BH
Sivan 22, 5773 / May 31, 2013
Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District Candle-Lighting: 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org 8:07
produced by Rabbi Mendel & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY
maimonidesschool@gmail.com
Shabbos Ends:
9:18
This newsletter is sponsored in memory of the beloved brothers לעילוי נשמות האחים הנאהבים בחייהם ובמותם לא נפרדו
Dr. Jonathan O’Brien (Sivan 22) Dr. Jerry O’Brien (Sivan 19) whose Yartzeits were celebrated jointly this year, according to the opinion that calculates the first Yartzeit from the date of the Funeral. May their memory be a blessing.
GOODBYE TO MORAH EVE VISITING KNEZNEK GRAVESITE The weather wasn’t great, but the trip was perfect! HS girls enjoyed their year-end trip to Cape Cod with Rabbi Yossi & Leyee (thanks to all pizza-buyers for supporting their extracurricular activities). They stopped on their drive east in Everett MA to say Mishna and Tehillim at Eva Kneznek’s gravesite (her parents gravestones are the large ones visible in the photo, hers is a headstone to the right). See page 2 for more photos of their trip!
SINGING AT BEVERWYCK Morah Leah / Mrs. Lynn Gross’ lively singing troupe went again to Beverwyck this Thursday to sing Yiddish, Hebrew and English songs for the senior residents there. Keep up the spirit!
MAZAL TOV TO MAX BENSON on his Bar-Mitzvah on Thurs at Beth Tephilah in Troy, led by Rabbi Simon, Max read Torah and led services very nicely. Mazal Tov to his parents, grandfather Stu Cohen, brother Zack, uncle Phil Cohen (who attended Maimonides) and Leah Cohen, Debbie Costa and family!
TALMUD IN WAR HORSE?
Indeed, 6th graders found a great connection: In the book, a German and a Welsh found a SHADOW ART horse and have an argument about who gets to Ms. Livingston helps keep it. This mirrors a Mishna they learned Mendel design his with Rabbi Shmuly at the very start of Bava shadow art pieces, to Metziah, “Shnayim Ochazin b’Tallis” (to get a be used another day taste of a different Gemorah style at the end of outside to see how the year) but now they know what the War light and objects Horse book did not: Dividing the object does create shadows - art not mean to split it down the middle but to and science together! divide its value equally!
9/11 AFRICAN MINYAN GUEST Mr. Y. Glazer of NY (born in S. Africa, raised in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia) davened at Shomray Torah early this week on way back from his late mother’s gravestone unveiling in Toronto. He spoke of his mother’s resilience, positive attitude and sense of calm & purpose even in challenging, tragic circumstances such as a business crisis and the passing of her youngest son in the plane that hit the WTC on 9/11. It was inspiring to hear him speak, and he also left a nice donation for our school in appreciation of the local community.
Eve Cameron, our beloved dance teacher, is moving to Brooklyn. (Pictured above she is sharing the news with Morah Rochel and her eager dance students). We will miss her so much at Maimonides! Their final dance performance is on Moving-Up Day…
MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208
HIGH SCHOOL YEAR-END WEEKEND TRIP TO CAPE COD These girls had so much to say about their trip and took so many pictures, we’ll try to get as much of it in these 2 MC columns as we can! Rabbi Yossi & Leyee took the HS girls on a great Memorial Day weekend trip (6:30am Friday thru 9:45pm Mon) to Cape Cod. As pictured on page 1, they first stopped off at Kneznek’s gravesite northwest of Boston, then when arriving at the Cape visited the Plimoth (not a typo!) Plantation to learn of the area’s early history. Native American descendants of Wampanoag tribes dressed up as their ancestors did, doing stitching, cooking on an open-fire, our girls asked all kinds of questions. They were greeted by an Elder named Greenwater (aka Shirley). She was funny & blunt, enjoyed our unusual names, said she knew someone nicknamed Mushky! Another section of the historic Plimoth Plantation had English settlers (actors in period dress, of course) dating back to 1600’s. The houses were old-fashioned hut-like, (straw roofs, dirt floors, low ceilings) with a ramshackle Shtetl feel. (It seemed to our students that the Indians were more natural in their roles). They walked thru the Cape Cod Chip Factory (many products Kosher certified) and enjoyed some free chips. Shabbos was at the Chabad in Hyannis, with the Alperowitz Family, as the first guests of their summer tourist busy season! Mrs. Alperowitz At an inlet on Martha’s Vineyard, under is Mrs. Volvik’s sister - they look so alike! Friday cloudy skies but warm weather w/breeze Night they ate their own meal (that they brought along) and on Shabbos Day at the Shul Kiddush, Mushky shared the 100 year old seashore story from 1913 (Sefer Mamorim Kuntreisim 3, page 45) after the meal at Chabad they walked to the beach, it was stunning… They came back for ShaloshSeudos with 2 sisters, and after Shabbos enjoyed refreshing 49 cent Slurpies at the 7-11, and a late night Farbrengen with Morah Leyee until 3am! No