YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

FALL 2014
VOLUME 18 NO. 4 YUTODAY
Ice Bucket
Challenge
Drenches
YU
4Page 2
Two New
Exhibitions
at YU
Museum
4Page 8
A Career
of Caring:
Wurzweilers
Susan Bendor
4Page 4
Sy Syms
Revamps
Curriculum

4Page 3
F
ormer U.S. Senator Joseph Lieber-
man has been appointed the Joseph
Lieberman Chair in Public Policy
and Public Service at Yeshiva University
for the 20142015 academic year. He will
teach one undergraduate course and give
three public lectures.
The Lieberman Chair was estab-
lished through a gift from University
benefactors Ira and Ingeborg Rennert,
who also gave a gift to support the reap-
pointment of Ambassador Danny Ayalon
as the Ira and Ingeborg Rennert Visiting
Professor of Foreign Policy Studies.
I am very honored that Yeshiva Uni-
versity is establishing this chair, deeply
grateful that Ira and Ingeborg Rennert
are making it possible and personally
surprised that YU and the Rennerts have
asked me to be the rst occupant of the
chair, said Lieberman. I am excited
about working with the students at YU to
engage and inform their interest in public
policy and public service.
Lieberman represented Connecticut
in the U.S. Senate from 1989 to 2013, after
serving in the Connecticut State Senate
for 10 years and as attorney general of
Connecticut for six years.
Joe Lieberman was the rst Jew-
ish candidate on a national ticket and
has become an iconic gure, said Presi-
dent Richard M. Joel. But he is much
more than that. Hes a passionate Jew, a
statesman and a man of integrity. And to
be able to build on who he is and what he
represents is critical to the multifaceted
dimensionality that must be Yeshiva.
Lieberman was awarded an honor-
ary doctorate from YU in 1989 and was
recently featured in the Great Conversa-
tions in Religion and Democracy series
of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center
for Torah and Western Thought. n
O
ne night, as Ethan Gipsmana
light machine-gunner in the Is-
raeli Defense Force (IDF) from
San Diego, Californiastood guard over
a group of suspected terrorists in the
West Bank, one of them asked him a sur-
prising question: What was Ethan, an
American, doing there? He said, Why
would you leave your country to come
here? Gipsman recalled.
Gipsman thought about his answer
for most of the night before replying in a
mixture of Arabic, English and Hebrew.
He said, There is only one Jewish coun-
try in the world. I left America because, as
a Jew, I have an obligation to protect it.
His answer resonates strongly with
several Lone Soldiersenlistees from the
United States and other countries around
the world who come to Israel to serve in
the IDFwho, like Gipsman, began their
studies at Yeshiva University this fall.
For Daniel Gone, a member of the
Givati Brigade from Toronto, Ontario,
it made no sense that the Israeli friends
T
his fall, close to 600 new students began their academic careers at Yeshiva Uni-
versity. They are learning to balance a rich and vibrant range of academic, ex-
tracurricular and spiritual pursuits, dedicating themselves to rigorous Torah
and secular study, discovering their passions, championing their beliefs and forming
lasting friendships.
This is a university like no other, President Richard M. Joel told the new stu-
dents. Here, you profoundly matter and will not just receive a dual curriculum educa-
tion but also learn how to live. He encouraged students to expand their network of
peers and take ownership of their experience at YU.
The student body has dreams of pursuing an array of professional careers in med-
icine, the arts, accounting, law, Jewish studies and education, among
other elds. Yet they all chose to attend Yeshiva University, the only in-
stitution that offers high-level academics and Judaic studies in addition
to endless extracurricular opportunities.
This years incoming class is made up of men and women from
across the United States, Europe, Canada, Israel and Latin America.
Many are starting their rst year on campus following a year of Torah
study in Israel, but others are beginning their college careers right
after graduating high school and still others are joining YU from other
universities.
Daniel Amar, of Dimona, Israel, is one of the latter. After two years
on an athletic scholarship for soccer at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University, he is excited to start his studies in business and
marketing at Sy Syms School of Business this falla place he describes
as the perfect t.
To be able to combine my spiritual aspirations with a great edu-
cation at one of the top 50 universities in the country is a great oppor-
tunity, said Amar, who is also looking forward to building rapport with
his teammates on the YU Maccabees soccer team. To be able to study
economics on the one hand and talk about Maimonides or Gemara [Tal-
mud] on the other hand is extremely fullling to me. I know that in any eld I choose,
the tools Ill develop from my spiritual and academic pursuits here will help me.
The top-notch academic offerings are only getting stronger: YU is now in full com-
pliance with all the standards of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education
(MSCHE). In its latest report, MSCHE reafrmed the Universitys unconditional ac-
creditation and commended the school for its tremendous progress in advancing the
culture of assessment and for implementation of an organized, systematic and sustain-
able process to assess the achievement of expected student-learning outcomes.
The most recent survey by YUs Career Center bears testimony to that: More
Joseph Lieberman Joins Faculty IDF Vets Begin Studies at Yeshiva
New Students Find Perfect Fit at YU
Continued on Page 6
Continued on Page 6
Former U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman Having recently completed their IDF service, veterans Shmuel Goldis, Jonathan Sidlow,
Daniel Gofine and Ethan Gipsman began their studies at YU this fall
Undergraduate women move into their dorm rooms on the Beren Campus in Manhattan
2
YUTODAY
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T
he Yeshiva University
community mourned the
passing of beloved long-
time Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Ger-
shon Yankelewitz zl at an
August 20 funeral held in YUs
Glueck Beit Midrash.
Rabbi Yankelewitz by his
nature and learning so repre-
sented both our history and our
destiny, said President Richard
M. Joel. For over half a century,
he taught his students how to
learn and how to live. We will al-
ways remember him.
Born in Lubcza, Poland, in
1909, Rabbi Yankelewitz stud-
ied in the Radin Yeshiva until
the death of its founder, the
Chofetz Chaim. He then con-
tinued his studies at the Mir
Yeshiva in Russia before being
forced to flee from the Nazis
at the start of World War II.
The entire yeshiva relocated to
Kobe, Japan, before eventually
settling in Shanghai, China,
where they remained until 1947.
Rabbi Yankelewitz joined YU in
1958 and has given a daily shiur
[lecture] at the Rabbi Isaac El-
chanan Theological Seminary
(RIETS) for semicha [rabbinic
ordination] and college students
for more than five decades.
Rabbi Yankelewitz was
an extraordinary person, said
Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, dean
emeritus of RIETS. He was a
man of God and a man of prin-
ciple, who brought with him the
Torah learning from the great
European yeshivas. His students
were devoted to him and he was
dedicated to them.
As someone who was for-
tunate enough to be a talmid
[student] in his shiur, I saw what
type of tzaddik [righteous per-
son] he was up close, said Rabbi
Chaim Bronstein, senior RIETS
administrator. It was a great
privilege to have known him all
these years.
It is so far beyond impos-
sible to capture who the niftar
[deceased] was, not just because
of the longevity of the niftar or
the many worlds that he lived
in but simply because of who
he was, said Rabbi Menachem
Penner, the Max and Marion
Grill Dean of RIETS. Its easy
to focus today on the arichas
yamim [long life] of the niftar,
to say that what was so special
about him was that he had such
unbelievable arichas yamim and
was still teaching at Yeshiva.
But the hespedim [eulogies] give
us a sense of not just how many
years he was blessed to teach
but mostly just how he taught
and learned.
Rabbi Yankelewitzs wife,
Bluma, passed away in 2010. He
is survived by his sons, Dovid,
Yaakov, Yoel and Moshe, and his
daughters, Devorah Fromowitz,
Gity Lipsius and Perl Gross, and
their spouses and grandchildren
and great-grandchildren. n
YUTODAY
YESHI VA UNI VERSI TY
FALL 2014
VOLUME 18 NO. 4
DR. HENRY KRESSEL
Chairman, YU Board of Trustees
RICHARD M. JOEL
President
PAUL OESTREICHER
Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs
YUTODAY
MATT YANIV YAFFI SPODEK GISEL PINEYRO
Director of Public Relations, Editor Art Director
Editor in Chief
Aliza Berenholz, Barbara Birch, Caitlin Geiger, Perel Skier Hecht, Linda Hsia,
David Huggins, Tova Ross, Ronit Segal, Adena Stevens
Contributors
yutoday@yu.edu www.yu.edu/cpa
YUToday is published quarterly by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs and is
distrib uted free to faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors and friends. It keeps them informed
of news from across Yeshiva Universitys undergraduate and graduate divisions and affiliates.
The quarterly newsletter covers academic and campus life, faculty and student research, com-
munity outreach and philanthropic support. It showcases the Universitys mission of Torah
Umadda, the combination of Jewish study and values with secular learning, through stories
about the diverse achievements of the University community.
Yeshiva University 2014 Office of Communications and Public Affairs
Furst Hall, Room 401 500 West 185th St. New York, NY 10033-3201 Tel.: 212.960.5285
Stanley I. Raskas, Chair, Board of Overseers, Yeshiva College; Shira Yoshor, Chair, Board of
Overseers, Stern College for Women; Steve Uretsky, Chair, Board of Overseers, Sy Syms
School of Business; Roger Einiger, Chair, Board of Overseers, Albert Einstein College of
Medicine; David Samson, Chair, Board of Overseers, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law;
Froma Benerofe, Chair, Board of Overseers, Wurzweiler School of Social Work; Mordecai
D. Katz, Chair, Board of Overseers, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies;
Carol Bravmann, Chair, Board of Overseers, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology; Moshael J.
Straus, Chair, Board of Overseers, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration;
Joel M. Schreiber, Chair, Board of Trustees, (affiliate) Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological
Seminary; Miriam P. Goldberg, Chair, Board of Trustees, YU High Schools; Michael Jesselson
and Theodore N. Mirvis, Co-chairs, Board of Directors, (affiliate) Yeshiva University Museum
Board listings as of October 1, 2014
YUTODAY WEB EXCLUSIVES
www.yu.edu/news
Ice Bucket Challenge Drenches YU
President Richard M. Joel, students, vice presidents, deans and
faculty took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge this summer. The global
phenomenon has helped raise awareness and more than $100 million
to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a life-threatening neuro-
degenerative disorder. Watch their videos!
k yu.edu/als
View the 2014 orientation photo gallery
k yu.edu/orientation14
PHOTO
VIDEO

Making His Mark
A
braham Abe Naymark
zl was a self-made mul-
timillionaire, but one
would never know it. Low key
and unpretentious until his
passing last January, Naymark
was also a shrewd businessman
and a tough negotiatortraits
that helped him achieve a small
fortune in his lifetime. A gener-
ous philanthropist, Naymark
has helped numerous students
and faculty members at Sy Syms
School of Business through the
establishment of an eponymous
scholarship fund and the Visit-
ing Faculty and Research Fel-
lowship Program. In total, he
donated $2.25 million to YU
while he was living as well as
through gifts given from his es-
tate posthumously.
Abe was the type of guy
who wouldnt spend $100 on
himself, but would gladly give a
$1 million check to charity, said
Michael Strauss, associate dean
of Sy Syms, who shared a close
personal relationship with him.
He was a mentor to me, like a
father figure, and a real mensch
with a truly unique personality.
Naymark was born in Ger-
many in 1924 and moved to
Israel with his family in 1938.
Although he had no formal edu-
cation past third grade, Naymark
eventually served as the owner
of Parsons Properties and ac-
cumulated his wealth when he
was in his 60s and 70s through
the purchase and sale of several
buildings.
In 2007, Naymark estab-
lished a charitable remainder
trust with a $250,000 contri-
bution that provided him with
a predictable income stream
during his lifetime and funded
a Naymark Scholarship at Sy
Syms upon his passing. He sub-
sequently donated an additional
$750,000, a pledge made during
his lifetime and partially ful-
filled by his estate.
He didnt have any chil-
dren and always wanted a son,
so he donated the money for
students with good academic
standing who wouldnt have
been able to attend due to finan-
cial reasons, said Strauss.
Naymark was awarded an
honorary doctorate from Presi-
dent Richard M. Joel at YUs
commencement ceremony in
2013. He also donated six Marc
Chagall window paintings from
Israel, which now hang on the
third floor of 215 Lexington Av-
enue on the Israel Henry Beren
Campus.
When Naymark passed
away last winter, his estateof
which Strauss is a trustee
granted a $1.25 million bequest
to YU, a testamentary gift that
was received in June and estab-
lished the Abraham Naymark
Visiting Faculty and Research
Fellowship Program at Sy Syms.
Gifts given like this
through a trust or estate can
allow people to make a big im-
pact during their lifetime or
after, said Alan Secter, associate
dean for institutional advance-
ment. Planned gift strategies
can help provide for donors
needs during their lifetimes and
enable them to leave incredible
legacies to organizations they
care deeply about. By funding
these scholarships and programs
in his name, Mr. Naymarks gifts
will live on after him. n
k Learn more about planned giving at
YU at yu.edu/plannedgiving
Abraham Abe Naymark
Rabbi Gershon Yankelewitz
From Radin to RIETS: YU Remembers
Rabbi Gershon Yankelewitz
YU Benefactor Donates $2.25 Million, Leaves Lasting Legacy at Sy Syms
YUTODAY


3

FALL 2014 WWW.YU. EDU/NEWS s FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/YESHIVAUNIVERSITY
R
esearchers from Albert Einstein
College of Medicine and other in-
stitutions have developed a poten-
tial antibody therapy for Sudan ebolavirus
(SUDV), one of the two most lethal
strains of Ebola. A different strain, the
Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), is now devas-
tating West Africa. First identified in
1976, SUDV has caused numerous Ebola
outbreaks that have killed more than 400
people in total. The findings were re-
ported in the American Chemical Soci-
etys (ACS) Chemical Biology publication.
As of the end of September, at least
3,000 people had died from the current
EBOV outbreak. Two U.S. aid workers
infected in that outbreak received an
experimental treatment called ZMapp,
a combination of three different mono-
clonal antibodies that bind to the protein
of the virus. The newly described SUDV
treatment also uses monoclonal anti-
bodies, in this case synthetic antibodies
designed to target a key molecule on the
surface of SUDV.
While our antibodies show promise
for the treatment of SUDV infection, they
wouldnt work against the EBOV outbreak
now underway in West Africa, said Dr.
Jonathan Lai, associate professor of bio-
chemistry at Einstein and co-correspond-
ing author of the ACS Chemical Biology
paper. Thats because antibodies
that kill off one strain, or species,
of Ebola havent proven effective
against other strains.
In developing their SUDV
therapy, the researchers started
with specific antibodies made
by mice. These antibodies pro-
tect the animals against SUDV
infection, but if used in humans,
could provoke an immune re-
sponse that would destroy them.
Needing a humanized version
of their mouse antibody, the re-
searchers realized that its molec-
ular structure closely resembled
the structure of a commonly used
human antibody.
The researchers used that
human antibody as a scaffold
onto which they placed the
Ebola-specific portion of the
mouse antibody. They then made
variants of the resulting mol-
ecule by subtly changing the structure
in different ways using a process called
synthetic antibody engineering. Two
of these variants proved able to fend off
SUDV in specially bred mice.
These two monoclonal antibodies
represent potential candidates for treat-
ing SUDV infection, said Dr. Lai. He
noted that more research is needed be-
fore the antibody therapy can be tested
on humans.
The study was funded by grants
from the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, the Canadian
Institutes for Health Research and the
Defense Threat Reduction Agency. n
Sy Syms Revamps Curriculum
Y
eshiva Universitys Sy Syms School
of Business launched a new cur-
riculum and a new major in busi-
ness intelligence and marketing analytics
this fall.
Incorporating state-of-the-art tech-
nique in modern business education phi-
losophy, the new curriculum is designed
to grant students the flexibility to create
a unique customized educational expe-
rience perfectly tailored to suit their ca-
reer interests. Theres a recognition now
that we are all entrepreneurs of our own
careers, said Dr. Moses Pava, dean of Sy
Syms. We believe that this new and ex-
citing curriculum, with its continued em-
phasis on communication skills, critical
thinking, functional skills, entrepreneur-
ial leadership, professionalism, social re-
sponsibility and ethics will be attractive
to both current and prospective students
and will provide them with the education
necessary to succeed both professionally
and personally in todays fast-changing,
interconnected global economy.
Students can focus intensely on one
functional area if they so wish or ground
themselves in fields across the breadth of
the business world, said Dr. Avi Giloni,
associate dean of Sy Syms. They could
also easily have a major and minoran
area of expertise and an additional focus
and if they really want to differentiate
themselves, it becomes much easier to
double major. Were giving them the tools
to shape their education and sculpt their
own careers.
Changes include making two exist-
ing operations management and macro-
economics requirements interchangeable
with any two liberal arts or business elec-
tives in addition to fewer required courses
and more electives in most majors.
Reflecting one of the fastest-grow-
ing career paths in the modern business
world, the school is also rolling out a
newly designed management concentra-
tion and a new major in business intel-
ligence and marketing analytics. These
will combine course work in computer
programming, statistics and data science,
with a solid foundation in marketing
strategy and consumer insights.
This will make our students very
marketable when they graduate be-
cause they will have the skill set that so
many firms are looking for, said Giloni.
Theyll be able to better market a firms
current services and goods and help them
determine what products to create next.
The benefits of these changes in-
clude providing students with more
flexibility and better choices, said Pava.
This meets the needs of a diverse stu-
dent population and enables more effi-
cient course scheduling, more relevant
concentrations for todays data-driven
and entrepreneurial business environ-
ment and greater opportunity to inte-
grate liberal arts and business.
Several new courses were offered
in the fall, including Business Analytics
and Programming, Systematic and Inven-
tive Thinking, Social Media and Business
Intelligence and Consumer Insights. In
addition, all Sy Syms students are now
required to take Business and Halacha,
a course that provides an overview of
Jewish ethics as applied to the business
world. Thats the reason we have a busi-
ness school at Yeshiva University, said
Pava. Im very proud that all our students
learn the urgency of ethical conduct as
Jews in the business world. n
Einsteins Dr. Jonathan Lai
Y
eshiva University will introduce
a new Master of Science degree
program in Speech-Language Pa-
thology (SLP) in fall 2015. Students will
have the opportunity to learn from the
experienced clinicians and faculty of the
Montefiore Health System and the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, and will
have access to resources at both institu-
tions. The program is approved by the
State of New York Department of Higher
Education and is seeking Accreditation
Candidacy with the Council on Academic
Accreditation (CAA) of the American
Speech, Language and Hearing Associa-
tion (ASHA). The official opening date is
pending CAA accreditation.
The five-semester graduate pro-
gram is designed to prepare students to
become speech-language pathologists
who are capable of working in hospitals,
rehabilitative centers, university or col-
lege clinics, specialized clinical settings
or private practice. The program was
developed by Dr. Linda Carroll, a speech
pathologist in the Department of Otolar-
yngology at Montefiore Medical Center,
who will serve as director. Dr. Carroll is
also an experienced voice therapist and
was recently named a Fellow of ASHA.
The program is dedicated to pro-
viding a first-rate academic experience,
outstanding clinical education opportu-
nities and collaborative management of
disorders across the life span that affect
speech, language, cognition, voice and
swallow function.
YUs tradition of scholarship and
professional excellence coupled with the
clinical and research experience at Mon-
tefiore and Einstein is a perfect match for
a dynamic graduate program in speech-
language pathology, said Dr. Carroll.
We are thrilled that our institutions are
coming together for the benefit of our
students and those affected by communi-
cative disorders.
Integrating academic training and
collaborative teaching by speech-lan-
guage and medical professionals, the
program offers students the unique op-
portunity to learn and gain clinical ex-
perience in the world-class facilities of
the Montefiore Medical Center, as well
as at numerous other externship sites
throughout New York City.
This is a natural marriage between
the undergraduate speech pathology and
audiology program, the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine and Montefiore,
said Dr. Joseph Danto, professor and
cross-campus chair of the undergraduate
speech and hearing sciences program at
YU. Its rare for graduate programs in
Speech-Language Pathology to be con-
nected to a medical institution. Our stu-
dents will be able to employ hands-on,
state-of-the-art learning in virtual oper-
ating rooms, major voice clinics and med-
ical school anatomical laboratories. n
k To learn more about the program or to apply,
visit yu.edu/slp
YU to Launch
Masters
Program in
Speech
Pathology
Einstein Researchers Create Potential
Antibody for Ebola
Sy Syms Associate Dean Dr. Avi Giloni is helping students shape their majors
4
YUTODAY
s WWW.YU. EDU/NEWS FALL 2014 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AT WWW.TWITTER.COM/YUNEWS
A Career of Caring: Wurzweilers Dr. Susan Bendor
O
ver half a century after she began
her career as a social worker, Dr.
Susan Bendor will retire in Janu-
ary, capping off 26 years at Yeshiva Uni-
versitys Wurzweiler School of Social
Work and a remarkable 52 years in the
field.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Bendor
survived the Holocaust as a young child
by hiding in a cellar for nine months. By
the time she was 21, she had lived in six
countries, and by 25, she had earned her
masters degree. Her interest in social
work can be traced back to her familys
early years in Canada.
Thanks to a wonderful hospital so-
cial worker who helped our immigrant
family through a very rough crisis, giving
all of us a sense of hope, I realized how im-
portant and satisfying it must be to make
such a difference in the lives of families
coping with a variety of challenges beyond
their control, said Bendor. I decided to
follow in his footsteps. It was a privilege
to enter a profession that is committed
to social justice and to treating everyone
with dignity, as were the individuals who
saved our lives during World War II and
continue to inspire me even today.
Bendor has served in numerous pro-
fessional capacities in her storied career.
From being a foster care worker at the
Jewish Child Care Association, a consul-
tant to the Federal Office of Economic
Opportunity, a Head Start consultant, a
psychiatric social worker in various hos-
pitals and health settings, director of so-
cial work at Molloy College and associate
director of the Department of Social Ser-
vices at Montefiore Medical Center, she
held a wide range of responsibilities and
experienced multiple facets of the social
work field before joining YU in the 1980s.
I thought it was time for me to stim-
ulate another generation of young stu-
dents to appreciate the leadership
positions social workers can take on if
they have a broader vision of the profes-
sion, she said, explaining her decision to
come to YU. I chose YU because it was
one of the few schools that taught all of
the major methods in social work, case-
work, group work and community work,
which I thought all students should be-
come familiar with.
Bendor held several positions at
Wurzweiler, starting out as the director
of Field Instruction, where she enjoyed
the challenge of helping students expand
their areas of interest and go beyond their
comfort zones by working with different
populations. In 1995, at the urging of then
Dean Sheldon Gelman and Dr. Norman
Linzer, Bendor assumed a full-time teach-
ing position, where she continued for the
next 19 years, enlightening hundreds of
students who attended her classes.
My philosophy of teaching is best
conveyed in a quotation frequently at-
tributed to the Irish poet William Butler
Yeats, who wrote: Education is not the fill-
ing of a pail, but the lighting of a fire, she
said. In whatever course I teach, I love to
light the fire for the quest for good practice,
compassion, a passion for justice and for
putting on a new lens to examine the myths
and stereotypes both students and faculty
acquire over a lifetime.
That fiery passion has made a last-
ing impression on her students and col-
leagues alike at Wurzweiler.
I have known Susan Bendor for al-
most my entire professional career, said
Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks, the Dorothy
and David Schachne Dean of Wurzweiler.
I admired her from afar as a director of
field work, a teacher, a leader in the social
work profession and as a passionate ad-
vocate for all people especially the most
vulnerable members of our society. Dr.
Bendor is the conscience of Wurzweiler,
frequently reminding us to attend rallies,
write letters to our elected officials and to
vote each year. Her classes are always full
and countless numbers of students have
been inspired by her dedication, deter-
mination and active involvement in many
causes to follow in her footsteps. n
Recent Appointments
Liora Haibi, Hebrew language instructor at Yeshiva
University High School for Boys/Marsha Stern Talmu-
dical Academy (MTA) was named one of only six North
American winners of the Grinspoon Award for Excel-
lence in Jewish Education.
Presented by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation,
the award is designed to recognize, honor and support
outstanding classroom Jewish educators worthy of
national recognition. North American winners receive a
stipend, opportunities to publish in Engaging Practices
