After the much anticipated year in yeshiva or midrasha has come and gone, the students return to earth from a spiritual high in the rarified environment of Torah learning in Israel. Back in the U.S., many struggle to establish a college experience that continues their Torah high. To facilitate and maintain a yeshiva connection in the students, Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky, menahel (principal) of the Davis Renov Stahler (DRS) High School for Boys in Woodmere, has initiated a periodic Shabbat minyan (the next one is this Shabbat, Dec. 7). All single post-high school young men and women are invited. more

In Kabul, Afghanistan, he exhibited courage under fire. When he came to Rambam Mesivta in Lawrence, he was teary eyed. Maj. David Chartier, commanding officer of the combat outpost Bala Hissar in Afghanistan was the keynote speaker at Rambam’s Annual Veteran’s Day Assembly. Since its inception in 1992, Rambam has paid tribute to American forces fighting abroad. more

For 11 fifth and sixth graders at HANC Plainview, election day was personal. more

Over 60 families attended HALB’s first Sifriyat Pijama B’America event on Sunday. Families with children in preschool through the third grade will receive Hebrew books by mail each month and HALB will host SPBA programs several times throughout the year, after school hours, to provide families with the opportunity to engage b’Ivrit with their children in a fun and meaningful way. more

Rambam Mesivta students rallied on Nov. 10 — the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht — outside the Jackson Heights home of Jakiw Palij, the last-known Nazi war criminal living in the metropolitan area. The protest took place as Jews around the world commemorated Kristallnacht, known as “The Night of Broken Glass” on Nov. 9–10, 1938, in Germany and portions of Austria, where Jewish businesses, homes and people were damaged and attacked. It is considered the day the Holocaust began. more

HAFTR High School’s College Bowl teams hosted the first Yeshiva League College Bowl meet of the year at Congregation Beth Sholom of Lawrence last Thursday. About 100 participants from HAFTR, Central, DRS, Rambam, Shalhevet, North Shore, HANC, and SKA engaged in games of academic trivia. more

Sports, food, music, and fun combined for an enjoyable time at Davis Renov Stahler (DRS) Yeshiva High School’s 17th annual Shabbaton, held at Hotel Somerset-Bridgewater last weekend. “The purpose of the Shabbaton is to provide an enjoyable, relaxing experience for the student body to spend time with each other, as well as to promote school spirit and achdus (unity),” said Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky, principal of DRS in Woodmere. “The Shabbaton also provides an opportunity for the Rebbeim and students to interact in an informal way and build relationships.” more

HANC students at AIPAC hone Israel advocacy tools Several students from HANC’s high school last week joined 400 other students from across the country and attended the three-day AIPAC Schusterman High School Summit in Washington, DC. more

The trip for HAFTR’s eighth grade boys began with a chesed activity at the Masbiah Soup kitchen where they packed food packages to be delivered in communities around Brooklyn and Queens. more

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the United Kingdom has been appointed to a dual professorship at New York University and Yeshiva University. A world-renowned scholar, philosopher, religious leader, prolific author and a leading moral voice, Rabbi Lord Sacks served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from September 1991 until September 2013, only the sixth incumbent of the position since it was formalized in 1845. more