On Wednesday, April 21, the Yeshiva of Central Queens had its second Torah Bowl competition of the year. Torah Bowl is a competition where several yeshivah teams study two or three parshiyos with their respective “Rashis” and compete against other yeshivos.
For this competition, the team members had to study the parshiyos of Pinchas, Matos, and Mas’ei with their perspective Rashis. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of canceling this year’s competitions, the meet was held online using Zoom and hosted by Rabbi Wolofsky, the founder and director of Torah Bowl. With an online buzzing system, all the schools were able to play as if we were in person. Rabbi Wolofsy put up a question on the screen and whoever knew the answer would buzz in to answer. YCQ competed against HALB, Ben Porat Yosef (BPY), and Moriah. YCQ took the lead early and ended with an astonishing 50 points, being the first place in their division.
Despite the challenges and difficulties of having competitions virtually, YCQ still succeeded! With the commitment and dedication of the team’s coach, Shoshana Rosenblum, and all of the hard work from the students, YCQ made it to the championship round. This is YCQ’s third consecutive year that they got into the championships. Elmira Kohen, an eighth-grader, said, “Being first place in our division and making it to the championship round is amazing. I felt that all of the studying, time, and effort that I put into this meet have paid off.” All in all, this was an amazing game, and the team is confident that with continued preparation, they can reach their goals in the championship round.
Sarah Owadeyah, an eighth-grader, said, “After studying many parshiyos along with all of their Rashis, winning the meet felt amazing! After winning, I felt that all of our studying paid off. It encourages us to start learning the next set of parshiyos for the championships!”
By Channah Owadeyah