MHDS written in the sand at the beach… time for sleep, because Sunday they took an early (longer, cheaper 45 minute) ferry ride to Martha’s Vineyard. After arrival, they went on the oldest carousel in the United States. It had a metal ring dispenser and if you caught a brass ring, you got a free ride, and Raizel got At the JFK Memorial in Cape Cod Tour (and taste!) of the it twice in a row! They CapeCod Chip Factory realized that Martha’s Vineyard had no traffic lights! A store owner explained because it costs a lot to bring cars over to the (100 square-mile) island. They enjoyed walking narrow streets, going into small tourist shops, and seeing cottage houses each uniquely decorated, painted like doll houses. They rented bikes and rode 12 miles on a bike path near the water and a main road & Sitting at the breezy docks took breaks to enjoy the beautiful scenery and have a beachside BBQ in a disposable grill. We applied the halacha that we learned this year about washing for bread. On the bike path, one girl found a wallet on the ground so she brought it to the police station. After biking, so tired and sore, they got the last 3 available rooms at International Inn! Cottage Houses On Monday they went to a Military Memorial service, visited the JFK Memorial and had a scenic tour of a lighthouse. They bought supper at the local Stop ‘n Shop (has a Kosher setup somewhat similar to Price Chopper Colonie) and started the traffic drive back home. To entertain themselves and others they wrote jokes and put The Sandy Beach them up to the window for other cars, some responded very happily!
K-1 TRIP TO KINGSTON NY They had a blast! Rabbi Yitzchak Hecht drove them down, and Mr. Butch drove them back. They loved the “Samech” circle (a big rotary) entering Kingston. It was fun feeding the animals at the rescue Zoo, peacocks, peahens, wild turkeys, ducks, vultures and ravens, and a cow. They named a goat with a long beard the “Rabbi Goat.” After enjoying the zoo they played in the adjacent wooden park and then had lunch just up the street in the spacious gazebo behind the Agudas Achim synagogue. Mrs. L. Carroll bought them bubbles and ball-caps, what a special treat!
A WINNING SPELLING WORD Guess what the winning word was for this year’s National Spelling Bee? Knaidel! That’s right, like a Matzah-ball that swims in soup…
GOOGLE GLASS’ LOCAL TWIST Many have seen online the innovative “Google Glass Tefillin Stand” by Chabad at Stanford University, where students could put on Tefillin and see the blessings and prayer using the cutting-edge close-to-market Google glass (es) technology. Interestingly, this was made possible by a recent graduate from RPI working out west for a major hi-tech firm, and his friend a graduate of UAlbany who was very active and in the leadership at Shabbos House and Hillel on campus! Small world…
NURSERY CHALLAH MITZVAH Nursery students shaped and baked their own Challah this week, because the Mitzvah of separating & giving away a portion of the Challah (then it was to the Kohain) is in this week’s Parsha of Shlach. It smelled delicious!
TORAHPALACE.COM GAME It’s up after Shavuos, take a few minutes to test your knowledge using this online game (made by Reb Leibel in Troy) and hopefully qualify for some prizes! The Shavuos game will be up until Rosh Chodesh Tammuz (Sunday, 6/9).
King David & the Spider
NEW CGI DAY CAMP DIRECTOR After many years as camp director, Morah Clara Simon is passing on the torch to a new director, Morah Rivkah Kochman, to carry on the Gan Israel tradition of summer fun in a Torah framework. The daycamp will run IYH July 1-August 9. Look for a new website soon. Stay tuned for updates and an exciting staff and activities… For more info and to register contact Morah Rivkah: CampGanIzzyAlbany@gmail.com
GIRLS’ AMAZING “KING DAVID & THE SPIDER” PERFORMANCE Kudos to the girls for an amazing job! Led by Chaya A. and the girls of 6th & 8th grades, this was all their initiative and effort, from start to finish, from props to practice, dances to design! They wrote their own songs, did their own dances, wrote their own script, made their own costumes and did their own face-paint! The girls divided into choir, dance and drama, with some girls overlapping roles. It the end it looked easy, but it was obvious that much time and hard work went into it all. Yasher Kochachen!
NOAH’S ARK & FRACTIONS
A TALMUDIC IMPEACHMENT
Morah Rochel’s 2nd grade Chumash class learned that the water at the peak of the Flood was 15 Amos above the mountain peaks, and after the Flood the water gradually receded, a 1/4 Amah per day. So they used math manipulatives (colored sized and shaped segments) to help better visualize fractions, and how they make up a whole.
5th grade with Rabbi Yossi learned the long story of Rabbi Gamliel’s impeachment in Gemorah Brachos. They learned how Rabbi Joshua was slighted, about the advice Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya’s wife gave him, different teaching styles (strict or open), the switch-off arrangement and so many other interesting details. They will be making projects on the story, details soon!