in Jewish Education and fully funded visits to attend the
NewCAJE conference in Los Angeles, California.
Besides being a great personal honor, the Grinspoon Award is a confirmation of
the importance of Hebrew language instruction for the American Jewish community,
said Haibi. My lifelong quest in my profession is to find innovative and 21st-century
ways to motivate and improve Hebrew language instruction.
Haibi was also recognized as a regional winner of the award and has implemented
several unique Hebrew language instruction programs at MTA, including an Ulpan
class and an innovative Meet the Israeli Author elective in which students regularly
communicate via Skype with a noted Israeli writer whose works they study.
Ms. Haibi has transformed the Hebrew language classroom at MTA, said Tova
Rosenberg, director of Hebrew language at MTA. Her creativity, breadth and depth of
knowledge in her subject matter and pedagogical skills and her passion for students
and their learning make her a gold standard for Jewish educators.
MTA Instructor Wins Grinspoon Award in Jewish Education
Jacob Jake Harman was appointed
vice president of business affairs and
chief financial officer. He will lead the
Universitys finance functions and play
an integral role in developing and imple-
menting financial and operational plans
to support and meet the strategic goals
set by the University. Prior to joining
YU, Harman spent his career at KPMG,
where he most recently served as a se-
nior audit partner in the firms Office of
General Counsel.
Geri Mansdorf has been appointed di-
rector of undergraduate admissions.
Mansdorf, who holds a masters degree
in education from the Azrieli Graduate
School of Jewish Education and Admin-
istration, has been a member of the un-
dergraduate admissions team at YU for
10 years.
Dr. Paul Oestreicher was appointed executive director of Yeshiva Universitys De-
partment of Communications and Public Affairs. He will oversee the in-house com-
munications staff, manage the Universitys brand and messaging and liaise with the
communications teams at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Albert Einstein
College of Medicine. Oestreicher, an accomplished strategic communications practi-
tioner, educator, researcher and author, has held senior executive positions in public
relations and public affairs at several corporations and agencies. Most recently, he con-
sulted in corporate and marketing communications and served as adjunct professor at
New York University.
Rabbi Yaakov Glasser 99YC, 01R, 03A was appointed the David Mitzner Dean of
Yeshiva Universitys Center for the Jewish Future (CJF). He will oversee all the per-
sonnel and programming initiatives at the CJF, including training rabbis and lay lead-
ers, spreading Torah to communities worldwide and running programs and service
missions across North America and beyond.
It is a great privilege to assume the leadership of an institution dedicated to bring-
ing the Torah and wisdom of Yeshiva University to the broader Jewish community,
said Rabbi Glasser. In a generation where so many are searching for inspiration and
meaning, the CJF innovates programs that empower both rabbinic and lay leaders to
reach our community and beyond.
Rabbi Glasser also serves as rabbi of the Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton. Before
joining YU, he was the international director of education for NCSY and regional direc-
tor of New Jersey NCSY.
Dr. Susan Bendor will retire in January
s STAY CONNECTED AT WWW.YU.EDU/ALUMNI
W
hen a calamity hits the Jewish community, one of the rst respond-
ers is Zahava (Safran) Farbman 90YUHS, 94S, 96W. A veteran
traumatologist and the associate director of Project CHAIthe
Crisis Intervention, Trauma and Bereavement Department of Chai Lifeline
Farbman has helped counsel and comfort hundreds of people experiencing
tragedy. Its a calling, she said, that has roots in Yeshiva University.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Safran home was run with
a strict all are welcome policy.
Helping people was a very natural part of my upbringing, said Farbman,
whose family moved to Teaneck, New Jersey, when she started high school.
My father was the rabbi of the shul and principal of the day school. My mother
started the initiative Friends of Jewish Patients, which welcomes the numer-
ous people who come to Pittsburgh for surgery, as Pittsburgh pioneered the
procedure of transplanting organs. I had patients and their families living in
my house for months on end, and I imbibed a lot of my parents dedication to
the community early on.
When it came time for college, Farbman said the decision to attend
Stern College for Women was a no-brainer.
I come from a YU family through and through, said Farbman. Her father,
a Yeshiva College graduate, was the principal of the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva
University High School for Girls; her paternal grandfather, Rabbi Joseph
Safran, taught at YU; and her maternal grandfather, Rabbi Jacob Rabinowitz,
was a dean of the Erna Michael College of Hebraic Studies. Her mother also
taught a class at Stern. YU is in the family blood, she said.
At Stern, Farbman majored in psychology. She dated her husband, Seth
Farbman 89YUHS, 93YC, 98C while they were undergraduates, and the two
got married a semester before Farbmans graduation. They moved to Brook-
lyn, New York, and Farbman enrolled at Wurzweiler School of Social Work.
I had initially planned on studying psychology, but Seth was already in
law school and someone needed to be working, said Farbman. I discovered
Wurzweilers PEP [Plan for Employed Persons], which allowed professionals
to work during the day and take classes at night. Social work was a switch for
me, but I found that I loved it and never looked back.
Farbman was working with families through OHELs Bais Ezra pro-
gram in Brooklyn, which services the developmentally disabled, and stayed
there for a few years after graduating Wurzweiler. In the summer of 1997,
she worked as the program director for Camp Simcha, a camp for children
with cancer and other serious illnesses. When the fall arrived and Farbman
decided to leave Bais Ezra, the rst place she turned to was Chai Lifeline. As
luck would have it, Rabbi Simcha Scholar, the director, was looking for some-
one to ll the newly created position of assistant director of Camp Simcha.
Farbman was a natural t.
At the time, my job was the only full-time position at camp, said Farb-
man. I did a lot of networking with families and recruiting campers during
the year in addition to helping run the camp during the summer.
The job only grew more time consuming as the camp kept growing. I
was at camp almost a decade, but when camp got so big, it was either the job
or my kids, said Farbman, who had three small children at the time, and
my kids won.
But she still wanted to nd a way to contribute. When Chai Lifeline
announced in 2002 that it was establishing a department for crisis inter-
vention and bereavement counseling, it proved the perfect transition for
Farbman. Rabbi Scholar saw a real need for a department devoted to coun-
seling families in the Jewish community who experienced the loss of a child
whether from sickness or accident, said Farbman.
What started as a part-time job has once again grown to involve more
hours than Farbman had originally planned. The department grew by leaps
and bounds, developing a reputation as the most professional and all-encom-
passing resource for those experiencing a tragic loss. When Leiby Kletzky
was murdered in Boro Park, New York, Farbman and Chai Lifeline were
there. When Hurricane Sandy hit, they were there. And when the recent
shootings occurred at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City,
they were there.
There is really no crisis or trauma in the Jewish community today that
my department is not involved inwhether its a family experiencing a sick
child, a sudden death or a natural disaster, said Farbman. We are known
as the go-to resource in the community whenever there is any kind of crisis.
To deal with such devastation day in and day out, its easy for others to
wonder how she does it.
I believe that each person has his or her strengths, and one of mine is to
be able to give strength to others during very difcult times, said Farbman. I
feel strongly that I am doing Gods work, and I pray often to be a good shaliach
(messenger) for Him when I am called on to do my job. I feel both called and
blessed to do this kind of work, and before walking into any situation, I always
take a moment to pray for wisdom and strength.
And no matter how public or private or how big the scale or scope, every
tragedy is monumental to those experiencing it, and to Farbman as well. They
all stay with me, said Farbman. I see it all, and each one touches me deeply.
Farbmans department regularly runs presentations and workshops to
train others in the community to become rst responders to the scene of a
crisis. When advising others on how to respond to tragedy, the best advice
Farbman can give is this: validate.
When faced with someones suffering, its so important to validate how-
ever that person or family is responding and coping with their situation,
said Farbman. Theres no right or wrong way to grieve, no one-size-ts-all
way to cope with crisis.
Farbmans unique role has her keeping unorthodox hours; she is often
woken up in the middle of the night with a phone call informing her of a sud-
den crisis. Farbman credits her husband, Seth, for accomodating her hectic
schedule and offering her unlimited emotional support for her challenging
work. She also acknowledges her seven children, ranging from ages four to
18, who are proud of their mothers ability to help so many. I think of my
10- year-old who last year told a friend: Ima helps people deal when some-
thing bad happens to someone they love, she said. My kids know how
important my work is, and Im grateful to them for letting me do it.
Farbman, who lives in Woodmere, New York, is a responder for men-
tal health emergencies for Hatzolah of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway
and is also the consultant for crisis and bereavement for Achiezer, A T.I.M.E.
(A Torah Infertility Medium of Exchange) and Ohr Naava.
Recently, Farbman returned to YU to attend Wurzweiler againthis
time, for her PhD. It feels odd yet familiar to be back at school, but of course
there was nowhere else for me to consider than YU, she said. She noted
that it was exactly 18 yearsthe numerical value of the Hebrew word chai,
or lifefrom the day she graduated with her masters degree to the day she
interviewed for the doctoral program. Farbman is also working to create a
partnership between her department at Chai Lifeline and YU to offer a ser-
vice that trains YU rabbis, communal leaders and lay leaders to respond to
trauma in their respective communities. n
Zahava Farbman 90YUHS, 94S, 96W
ALUMNITODAY
YESHIVA UNIVERSITY
FALL 2014
When Crisis Strikes, Zahava Farbman is on Call
ALUMNI TODAY 1
SEARCH THE ALUMNI DI RECTORY FOR CLASSMATES AT WWW.YU.EDU/ALUMNI DI RECTORY
2 ALUMNI TODAY
Marcia 66S and Rabbi Yitzchak Frank
61YC, 65F, 65R announce the birth of
their grandson. Mazal tov to parents Lea
and Uriel Frank. Rabbi and Mrs. Frank also
celebrated the Bat Mitzvah of their
granddaughter, Naomi.
Frieda and former YU Institutional
Advancement President Rabbi Dr. Henry
Horwitz 66YC, 69R, 69BR and Netty and
Elliot Horowitz and Steven Gross celebrated
the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson, Yonatan
Refael Catriel. Mazal tov to parents Ayala
and Yossie Horwitz.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard
Rosenberg 69YC,
74R, 74F, 92A
published The
Holocaust As Seen
Through Film: A
Teachers Guide
To Movies,
Documentaries,
And Short Films
That Will Impact Your Students And
Spark Dynamic Classroom Discussion
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Platform, 2014).
Libby 55YUHS and Rabbi Aharon Ziegler
67F celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their
great-grandson, Mordechai Drillick.
1970s

Dr. Meryl Altabet 76BS, 84BS and Robert
Fried celebrated the marriage of their son,
Rabbi David Fried, to Molly Katancik.
Sharon 72S and Rabbi Shimon Altshul
72YC, 76R, 76F announce the marriage of
their daughter, Esty, to Hillel Garcia Austria.
Dr. Allan S. Kaplan
70YUHS, 74YC was
named vice dean of
graduate education on
the faculty of medicine
at the University of
Toronto. He is also
professor of psychiatry
and senior scientist at the Center for
Addiction and Mental Health.
Abraham J. Katz 75YC
edited and annotated the
new edition of the book,
The Guide to Jewish
Prayer by Rabbi Isaiah
Wohlgemuth zl, which
includes lessons in
Tela and answers to
questions that Rabbi Wohlgemuth heard
from Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik zl.
Nava Rephun 76W presented a training
workshop on Image Relationship Therapy,
an approach to working with couples, to the
clinical staff of the Jewish Board of Family
and Childrens Services in Brooklyn, New
York.
Yehudit 75TI and Dr. Moshe Spero
announce the birth of their grandson. Mazal
tov to parents Jennie and Chezi Spero.
Esther (Gleicher) 75YUHS and Rabbi
Mark Weiner 76YC, 79F, 80R announce
the engagement of their son, Aryeh, to
Rivkah Leah Kunin. Rabbi Weiner has also
retired from U.S. Army Reserve chaplaincy
as a lieutenant colonel.
1980s

