Riverdale, NY – Orthodox Girl Named Rhodes Scholar Says She Hopes to Inspire Other Jewish Girls

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    File photo- Miriam working at Camp HASCRiverdale, NY – In what may be a first, a 22 year old Orthodox girl from the Bronx was named as one of thirty two American students chosen as Rhodes Scholars for the year 2012.

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    Miriam Rosenbaum, a graduate of Elizabeth, New Jersey’s Bruriah High School and Jerusalem’s Michlalah College for Women is currently enrolled at Princeton University.

    She told VIN News that she was shocked to receive a phone call after Shabbos informing her that she had been awarded the prestigious honor and said that she hoped to inspire other Orthodox young women to strive for great academic achievements.

    Miss Rosenbaum is currently pursuing a degree in Public Policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and hopes to embark on a career in health policy, specifically as an advocate for the elderly and disabled and is no stranger to working with the disabled, having spent several summers working at Camp HASC.

    “I think it is important for Orthodox Jews to be involved in academic institutions and for them to be out in the real world while continuing to be outwardly frum,” Miss Rosenbaum told VIN News.

    Currently Miss Rosenbaum hopes to begin a year-long masters program in bio-ethics next October at Oxford University, the second oldest university in the world and the oldest English speaking university in existence. Miss Rosenbaum’s expenses for the year will be paid for by the Rhodes Trust.

    One of the most coveted awards in the academic world, the Rhodes Scholarship has been described as “the world’s most prestigious scholarship” by both Time Magazine and the Associated Press.

    More than 7,000 scholarships have been awarded since the Rhodes Trust was established in 1902 with applicants between the ages of eighteen and twenty four submitting nine letters of recommendation, an essay and transcripts with demonstrating a high level of academic achievement. Approximately eighty Rhodes Scholars are selected worldwide annually.


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    51 Comments
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    Berel13
    Berel13
    12 years ago

    Wow!!! Mazel tov

    Darth_Zeidah
    Darth_Zeidah
    12 years ago

    This is wonderful news!

    I hope I can speak for all VIN readers when I wish Miriam Rosenbaum a very hearty mazal tov, and I hope her parents get much nachas from Miriam in the future.

    Let us hope that we will hear more good news about Miriam Rosenbaum in the future.

    12 years ago

    Mazal Tov – you are making of all of klal yisrael very proud.

    kvetcher
    kvetcher
    12 years ago

    Mazal Tov!!!!! Wishing you much hatzlacha in all your endeavors.

    12 years ago

    Excellent! Dos is Yiidisha Nachas!

    12 years ago

    What a tremendous kiddush ha-Shem! May Miriam’s parents and Klal Yisrael continue to shep much nachas from her. Kol Ha-Kavod!

    12 years ago

    Mazel tov!

    QueensRep
    QueensRep
    12 years ago

    Mazal Tov Miriam! A huge Kiddush Hashem! Am Yisrael is very proud of you!

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    12 years ago

    As a European born and survivor I agree with all six postings and hopefully there will be a few male candidates. Intellect from Rambam, to Rav Chajes in Vienna achieved the pride and we should continue such good news , I wish her to be matzliach. I earned my knowledge the hard way despite of concentration camp and my father A’H always had respect for a gebildete person, an educated person. Yes it is possible to navigate between Aristoteles and the Rambam even though almost between Scylla and Charibdis

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    12 years ago

    It is a treacherous ride between Scylla and Charybdis, tricky but strong emuna can win and a pride to klal yisroel. The parents must be congratulated for their encouragement

    WiseDude
    WiseDude
    12 years ago

    Excellent and wonderful news. We need more of this in the frum world! Mazel Tov!

    Queenbee
    Queenbee
    12 years ago

    Wow, a Bruriah high school kid! I am so proud of her. I met some Bruriah High school girls a few years ago and was so impressed by them so was excited to read that it’s a Bruriah girl.
    Mazel Tov and wishing her lots of success!!

