Best of all, our school hosts a Purim Seudah, led by Rabbi Sharfman himself so that we didn’t have to worry about finding a place. Still, what was fantastic about this Purim, wasn’t just getting to be in Eretz Yisrael, but it was also the Sharfman’s Purim Chagigah. Our Chagigah began with a Masquerade Ball and plenty of music and lively dancing. Each apartment had chosen their own theme for their costumes. Following the dancing, every apartment made a presentation – many together with little skits – explaining their costumes and the reason they chose that theme. The costumes ranged from the varied and colorful to the costumes showing the closeness and unity of the girls in the apartment.

The amount of talent displayed during the evening could certainly put Hollywood to shame. The creativity that went into the writing and performing of the skits was unbelievable! The skits went the full range from hilarious to hysterical and beautifully displayed the wonderful Achdus we all share in Sharfman’s.

Well, it’s amazing what a change of outfit, a borrowed sheitel or hat and a pair of sunglasses can do to change a person’s appearance. Of course, there are always some people who nobody notices! In fact, can you tell which Shana Bet girl this is in the picture below? She disguised herself soo well that she just shopped around this store in the mall forever

In a way, the game was a practical lesson in what Rabbi Kahane taught us in his Megillah class. If you want to see what’s really going on, don’t get stuck on outside appearances. Thanks to Sharfman’s, our teachers and tutors and the Shana Betters for a fantastic time ?

Another great Adar Night was organized by Mrs. Rachel Eichen who put together our Annual Adar Hachnasat Kallah Auction. Different events with faculty members, ranging from having a one on one session with Mrs. Goffman while packing Mishloach Manot with her to a special private Kumzitz Melava Malka with Rabbi Green and Rabbi Sharfman, helped us raise a ton of money that all will be going towards the special Mitzvah of helping Kallah’s. Thanks to Rabbi Green as well as Becky Glowgower and Shira Beleck who hosted the hilariously funny evening.

In this week’s Breakfast Chizuk Rabbi Sharfman shares with five principles to focus on in order to achieve happiness always, not only in Adar. Listen, apply the lesson and attain happiness and contentment!

It’s not just what we learned, it’s how we’ve learned to learn and even more than that. It’s how we’ve learned how enjoyable learning really is…

To start off, each of us met with our Chumash teacher (who BTW they are really warm and awesome, they really gave us sooo much this year I can’t even tell you) to choose a Mitzvah or topic from Chumash that really moved us, and that we wanted to understand better. For the next 6 weeks, we studied the Pesukim and compared what the Meforshim had to say about them. We worked on understanding not only the story or the Mitzvah and the Halachot, but also the meanings behind things.

Plus, Sharfman’s brought in plenty of extra tutors to help us find and work through all kind of sources. They were there during Beit Midrash time, during the breaks, and at night. Best of all, the tutor’s were really cute and I felt that they really wanted to help me with all of my questions!

I think that what I got most out of doing the paper was a real appreciation of how relevant the Torah is to us personally and how it really shows us how to live a meaningful life.

Special thanks to our fantastic Chumash teachers, Mrs. Ariella Gofman and Mrs. Chaya Ochs, who were there for us before and after classes, in the Beit Midrash, at night and whenever we needed them:-)

Honestly, when we started the Chumash Report, l was afraid of getting just a little bit overwhelmed.

Instead, the opposite has happened!

Why?

Because even when we are learning and in the Beit Midrash, Sharfman’s makes sure that learning and growing is always a FUN experience.

It’s so awesome to hear our voices in unity speaking the beautiful words of Torah. It’s the most amazing feeling to finally put all of our research into our very own Chumash Report Sefer. It is certainly something that I will forever treasure as a memento of my accomplishment and academic growth throughout my year at Sharfman’s. To me, the Chumash Report is not just the about research, it’s about the exploration of our heritage at the deepest textual level…and I’ll get to keep these memories for the rest of my life.

In this week’s Breakfast Chizuk Rabbi Sharfman shares with us a beautiful story which illustrates how Klall Yisroel is fulfilling its role as A Light Unto The Nations! Listen & be inspired!

The Annual Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s Kiruv Seminar Afternoon Session really started off with a bang! We were all treated to the brilliant words of Rabbi Taub. His lecture entitled, “Eye on the Media” captivated us all! Finally, we were treated to the words of Mrs. Shani Gibraltar who really put the expression “Dress for Success” in a Jewish perspective.

By the time we got to the second day of the Annual Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s Kiruv Seminar everyone was eager to see who else would walk through the door and grace our presence. We were all blown away when in walks, all the way from New York, both Rabbi Ezra Max and Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein, of Ohr Naava Women’s Torah Center. Rabbi Wallerstein discussed messages of Kedushah that still charismatically resonate in our hearts and souls and we thank them both for coming to our school! Next up was Rabbi Menachem Nissel who discussed, “Platonic Relationships,” followed by Ayelet The Kosher Komic.

All in all, from laughter to powerful messages we were truly moved by the various speakers who came to school in the morning. The afternoon session featured Mrs. Gila Manolson who discussed concepts such as Negiah, Self Esteem, and much more! We then went upstairs and enjoyed Dinner, served by Rabbi Sharfman himself It was a great time to schmooze over Vegetable Soup and Baked Zitti, and reminiscence over some of the important lessons we had learned.

We began the final morning with a Power Point Presentation from Rabbi Ken Spiro titled, “Why the Jews?” which addressed the topic of anti-semitism. The next speaker, Rabbi Moshe Zeldman challenged us to think about how we should present ourselves to the world. What’s more, we heard the inspiring life story of Mrs. Penina Taylor who wowed the audience with her courage and determinational to stay Jewish and not cave into a life of Christianity.

The last two speakers of our phenomenal Kiruv Seminar really allowed for the past 3 days to really impact us! In walks our first speaker. Wearing a black hat, brown curly peyos and carrying a guitar – Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser was not your typical Rabbi. And yet, he came ready to inspire us with his music. Let me just say, he was a hit! We all enjoyed the former surfer turned Rabbi’s sense of humor, combined with his deep knowledge and talent. He spoke about how music is the spiritual level that connects straight to our Neshama and transports us to a different place. You could see on his face as he played his songs, how connected he felt to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. I think we can all say that he really was an addition to our night and I’m sure we will all think twice before listening to our iPod! Thank you, Rabbi Glaser for coming.

The next speaker was the one and only Rabbi Shmuel Brazil, a close talmid of the late Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld, founder of Yeshiva Shor Yoshuv. We all sat around as he began to remind us of our true potential. We gained much from his words of wisdom and appreciated having such a Gadol B’Torah give of his time and speak to us. In fact, he even stayed after his speech to answer questions privately. To say the least, the Annual Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s Kiruv Seminar was a big hit! We learned so much over the past three days that we will cherish forever. Thank you Rabbi Sharfman, Rabbi Green and Mrs. Nissel for giving us this opportunity. We really appreciate it!

In this week’s Breakfast Chizuk Rabbi Sharfman shares with us the great lesson Yisro learned from Amalek & in turn shared with B’nei Yisrael.  Listen & be inspired!