Amy and Rabbi Mitchell Ackerson 86R,
89W, announce the marriage of their son,
Avidan, to Sara Baumgarten.
Adena Berkowitz 85C was a featured
speaker at a conference at DePaul
University College of Law, as well as at
St. Thomas University School of Law and
the Chicago Jewish Federation.
Cheryl (Rochwarger) 84S and Yechiel
Corn 80YUHS, 83YC announce the
engagement of their son, Tzvi, to Adi
Chazan. Mazal tov to grandmother
Dr. Juliana Corn 83F.
Tamar 88S, 89A and Marc Lesnick 88YC
celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their son,
Amichai.
Natanya 86S and Rabbi Daniel Mann
86YC, 89R announce the birth of their
grandson, Avraham Tropp.
Rabbi Francis Nataf 87BR, 88R spoke at
Congregation Ramath Orah in June on No
Man is for All SeasonsThe Real Reason
Moshe Couldnt Cross the Jordan.
Aviva 82S and Joe Offenbacher
76YUHS, 79YC and Robin and Bruce
Epstein announce the birth of their
grandson, Michael Baruch Tzvi, born to
Esther and Ra Offenbacher. Mazal tov to
great-grandparents Judith 57YUHS, 61S
and Rabbi Irwin Borvick 53YUHS, 57YC,
60BR, 60R and Esther and Elmer
Offenbacher.
Dr. Esther 86S, 95F and Rabbi Meir
Orlian 83YUHS, 87YC, 90R, 93BR
announce the birth of their granddaughter,
Tzophia, born to Sara and Avrahami
Rosenberg of Bet-El. Mazal tov to
great-grandparents Associate Dean of
Stern College for Women Ethel (Chaya)
Orlian 57 YUHS, 61S and Professor of
Bible and Hebrew Rabbi Dr. J. Mitchell
Orlian 51YUHS, 55YC, 57F, 73BR and
Dr. Riki and Dr. Mordecai Koenigsberg
59YC, 63A.
Diane Romirowsky 81W
is major gifts director for
the Northeast region for
American Associates of
Ben-Gurion University of
the Negev, serving
greater New York and
New England.
Smadar, assistant professor of Bible, and
Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael
Rosensweig 80YC, 80R, 86W, 96BR
announce the marriage of their daughter,
Ayalah, to Chanan Freilich 14YC. Mazal
tov to grandfather, Rabbi Beryl
Rosensweig 47YC, 50R, 70BR.
Alisa and Rabbi Allen Schwartz 85YC,
86R, 97BR announce the birth of two
grandchildren: Sarah, born to Amy
02YUHS and Rabbi Joel Bloom 05YC,
09A, 10R; and Tehilla Chaya Sarah, born
to Renee (Kestenbaum) 12S and Moshe
Schwartz 06YUHS.
Deborah 84S, 86W and Rabbi Raphael
Schwartz 83BR, 83R celebrated the
marriage of their son, Maurice, to Dina
Honick.
Berni and Rabbi Lawrence Zierler 82YC,
85R announce the marriage of their
daughter, Dorona, to Gadi Braude.
1990s

Rabbi Hayyim Angel 93YC, 93BR, 95R,
96A, instructor of Bible at Yeshiva
University, is the National Scholar of the
Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals and
Rabbinic Scholar at Congregation Kehilath
Jeshurun.
Shoshana (Levitz) 91S and Steven
Arnold 91SB celebrated the Bar Mitzvah
of their son, Binyamin. Mazal tov to
grandparents Shirley (Roy) Lerner 64S,
66F and Ruth and Phil Levitz 60YUHS.
Rochelle and Rabbi David Blum 95YC,
01R announce the birth of their daughter,
Sheindel Chaya, named after Rabbi Blums
late mother, Sheila Blum zl.
Rabbi Aaron
Goldscheider
94R published
a haggadah,
The Night That
Unites Passover
Haggadah:
Teaching, Stories,
Questions from
Rabbi Kook, Rabbi
Soloveichik, and Rabbi Carlebach (Urim
Publications, 2014).
Adeena 90S and Rabbi Menachem
Penner 91YC, 95R, the Max and Marion
Grill Dean of RIETS, announce the marriage
of their daughter, Elisheva, to Ben
Langstein.
Dr. Dale Rosenbach
99YUHS, 03YC has
been appointed to both
the editorial advisory and
continuing education
advisory boards for
Dentaltown Magazine.
Daniella (Shloush) 94S, 96A and Rabbi
Joshua Rudoff 84YUHS, 87YC, 91R
celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their son,
Shmuel.
Rabbi Kenny Schiowitz
96SB, 99R, 01A
published new edu-
cational guides for
Talmud instructors called
Madrikh La-Moreh (OU
Press, 2014), currently
available for Tractates
Berakhot, Sanhedrin and Sukkah.
Rabbi Dr. Eliezer
Schnall 95YUHS,
00YC, 02F, 03R, 06F,
professor of psychology
at Yeshiva College,
chaired a symposium at
the 122nd Annual
Convention of the
American Psychological
Association in
Washington DC, entitled Classic Jewish
Wisdom for Psychologys Teachers,
Researcher, and Clinicians. Rabbi Schnall
also authored Barriers to Mental Health
Care: A 25-Year Follow-Up Study of the
Orthodox Jewish Community, published in
the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and
Development, as well as a monograph
published by the Azrieli Graduate School
of Jewish Education and Administration,
entitled Positive Psychology in Jewish
Education on integrating positive
psychology into Jewish day school curricula.
Rabbi Moshe Strauch 92YC married
Devora Widman 01S.
YOUR NEWS IS OUR NEWS!
Class Notes is where Yeshiva
University celebrates the milestones
and accomplishments of its alumni.
In this section, you can catch up on
everything your classmates have been
up to over the years, from marriages
and births to professional and personal
achievements.
Submit your class note by emailing
alumni@yu.edu with the subject
line Class Notes or by visiting
www.yu.edu/alumni/notes to complete
the online form. We hope that you enjoy
reading about your fellow alumni and
friends, and we look forward to hearing
about your achievements.
1950s

Dr. Seymour
Hoffman
52YUHS, 56YC,
58F edited Reader
for the Orthodox
Jewish
Psychotherapist:
Issues, Case
Studies, and
Contemporary
Responsa (Golden
Sky Books, 2014).
Chair of the YU Board of Trustees
Dr. Henry Kressel 55YC married
Rina Uziel.
Elke 59YUHS and Nachman Kupietzky
55YUHS, 59YC and Dr. Judi 63YUHS
and Rabbi Harris Guedalia, Hilda Cohen
and Dr. Henry Goldblum announce the
engagement of their grandson, Chanan
Kupietzky to Sophie Taub. Mazal Tov to
parents Allison and Dr. Ari Kupietzky,
Zehava and Ambassador Daniel Taub and
to great-grandmother, Els Bendheim.
1960s



Rabbi Abba Engelberg
65YC, 68R published
The Ethics of Genesis
(Kodesh Press, 2014).


Dr. Howard R. Feldman 62YUHS
published Invertebrate Paleontology
(Mesozoic) of Israel and Adjacent Countries
with Emphasis on the Brachiopoda
(Academic Studies Press, 2013).
CLASSNOTES
STAY C NNECTED
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programs as well as news and
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ALUMNI TODAY 3
Shafrira 90YUHS, 93S and Ben Wiener
88YUHS, 92YC, 97R and Orit 95A and
Jan Wimpfheimer 86YUHS, 89YC
celebrated the marriage of their children
Aliza and Yair. Mazal tov to grandparents
Debby (Bendheim) 67YUHS and Barry
Eisenberg 64YUHS, 68YC, 72BR, 72R,
Malka and Moshe Schwartz, Abby
64YUHS and Alan Wiener 64YUHS,
and Susanne and Michael Wimpfheimer
61YUHS and to the great-grandparents,
Els Bendheim, Chaim Cohen, Eleanor
Fletcher and Shirley Levy.
Shoshana 98YUHS, 02S and Rabbi
Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz 09BR announce
the birth of their son, Meir Lev Kook.
Mazal tov to grandparents Helene and
Rabbi Kenneth Stein 67YUHS, 71YC,
75R, 76BR.
2000s

Yael 07S and
Rabbi Michael
Bleicher 14W
have been
installed as the
rebbetzin and
rabbi of the
Elmora Hills
Minyan in
Elizabeth,
New Jersey.
Adam Caplan 07SB married Melissa
Sheps. Mazal tov to parents, Lori
(Bitterman) 82S and Jonathan
Caplan 81YC.
Shira 03S and Rabbi Avi Heller 02R,
02BR celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their
son, Nadav.

Dr. Cesar Garces
02W pubished Social
Work in the Hospital
Setting: Interventions
(Trafford, 2013)
in English and Spanish.

Rachel (Itzkowitz) 05YUHS and Bryan
Salamon 13W announce the birth of their
son, Ethan Bernard Salamon.
Aviva 00S and Rabbi Robert Shur 01YC,
05R announce the birth of their son, Ariel
Moshe.
Atara (Tambor)
07YUHS and
Nachum Joel
05YUHS, 11YC
announce the birth
of their son, Aiden
Alexander. Mazal tov
to grandparents, Dr. Esther 83F and
President Richard M. Joel 68YUHS.
Sherry and Rabbi Moshe Winograd 08YC,
11R announce the birth of their son, Akiva
Shlomo.
2010s

Meira 13W and Rabbi Gershon Albert
12SB announce the birth of their daughter,
Sarah Hodaya. Mazal tov to grandparents
Miriam 90S and Rabbi Perry Tirschwell
85YC, 89R.
Michael Brandwein 10YC was noted in
the Times of Israel for his research on ways
to prevent slime on foods by genetically
blocking bacterial biolm.

Yaira Dubin 10S was
hired to be a 2015
Supreme Court clerk for
Justice Elana Kagan.
Shoshana 10S, 12A and Rabbi Avraham
Engelson 07SB announce the birth of
their son, Yehuda Aryeh. Mazal tov to
grandparents, Brenda and Rabbi Darren
Blackstein 78R, 83YC.
Shmuel Lamm
10YUHS married Sara
Lamar 14S. Mazal tov to
parents Tina 83S and
Yeshiva College Board
member Shalom Lamm
81YC and Heidi and
Steve Lamar; and to
grandparents Mindy and
YU Board of Trustee Rabbi Dr. Norman
Lamm 49YC, 51R, 66BR.
Adam Neuman
13YC announced
his engagement to
Tammie Senders
13S. Mazal tov to
parents Debra and
Dr. Shelly Senders
78YC, 79BR, 83A
and Barbara and Craig Neuman and to
grandparents Audrey 54YUHS, 58S and
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein 58R, 65BR,
79BR and Mike Senders 42YUHS, 46YC.
Shifra and Tzvi Pfeffer 11SB announce the
birth of their son, Avraham Yisrael Gedalia.
Mazal tov to grandparents Rivkie and Rabbi
Moshe Rosenbaum and great grandparents
Judy 58YUHS, 62S and Rabbi Yitzchak
Rosenbaum 60YC, 62R, 63BR.
Elliot Shavalian
14YC was appointed
assistant director of
undergraduate
admissions at Yeshiva
University.
In Memoriam

Rabbi Sidney Berger 51YUHS, 55R,
55YC
Dr. Sam Hartstein 43YC
Ryan Avraham Khaldar 12SB
Rabbi Saul Klausner 53YC
Dr. David J. Lando 64YC
Dr. Moshe Lieberman 57YC
Miriam Rosner Nusbacher 56YUHS,
60S
Martin Schnall 51YUHS, 55YC
Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Gershon
Yankelewitz
Rabbi Dr. Abraham N. Zuroff 41YC,
44R, 66BR
Legend for school abbreviations:
A: Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration BR: Bernard Revel Graduate School BS: Belfer
Graduate School of Science BZ: Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music C: Cardozo School of Law E: Albert
Einstein College of Medicine F: Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology R: Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological
Seminary S: Stern College for Women SB: Sy Syms School of Business TI: Teachers Institute W: Wurzweiler
School of Social Work YC: Yeshiva College YUHS: Yeshiva University High Schools
RECORD
NUMBER OF
ALUMNI GIVE
BACK TO YU
Thanks to the dedication
and hakarat hatov
[expression of gratitude]
of alumni like Elana
Betaharon and Danny
Goldberg, 2013-2014 was
a banner year for giving,
with a record number
of 3,267 undergraduate
alumni supporting the
University. We are most
appreciative of the
commitment and
generosity of the alumni
community. Your
partnership ensures
a strong future
for Yeshiva.

