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The Ateres Yaakov Star

January 2015

Chanukah-Illuminating the Darkness
By Shmuel Berger-11th Grade

MAY Hosts Successful Blood
Drive Continued from Cover Page

have the opportunity to
participate.

The Blood Drive
was coordinated by David
Levene, a 12th grader in
MAY. “It was a great thing
to see everyone, students
and non-students alike,
take their time to donate
blood for a worthy cause,”
he said.

faults, the U.S. allows us to practice Judaism without fear for our
lives. So then why is it that people
still find reasons to miss a minyan
or not go to a shiur? Chanukah
reminds us that we should be
thankful for what we have. We
have to go the extra mile to ad-

cute tribute? I would suggest that
the Menorah isn’t just a religious
object but it can also serve as a
source of tremendous inspiration.
The miracle of the oil was
that we didn’t have enough and yet

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Chanukah is essentially one
of the more lax holidays. There
aren’t any huge meals for mothers
to cook and fathers don’t really
have any lengthy davening to attend. Children are simply thinking:
“Presents!” Chanukah may be
eight days long, yet it passes by in
the blink of an eye. Everyone knows
why we light the menorah and why
we spin the dreidel, but what people sometimes forget are the lessons of Chanukah that apply to our
everyday lives.
In that epoch, the Greeks
had banned Judaism and Jews
went into caves, learning in secrecy,
scared for their lives. They would
discover the Jews’ hiding places
but found that they weren’t learning. No, the Jewish nation was
playing a game of spinning tops.
As absurd of an excuse as that was,
it worked. They faced death and
yet the Jews managed to learn furiously with a passion greater than
ever.
Nowadays we live in America, land of the free. For all its

vance in our yiddishkeit so that the
valiant efforts of the Jews of that
era were not in vain. Chanukah
also stands as a testament to how
quickly our religious freedom can
be eradicated.
The Menorah is the ultimate symbol of Chanukah, yet
how can we relate it to nowadays?
What link does it provide to the
heroes of yore aside from as a

Eagles Dominate Yeshiva Football
League Continued from Cover Page

The team responded
in a difficult matchup against
the HAFTR Hawks, jumping
out to a quick lead and holding on to win by a score of
27-12. Their fifth game produced their third shutout as
MAY defeated Rambam 33-0
in a team effort on both
sides of the ball. In their recent two games, the Eagles
won 45-0 and 37-12.
The Eagles’ strong
start begins with the defense. Led by Captain Dani
Feit, the Eagle’s defense has

somehow it lasted for eight days.
But the obvious question is why did
the Chashmonaim bother to use
any at all if they didn’t even have
enough? We learn from this that
even if you can’t daven your best
one day or you are unable to understand what is going on in a shiur, just try. Because maybe one day
you will daven better and you will
comprehend the material. Just as
you can’t win the lottery without
buying a ticket, we can’t have success in ruchniyus without putting in
the initial effort. That is what the
Menorah symbolizes to us.

allowed only 18 points, an
absurd rate of half a touchdown per game! On the offensive side of the ball, MAY
features an extremely versatile quarterback, Ari Shaulson, who can throw the ball
with incredible accuracy and
can also run past defenses
with ease.
The season is now
well underway start and the
team is dreaming of a championship. Considering how
dominant their defense has
been, their goal certainly
looks within reach.