By Linda Wisch-Davidsohn
When the Yavneh Bulldogs returned to the TAPPS conference this year, they created a successful season of memories. Coach David Zimmerman was named District Coach of the Year.
“It brings Yavneh great pride and joy to know that we have so many players that have been recognized by other schools who appreciate them, as much as we do. It is a great honor for these students who represent the best that Yavneh has to offer,” said Coach Zimmerman.
Among the Yavneh Bulldog TAPPS 2013-2014 3A District 4 Honorees are the following categories: Girls’ Basketball — Talia Klein (2014), Academic All State, First Team All-District; Alexandra Lavi (2015), Academic All State, Second Team All -District; Jacquie Mitzner (2017), Second Team All-District. The Yavneh Bulldogs boys basketball team were district champions. Recognized players included Sam Kleinman (2014), Second Team All-State, First Team All-District and also MVP of the District; Adam Schor (2014), Academic All-State, First Team, All-District; David Rudomin (2014), Second Team All-District and Defensive Player of the Year in the District; Itai Guttman(2014), Academic All-State, First Team All-District; Steve Levine (2016), Second Team All-District. In Boys’ Soccer, Jason Epstein (2014) was named All-District Newcomer, and in Girls’ Volleyball, honorees were Dania Tanur (2014), First Team All-District; Risa Mond (2016), Second Team All-District. Michelle Friedstadt (2014) and Jenna Katz (2017) received Honorable Mention All-District. Congratulations to all the Yavneh athletes who make Dallas proud.
Jewish War Vets dual event to highlight IDF at JCC’s Israeli Independence Day program
Post Commander Art Kaplan, of the Dr. Harvey J. Bloom Dallas Post 256 of the Jewish War Veterans, will provide special opportunities at the upcoming 2014 Yom Ha’Atzmaut Israeli Independence Day activities May 6, to watch two Israeli-made movies about the Israeli Independence Forces (IDF) and to also write short notes and letters to troop members, which will later be sent to the IDF.
“Michael Levin, A Hero in Heaven” is the true story of an American Jewish teenager who decides to make aliyah in 2003, joins an elite paratrooper unit, and dies three years later, while fighting in Lebanon.
“Follow Me — The Yoni Netanyahu Story” is the exciting tale of the heroic rescue of innocent airline passengers threatened with death at Entebbe, the airport in Uganda July 4, 1976. It profiles the tragic death of Yoni Netanyahu, older brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Yoni was the solitary military fatality at this historical and amazing rescue mission.
While these films are being shown, writing materials will be available in the event that those attending wish to write short notes to the IDF.
Retired businesswoman combines Torah and yoga in fresh way
How does a retired beading store owner and baalas teshuvah — a woman who became an observant Jew as an adult — fill her days?
For years, Linda Hoffman, whose business, Beadworks, was at the corner of Campbell and Coit Roads, practiced yoga daily. After her retirement in 2010, she continued with her yoga, but added Torah study, something she hadn’t had much time for until then. Over time, the two practices meshed in her mind. She realized that each week, something in the Torah portion made her think of a yoga posture — and the yoga postures began reminding her of bits of Torah.
In the yoga classes she taught in her home, she began discussing these relationships. Her students, most of whom were not religiously observant, began to ask questions, and Hoffman began digging deeper into Torah to seek answers to the questions.
The result — Hoffman’s new book called “Parsha and Yoga.” Each weekly Torah portion has its own brief chapter, with an important explanation of the element of the portion, which includes a simple lesson that is applicable to all of our lives, whether we are Orthodox, Reform or not even Jewish. This is followed by a description of the relevant yoga pose and a sketch to help do the pose properly.
“ ‘Parsha and Yoga’ provides life lessons through the study of the weekly Torah Parsha and yoga,” Hoffman explains. “We develop our soul by becoming the best ‘me’ that we can be using the tools of the mind and the body that were given to us. The physical practice of yoga enhances the way we live with wisdom, insight, discernment, mindfulness and acceptance. At the same time, all phases of human life are represented in Torah. It is a living Torah, relevant today to our lives and relationships, as much as it was when given at Mount Sinai. Torah is the foundation of ethics and morals for most cultures in the world.
Hoffman continues to say that “the concentration needed to do the yoga poses and the adaptability of each pose to the level of the student led me to a connection of yoga to the Torah. Just as we understand Torah at the level of learning we have reached, so we can practice our yoga at the level of flexibility and strength of our body.” Many commentaries are timeless; however, they can also feel remote from our lives. Hoffman wanted to depict the living Torah. Unlike other books about Parsha and yoga, this one does not delve into yoga’s philosophical aspects. The yoga poses are used as kinesthetic enhancements of the Torah lessons.
Kinesthetic learners, in particular — those people for whom movement and memory are aligned — will enjoy this book and will find their understanding of the weekly Torah portion strengthened. Other learners will also enjoy the book. The clarity of the Torah commentaries and the relevance of their lessons make this a book to reach for to every week, and the addition of the yoga poses helps us remember the lessons long after the book has been closed.
“Parsha and Yoga” is available from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. A weekly blog www.parshaandyoga.com, is available.