I had an incredible time at Yeshiva University. It was such a

warm and inviting environment that pushed me to keep growing,
both as a Jew and as a professional, while supplying me with the
tools to achieve that growth and success. I support YU because
they invested in me as much as I invested in myself. Giving back
gives me an opportunity to say thank you for everything that made
me who I am today and to keep being part of the YU family. It is
truly Nowhere But Here.

Danny Goldberg 12SB

I wanted to give back

to the university that helped
me shape who I am today.
Ive taken classes, learned
Torah, met people and seen
and experienced things at
Stern College for Women
that I wouldnt have been
able to do anywhere else.

Elana Betaharon 14S
DOWNLOAD THE YU ALUMNI SMARTPHONE APP AT WWW.YU.EDU/ALUMNI /APP
4 ALUMNI TODAY
Breaking Barriers in Technology
ALEX LUXENBERG 11YC: THE ACCOUNT MANAGER
Before July 2006, the concept of tweeting was for the birdsliterally. But when
Twitter, the online social networking service, was founded and quickly grew in
worldwide popularity, a tweet was no longer a mere chirp of a bird but a 140-char-
acter message that people could broadcast to the world. Along with Facebook,
Twitter changed the face of social media as we know it. For Alex Luxenberg 11YC,
an account manager at Twitter, the road to a hip job at one of the most prestigious
tech companies in the world was rst paved at Yeshiva University.
Growing up in Manhattan and attending
the Ramaz School, Luxenberg was drawn to
YU because of its New York City locale, strong
Jewish community and intensive Judaic stud-
ies offerings. As a student in the Yeshiva Pro-
gram/Mazer School of Talmudic Studies and
an English major, Luxenbergs two favorite
courses were in biblical studies and writing.
I took as many writing courses as possi-
ble because they helped me become more
articulate, he said. I particularly liked the
writing courses with Professor Johanna Lane,
who always took the time to give us individu-
alized attention and feedback.
Luxenberg was also a regular contribu-
tor to several undergraduate student publica-
tions, including The Commentator and Kol
Hamevaser. He enjoyed taking biblical stud-
ies courses with Dr. Aaron Koller, assistant
dean of Yeshiva College and associate profes-
sor of Bible, his favorite professor.
Dr. Kollers classes were always provoca-
tive and challenging, said Luxenberg. He
also always stands up for what he believes in, which has been a great lesson for me
in my career. He taught me to be critical and always ask questions, even if those
questions are taboo or unsolicited.
Luxenberg worked at a hedge fund during the summer and on Fridays dur-
ing the school year. From that experience, he learned that he enjoyed being in a
role where he regularly interfaced with clients.
After graduating from YU, Luxenberg was hired to a rotational training pro-
gram at an e-commerce startup called vente-privee USA, an online ash sale com-
pany and a joint venture between American Express and vente-privee Europe, as
one of the companys rst 15 employees.
The program was designed to enable my colleagues and me to learn about
different aspects of the business by rotating through the different departments,
like business development and marketing, said Luxenberg. One of the unique
aspects of this training program was that you also spent half the day doing cus-
tomer service, an amazing experience that taught me a lot about how customer
service representatives get treated. It also showed me how important it is to be
patient with clients who are unhappy or frustrated and how to work to resolve
their problems efciently.
After the training ended, Luxenberg landed a job on the nance team as the
manager of nancial planning and analysis. The position allowed me to work with
the executive team and consisted of a lot of cross-functional work that required me
to learn about every aspect of our business in a collaborative environment, he said.
After two years at vente-privee USA, Luxenberg learned of an account man-
ager position on the sales team at Twitter, and he jumped at the opportunity.
The prospect of working for a company thats changing the way that people com-
municate was incredibly exciting and reminded me of what I loved about my
writing courses, he said. When you learn how to write, you learn to consider
who your audience is, and with Twitter, the entire world is your audience. Whats
better than that?
At Twitter, he works with advertisers to allow them to use the company to
grow their businesses.
Twitter is an incredible place to work, and not just for the obvious reasons
like that its a really famous brand, or that its constantly changing so were
always learning and being challenged on the jobbut also because it cares about
people, said Luxenberg. But Im perhaps most proud of the way that Twitter
gives people who dont typically have a voice a way to amplify their message.
He continued, Theres a real culture of people striving to do their best work
here, and everyone is team-oriented. Its great to be a part of that.
Cool professional perks include mingling with guests like Hillary Clinton
and Tom Hanks, who have visited the ofce for question-and-answer sessions
with employees, in-ofce video games, a yoga studio for breaks during the day,
and free lunch and beer, for those over 21.
Luxenberg lives in Forest Hills, New York, with his wife, Allie. He tweets at
@Alexluxenberg.
AVI MUCHNICK 97YUHS, 04C: THE TECH STARTUP FOUNDER
Back when he was a student at Yeshiva University High School for Boys/The
Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, Avi Muchnick, the founder of successful
tech startups Worth1000 and Aviary, had no clear idea of which profession he
might pursue.
I assumed Id end up getting some postgraduate degree, but I really didnt
think too much about what kind, Muchnick recalled. But toward the end of
high school, I taught myself a little web design and consulted for a few people
who wanted a web presence for their businesses, and I enjoyed taking ownership
like that. That was his rst taste of entrepreneurship, planting the seeds for his
future successes.
At Queens College, Muchnick served as editor of the school newspaper, The
Queens College Quad, and encountered an issue of censorship with the schools
administration over an article questioning the presidents honesty.
I was given pro bono legal advice by the Student Press Law Center Associa-
tion and we successfully dealt with the issue, said Muchnick. I saw the power
of the First Amendment and a good legal team rsthand, and law felt like a com-
pelling and important career.
He also interned at a law ofce one summer during college and enjoyed the
environment, an experience that cemented his decision to attend YUs Benjamin
N. Cardozo School of Law, following one year of working as a graphic designer.
Keeping in mind that he needed a way to pay his rent during his law studies,
Muchnick utilized his web design experience on his rst day of law school. Work-
ing out of Cardozos library, he launched Worth1000.com, an interactive website
for users to enter art contests online.
Worth1000 was an instant success. It became clear to Muchnick in his rst
semester that building busi-
nesses in that way was what he
really wanted to be doing. But
he recognized that a law degree
would be handy when running a
technology business.
By the time I graduated,
the income being generated by
the website was better than
what I would have received as a
rst-year lawyer, so continuing
to run the business full-time
was a no-brainer, he said.
The startup became wildly
popular in 2003 when the Iraq
conict grew more serious and
Saddam Hussein went into hid-
ing. Worth1000 ran a contest
calling for users to digitally edit Hussein into hilarious hiding spots, like at the
ballet or behind the counter at an ice cream shop.
It was really just in good fun, Muchnick recalled, but apparently a ser-
geant in Iraq saw the pictures and had his unit print them out and hang them
around Iraq as a form of propaganda. CNN ran a story on it crediting Worth1000
with the photos, and pretty soon every major media outlet in the world was
reaching out to cover it as well. The sites user base really exploded from there.
Perhaps the ultimate sign of Worth1000s success was when entrepreneur
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon and a venerated titan in the tech indus-
try, approached Muchnick in 2007 and expressed interest in investing in Much-
nicks next project, now called Aviary.
I wanted to start the company that would democratize creativity and make
creative tools accessible to the world, said Muchnick.
The artists on Worth1000 had to use specialized tools such as Adobe Pho-
toshop to participate in art contests, and at the time, Photoshop was expensive
and hard for beginners to learn. Muchnick realized that of the many people who
might visit a contest page online, only a small percentage actually had the tools
to enter it. He frequently received emails asking how to make the kinds of amaz-
ing images available on the site. Muchnick thought that if he could provide an
alternative design tool that was free and simple to use, many more people would
be able to enter the contests and, more broadly, start a path toward becoming
professional designers.
Bezos was sold on the idea and supplied the seed investment money to
Muchnick, who used it to build Aviary and grow the company into a huge success.
Since Aviarys founding, its team has modied the business model in response
to the rise of the smartphone. In addition to the companys own mobile appslike
Photo Editor, installed by over 100 million peoplethey also power the creativity
in other peoples apps by offering a simple photo editor plug-in for app developers
to include. This strategy has worked wonderfully: One percent of all of the photos
taken in the world have been edited using Muchnicks teams technology.
Muchnick served as CEO until December 2012, when he recruited former
Alumni at the forefront of the technology eld are making an impact at various startup companies in the growing industry
ALUMNITODAY
Walmart executive Tobias Peggs to take over, at which point he assumed the
position of chief product ofcer and executive chairman. Aviary currently has 75
million monthly active users, 10,000 partner applications and 10 billion photos
edited across Aviarys partner apps.
In September, Aviary was acquired by Adobe Systems. Muchnick and his
team now help to drive Adobes SDK (software development kit) strategy.
In 2010, Muchnick was named one of the Top 35 Innovators Under 35 by
MIT Technology Review magazine. The road to his success looks like it was fairly
seamless, but Muchnick recognizes his great fortune in having an investor
approach him instead of the other way around. Financing your idea is generally
the most difcult task facing aspiring entrepreneurs, he said.
Other challenges include recruiting talent and executing the idea.
It used to be difcult to nd talented people in the tech world in New York
City, so recruiting was probably my single biggest challenge with Aviary, Much-
nick said. Fortunately, I was able to build an amazing team.
The tech ecosystem in New York City has only grown since Aviarys found-
ing, Muchnick observed, and the eld is rife with talent and ripe for entrepre-
neurs to found their own startups without having to go to Silicon Valley.Although
its a tough road for those aspiring to create a successful startup, the payoff of
building one is quite rewarding. You can build literally whatever you want and
surround yourself with smart, passionate people who want to help make your
vision a reality, he said. Theres no better feeling than coming in to work and
feeling like you are contributing to something impactful.
Muchnick and his wife, Erica, live in Woodmere, New York, and have four
children. He calls his family his other full-time startupand the one of which he
is most proud.
ALICE SILVERSTEIN 81YUHS, 84S: THE PRODUCT SUPPORT ENGINEER
From the time she was a student in elementary school, Alice Silverstein 81
YUHS, 84S, originally of Monsey, New York, already had an interest in the eld
of technology.
My father, who worked as an electrical and electronics engineer, was a huge
inuence in my life, said Silverstein. I also genuinely loved math and was
always interested in how things were built and how they worked. Later, I was
interested in possibly making aliyah [immigration to Israel] and the tech eld in
Israel was strong and, of course, has only gotten stronger since then.
After attending the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for
Girls, Silverstein was accepted to Stern College for Women through its early
admission program.
At Stern, Silverstein enjoyed classes in economics, computer science, logic
and English literature. After she graduated, she started her career as an electri-
cal engineer at a telecommunications company, Timeplex, where she became
interested in the software aspects of engineering.
The company where I was working wouldnt allow me to move into their
software group, so I concluded that the company would take my interest more
seriously if I obtained a masters in computer science, said Silverstein.
While working, Silverstein attended classes at Polytechnic University in the
evenings to earn the degree. During that time, she also moved to the medical
electronics industry. After graduating, she was hired to do software engineering
for medical devices at Datascope Corp.
Silverstein went into software consulting for business applications, then on
to software development for nancial applications and electronic trading, and
landed in sales engineering for a software product called CEP, which is event
processing that combines data from multiple sources to infer events or patterns
that suggest more complicated circumstances. Currently, she is a senior product
support engineer at Sybase for a similar CEP product.
