Yeshiva University High School For Boys - Elchanite Yearbook (New York, NY)

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To the individual whose personal philosophy embodies most perfectly,-ftheflofty ideal which is the theme of this book We ojfer tllisnipeeffi ' ii ,I I X -f ,, U 8 4 K- I

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The dark mantle of time that cloaks manls primordial origin has given rise to centuries of speculation as to his individual worth and the meaning of his life. Is 'man-creature' a pre- tentious cosmic accident, governed by natural phenomena and all-explicable by the rationale? Or is he the refiection of a divine intelligence which, in the course of history, has made mani- fest itself to the human mind, made man the possessor of a universal ethic and given his experience substance and importance? Is life the tedious unfolding of ludicrous satire as shallow as its author, or an encounter with pro- found reality? Art, in its interpretation of human experi- ence, seems on the Whole to favor the espousal of a human sublimity which transcends rational explanation and is part of an historic spirit which like a gull hovers over the sea of life. Its concentration on both thought and emotion manifests a philosophy of human dualism. The mind can discern an object of beauty from the gnarled rock that to a bird represents but a temporary perch. But the dramatist, the projector of Life, well knows that the unfor- seeable and unique reactions of every human being cannot easily be understood or rationaliz- ed but only crystallized, preserved as an image in the mindls eye and later reenacted. It is the inter-action of mind and emotion that moti- vates the artist to reflect human experience in the light of both. Wliat better example than the portrait of the vvizened ancient. That knit- ted brow is woven of intense speculation, those gray hairs are the end of many years of re- moved observation, but those liquid eyes mir- ror more than reason. Peer into them and see a generation of pain and pleasure, of sor- row and joy, of complexities beyond literal articulation, but poignantly reflected in deepest silence. i In the Arts is painted-in liquid, in stone, in Words-the depth of the human soul, the height of the human Spirit, the picture of Life in its innumerable ramifications, its immense J - -W--W, . . . 42941 f , 4' ev ,f - . - aa- X fx!!-e Q:lN ,ga f fff' X Q if I 41 ff' TMA 5' .J-flvdsxsi-Ura: 5 lffvavwledaff nge FmuxW ' X ie- -fera- f I JI ' -,, I j f ., f , , ,. , . ffl , ' ,',. . , -V :LT -.V - f ,J f 1'-114 1 ' ' ,ff ' 'inf f-- x.' QQ . 7 V- .:,:- 'N '. ' 'f ff- 4 1-:Sv ,Aja ritz? :FAQS I : 1 fill f-f ,-147. . I-A1-2-4,1 1: ',,,f34':2j-fp - If '-FI 3 ,fs -x. YQ, ' ui .if ,ae--Q Wx f, I xyx Ni- if ' A91 Q . . ' .3, 'Q '.7-I-Q35-dl , f-:xi-n-i5 ,A fy-4.1 ' ff '3,f. 4? XL' N - - Mi it igfeihl . if ss- F 34 ,.?'1 if. sqm? , uh, fzisf- - f ig-1,-'-.Q I . . :'.,..t-..,.-'- ' ,gags H C V, H T6 fy' Hifi! V, pf' 1 iii 5. AY, W ,'A ,.f f:!f'f,2513'1 f I fel-n. V 4 r ,K . totality and its intense sensitivity. An intellec- tual epiphany and a surge of emotion are treated as equals in the light of human expe- rience. How truly the Bard observes: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Nahum Stfsfjfzz

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DEDICATION YESHT52MlIrTfC'E2 ' i SITY AM STERDAM AVENUE Amo iaein smggr NEW YORK. N. Y. 10033 iliicob To his many former students at Yeshiva, Mr. Stanley M. Cohen is known as a gifted teacher of English and as a devoted guidance counselor sincerely concerned with the personal problems of his students. Those who came into more intimate contact with him recognize in Mr. Cohen a scrupulously ethical individual, deeply religious, dedicated to artistic goals, a man possessed of unusual depth of soul. Mr. Cohen is Zealously devoted to the ideals of American democracy. While in America he spoke often of his desire to see the uprooting of racial prejudice and of his pride in America's progress towards that end. He urged his students to be- come active in civic affairs in later life, affirming that apathy breeds tyranny. Only the terms of the International Educational Exchange Act prevented him from as- suming an active role in our country's politics. Mr. Cohen's ties to Yeshiva University were strengthened by his strong belief in the principles upon which this institution is founded. In his opinion, the glorious intellectual and material achievements of Western civilization do not signal man's abandonment of moral restrictions. Only his humble adherence to a code which manifests itself not only in ceremonial tradition but also in ethical behavior towards corporate society and its component individuals justifies man's existence. The theme of our yearbook, the liberalism and spirituality inherent in the na- ture of the Arts,', is intimately connected with the life of this dedicated teacher. Mr. Cohen's philosophy of life represents his personal synthesis of acute intellectual and aesthetic sensitivity with an equally strong attachment to the profound truths of Iudaism.