2008 Woodie Awards
Saying Goodbye When You Don't Want To: Some Parting Thoughts ...
Menachem Butler
Issue date: 5/16/05 Section: YUdaica
- Page 1 of 1
Hadran Alach YUdaica...
This final issue of The Commentator marks the conclusion of YUdaica. Aside from my regular studies (OK, so I don't study that much), this past year was one of pestering alumni, faculty and friends of Yeshiva to write articles in honor of the seventy-fifth anniversary of Yeshiva College. I have learned a great deal from my experience as editor of the YUdaica section, albeit in a non-academic way. Aside from Yeshiva College historiography, I gained insight into the etiquette, proper protocol and sensitivities when dealing with the "big boys" of the "real world." Each email that I sent to the hundreds of potential writers needed to be written perfectly and well articulated, or at least close to it. A recent count of "YC @ 75" emails in my Hotmail account underscores this point. Sadly though, having received thousands of emails, I could not keep all of them.
As it seems appropriate, I'll give a brief history of YUdaica. Sometime during June 2004, The Commentator's incoming editor-in-chief, Zev Nagel, asked me if I would like to serve as an editor of a section dedicated to the history of Yeshiva College, in honor of its seventy-fifth anniversary. Perhaps because I saw this as a challenge worth taking, or more likely because I didn't realize how much work such a task would entail, I agreed. For the better part of the summer, and the ensuing year, I corresponded with members of the extended Yeshiva family and asked them to write about their experiences for the newspaper. For the historian of the future generation who wishes to get to the root of the name "YUdaica" - Zev chose the name - it is an obvious play on Judaica. When YUdaica was born early last summer, we never imagined we would have enough submissions to carry us until the year's end.
After all of the YUdaica-packed issues of The Commentator - featuring over seventy-five profiles of life at Yeshiva College spanning the past seventy-five years since inception, by alumni, faculty, and friends - I have the supreme hakarat hatov for all of the authors who took from their busy schedules to contribute to the section. YUdaica would have been impossible without their enthusiasm and excitement in joining the project. And on top of it all, they all withstood the torrent of my incessant emails, when we regularly asked for revised story boards and submission dates. (Subsequently, Zev has petitioned the Supreme Court to revoke my emailing privileges for life).
The distant journey to bring in Yeshiva College voices from far and wide also served to connect me even deeper with those who remain intertwined with Yeshiva on a daily basis. My Jewish History teachers, Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill, Rabbi Shalom Carmy, and Dr. Jeffrey S. Gurock, were each able to provide clarity to many confusing episodes in Yeshiva's history (both ideological and historical); all three helped and gave their moral support to the YUdaica project throughout the entire year. A rare and golden joy for anyone interested in Yeshiva's history is our own Mr. Sam Hartstein, who has been affiliated with Yeshiva for more than sixty years - many years as its director of public relations. As the "unofficial consultant for YUdaica," Sam allowed me to pick his brain on many occasions and taught me so much about Yeshiva's history. He proved to be an immeasurable resource for the YUdaica series. I will forever treasure those weekly twenty minute conversations about Yeshiva's history. Too bad I didn't record them...
From our YUdaica contributions, I gained such a valuable understanding of the diverse puzzle pieces that assemble into the seventy-five year Yeshiva College experience. Reading through the submissions of the over seventy contributors made me realize that this project would forever be at the core of my own Yeshiva memories. More than ever, as I write this last goodbye, I begin to see how this past year will become my Yeshiva College story.
Recently, while sitting in The Commentator office surrounded by the various editors and all of the guys who make the paper happen, I was emotionally struck by our camaraderie. Throughout this year, we all spent many hours together - some quite tense - at all hours of the day and night, confined to a room on the third floor of the Schottenstein Cultural Center, regularly with nothing more than a bucket of chicken wings from Kosher Delight or schwarma from Golan Heights, and amazingly, we were able to pull off twelve amazing issues of The Commentator. I have been so fortunate to work with an amazing group of guys and, though in a highly stressed and tension-filled environment, no one managed to hurt me - or at least with no lasting scars to show. The experience of serving as a "Commentator Man," as we have been known throughout much of Yeshiva's seventy-five year history, was an amazing opportunity and one which I will cherish forever. Though I still have one year left to college, YUdaica will undeniably rank as one of the highlights of my Yeshiva College experience. I constantly thank Zev, perhaps too often, for granting me this great honor and teaching me the "Art of Commentating" this past year. Though I will be the SOY President during the coming year, it is my hope that Ari Fridman - the incoming Editor-in-Chief, with whom I have a wonderful working relationship - will allow me to remain connected, albeit peripherally, with The Commentator and permit me to write articles, perhaps even a regular column (hint...).
Throughout the year, and especially as this year comes to a close, I have been asked by my friends if I've had any regrets with the YUdaica section or how I spent this past year? I won't answer that. But I can undoubtedly say that this past year, and all the lessons I've learned and people I've met in putting together YUdaica, will remain as the defining point of my Yeshiva College experience.
Thank you all for being such a dedicated group of readers and criticizing me when reasonable. I shall conclude this article, as Dr. Alvin Schiff concluded his recent YUdaica piece: "Like so many things in life, there is no logical ending to these comments - so, I'll end off here."
