After the first full week of the school year, the students were understandably tired. But that didn’t keep them from rocking the first Shabbat of the year with two ruach-filled events. On Friday, Rabbi Emerson’s Freshman shiur began their mini- Shabbaton with some awesome dodgeball games in the gym. Talmidim from the Five Towns hosted their classmates, and almost the entire shiur spent shabbos in Woodmere.

Friday night marked the first of many Yeshiva wide tishes, held at Rabbi and Rebbetzin Yudin’s home. Rebbeim, students and guests sang together for hours in the (unexpectedly) dark room, “kumsitz style,” enjoying each others company and Rebbetzin Yudin’s famous chulent.

On Shabbat day, the shiur shabbaton continued, as all of Rabbi Emerson’s students joined him at his home for lunch. It was especially exciting, as several older students, including G.O. President Aryeh Schlusselberg joined the Freshmen to bond and add to the ruach. As it turned out, the Freshmen held their own in the Ruach department, leading many zemirot “Stomp” style under the expert table drumming leadership of Josh Friedman. With an opening Shabbat like this one, we can’t wait to see what’s coming up ahead!

By Aryeh Sklar, 10th grade

It was Sunday morning. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and the green grass in Brooklyn’s Keyspan Park was shimmering. But this time, it wasn’t the New York Mets affiliate Brooklyn Cyclones taking the field. This Sunday was special. In what has quickly become an annual tradition, Otsar, a Jewish family service specializing in developmentally disabled children, held its celebrity baseball game. The event is much more than a game, with a carnival for the children of Otsar. In addition, the celebrity baseball players, including such legends as Ron Guidry, Johnny Bench, and Jim Rice, personally hosted clinics for the Otsar children before the game. Once again, DRS had the privilege of sending its talmidim to volunteer their time to ensure that the children at the game had a wonderful experience.

While the game was obviously planned with the children in mind, the DRS volunteers were profoundly affected as well. Yair Saperstein remarked that “there was an amazing sense of comradery between us and the kids. I feel I really connected to the person I was helping. It was tremendously rewarding to see the smile on his happy face after he hit the ball.”

By Jason Strauss and Zeke Miller

The college application process is more complicated than ever, and we are fortunate to have a top- notch college guidance department, under the able leadership of Mrs. Eva Hefter. One of the areas that the department focuses on is ensuring that the students get exposed to a large variety of high level university options, so that each student can make the best decision for himself.

This past Tuesday, the DRS Cafeteria was filled with prospective students, as Ms. Chelsea Lavington of Queens College addressed the boys. Mrs. Hefter, in introducing the Queens College representative, pointed with pride that our Yeshiva is made up of truly high level students, as Ms. Lavington “made time in her busy schedule to visit our school of 270 as if it was a school of 3,000.”

The topic that seemed to interest the students the most was the CUNY Honors program now available at city colleges. This special program gives its members a full scholarship to Queens, including textbooks, a student passport, academic trips, a laptop, and, of course, admissions. The program, for students with at least a 95 average and a score of at least 1450 on the SATs, offers several benefits, including 18 credits for studying in Yeshiva in Israel. There is also a sharply reduced tuition rate for residents of New York City, and the surrounding areas, including Nassau County.

During the course of the presentation, Ms. Lavington discussed the many positive aspects of the Queens College experience. Queens College is the only CUNY Division 1 NCAA basketball program, and intramurals are run during the school year as well. There is a strong Jewish community in the Hillel, and a kosher kitchen is available. Ms. Lavington invited the group to the Queens College open house on Sunday, November 16th, as well as the weekly campus tours held on Wednesdays. Junior Josh Zucker called the Queens College visit “helpful and productive, really telling us what we need to do to get into a city college.”

The Yeshiva was also honored to host Mr. David Weisbord, the Columbia admissions officer for Nassau County, who visited DRS on Thursday. He spoke to a mixed group of Juniors and Seniors during lunch period in the library. Mrs. Hefter introduced him as her, “new best friend,” saying that he not only visited students who attend high schools with over four thousand students, but also DRS with its 274 students.

Mr. Weisbord spoke about Columbia, its two schools, and its admissions process. He also suggested that prospective applicants be sure to research Columbia’s Core Curriculum so that they are sure that it is right for them. He also suggested visiting Columbia’s Campus before submitting the application and sitting in on an admissions lecture so the admissions staff knows they are interested. Another key element that he stressed was for students to show on the application that they have a genuine interest in going to the school for reasons other than that is in the Ivy League. The program concluded with a question and answer session, and many students took advantage of the opportunity to speak to Mr. Weisbord about their individual plans regarding Columbia.

By Eli Wein, 10th Grade

It’s hard to convey to students the amazing power of walking into a Bet Medrash with over 200 people learning, without them actually seeing it themselves. It’s even more difficult to explain how strong the Kol Torah is in such a setting without them hearing it. To that end, DRS has continuously developed learning programs that center around its Bait Medrash. One of its most successful programs, known simply as “DRS Night Seder,” launched this past Tuesday evening for what promises to be a record-breaking third year, and has proved that the prospect of good learning and good food is practically impossible to resist.