A typical day for Silverstein involves troubleshooting for any problem relat-
ing to the software that she supports, and elding questions from both her col-
leagues and the companys customers.
The people I support are highly
intelligent and technically advanced,
so its not like I need to spell any-
thing out or speak in very simple
terms, she said. I also work to
establish good relationships with
the customers as well as with the
software developers whose product
I am troubleshooting. My focus is on
high quality at all times. And best of
all, on a daily basis, I am learning
about some aspect of technology.
When shes not analyzing and
solving problematic issues, she is
reporting issues she discovers on
her own and comprising ways to
further rene and improve the quality of the product.
As a female leader in a male-dominated eld, Silverstein is often asked what
its like to be a woman in that environment.
When I was in engineering school, I think the ratio of men to women was
nine-to-one, she recalled. I went from being in a college of all women to being
in classes with almost all malesquite an interesting switch! When I got to my
rst job, I was the only female in the ofce. Personally, Im comfortable in that
kind of environment; one has to be or she wont enjoy the work she loves doing.
Still, said Silverstein, it was one of the reasons she made the switch from
electrical engineering to computer engineering. I saw that women are more
respected there, she said.
Silverstein loves her work, both nding and xing problems. Ive always
been analytical, and this eld is a perfect match for me because Im constantly
analyzing, she said. Being challenged on a daily basis to understand the tech-
nology behind any issue is the most rewarding part of the job and also allows me
to communicate with a variety of people.
For Stern College students who are interested in pursuing this line of work,
Silverstein offers a four-part formula.
First, ask questions. Theres no stupid question and it only shows your inter-
est in learning more, she said. In this way, you become more procient in what
youre doing and show people that you care about what they have to teach you.
Second, be willing to work hard and go the extra mile, which goes a longer way
than that. Third, remember that you can learn something from almost anyone.
And, fourth, keep in mind you wont understand everyone at once. It pays to keep
an open mind and realize you have a lot to learn.
Silverstein lives in New York City. n
s CHECK OUT WHAT ALUMNI EVENTS ARE HAPPENI NG ON CAMPUS AND AROUND THE WORLD AT WWW.YU.EDU/ALUMNI EVENTS
ALUMNI TODAY 5
SUPPORT THE ANNUAL FUND AT WWW.YU.EDU/ONLI NEGIVI NG
6 ALUMNI TODAY
THE SKYS THE LIMIT (JULY 1, 2014)
Stern College for Women hosted The Skys The Limit at One57 West 57th Street, where 120 alumnae, parents and friends enjoyed rare stunning views of Central Park and New York City
from the newest ultra-luxury residence by Extell Development. Stern alumnae event co-chairs Pam Hirt 90S, Rena Kwestel 92S and Karen Raskas 91S led the fth annual event to raise
funds for Stern College. Guests had the opportunity to view fabulous dcor provided by designer Felicia Zwebner 92SB and experience the party planning visions of Suri Brody 83YUHS,
Irit Kerstein 94S, and Benai Meisels 88S. Congratulations to Amy Gibber 96SB, Tami Radinsky 00S and Rebecca and Yehuda Shmidman 04YC for winning the rafe prizes donated by
Melissa Lovy 08SB Jewelry, Lucite Ladies Judith Gottesman and Bobbi Joszefs Midnight Blu Linen, all of whom presented their crafts for sale at the event.
m Bonnie Schertz 82S, Malki Rosen 85S, Faiga Joseph, Lori Huberfeld 91S and Donna Stroh
m Batya Paul 94S, Andrea Reichel 90S, Mindy Davidoff 83YUHS, 87S, Alisa Levy 86S,
Pam Hirt 90S and Nicole Fuchs Sausen 91S
m Rena Kwestel 92S, Felicia Zwebner 92SB and Meredith Robinson
YU LEGAL PROFESSIONALS PRESENT SILICON WADI: A GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL LAWYERING IN ISRAEL (JULY 22, 2014)
m Jeremy Lustman 96YC (right), a partner at DLA Piper, where the event was held, and
Benjamin Waltuch 88YUHS, 92SB, a partner at Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz in
Israel, discussed issues that arise in cross-border transactions involving an Israeli party
m Alumni ll conference room at DLA Piper to hear from legal professionals
m Michal Abittan 13S, Zelda Berger and Debra Abittan 87S
o Linda Laulicht,
Abby Herschmann 96S,
Stacie Rottenstreich,
Estie Rottenstreich,
Tovah Silber Strulowitz
and Erica Hasten 13S
ALUMNI IN ACTION
s WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS FOR PROGRAMMING IN YOUR REGION. CONTACT BARBARA BIRCH AT BIRCH@YU. EDU OR 212. 960. 0848.
ALUMNI TODAY 7
ALUMNI LECTURE SERIES WITH RABBI SHAY SCHACHTER (OCTOBER 1, 2014)
Alumni and friends enjoyed breakfast at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in the MetLife Building
and listened to a shiur on The Blessing Children Receive Before Yom Kippur given by
Rabbi Shay Schachter 12R, 14A
W
hen Israel was at war this summer, Yeshiva University alumni Uri Turk
07YC and Eve Stieglitz 07SB wanted to do something to help. After the
kidnapping of the three Israeli teenagers in June, Turkwho served as
a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) for two yearswas inspired to
form the group Bring Back Our Boys NYC. Stieglitz joined his efforts and the
two hosted a fundraiser in a lounge on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, raising
over $15,000 for the IDF.
A few weeks later, when the terrible news came that the teens had been
murdered, and with the escalating violence in Israel and negative world opinion,
Stieglitz and Turk saw that they had more work to do. Along with a few friends
and within the span of just six days, they organized a major pro-Israel rally and
solidarity protest, using Facebook and other social media to build momentum and
publicize the event. The rally was attended by thousands of New York-area Jews.
YU showed me that I can organize students to rally for Israel, so I continued
to take what I learned from there and used it to connect with alumni and friends
who wanted to show their support for Israel, said Turk.
The rally was widely covered in the Jewish press, and Stieglitzwho spoke
on stagewas interviewed by numerous media outlets, including CBS, ABC and
Shalom TV. Just because were in the United States, doesnt mean we can just sit
back, she said. Its a little sad that it takes something like this to unify the Jew-
ish people, but it was beautiful to see so many people present in a space with no
hatred or politics.
Later in the summer, Stieglitz was once again a public speaker at the
New York Stands with Israel Rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in midtown
Manhattan, which drew thousands of Israel supportersamong them hundreds
of YU students and alumni, as well as to President Richard M. Joel who also
addressed the crowd. n
YU students and alumni joined thousands of New Yorkers to show their
support for Israel at several rallies held this summer
Eve Stieglitz (left) 07SB addressed thousands of Israel supporters at a rally she organized
in July
o Alumni host
Jonathan Yoni
Shenkman 07SB
with Rabbi
Schachter
k Aaron Gordon 10SB
and Rabbi Schachter
Alumni Take Action For Israel
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2014
Waldorf Astoria
For information, please email hanukkahdinner@yu.edu
HONORING
Michael Gamson Judith Weiss Anita G. Zucker
Dear Members of the Yeshiva University Community,
As we begin a new academic year at Yeshiva University, we simultaneously embark on the next chapter in YUs remarkable history.
These are exciting times for this unique and wonderful university and I want to share with you our progress to date in assuring YUs
well-being, and our plans for the future. At its recent meeting, the University Board of Trustees endorsed a Roadmap for Sustainable
Excellence that will guide us as we meet the challenges of 21st century higher education.
Our mission is not in question, but we must accomplish it within our means. We have confronted challenges that put pressure on the
nancial health of YU. In the simplest terms, over the past distressed economic times, we struggled to build the university we needed.
We invested in our University, but as the economy turned we experienced operating decits that cannot continue.
Change surrounds us. Young people learn differently than they did a generation ago. New views of the world, new technologies and
modes of communication, the impact of social media, all change our students experience and how they learn. Twentieth century education
does not embrace a 21st century world. To advance our mission requires that we use our resources wisely and focus our energies to retool
how that mission is achieved. The challenge must be addressed in terms of the processes and content of education, the infrastructure
needed and its costs, and the resources we have and must access. It is our mandate to ensure that Yeshiva University continues to thrive
for generations to come. So, we embrace change and eagerly address all challenges as they arise. The Roadmap for Sustainable Excellence
charts our course.
At the beginning of this calendar year, we retained Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), a leader in the eld of restructuring and performance
enhancement, as our nancial advisor to guide the University in addressing its challenges and develop a long-term sustainable business
plan. We welcomed Provost Dr. Selma Botman, Chief Financial Ofcer Jake Harman and Chief Institutional Advancement Ofcer Seth
Moskowitz, to join a rst-class management team. We have worked on addressing operating decits at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine as well as those across the Universitys Manhattan campuses with a comprehensive set of restructuring initiatives, both for
support services and academics.
By working with all our constituencies and focusing on the following three priorities, we have begun to stabilize the University.
1. Establishing a Sustainable Business Model
We embarked on a plan to improve our cash position.
We sold some of our non-core residential real estate at a time when the market was favorable.
We renanced all of our outstanding short-term debt with long term nancing that provides greater exibility.
We improved cash management, budgeting and nancial controls.
We continue to focus on our investment operation and our endowment remains strong.
2. Advance Health and Medical Education
We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Monteore Health System which enhances and strengthens
both organizations shared missions of research, teaching, patient care and community service and will ensure
that Albert Einstein College of Medicine remains a leading medical school, and research enterprise, and we are
now in the process of nalizing an agreement that builds on the existing contributions of Monteore to Einstein
in the areas of research and teaching. This new arrangement will allow Einstein to be fully operated by Monteore
and YU to continue as the degree granting entity with oversight of the educational and academic aspects of Einstein.
The agreement will signicantly reduce YUs operating decit, while matching the extraordinary opportunities
and challenges in the current research and healthcare environment.
YU is launching a masters program in speech-language pathology and audiology with Einstein and Monteore.
3. Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century
We implemented over $20 million in savings across the corporate and academic divisions of the University for our current
scal year through voluntary staff and faculty retirements, operational efciencies and departmental consolidation.
We have identied signicant additional operational savings, both corporate and academic, that must be implemented
creatively and responsibly in collaboration with faculty and administration.
We convened three faculty task forces to explore and make recommendations on key areas of academic reimagining
and will partner with the faculty to facilitate more collaboration within and among our schools.
We continue to expand our blended course offerings to offer students more textured learning, exibility in their
schedules and the ability to learn at their own pace.
We will be working to bring class sizes in line with other top-tier universities and increasing student access to tenured faculty.
We will be signicantly expanding our offerings of quality certicate and graduate programs to global audiences.
We continue to explore revenue opportunities consistent with our vision and are developing new academic and professional
products to meet the emerging demands of a 21st century economy.
The implementation of the Roadmap will take place with all deliberate speed and will result in both constancy and change, as we
advance toward long-term sustainable excellence. We will continue to share developments with you even as we continue to share the
remarkable achievements of this extraordinary university community. A critical element of our future is the philanthropic partnership
with alumni, investors and so many who believe that education must both ennoble and enable our students. As we look ahead to this
next phase in Yeshiva Universitys history, I turn to youour alumni, our students, our faculty and staff, and our friendsand ask you
for your partnership support. I ask that you embrace our future and join us on this journey. Yeshiva University matters and will continue
to matter, but we can only advance together with you. I am condent that with your partnership, the future is bright.
As always, I welcome your feedback at president@yu.edu.
Sincerely,
Richard M. Joel
President
Bravmann Family University Professor
Yeshiva University
The Roadmap for
Sustainable Excellence
Editors note: The following letter has been adapted from an
email that went out to the YU community on September 23
ALUMNI TODAY 8
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5