...V'Hadrach Alan
This final issue of The Commentator marks the conclusion of YUdaica. Aside from my regular studies (OK, so I don't study that much), this past year was one of pestering alumni, faculty and friends of Yeshiva to write articles in honor of the seventy-fifth anniversary of Yeshiva College. I have learned a great deal from my experience as editor of the YUdaica section, albeit in a non-academic way. Aside from Yeshiva College historiography, I gained insight into the etiquette, proper protocol and sensitivities when dealing with the "big boys" of the "real world." Each email that I sent to the hundreds of potential writers needed to be written perfectly and well articulated, or at least close to it. A recent count of "YC @ 75" emails in my Hotmail account underscores this point. Sadly though, having received thousands of emails, I could not keep all of them.
As it seems appropriate, I'll give a brief history of YUdaica. Sometime during June 2004, The Commentator's incoming editor-in-chief, Zev Nagel, asked me if I would like to serve as an editor of a section dedicated to the history of Yeshiva College, in honor of its seventy-fifth anniversary. Perhaps because I saw this as a challenge worth taking, or more likely because I didn't realize how much work such a task would entail, I agreed. For the better part of the summer, and the ensuing year, I corresponded with members of the extended Yeshiva family and asked them to write about their experiences for the newspaper. For the historian of the future generation who wishes to get to the root of the name "YUdaica" - Zev chose the name - it is an obvious play on Judaica. When YUdaica was born early last summer, we never imagined we would have enough submissions to carry us until the year's end.
After all of the YUdaica-packed issues of The Commentator - featuring over seventy-five profiles of life at Yeshiva College spanning the past seventy-five years since inception, by alumni, faculty, and friends - I have the supreme hakarat hatov for all of the authors who took from their busy schedules to contribute to the section. YUdaica would have been impossible without their enthusiasm and excitement in joining the project. And on top of it all, they all withstood the torrent of my incessant emails, when we regularly asked for revised story boards and submission dates. (Subsequently, Zev has petitioned the Supreme Court to revoke my emailing privileges for life).
The distant journey to bring in Yeshiva College voices from far and wide also served to connect me even deeper with those who remain intertwined with Yeshiva on a daily basis. My Jewish History teachers, Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill, Rabbi Shalom Carmy, and Dr. Jeffrey S. Gurock, were each able to provide clarity to many confusing episodes in Yeshiva's history (both ideological and historical); all three helped and gave their moral support to the YUdaica project throughout the entire year. A rare and golden joy for anyone interested in Yeshiva's history is our own Mr. Sam Hartstein, who has been affiliated with Yeshiva for more than sixty years - many years as its director of public relations. As the "unofficial consultant for YUdaica," Sam allowed me to pick his brain on many occasions and taught me so much about Yeshiva's history. He proved to be an immeasurable resource for the YUdaica series. I will forever treasure those weekly twenty minute conversations about Yeshiva's history. Too bad I didn't record them...
From our YUdaica contributions, I gained such a valuable understanding of the diverse puzzle pieces that assemble into the seventy-five year Yeshiva College experience. Reading through the submissions of the over seventy contributors made me realize that this project would forever be at the core of my own Yeshiva memories. More than ever, as I write this last goodbye, I begin to see how this past year will become my Yeshiva College story.
Recently, while sitting in The Commentator office surrounded by the various editors and all of the guys who make the paper happen, I was emotionally struck by our camaraderie. Throughout this year, we all spent many hours together - some quite tense - at all hours of the day and night, confined to a room on the third floor of the Schottenstein Cultural Center, regularly with nothing more than a bucket of chicken wings from Kosher Delight or schwarma from Golan Heights, and amazingly, we were able to pull off twelve amazing issues of The Commentator. I have been so fortunate to work with an amazing group of guys and, though in a highly stressed and tension-filled environment, no one managed to hurt me - or at least with no lasting scars to show. The experience of serving as a "Commentator Man," as we have been known throughout much of Yeshiva's seventy-five year history, was an amazing opportunity and one which I will cherish forever. Though I still have one year left to college, YUdaica will undeniably rank as one of the highlights of my Yeshiva College experience. I constantly thank Zev, perhaps too often, for granting me this great honor and teaching me the "Art of Commentating" this past year. Though I will be the SOY President during the coming year, it is my hope that Ari Fridman - the incoming Editor-in-Chief, with whom I have a wonderful working relationship - will allow me to remain connected, albeit peripherally, with The Commentator and permit me to write articles, perhaps even a regular column (hint...).
Throughout the year, and especially as this year comes to a close, I have been asked by my friends if I've had any regrets with the YUdaica section or how I spent this past year? I won't answer that. But I can undoubtedly say that this past year, and all the lessons I've learned and people I've met in putting together YUdaica, will remain as the defining point of my Yeshiva College experience.
Thank you all for being such a dedicated group of readers and criticizing me when reasonable. I shall conclude this article, as Dr. Alvin Schiff concluded his recent YUdaica piece: "Like so many things in life, there is no logical ending to these comments - so, I'll end off here."
...V'Hadrach Alan