The program, under the direction of DRS Rebbeim Rabbi Simcha Sussman and Rabbi Asher Stern, gives the talmidim a real Bait Medrash experience two evenings a week that one usually only experiences in post high school yeshiva study. Additionally, it provides the students with a regular schedule in which to review the material they learned in shiur. Yet the program’s most important element is the mentoring component. These young men come from various area Yeshivot in the Five Towns and Queens, and they not only serve as knowledgeable tutors, but they also give the students an opportunity to connect and develop a relationship with these older mentors outside the classroom. Building on previous successes, DRS Night Seder boasts thriving programs in both the DRS Bait Medrash and at Landers College in Kew Gardens Hills, under the leadership of Rabbi Stern.

It is a truly inspirational sight to be able to walk into the DRS Bet Medrash on a Tuesday or Thursday night between the hours of 9 and 10 and see over 200people learning Torah without the stresses of class and tests in a relaxed atmosphere. The number of attendees that have been attending this Night Seder Program has been soaring from year to year. The program is constantly being improved, and it is a huge hit among students. One student said that it is a “great environment and conducive to learning,” and the “Chavrutas are really fun to learn with.” The students also benefit from a feast of assorted Dougies’ treats on Thursday evenings before they begin learning.

At the Queens location, there are approximately 25 students participating. Rabbi Stern remarked that this year has the “largest enrollment ever since inception of the Queens program. We are deeply grateful to Landers College and particularly to Dr. Bernard Lander for his continued support and encouragement for this program. Many of our own DRS graduates who currently attend Landers College have become mentors for our current Queens DRS Talmidim. It gives us great nachas to see the interest these graduates take in mentoring these students.”

According to Woodmere program coordinator Rabbi Sussman, there was a “wonderful beginning to this Night Seder Program in DRS. The attendance has gone from 25 students, 2 years ago, to about 70 students this year. The Night Seder Program adds a tremendous amount of ruach and excitement to our Bait Medrash and we look forward to a very productive year of learning and extracurricular activities in regard to this program.”

By Yona Saperstein, 12th Grade

Millions of people have been displaced when their homes in New Orleans were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. DRS undertook a tremendous chesed project to aid the victims. In an outstanding project run by Rabbi Eli Brazil, director of student activities, and seniors Shai Peyser and Jonathan Mael, DRS ran a drive, in which DRS students and families donated school supplies, knapsacks, beddings, and other basic needs to the Katrina victims.

Bins were located at the entrance to the school for people to donate the supplies. DRS collected six full bags of knapsacks, beddings, school supplies, and other basic supplies to be donated to the hurricane victims. Rabbi Brazil, Shai and Jonathan personally delivered the bags to the Woodmere District Fire Department, who will be delivering the supplies to people who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Once a student reaches DRS, he ends up spending almost half of each day in Yeshiva. But what is your dear son doing each day? Whose class is he in? What is he learning? What are the details of the curriculum? To help ensure that parents always know the answers to these questions, the yeshiva holds an annual Meet-Your-Teacher night at the beginning of the fall semester.

On Monday evening, the parent body arrived at the DRS campus, where they were given a miniaturized version of their son’s daily schedule, which included times and locations of each class. The parents then followed these schedules around the building, as the teachers presented class goals and other important information.

DRS parents and teachers alike appreciate this event, as it is one of the ways we ensure that communication between all of the partners in the boys’ education is maintained throughout the year.

By Zeke Miller, Student Editor-In-Chief

Perhaps the most competitive school-wide intramural sport, Wiffle-Ball has returned to DRS for its third straight year under the direction of Director of Student Activities Rabbi Brazil. Beginning last Wednesday and continuing throughout September and part of October, Wiffle-Ball includes students of all grades. The season opened with the defending champions facing off against a new freshman team.The freshman team captained by Alex Kaszovitz put up a strong fight but was no match for the stronger defending champions headed by Sammy Schertz. You may remember that last year as freshmen, Schertz and his team won the tournament in a championship against the favored senior team headed by Sammy’s older brother Michael, DRS ‘05.

DRS takes its fun very seriously, and DRS Wiffle-Ball is no exception. Prior to Wiffle-Ball season, signs appear on Mr. Feldman’s meticulously groomed bulletin-boards instructing students on the best ways to pitch a Wiffle-Ball. When game time comes, over 50 students can be seen rooting for their favorite teams while eating their lunch on the ledge overlooking DRS’ own version of the bleachers. The G.O. even sells hotdogs at the games on meat-lunch days.

Rabbi Brazil is always trying to improve the Wiffle-Ball tournament, and this year’s brand new addition to DRS Wiffle-Ball is the Home Run fence running from the lake to the Foundation of the Gym Building, adding an extra element of excitement to the games.

One of the most highly anticipated events of the year for both Freshmen and Seniors is the legendary DRS Freshman-Senior Mentoring Program. Each year, every Freshman is paired with a Senior ‘Big Brother,’ who serves as a mentor throughout the year. Many students have remarked that this was the most important way that they were able to make the difficult transition into high school when they were Freshmen.

This year’s program began on Thursday. After breakfast, the 9th and 12th graders met in the Bet Medrash, and were given their pairing assignments. They then began a special learning session prepared by Rabbi Brazil. The program concluded with inspirational remarks by Rabbi Storch, who reminded the talmidim that they are not alone in yeshiva, and are surrounded by a large support system, including their Senior mentors. All of the participants had a wonderful time, and they are looking forward to the many exciting events that will take place over the coming months that will further strengthen the bonds between Senior and Freshman.