    CountryYossi
    CountryYossi
    12 years ago

    The Rhodes Scholarships owe their origin to the remarkable vision expressed in the Will of Cecil J. Rhodes. He dreamed of bettering the lot of humankind through the diffusion of leaders motivated to serve their contemporaries, trained in the contemplative life of the mind…

    12 years ago

    Blessed with brains, this young, Jewish Orthodox woman also displays courage and self-assurance in pursuing secular achievement in a present-day social environment where other, similarly gifted women all too often electively underachieve in fear of fashtering their shidduchs. Miriam is to be congratulated as a role model for all young Jewish women. Lucky is the young man who steals her heart !! Mazal tov the the entire Rosenbaum mispachah and to Klal Yisroel represented by Miriam! Miriam – may you continue to rise from chayill to cayill and be a continued source of nachas and inspiration to Am Yisroel.

    enlightened-yid
    enlightened-yid
    12 years ago

    Mazal Tov, another success story of Modern Orthodox communities. Hopefully some day this will inspire educators in non M.O. world to focus more on improving quality of secular education in their yeshivos so they too open paths and opportunities for their people.

    harryw
    Member
    harryw
    12 years ago

    May I ask please ? But don’t get affended. Why is this yidish nachas as some have labled it or a big kidish hashem as others tried to portray it. To me, this is secular nachas and a personal joy but in no way related to yidish nachas, sorry to share my opinion with you guys but that’s what it is.

    And to those who jump out of their skin when someone jewish achieves a secular milestone. They use the opportunity to bash the orthodox community for being deprived of a secular education. Guess what, the success rate amongst chasidim is higher then of the modern orthodox community. That’s a fact that will leave you scratching your head.

    RachelJD
    RachelJD
    12 years ago

    Good Heavens, a young frum woman achieves a prestigious honor and there are those who criticize this because it is a secular and not a yiddish nachas. PLEASE stop this ridiculous in-fighting. If you do not want to let your children learn or excel at secular subjects that is your fundamental right and leave others alone to exercise their fundamental right to control the upbringing and education of their children.

    Babishka
    Member
    Babishka
    12 years ago

    Wow, mazal tov to this young lady and her parents and family should be very proud of her accomplishment!

    My daughter, a fine Hasidishe woman is in graduate school at Columbia University. She really wanted to go to medical school but felt that she could not accomplish that and also raise a large family. However she is in the field of medicine.

    SherryTheNoahide
    SherryTheNoahide
    12 years ago

    Wow! Good for her! This is wonderful news! Her parents must be so proud!

    (:-D

    12 years ago

    The shliach in Oxford is great. She’ll have a strong Jewish social & religious life. And FYI my husband & I are graduates, with degrees & my husband has a VERY prestigious & specialized career B”H. I have my own business. We have raised a frum, Chassidishe family & made beautiful shidduchim with “chosheve” families (whatever that means) despite our secular education.

    Gee. Imagine that. Frum AND educated. A shanda, no? Miriam is to be congratulated for her commitment to education AND to her faith.

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    12 years ago

    You are right don’t go to college instead slouch off the socialistic leftist Hussein Obama programs like section 8, food stamps and all other federal assistance. My father davened in Vienna in the Belzer Klaus in the Lilienbrunngrasse and most Belzer chasidim were in business and some did very well here inn N.Y.on 47th street. Rashi had a vineyard, the Rambam was a doctor and then lo and behold there was R” Yochanan h’sandler. It is not torah observance but lazy schnorrer type mentality. In college you must achievde grades, must submit turn papers and you have mid-semester tests none of this exist in the Yeshiva. Yes after concentration camp with my wife’s encouragement I went to college, my average 3.5. Shame on you who belittle education and rather be schnorrers

    ellymiller
    ellymiller
    12 years ago

    that is amazing. this is the 3rd rhodes scholar to come out of an Elizabeth Yeshiva. #1 daniel kurtzer attended the JEC mesivta high school and went on to become US ambassador to israel
    #2 Chaim Strauchler attended the JEC mesivta high school and now works as a rav in canada
    #3 miriam rosenbaum from bruriah

    all of these schools are under the leadership of Rav E.M. Teitz

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    12 years ago

    The Rambam was fluent in Arabic and Greek and read Aristoteles

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    12 years ago

    Rav Hutner A’H had a college degree

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    12 years ago

    yes in psychology and financial services since computers now generate most stock sales but no in the sciences whether medical or mechanical

    FredE
    FredE
    12 years ago

    This whole thread about whose religion flavor is best… Charedi or Chasidish or MO is beside the point, and a bit immature. The point should be that everyone who possibly can should get college educated. You dont have to call yourself Modern Orthodox to get educated.

    I wrote a post the other day that explained Rav Ahron Soloveitchik ZL’s view on secular/academic accomplishments, and it seems to have been lost. His view was that every secular accomplishment is but a magnifier of one’s Torah and Yirat Shamayim. But you need the underlying Torah and Yirat Shamayim to begin with
    or you have nothing. And the corollary is that if you only have that, and forego serious secular education, you are discarding real potential, and that is a waste.