Mandel Bloomfield Aza #121

"'Fools!' said I, 'you do not know,
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.'
But my words like silent raindrops fell...
And echoed in the wells of silence."
- Paul Simon

        I am truly sorry about the lateness of this month's release, but as many of you know, I have been fairly sick for the past week, so please forgive me just this one time. Anyway, the other day a friend asked me how to give a hand-job (no, it wasn't who most of you guys are thinking of), and it dawned upon me that there are more ways than one to accomplish the goal of performing this act, just as there are more than one way of accomplishing certain goals of our chapter. There is always the traditional way, which is often the easiest, but may not get the best results for our chapter (or in the case of our little analogy, may not feel the best). Then there are the more non-traditional ways of doing things that, although they may be harder (no pun intended), will benefit the chapter better in the long run.
        John F. Kennedy once said, "Some men see things as they are and ask why, I dream of things that never were and ask why not." I see this as one of the morals of my term as Mandel Bloomfield AZA #121's Aleph Godol (you knew it was coming - not in that way Jeremy) and should be one of the morals of our whole 1999-2000 Chapter Executive Board. We must try and take things that are not functioning or are not in the character of the Aleph Zadik Aleph or Mandel Bloomfield, and try to change them to better suit the ideals of this chapter and the AZA as a whole. Through watching past boards, the problem that I have noticed is a lack of cooperation, a lack of unity, and a lack of implementation. And why is this? The answers that I hear most given are "it's not tradition" (in reference to modification) or "that's not the way we do it in our region" (in reference to my proposed AIT policies). My brother Alephs, if we are to change with the times, then petty traditions must also change with the times. I am not referring to things like the Five Folds, the Seven Cardinal Principles, or "Up, You Men." I am talking about changing to six-month terms; I am talking about programming groups, about a new AIT program, and the halting of certain AIT hazing, among other things. It is my feeling that the reluctance to change is extremely detrimental to this chapter. So please, my Brother Alephs, read, listen, and think about what I have to say and form your own opinions, do not conform to those of your friends, because these changes are not just for the present, but are for you in the future. And please, especially you AIT's (soon to be First-Year Alephs), speak up if you have a concern, or give me a call (I am still lonely), and I will make sure that your concern or request will be granted an open an ear. Remember that silence is like a cancer, and it is always the silence of onlookers that allows the oppressor to oppress.
        Ok, now that that's over with, I want to thank you all who made the September programming month one of the best. Our attendance was through the roof and I can't wait for programs to start in this month. I would like to congratulate Noam Katz for winning the ping-pong tournament, and thank him very much for donating the proceeds back to the chapter that we all love so much. I would also like to congratulate my cousin Jared Paull for beating me in the first round (bastard) and ending my hopes of being chapter ping-pong champion. We all love Gary very much (don't get any ideas birthday boy) for letting us use his house for the tournament (actually, I think that we should be thanking Joyce), either way it was a great program and we are indebted to all of the Galantes for their help. That was another very well attended program (23 guys) and it was great that everybody had something to do (some more than others, thanks to Leeam). Also, the AIT Training Session went very well, Gary worked really hard on that program, and he and I worked hard on the Aleph Handbook (so keep it and don't rip it up). It was great that Etai won that watch, he should wear it with pride (even though it was a girl's watch I don't think he cared). It was also finally proven that Jeremy actually does love Gary as he said that Gary is the sexiest Aleph in the order (I'm also impressed with Jeremy's knowledge of other aspects of AZA). I am also very proud of our AIT's handshaking skills. It seems that whenever I shake the hand of one of the Abe C. AIT's (or any of their other Alephs for that matter), I'm holding on to this limp hand (not the limp piece of skin that they would like me to hold on to). But when I shake the hand of one of our Mandel Bloomfield AIT's, I feel a firm grip with their index finger extended straight forward and pressed against my pulse, symbolizing the blood ties that bind all of the Alephs in our chapter. I'm very proud of all you guys and your handshakes, and I want you guys to keep up the good work. I know that you'll blow them all away at MIT/AIT (don't get too excited Greg and Hart).
        Well, enough of last month, let's move on to this one. We have three birthdays that will be celebrated in October: Gary's and Stevie's, on which you should call to with them Happy Birthday, and Katherine's which you can celebrate whichever way pleases you. Gary has written up a mock business meeting and has set up elections for our AIT board which will be coordinating a program for the rest of the chapter. Then, the next day, is MIT/AIT, which I'm sure you guys will all have a great! time at {a (o)(o) $91.25} (just keep Adam away from the MIT's). We have our first potluck Shabbas dinner, which is going to be great, and some basketball practices for Fallboy so we are able to win our tournament. This month we are also starting our FLOOR HOCKEY season, which is going to be wicked. The teams are:

Team 1	Team 2	Team 3	Team 4	Team 5
Jonah	Roni	Adam	Hart	Brian
Marc	Kyle	Noam	Jared	Gary
Stevie	Leeam	Greg	Etai	Kevin
Miklos	Zach	Ron	Jeremy B.	Jonathan
Andre	Eric	Jeremy P.	Steve W.	Nathan
Sasha	Max	Moses	Joah	Darren

Also, get your hockey pool forms in to me as soon as possible and to check out how you are doing go on to http://www.officepools.com. The pool id is mandelbloomfield and the password is mbaza121. Also, your team's stats will be printed and mailed to you every month.
This month we also have our first of what we hope to be monthly bi-chapter programs with girls' chapters. This one is going to be with Dudly and we hope to bring about a mutual understanding between our two chapters (and some of us would hopefully like to bring about more than that). Also, at the end of the month is Fallboy, which I hope all of you can come to because we are going to kick ass with our hockey and basketball teams this year. If you need any hockey equipment or have any questions about the floor hockey season, hockey draft, conventions, my love life, advice, or just want some hot phone sex, don't hesitate to call me at 444-4248 (we all know that my hand-job happy friend didn't).

Fraternally Submitted,
With Undying Love For
Hand-jobs, collecting stool samples,
Chulent, setting up future scoring
Opportunities, my couch, San Francisco
Condoms, AIT handbooks, AIT hand-jobs,
Doing it in the shower, ultrasounds,
Hockey season, #99, the beautiful Alephs of
Mandel Bloomfield AZA #121,
And the handshake that brings us closer together