Everyone's Gonna Be There !!

On Sunday, July 1st. At 9:30 pm at the Ohr Naava Seminary at 2201 East 23rd Street Brooklyn, NY 11229. HaRav Dovid Oratz will speak - the title - "Could Rav Yochanan Ben Zakkai have saved the second Beis Hamikdash"

It promises to be an enlightening evening.

Comments from excited alumnae who were contacted include :

"OMG, OMG, OMG ....."
"I'm, sooo excited - this is sooo great - I can't wait"
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh ....."
"That's incredible, I mean amazing, I mean ..... wait, this isn't going on the blog, is it ?!?!"

********************** Coming Soon *********************

Last week's shiur and general pow wow at Lisa Okun's - caught on tape ( mp3, whatever ) and a special thank you to Shira K. for editing the file and getting it over here.

'till next time,

- Regards from BTI

Food, Folks and ... ( you thought I was gonna say fun - didn't you ? )

Well, the feedback is in.
Last Thursday the Grand Gala Gezunt fest at dougies was a huge success ! According to several eyewitnesses - there was enjoyment everywhere.
Mrs. Fuld spoke about the value of Torah while Tziporah Rabinowicz ( BTI '03-'06 ) introduced the graduates to an entire spectrum of chessed and worthwhile activities that are available in their areas.
The general consensus preferred the fire-poppers to the wings, but all acknowledged the ribs as king.
Much excitement is also building up towards the new alumnae pow-wow at the house of Lisa Okun.
The address is 75- 08 172nd St. in Hillcrest, NY. The activities start at 7:30 pm.


We would like to post pictures - but WE HAVE NONE ! If you have good pictures please email them to SharfmansAlumni@gmail dot com !

With these words - we send you out into the world !

Banquet for the shanna betters was a lavish affair ! There was everything you could imagine in a banquet - food, inspiration, food party hats, food, in short, everything !

At the the real Shanna Bet Banquet (not pictured so as not to flaunt the fancy catered affair, tzniyus, you know. ) Rabbi Sharfman gave words of chizzuk and vision.

Part of his message to the graduating students focused on how we accomplish goals in our life and what role siyaata dishmaaya plays.

And the best news is ... it's the newest added shiur on the right taskbar !

Listen and enjoy !

Hope you're having a great summer !

- Regards from BTI

Shout out to Mrs. Fuld !

This Thursday night ( June 14th ) at 8pm the right honorable Mrs. H. Fuld will be leading an evening of gala fun and misty memories at the extremely fancy Dougies BBQ of Brooklyn ( 18th Ave ). More details ( about Dougies ) available at their web site www.dougiesbbq.com.

It promises to be an unforgettable evening !

Banquet Series Part II

The Best Medicine ...

As always, to balance out the seriousness, the BTI Banquet is resplendent with humor. This year was no exception. The sister tag team of Miri & Liba Loeb kept up a lineup of humor that had us rolling out of our seats and into the aisles !
Pictured here is Liba getting some last minute advice from Rabbi Kahane on exactly how the upcoming jokes would affect the kabbalsitic powers of spirituality in the room.


The skits were a rousing success - as you can see !


The real challenge, however, was for Rabbi Sharfman to try to keep a straight face while Shoshi Goldstein returned for an encore of her arab cabdriver routine ( with Rabbi Borinstien portraying a shana alef'er ). We were all pleased to see Rabbi Borinstein's character give up on her several boyfriends and in general mature. The cabbie, though, seemd to be getting worse - he actually sold a wife ( Sara Manasseh ) and made it onto the CIA's most wanted list, again.

And so we wish the cabdriver the best of luck and bid continued hatzlacha to all.

Still to come - banquet part III, IV and beyond !

in the meantime ...

- regards from BTI

Banquet Series Part I

Flash, Work, Transcendence.

Those were the ringing words of inspiration from our very own Leiku Perles. In an emotionally charged speech, Leiku postulated that life is a series of challenges that take this pattern. Flash - the initial inspiration and motivation behind any project that we choose to undertake. Work - the day-in-and-day-out grind that has to happen before our dream can become reality; the actual making it happen. Finally, Transcendence- the incorporation of this accomplishment into ourselves. A moving on, if you will, without leaving it all behind.

"Our year in Israel", she said, "takes this form."
"The flash was when we decided to come here, to Sharfman's".
"Mine took place when speaking to a friend. I challenged her, 'What do I have to lose by not going to Israel - nothing!' "
"You have everything to lose", she replied, "you have yourself to lose"
"Then the work."
"The months of classes, projects and Beis Medrash that forced us to live up to that flash.
Finally, the transcendence. Taking this year and re-creating ourselves to include all we've gained."

"However, we can also see the greater cycle. This whole year is a great big flash. We have made a decision to live a certain type of life, the life of an eved Hashem. The work comes when we get off that plane and move on with life. And the transcendence, that is the final transcendence from this world."

Inspiring words ... a challenge for all of us to take to heart.

- Regards from BTI

It's the end of world as we know it ....

The last day of classes is upon us ! Aieeeeeeeeeeee !

End of the year sentiments are always tearful. We've had reports of students crying (unsubstantiated - but probably true) even teachers (Rabbi Borinstein, you're just a big softie!)


In particular, Mrs Haymann ( BTI '90-'07) was seen dabbing several tears off her face while saying "I just want to teach them all summer, is that so wrong ?".

[editor's note - In reality, when approached for a quote Mrs. Haymann said "whoohoo" but we thought that the aforementioned was nicer to put in]

I think the real feeling of the day was best expressed by Sarah Bain ( BTI '05 - '07 ) and Tamar Gafni ( BTI '05-'07 ) "There are some alumni out there who have really made it - they were able to really stay strong" "I really hope I can be one of those people".

[editor's note - "really"]

- Regards from BTI