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Dr. Bruno Galantucci, associate professor of psychology, and Dr.
Gareth Roberts, former research fellow in psychology, published an
article in PLOS ONE, an international peer-reviewed journal that pub-
lishes primary research in a number of scientific disciplines. Titled
Do We Notice When Communication Goes Awry? An Investigation
of Peoples Sensitivity to Coherence in Spontaneous Conversation,
the article challenges current assumptions that the main purpose of
human communication is the faithful transmission of information.
Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Kanarfogel, E. Billi Ivry University Professor
of Jewish History, Literature and Law, was named to the Executive
Committee of the American Academy for Jewish Research. Kanarfo-
gel currently chairs the committee that awards the academys presti-
gious Salo Baron Book Prize for the best first book in Jewish studies.
Building an Intellectual Powerhouse
C
ontinuing to build an in-
tellectually diverse and
rich scholarly commu-
nity on campus and bolstering
its top-level academic offerings,
Yeshiva University granted ten-
ure to eight faculty members
from across its undergraduate
and graduate schools, in fields
ranging from art history to
mathematics to Judaic studies.
After an arduous review,
these newly tenured professors
join an outstanding faculty who
testify to the quality of Yeshiva
University, said Dr. Selma Bot-
man, provost and vice president
for academic affairs. Faculty
such as these exceptional edu-
cators, who bring distinction to
our institution while dedicating
themselves to student success
and research excellence, are the
hallmarks of a great university.
Having collaborated with
other faculty on a range of
course offerings, I have bene-
fited from a rich interdisciplin-
ary dialogue, said Dr. Marnin
Young, associate professor of art
history and one of four faculty
awarded tenure at Stern College
for Women. His book, Realism in
the Age of Impressionism: Paint-
ing and the Politics of Time, 1878-
1882, will be published by Yale
University Press in early 2015.
His colleagues at Stern Col-
lege who received tenure this
year include Dr. Gaetano Bloise,
professor of economics; Rabbi
Richard Hidary, associate pro-
fessor of Judaic studies; and Dr.
Matthew Miller, associate pro-
fessor of English.
Bloise holds a PhD in eco-
nomics from the University of
Cambridge and has taught at the
Catholic University of Louvain,
the University of Sassari and
the Roma Tre University. His
research and teaching interests
are in general equilibrium, mon-
etary theory, macroeconomics
dynamics and asset pricing.
Rabbi Hidary received his
PhD from New York University,
where his studies culminated in
a book titled Dispute for the Sake
of Heaven: Legal Pluralism in
the Talmud (Brown Judaic Stud-
ies, 2010). He teaches courses in
Bible, Talmud, Jewish history,
Jewish ethics and the Dead Sea
Scrolls.
Miller holds a PhD in En-
glish literature from the Uni-
versity of Iowa and an MFA in
creative writing from the Iowa
Writers Workshop. His re-
search interests include 19th-
and 20th-century American
literature, poetry and electronic
scholarship. In 2010, Miller
published Collage of Myself:
Walt Whitman and the Making
of Leaves of Grass (University
of Nebraska Press), a ground-
breaking account of the creative
story behind Americas most cel-
ebrated collection of poems.
Yeshiva College bolstered
its Department of Mathemat-
ics and Computer Science by
awarding tenure to Dr. Andreas
Hamel and Dr. Antonella Marini,
both professors of mathematics.
Students at top-tier uni-
versities expect to be guided
by faculty who are leaders in
research, and this is especially
important for our faculty in the
mathematical sciences, said
Dr. Thomas Otway, professor of
mathematics and chair of YUs
Department of Mathematics and
Computer Science. Our pro-
grams in mathematical sciences
provide a foundation for the in-
creasingly mathematical nature
of research at the frontiers of
physics, economics, computa-
tional biology, theoretical chem-
istry and computer science. In
scientific literature, the standard
boundary conditions for gauge-
invariant equations are called
Marini conditions, in honor
of Antonella Marinis research
in this area, and Dr. Andreas
Hamels work has rich applica-
tions to mathematical finance,
an area of particular interest to
students at YU.
Marini holds a PhD in
mathematics from the Univer-
sity of Chicago, where she spe-
cialized in gauge theories. Her
research involves the areas of
geometric analysis, partial dif-
ferential equations and math-
ematical physics.
Hamel received his PhD
from Martin Luther University
Halle-Wittenberg. His research
combines classical math areas,
such as lattice theory and func-
tional analysis, with more re-
cent ones, such as math finance,
to create a new area called set
optimization.
Ferkauf Graduate School
of Psychology awarded tenure
to Dr. Jeffrey S. Gonzalez, as-
sociate professor of psychol-
ogy. Gonzalez, who received
his PhD from the University of
Miami, focuses his research on
identifying psychological and
cognitive factors involved in
treatment adherence in chronic
illnesses. He is also a faculty
member of the Diabetes Re-
search and Training Center and
has academic appointments in
medicine and epidemiology and
population health at the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine.
At Bernard Revel Gradu-
ate School of Jewish Studies, Dr.
Daniel Tsadik, associate profes-
sor of Jewish studies, received
tenure. Tsadik earned his PhD
at Yale University and is an ex-
pert in the history of Jews in
Islamic lands, Shiite Islam and
Iranian Jewry.
In addition, Dr. Steven Fine
was appointed the Dean Pinkhos
Churgin Chair in Jewish History
at Yeshiva College, Dr. Marina
Holz was appointed the Doris
and Ira Kukin Chair in Biology
at Stern College and Dr. David
Shatz was promoted to Univer-
sity Professor of Philosophy,
Ethics and Religious Thought. n
k Keep up with the latest faculty news at
yu.edu/facultynews
Dr. Aaron Segal, assistant pro-
fessor of philosophy at Yeshiva
College, was awarded a highly
competitive $34,500 grant from
the Immortality Project at the
University of California, River-
side, funded by the John Tem-
pleton Foundation. The project
seeks to foster discussions on
the science, philosophy and the-
ology of immortality. The grant
will support Segal as he seeks to
explore these topics in a paper
titled, Why Live Forever?, to
be presented at a capstone con-
ference at UC Riverside next
June.
Dr. Eric Goldman, adjunct professor of cinema, delivered the on-
screen introductions for The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience
on Film, a month-long showcase of more than 20 movies that focused
on Jewish history and heritage presented by Turner Classic Movies
in September. Goldman assisted in curating the event, which encom-
passed themes ranging from Israeli classics to coming-of-age films
and Holocaust-related movies.
Dr. Margaret Samu, adjunct instructor
at Stern College for Women, published
a volume she coedited with Rosalind P.
Blakesley of the University of Cambridge.
Titled From Realism to the Silver Age:
New Studies in Russian Artistic Culture,
the book honors a pioneer in the field of
Russian art, Elizabeth Kridl Valkenier
from Columbia University.
Dr. Josefa Steinhauer, assis-
tant professor of biology, was
recently awarded an Academic
Research Enhancement Award
R-15 from the National Insti-
tutes of Health to continue her
research on male fertility in fruit
flies. Steinhauers lab studies the
fruit fly Drosophila melanogas-
ter, which scientists use to gain
insight into fundamental ge-
netic, biological and molecular
mechanisms at play during the
development of an organism.
FOCUS
|
ON FACULTY
Dr. Marnin Young Dr. Daniel Tsadik Rabbi Richard Hidary Dr. Antonella Marini Dr. Matthew Miller
6
YUTODAY
s WWW.YU. EDU/NEWS FALL 2014 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AT WWW.TWITTER.COM/YUNEWS
than 90 percent of graduates landed
jobs, were enrolled in graduate school
or both within six months of graduation.
The one-on-one attention and mentoring
students receive is just one contributing
factor to that high rate. But the rigor-
ous academic courses and challenging
dual curriculum also give YU students a
unique edge.
The whole dual curriculum, where
students study and work 12 to 15 hours
a day, is a tremendous plus for employ-
ers, said Michael Strauss, associate
dean at Sy Syms School of Business. Our
students graduate ready to roll up their
sleeves and t in with the work culture
in these environments, with a tremen-
dous work ethic.
For Michal Segall, of New York City,
Stern College for Womens outstanding
research contributions to cutting-edge
scientic elds was a major draw. I was
interested in medicine and knew that
Stern had both a strong premed major
and a great connection to the Albert Ein-
stein College of Medicine, where Stern
students are eligible to receive up to full-
tuition scholarships, she said.
Segall chose wisely. While the na-
tional average of medical school accep-
tance rates is just 45 percent, 91 percent
of applicants from Stern College and 78
percent of applicants from Yeshiva Col-
lege were accepted to at least one medical
school last year.
At Stern College, motivated and
talented women nd not only a sup-
portive faculty but also a culture of high
achievement and grand expectations
that ensures success, said Dr. Karen
Bacon, the Dr. Monique C. Katz Dean of
Stern College.
New studentsand their parents
are looking forward to being part of that
unique culture.
Elly Lasson, of Baltimore, Maryland,
was on the Israel Henry Beren Campus to
help his youngest daughter, Leora, move
into Brookdale Residence Hall. Looking
back at this time for his two other chil-
dren, recent YU graduates, he called the
orientation experience a rite of passage.
We know Leora will be receiving
a strong academic education, said Las-
son. But we are also condent that shes
entering into a culture of connectivity,
which will provide her with a social con-
text that is consistent with our familys
Torah values and professional ideals.
For Dovid Rubenstein, of Newton,
Massachusetts, orientation gave him an
understanding that YU is a warm and
welcoming place. I came to Yeshiva to
grow in my Judaism and receive a degree
at the highest level, he said. An econom-
ics major, Rubenstein says he hopes to
take advantage of the fourth-year mas-
ters program in quantitative economics.
Yosef Robin of Fairlawn, New Jersey,
was looking forward to getting involved
in YUs athletics program. Whether its
playing intramurals on campus or try-
ing out for one of the Division III teams,
Im excited about the sports opportuni-
ties available here, said the former high
school hockey player.
For Amanda Esraelian of Roslyn,
New York, being active in a range of ex-
tracurricular activities has dened her
experience at Stern College so far. From
Sterns student government to contribut-
ing to the YU Observer and other student
clubs, shes been making the most of her
time on campus.
I chose to go to YU because it al-
lowed me to take advantage of leadership
opportunities I wouldnt have gotten else-
where, said Esraelian, a double major in
English communications and education.
Her advice to new students: Meet
new people and build connections with
them. Find what youre passionate about
and invest time in that.
This year at YU, there will be plenty
of opportunities for newcomers to do
just that. n
he studied alongside in yeshiva in Israel
should bear any more responsibility than
he did to serve the homeland that all Jews
shared. I felt it was an important way to
contribute to the country, he said.
Shmuel Goldis, a sharpshooter from
Hollywood, Florida, agreed. Teens in Is-
rael get drafted because theyre citizens of
Israelbut we are all citizens of Israel, he
said. Why should they put their lives on
the line on a daily basis as I sit back, safe
on the sidelines?
This summer, Goldis and fellow re-
cruit and YU student Jonathan Sidlow
had the opportunity to live up to those
ideals as they headed to the front lines
of the war in Gazaan experience few
19-year-old college students in America
can envision.
When we were going in, it looked
like a thunderstorm, said Sidlow, of
North Woodmere, New York. I won-
dered when Id see my family again or
if Id make it out, but at the same time, I
didnt want to be anywhere else. We are
in the same place that Jewish warriors
have been in every era.
For Goldis, the war was both surreal
and deeply spiritual. At night its pitch
darkall you hear is the whistle of mor-
tars going past and sirens going off, and all
you see is the ashes of artillery re, he
said. Its a sight Ill never forget. But you
also really see the hand of God
the open miraclesand you real-
ize He has to be with you every
step of the way or you would
never make it.
YU Vice President for Uni-
versity and Community Life
Rabbi Kenneth Brander, who has
a son currently serving in the IDF,
noted, One of the most emo-
tional experiences I had this sum-
mer was going to Bach Golani, the
Golani training base in Northern
Israel, to drop off our son Yosef
after a weekend he had spent with
us in Jerusalem. To my amaze-
ment, the soldier who opened
the gate was a YU student on a
leave of absence to serve in Tzahal
[IDF]. I soon realized that on this
Golani base there was a minyan
[quorum] of YU students.
For many of these students, transi-
tioning from a life of 24/7 training and
danger in enemy territory to taking notes
in an air-conditioned classroom alongside
their friends is a mixed blessing. I spend
a lot of time still thinking about my friends
and my commanders and asking them to
update me, said Sidlow. Knowing what
theyre up against, I dont know if I could
handle them going back in and not being
there myself.
However, theyre still excited to
learn and grow in an atmosphere that em-
bodies the Torah values and passion for
Israel that have shaped their journey.
I was attracted to YU because it of-
fered the opportunity to study both Jew-
ish and general studies in a great city, said
Gone. Im also looking forward to de-
veloping close relationships with faculty
since the classes here are small and allow
for a more intimate class setting.
Both of Goldiss parents attended YU
schools, so for him, its about both con-
tinuing a legacy and maintaining close
ties with his identity. In Gaza, you see
miracles all day, he said. Why would I
want to go somewhere else and lose any
bit of that sense of God being with me all
the time? YU is the only place that com-
bines these great secular academics with
God and Torah. n
IDF Vets at YU Continued from Page 1
New Students Find Perfect Fit at YU Continued from Page 1
Shmuel Goldis served as a sharpshooter in the IDF
before enrolling at YU
YU Listed Among Best Universities and
Best Value Schools in U.S. News Annual Rankings
Yeshiva University is listed among the very best institutions of higher learning,
according to the U.S. News & World Reports annual rankings released in Septem-
ber. YU came in at No. 48 in the category of Best National Universities, out of
nearly 1,600 four-year colleges and universities across the country.
Factors that account for the top-tier ranking include high SAT scores, gradu-
ation and retention rate (40th), faculty resources (24th) and alumni giving rate
(48th). YU also ranked 18th in the country for financial resourcesthe average
amount spent per student on instruction, research, student services and related
educational expenditures.
While no ranking captures the complexity of a university experience, particu-
larly the rich Yeshiva University experience, nonetheless, this is well-deserved rec-
ognition and a tribute to a remarkable faculty whose dedication to students is
evident through mentorship, collaborative research and high-level instruction, said
Dr. Selma Botman, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
YU also placed 44th in the Best Value Schools category, which looks at a
schools academic quality and the net cost of attendance.
President Richard M. Joel welcomes new students to campus during orientation
YUTODAY


