Acts of valor, even those from long ago, still inspire today

Avery Lubin, an 8th grader at North Shore Academy Middle School was chosen as the second place winner in our First Annual Youth Writing Contest. His personal reflection on the life lessons of the Jewish partisans can be found below

Although it is hard to put myself in the position of those who lived through the Shoah, I can reflect upon their heroic deeds and try to incorporate their lessons into my life.  

Picture above is Jewish partisan Abba Kovner, who inspired Avery's winning essay.

Many people bemoan the apathy of today’s youth, viewing them as self-centered and disinterested in the world at large. The youth of Iran’s recent protests contradict that view. Their actions, as well as those of the heroic youth of the resistance movement, are praiseworthy. Liberty and freedom must be preserved at all and any cost. Acts of valor, even those from long ago, still inspire today. 

Winning essayist Avery Lubin with educator Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin