Following a Passion for Sports to IsraelIn Israel, a new five month scholarship program being offered to young aspiring athletes – one of them could be you.
Shalhevet Schwartz, a 14 year old girl from Riverdale, Bronx, won her division of the National Bible Contest held last Sunday at Yeshiva University in Manhattan. To the surprise of some commentators, she did not opt to wear the standard “religious” dress to the event, which would include a skirt, but was one of just two girls to wear pants to the competition, according to a report in the New York Times.
Despite this distinction, the freshman at SAR High School exhibited sufficient bible knowledge to win, and be eligible to participate in the world championships in Jerusalem, the “Chidon HaTanach”, held every year on Israel’s Independence Day.
According to the NYT, Shalhevet’s school requires a traditional Jewish dress code of skirts and modest shirtsleeves. But Shalhevet, who won the Hebrew division competition despite her eligibility to compete in English, chose to arrive in her regular street clothes.
Her secret of success was to study regularly – at least 20-30 minutes every day, and for longer periods immediately prior to the contest.
Middle-schooler Yishai Eisenberg from Passaic, NJ, earned this year’s only perfect score.
About the Author: Malkah Fleisher is a graduate of Cardozo Law School in New York City. She is an editor/staff writer at JewishPress.com and co-hosts a weekly Israeli FM radio show. Malkah lives with her husband and two children on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.


You must log in to post a comment.


There are only about 5000 Jews in the Greater Oklahoma City area, but the Chabad of Oklahoma City is working around the clock to provide assistance tp anyone in need.
Israel’s Waze user-run navigation service easily beat out Google’s app Tuesday night when the Israel Electric Corp. closed down the high-speed Ayalon Highway that runs through Tel Aviv. Drivers using the Google app, which uses Android devices that broadcast information of traffic, found themselves being directed to the Ayalon even though it was closed, the [...]

Israel is uncovering terror cells in Judea and Samaria at an alarming rate. This time, a Hamas cell was nabbed before it could murder an Israeli. The Palestinian Authority’s silence speaks loudly.

The man who solicited government proclamations for naming May 19 “Palestinian American Day” had publicly expressed outrage over the NYPD surveillance of Muslims. No one even noticed he was a convicted felon.
Kerry has done a lot in three months. He has won the distrust of Abbas. He has personally upbraided Israeli Ambassador Oren. Why is he coming to town this week? Maybe he booked the wrong plane.
Co-Founder and the Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh Rabbi Joshua Fass, a Yeshiva University alumnus, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary doctorate at YU’s 82nd Commencement Ceremony, Thursday, May 30, at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. YU President Richard M. Joel will also confer honorary doctorates upon entrepreneur Tony B. [...]
Discrimination against Jews and Muslims is on the rise around the world, according to the annual U.S. State Dept. report for 2012. The report points to growing antisemitism, especially in Venezuela, Egypt and Iran. The BBC noted that the International Religious Freedom Report noted that in Egypt, antisemitic sentiment in the media sometimes included Holocaust [...]
They’re avoiding the appearance of taking sides.
The mission was originally supposed to arrive in Jerusalem on Monday.
On Monday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, participated in a Congressional hearing which examined the issue of Jacob Ostreicher’s illegal detention. Mr. Ostreicher, a constituent of Rep. Nadler’s from Brooklyn, has been detained in Bolivia for nearly two years. Rep. Nadler has previously [...]
The patrol shot back and hit the source of the fire.
Lapid is beginning to smell like a rose thanks to Haredi tycoons. He is taking yeshivas off the government dole and balancing the budget. How will yeshivas survive? The tycoons have an answer – money.
The Palestinian Authority is supposedly on top of terror. So why did the IDF have to raid a wanted terrorist’s home in Samaria and confiscate hundreds of bullets, guns, knives and IDF uniforms?
Israeli soldiers returned fire on Syrian territory after another incident of gunfire on a military area in the Golan Heights Monday night. No one was injured, and there was no damage to property. Military spokesmen said that the soldiers’ fire on the source of the attack” hit the target,” but they did not provide any [...]
This young Jewish man from the Jewish outpost of Mitzpe Yitzhar in Judea and Samaria, has been practicing swinging his slingshot, in the manner of the original Jewish sling shooter, the young David son of Jesse. I’ve always been bothered by images of young Arabs swinging their slingshots at IDF soldiers – it’s about time [...]
Assad’s regime scrapes the bottom of the barrel for propaganda. It displays an old IDF jeep as “proof” Israel is aiding the rebels – but it is more likely that the jeep was in the hands of Hezbollah.

A green bell pepper affectionately dubbed “Godzilla” by the children of Moshav Ein Yahav in the northern Arava desert has won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Though the permissibility of watching hired sports players go to battle in a large stadium is a source of controversy amongst Torah observant Jews, the food being served at the upcoming Super Bowl games in New Orleans is not.
Rabbi Yitzchok Moully, youth director at the Chabad Jewish Center in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, will be introducing a new art installation in honor of Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish New Year of Trees, inspired by the destruction of Hurricane Sandy.
More than 2,000 people have made contributions in memory of the young victims of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut to plant a grove of trees in Israel.
Shoshana Hebshi, a half-Jewish, half-Arab woman from Ohio is suing Frontier Airlines, the FBI, TSA and other governmental agencies after she says she was forced off a flight, strip-searched, and imprisoned on the tenth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks.
Women may enter military combat in the United States, following the lift of a military ban on women in combat by defense secretary Leon Panetta.
The Jewish National Fund will reconsider a plan to forest parts of the Arava desert, following the request of environmental organizations to consider the impact of trying to alter the native ecosystem.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Israel and western countries not to attempt to stop Iran’s nuclear program through military means.
Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/bronx-girl-wins-national-bible-contest-passaic-boy-scores-perfect/2012/05/14/
Scan this QR code to visit this page online: