B'Yachad - Together The Electronic Alumni Newsletter of Ohr Somayach --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Hinei ma tov u'ma na'im sheves achim gam 'Yachad' How good and pleasant it is for brothers to be 'Together' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #19 Nissan 5759 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Begin With Shame And End With Pride By Rav 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 27th 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 2nd 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.org.il/web/alumni Submit your personal information on-line at http://www.ohr.org.il/web/alumni/submit.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Newsletter We are interested in receiving contributions to the Alumni Newsletter, including articles, divrei Torah, suggestions and comments. Contact info@ohr.org.il --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.org.il --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.org.il --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 The only way we can have up-to-date information is if you provide it. Please send us your comments, suggestions, announcements, and ideas via one of the following methods: E-Mail: address your message to: ohr@virtual.co.il set the subject to "B'YACHAD" Fax: 972-2-581-2890, Attn.: B'YACHAD Post: Yeshiva Ohr Somayach, ATTN.: B'YACHAD 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street,POB 18103, Jerusalem 91180 ISRAEL Don't forget to submit your name and address for the Ohr Somayach Alumni Directory! You'll find the directory at http://www.ohr.org.il/web/alumni Submissions can be made online from http://www.ohr.org.il/web/alumni/submit.htm =========================================================================== Ohr Somayach Representatives Worldwide: Jerusalem, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, Monsey, London, Toronto, Montreal, Johannesburg. 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