Parshat Lech Lecha Warring Kings: A (K)night of Chess and Checkers

Last night we hosted a packed house as children and adults alike battled it out on the chess and checkers boards. It was certainly a KNIGHT to remember as each person CHECKED in and found a MATE to play with. Nobody was BOARD as parents played with their children, friends played against each other, and parents were able to play against other parents.
Even more impressive than the turnout was the great middot that were displayed by all as everyone played with good sportsmanship and shook hands as they finished. Throughout the hall, many people shared their excitement for this event and requested to have more game nights. Another game night is certainly going to be in the works in the future.

Last but not least, Ben Yehuda supplied us with pizza for this event. Everyone came hungry, and left with smiles on their faces. Thank you to everyone who came out and made this night so special, and we look forward to seeing you at Dor L'Dor starting next week which will take place every other week for the next several weeks. Our next YISE Youth event will be the Chanukah carnival on December 18th.

Shaimos or Shame On Us: Are we throwing out things that we should be burying

Our "Shaimos or Shame on Us: Are we throwing out things that we should be burying" event was a true learning experience. Ice cream aside, Rabbi Rosenbaum spoke about the different types of shaimos that we might encounter, and we set up multiple piles for the different classifications.

All in all, we went through about 15 boxes full of shaimos and separated out the items. Among the items were quite a treasure trove of interesting items, including a full bag of  siddurim for the US Armed forces, tallitot, bentchers from many smachot over the past 3 decades, and more.

YISE Youth Hockey Night!

YISE Youth most definitely rocked the red as we took over our section in the Verizon Center. In addition to having a great view of the entire arena, every person in our group also got a great Washington Capitals red t-shirt to take home.

With the Capitals in first place in the entire NHL and on pace to have the best record in the history of the game, it was truly a treat to watch a team with 4 all star players take the home ice. From the drop of the puck, the Capitals were skating fiercely and went up 2-0 pretty quickly. After Ottawa got a goal to bring the score to 2-1, the Caps did not let up again. The next 5 goals were scored by the Capitals in a 7-1 blow out win!

Not only did this make for a ton of action in a sport that is not known for its high scores, but we got to witness history. Alex Ovechkin became the 6th fastest player in the history of the NHL to score 500 goals! This was a tremendous milestone, and the game was stopped as fans threw their hats onto the ice, the Capitals emptied their bench to congratulate Ovi, and both teams paid their respect to him by tapping their sticks on the ice. Large signs flashed with Alex Ovechkin and 500 goals sprawled across the jumbotron.

All in all, this was a wonderful shul event that was well attended! We look forward to seeing everyone out for our Shaimos or Shame On Us event in February and our joint YISE and KMS Purim Carnival which will be hosted this year by Shomrai on March 20th.

Brett