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

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DOGR c. at.. as a. fl i I 4 l I r I i il, i F 'P 4 X X i l I XXX! N b X' , T We live in a world of symbols and representa- tions: flags for nations and idealsg maps for land area, the Seder plate symbolizing sacrifices and the story of Passover, and architectural blueprints repre- senting all the buildings man has created. Within these buildings the opening and closing doors, the most prosaic of daily actions, holds much meaning for us as we stand on the threshold of graduation. For most of us it was seventeen or eighteen years ago when our personal doors, the doors to the pal- ace of life, were opened. In time we shall return to the place whence we came, but, hopefully, not with- out taking a long look around, and wondering at and perhaps learning a little of the mystery of life. When we first came into the world, we were shown around the rooms of innocent infancy, the rooms which love pervaded completely, for no fears, pressures or prejudices were permitted to enter. There were no tensions in our first five years, no worries or responsibilities. We can remember this period only in a hazy way, but we can appreciate it because we shall never be able to relive it. The doors of in- fancy were closed to us the moment we stepped into first grade. Throughout our elementary school education, we opened doors to many classrooms and the infinite suites and wings of knowledge. Our teachers hurled facts and ideas at us in an effort to broaden our scopes in both religious and secular fields. Then we took another stride forward as time closed the elementary school door for us, opening those bronze portals on Amsterdam Avenue, those guar- dians of the edifice which houses Yeshiva University High School. Here, too, both literally and figura- tively, doors were opened and closed: doors to the classrooms of teachers, study, and examinations, doors to the office which held at times pleasant and unpleas- ant surprises for us, doors to the Beis Medrash, auditorium, cafeteria and gym, and doors to the guid- ance oliice where the course of our futures may well have been charted. With the gates of childhood firmly shut, we opened in high school another series of doors in our path to maturity.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Theme ..,...........,... ...... Graduation Messages ,... Dedication ,.,.........,........ ,.... Graduates ....,..,, Class History ...,,,,........ Senior Awards .,,..,... Students in Action ....., Faculty Focus ...,.. Academics Literature ....,,,.... Extracurriculars Teams ..........., .............,.... We love our school .............. Or do we? .....,.................. Hebrew Section ...... Sponsors .................. Senior Directory .....,...... 11701 i5 TT L Q ' F vi 5- 4 if Q' 11 . S 6 8, 9 10 11 12 84 85 86 87 124 99 113 122 125 136 137 174

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-s Mil li-.ar w , i t s tt s 4 f v r 'T -T X , Q ', . y lid? 'I V at f is , r ' ef lt Q ri get-.Q .i . gp . y - .V , r r Q gi K X, xg r, nf 4 Q i Y S KQ X Y i t 1 .. T6 X 'D F i- Q O .J , 9s 'fx' f fg-t t f N. 5 t c N , ' , f A ' 57 C -- - . ., Qlfxii ax, ff a ' A fx Q-wg-w ..' Now we stand before yet another closed door. The gates of higher education are about to open, and we feel somewhat hesitant, unsure, even afraid. The portals of adult life loom before us, soon to reveal our destinies. That which lies beyond will soon be reality, and we fervently hope that we are prepared for this reality. We also stand at the threshold of a new age of mankind's achievement and growth. This door to advancement, to which knowledge is the key, pre- sents a formidable challenge. Whether mankind is going to benefit or perish because of its opening will soon become apparent. We must see that the door to knowledge, which is in the process of being opened, is opened carefully and with discretion. The door to the understanding of others, on the other hand, is for us to throw open. For too many years it has stood shut and locked, and men have suffered because of their reluctance to open it. Beyond this gate lies the path to ultimate peace. If it remains barred, then the opening of the door to human achievement will become meaningless. Perhaps the most mysterious portal of all is the door to one's self. As the shallow conformity of his high school years gives way to adult maturity, a young man must discover the unknown within him- self. It will take more than self-evaluation for us to open this door, it will take sincerity and will. Many have failed to achieve this self-discovery, and their lives have lacked purpose and meaning. As each day passes, we grow more conscious of the unknown that is soon to become known. We approach the new, fascinating gates to the future. New challenges, joys, hopes, and fears will be re- vealed with their opening. This is also the time for the closing of doors. Our graduation is a finite action. It is the symbol of an end. We have closed the door to our high school years. No matter how much we may desire to leave it ajar, the force of new challenges and responsibil- ities slams it shut. The echo of our footsteps in the familiar corridors of school can never sound the same. Only in fond memories can we recall these days of development and fraternity. Many of us will be forced to close the door on old friendships. Amidst all our promises to remem- ber and keep in touch, we can already sense the move- ment of the slowly closing door. Miles, interests, and ideals will separate us, and we will spread the curtains of new friendships. It is on this most awesome threshold of life that we must ask ourselves some very basic questions to determine whether our four high school years have really prepared us to open the new doors confront- ing us. Have our virtues been strengthened in these four years? Have our morals been reinforced? Has our sense of values been molded to stress truth and up- rightness? Our answers to these questions should be affirmative, since our teachers, the guardians of the classroom portals, have sincerely endeavored to in- still in us high ideals to live by. And these ideals, ideals taught by the Torah, the Jewish religion, and the great personalities of past and present genera- tions, can help us to overcome the trials we shall encounter in the time to come. As we stand on the threshold of the future, we realize that there is one door which, if we have de- veloped any sense of true values, we can never allow to be closed. This is the door to our spiritual heritage. It is a door which others have for centuries attempted to shut, and great shame would be placed upon us and our generation if we were to permit such glory and wisdom to be locked forever from the future. This portal is the guardian of our faith, it has been our shelter in past years of persecution. Our goal must be to see that the door to Torah be eternally open. The door to the future looms before us. Let us open it wide and walk through it proudly into the greatest chamber in the palace of life, which in itself serves as a mere foyer to the grand ballroom of the next world. Let us strengthen our virtues and morals, our ties with man and G-d. Let us work towards the goal of universal and eternal brotherhood and peace, guided by the Torah and the living precepts of religious Judaism,