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FALL 2014 WWW.YU. EDU/NEWS s FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/YESHIVAUNIVERSITY
p Yeshiva Universitys Center for the
Jewish Future presented Perspectives
on Teshuva and the Yamim Noraim, a
special month-long edition of the popular
Abraham Arbesfeld Kollel Yom Rishon and
Millie Arbesfeld Midreshet Yom Rishon.
The continuing adult education series was
held every Sunday in September and fea-
tured a prolific lineup of Torah scholars
and rabbinic thinkers from throughout the
University. Speakers included Chaya Batya
Neugroschl, head of school at Samuel H.
Wang Yeshiva University High School for
Girls; Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (pic-
tured), Kressel and Ephrat Family Univer-
sity Professor of Jewish Thought; Rabbi
Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Profes-
sor of Jewish Thought and History; Rabbi
Menachem Penner, the Max and Marion
Grill Dean of RIETS; and Smadar Rosens-
weig, professor of Bible at Stern College
for Women. n
p Yeshiva Universitys mens and
womens cross country teams started
off the season with a bang. In September,
senior Stephanie Greenberg (pictured)
blazed through a five kilometer race at
Van Cortlandt Park, finishing first out of
115 runners and leading the Maccabees
to a first place finish of 14 schools at the
Queensborough Community College Invi-
tational. Just one week later, the womens
team finished in first place at the York
College Invitational. Greenberg led the
team once again, finishing second out of
54 runners. Greenberg also won the Hud-
son Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Confer-
ence Co-Player of the Week award, and
teammate Laurel Aaronson was named
Rookie of the Week. The mens team also
won its first invitational of the year at the
York College Invitational. n
q Undergraduate students experi-
enced a taste of New York City history
and culture in September with a trip to
Ellis Island to see the Statue of Liberty. n
NEWS
|
BRIEFS
p Torah Studies on the Wilf Campus kicked off in August with an opening session in
Lamport Auditorium, marking the beginning of a new zman [learning period] at Yeshiva
University. The program featured remarks from President Richard M. Joel and Rabbi Men-
achem Penner, the Max and Marion Grill Dean of YU-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary (RIETS), as well as a learning session with Rabbi Mordechai Willig,
the Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth Professor of Talmud and Contemporary Halachah, and a video
message from Rabbi Dovid Miller, director of the Gruss Institute in Israel. n
p The Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought pre-
sented a panel discussion in September to explore the American and Talmudic Legal
Process, co-hosted by Stern College for Womens S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program.
Panelists included Rabbi Yona Reiss and Judge Joseph Greenaway. Rabbi Reiss, a
graduate of Yale Law School, is a former dean of YU-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary who previously practiced as an attorney and is now Av Beth Din
[leader of the rabbinical court] of the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Greenaway, a Harvard
Law alumnus, is a federal judge who sits on the United States Court of Appeals for
the Third Circuit and also serves as an adjunct professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo
School of Law. Moderated by Professor Adina Levine, who is instructing the Stern Hon-
ors course Comparative American and Talmudic Law, the discussion touched on issues
of enforceability, criminal justice systems and anti-trust laws. n
q Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt,
Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Lead-
ership at New York Universitys Stern
School of Business, discussed the moral
psychology of political polarization at an
event sponsored by Yeshiva Colleges
Department of Psychology and the Jay
and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Pro-
gram. According to Haidt, the New York
Times bestselling author of The Righteous
Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by
Politics and Religion, the most serious
problem facing the United States today is
hyper-partisanship, the extreme, unprec-
edented polarization between Democrats
and Republicans that has been escalating
since the 1980s and 1990s. n
u Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish
Education and Administration launched
its new Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Executive
Model Doctorate in Jewish Educational
Leadership and Innovation in September.
Eighteen new students from across North
America joined 16 current students for an
intensive two-day learning institute. Stu-
dents had the opportunity to learn with
various Azrieli professors and each other,
focusing on issues of leadership and col-
laboration through a variety of interac-
tive lectures, brainstorming sessions and
team-based activities. n
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YESHIVA UNIVERSITY 500 WEST 185TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10033 FALL 2014 VOLUME 18 NO. 4
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Menorah Myth Busters in Yeshiva College Course
Y
eshiva University students had the unique opportunity to research and dis-
credit a public claim that the Vatican is hiding Temple relics, as part of Dr.
Steven Fines summer course on the Arch of Titus. Their findings were later
reported in the Wall Street Journal.
It all began when Fine, a professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva College and Ber-
nard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and director of the Center for Israel
Studies and its Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project, was forwarded a letter by
Rabbi Yonatan Shtencel of Jerusalem. Rabbi Shtencel had written to the Vatican rep-
resentative in Israel, requesting that the Church release the Temple relics, including
the menorah. The rabbi believes that these holy artifacts of the Jerusalem Temple are
in the possession of the Vatican in Rome.
To his surprise, Rabbi Shtencel received a friendly letter in return restating the
Churchs position that the Vatican has no knowledge of possessing Temple relics, add-
ing that if the rabbi could provide any evidence that the sacred vessels are indeed kept
in the archives or somewhere else in the Vatican, he would forward his request to the
Prefect of the same archives and to Pope Francis himself.
Rabbi Shtencel proceeded to detail his evidence in a public letter to then Presi-
dent of Israel Shimon Peres, requesting that he raise this issue during a forthcoming
meeting with Pope Francis.
Fine, who is writing a book on the many myths of the menorah, decided to chal-
lenge his students to investigate the claims in the public letter.
The letter dealt with all the themes of our course, said Fine. I asked the stu-
dents to check the sources as any scholar or professional journalist would. They
looked up every text that Rabbi Shtencel cited and spoke to everyone that he spoke
with, chasing down sources that were often very hard to get.
Finding that none of the claims could be substantiated, the students drafted a
public letter to Peres detailing the results of their research.
Our research showed the implausibility that the Temple vessels are there, said
Ari Rosenberg, a senior at Yeshiva College. We also went through the specific stories
of recent menorah sightings, seeing that each one lacked any proof or evidence that
could hold up in court. The claims rely solely upon second- or third-hand hearsay.
The goal was to better understand the world in which the Arch of Titus was built
and the ways that Jews and Christians have lived with it, said Fine.
Excursions to the Yeshiva University Museum, the Park Avenue Synagogue and
the Metropolitan Museum of Art allowed the students to examine ancient Roman ar-
tifacts, rare books and works of art.
The research we did was great, said David Silber, a junior at Yeshiva College.
What I learned most is that there is a way to approach matters, such as myths that
the Vatican is hiding the Temple relics, in an academic, rigorous way, while at the
same time still embracing and preserving the endearing minhagim [customs] of the
Jewish people. And, if done properly, not only can the two coexist, each one can enrich
the other. n
Y
eshiva University Museum premiered two visually striking,
historically resonant exhibitions in the fall.
Echoes of the Borscht Belt: Contemporary Photographs fea-
tured the debut of photographer Marisa Scheinfelds haunting pictures
of abandoned sites where Borscht Belt resorts boomed in the Catskill
Mountain region of upstate New York, places that once buzzed with
life as summer havens for New York Jews.
The exhibition runs through April 12 and features photos as well
as original artifacts from some of the Borscht Belts most beloved hotels and resorts:
soap from The Nevele, an ashtray from Grossingers and a ski hat from the Concord.
Several of the structures in Scheinfelds photographs have already been demol-
ished, making the project even more significant as historical documentary.
The Borscht Belt was a haven for an entire cultural and social movement of peo-
ple, Scheinfeld said. As a photographer, I felt inclined to document its history and
what has come of it.
Dr. Jacob Wisse, director of the Yeshiva University Museum, agreed.
The Borscht Belt became an important communal resource for Jews from the
1920s to the 1970s, when many of them couldnt afford to goor were banned from
goingelsewhere, he said. In addition to being beautiful works in themselves,
Marisas photographs offer a moving reflection on that period.
The second exhibition, the museums biggest of the year, is Modeling the Syna-
gogue: From Dura to Touro, which will be on display through May 17.
When it was founded in 1973, the museum commissioned 10 scale models of his-
toric synagogues. The models were con-
ceived, designed and constructed under
the direction of leading scholars and
historians. They were built with intri-
cate detail and with materials that richly
evoke the original structures and their
interiors.
The synagogues reflect the geo-
graphic breadth of the Jewish world
across the centuries, from the ancient
MediterraneanDura-Europos in third-
century Syria and Beit Alpha in sixth-
century Galileeto modern America and
Europe, including Touro in 18th-century
Newport and Tempio Israelitico in 19th-
century Florence.
Complementing the models are pic-
tures, maps and architectural plans as
well as original artifacts, books and manuscripts. Another part of the exhibition fea-
tures a full digital reconstruction of an ancient Sephardic synagogue.
This exhibition lets people experience not only the beauty and range of the archi-
tecture of some of historys most important synagogues, but also their communal and
religious character, said Wisse. n
k The Yeshiva University Museum is located at 15 West 16th Street in New York City. For more information,
visit yumuseum.org
YU Museum Exhibitions Bring Jewish History to Life
Lounge chairs from the abandoned Grossingers hotel in the Catskills
Model of the Beit Alpha Synagogue in Israels Jezreel Valley
Students in the Arch of Titus summer course worked to discredit claims about the Temple relics