficulties of keeping Pesach alone.
Please let us know if we will be able to do this chessed here in the states.
Keep up the great work!
Jennifer Meltzer

Any bachurim interested in joining the Meltzers can contact them at: 718-459-6885 or jmeltzer@nysnet.net

YESHER KOACH FROM BEVERLY HILLS

Dear Chevra,
Yasher Kochachem on the forum (Ohrnet). I am an alumnus of Ohr Somayach, and presently the rabbi of the Young Israel of Beverly Hills. Your relevant she'alos and teshuvos have already become hot topics for my kehillah.
The recent anecdote concerning the origins of the minhag to leave a stone after visiting a kever was very inspiring. Keep up this valuable service to klal yisrael, the kiruv opportunities are already palpable.
Kol Tuv,
Rabbi Aaron Parry

HELLO FROM SWEDEN

Tomas Mordechai Lowy (qum891f@tninet.se OS May 1983-Sep 1995) sends regards to old friends and Rabbanim. He and his wife Shoshana are living in Malmo, Sweden with their 3 young daughters. Leah, their eldest, attends the English-speaking International School in Malmo.

Simchas & Announcements

AHARON AND MIRIAM GUTSTEIN ON THE BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER
AND BAR MITZVAH OF THEIR SON
RABBI & MRS. YAAKOV ASHER SINCLAIR ON THE BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER
RABBI & MRS. ZEEV KAHN ON THE BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER

Let's Share Our Simchas TOGETHER with B'Yachad
Send us your Mazel Tov announcements and articles for publication.
Mail to B'Yachad POB 18103 Jerusalem 91180
or email to info@ohr.edu

Your Newsletter

We are interested in receiving contributions to the Alumni Newsletter, including articles, divrei Torah, suggestions and comments.

Contact info@ohr.edu

Get ready for the next

Yom Iyun Banquet

to be held May 2nd.

We are requesting volunteers to help in the production of this gala event.

Please respond to info@ohr.edu

Please inform us of your home and e-mail address changes. Also, help us to help others, and send us the names and addresses of alumni who are not receiving our literature.

The Ohr Somayach Alumni Shabbos Host Program

We have received numerous offers to host OS bochurim for shabbos.
If you would like to host bochurim during their stay in America please email us at

pindrus@ohr.israel.net or
info@ohr.edu

General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Associate Editor: Victor Hyman
Production Design: Eli Ballon

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Ohr Somayach Institutions is an international network of Yeshivot and outreach centers, with branches in North America, Europe, South Africa and South America. The Central Campus in Jerusalem provides a full range of educational services for over 685 full-time students. The Jewish Learning Exchange (JLE) of Ohr Somayach offers summer and winter programs in Israel that attract hundreds of university students from around the world for 3 to 8 weeks of study and touring.

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