Spotlight on Yosef Lehrfield (FYHS '05)

Graduating Year: 2005

Current Location: Maaleh Adumim

Profession: Senior Product Manager at a Hi-Tech company and also spending many days proudly serving in Miluim for the IDF 

Tell us a little bit about your family:  Married with 4 kids

What is your favorite memory/(memories) from FYHS/HTC/Kayitz:

I have a great memory of once leaving Rabbi Segal's class in the middle of shiur with Josh 

Gottesman and Yity Matanky to go to Wisconsin to get A&W root beer from the store there. We made it back in time! Seriously though, the best memories were the friendships and bonds I made. Every time I speak to someone from Skokie Yeshiva, we feel a bond, and I am proud to have gone there. It always takes me back when speaking to guys from there.

I also loved doing the Purim shpiel my senior year.

Rabbi Kamenetzky told us Freshman year that the reason we don't love gemara was that we weren't good at it, and he was right. I now learn gemara daily. I learned how to learn Gemara and now I enjoy it. 

Rabbi Weiss's shiur was a special connection, and I remember the shiurim at his house in the summer. He served red cherry balls. Rabbi Twersky was also great but scared me a lot.

I also had a good connection with the people in the post-college program. Whenever I go back to Chicago, I love taking my kids to see it. I loved the basketball team and still have my jersey from intramural softball.

Once a year, my great uncle, who was the Rosh Yeshiva of Beis Yisroel, would come and everyone would be surprised we were related. It taught us where the future can take you, either a top Rosh Yeshiva or something in the secular world. Even guys from my class have gone on different paths and still care about Torah. 

Please share a lesson/takeaway from your time at FYHS/HTC/Kayitz:

Combining parnasah and Torah. Skokie taught us how to balance both.

Advice for current students:

Take advantage of every moment. Time goes by quickly. I should have gotten closer with my rebbeim. You don't get those moments forever. I wish I could have done more, but don't live with regret.