SAUL’S JEALOUSY Just around the time the girls performed the story of “David and the Spider” 6th grade began learning in Navi class about the jealousy King Saul felt for the growing popularity of David. Interesting: even as thousands of years SOUNDWAVES IN SCI-ENRICH pass, and the context changes so dramatically, What do straws and slinky’s have to do with human character still struggles with similar sound? Mrs. Ballard used them in today’s science enrichment classes to show how sound emotional and moral issues, and these are feelings we still have to work with today! travels in waves!
Insight Story Song
Sunday evening, June 9th, Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, 7:15pm at Shomray Torah. Mincha/Maariv follows at 8:15pm. This event is in preparation for the Rebbe’s Gimmel Tammuz Yartzeit, with local sharing of favorite insights, stories and melodies of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Program is open to men & women, and children who can appreciate it. For more info call Rabbi Rubin 423-4103.
at Maimonides and in the Community 6/1: O’BRIEN YARTZEIT KIDDUSH
6/9: SARATOGA ARTS BRUNCH
By Mrs. Vicky O’Brien at Shomray Torah
As part of the Saratoga Arts Festival, Saratoga Chabad (130 Circular Street) is one of the venues/ stops, 10am with art and live music and a Kosher 6/1: WOMENS SHABBOS SHIUR This week given by Vicky O’Brien for the yartzeit of Bagel Brunch. Visit SaratogaArtsFest.org in general or call Rabbi Abba 526-0773 for more info. her husband Jonathan and brother-in-law Jerry, 4:45pm at the Kudan home, 6 Peyster Street.
6/9: J.W.C. GALA LUNCHEON
6/1: RABBIS REISMAN & FRAND Rabbi Reisman’s Navi class Sat Nights at 10:15pm; Rabbi Frand’s class 9pm Thurs, both at CBAJ.
Year-end special event for Clifton Park Jewish Womens Circle, 1pm at the Shen Community Center. Contact Leah 495-0779/2 for more info.
6/2: JGU FASHION & CONCERT
6/9: BETH EMETH GARAGE SALE
For women & girls, hosted by Jewish Girls Unite, 1:30pm at Maimonides. Guest singer Dasi Sessel! Buffet, art exhibit and raffle. $18pp, or sponsor. Call Nechama 727-9581.
6/9: REBBE FAVORITES
6/2: GUILDERFEST FOR KIDS 12-4pm at Guilderland HS (on Route 155 south of Route 20) with carnival games & activities, petting zoo, bouncy houses, martial arts demos etc. $5 per child, adults free. Could be nice boys & dads activity while girls & moms enjoy the JGU Fashion Show and Womens concert at 2pm (see above).
Opens at 9am - clothing, toys, furniture and more!
morning following presentations and refreshments. This year’s performances will include Mrs. Lynn Gross’ music with K-2, Girls Dance class with Morah Eve (men and older boys can step out if they choose - to a short program downstairs), a selection of stances and techniques by the Kung-Fu class with Lucas Geller, & year-end song by boys of grades 78. Nursery & Kindergarten will perform as usual. Awards to students for exceptional behavior, academic achievement and effort.
6/19: ANTS OF THE NORTHEAST “...to Know Them is to Love Them!” Lecture, booksigning and field visit, 6pm at Pine Bush Preserve Discovery Center on Route 155, with Dr. Aaron Ellison, senior ecologist at Harvard Forest. Free. Call the Center 456-0655 for more info.
Sunday evening, 7:30pm at Shomray Torah, in preparation for Rebbe’s Gimmel Tammuz Yartzeit, 6/20: TAMMUZ 12 FARBRENGEN with local sharing of favorite insights, stories and After Maariv at Shomray Torah, late evening melodies of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Mincha/ Maariv follows at 8:15pm. Program open to men & Farbrengen of songs, stories and inspiration to commemorate the release of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak women, & children who can appreciate it. from Soviet prison and the recent yartzeit date of the Rebbe on the 3rd of Tammuz.
6/11: GEORGETTE’S WEDDING
Georgette/Yocheved Esther Merceron sent her wedding invitation to the school along with a letter, 6/23: ADIRONDACK KLEZMER Lively music, local musicians… 5pm at Saratoga 6/2: CBAJ DINNER/INSTALLATION asking for Albany friends to join in her Simcha! Chabad, followed by a BBQ ($5 suggested). This dinner will be the formal installation of Rabbi Call the school office for more info. We wish her and her Chassan much happiness together! Binyamin Lehrfield, and also honor the long-time 7/28: HOLOCAUST ART & TALK dedication and leadership of Mrs. Bev Shor for the Tibor Spitz of Kingston, a Holocaust survivor and Beth Abraham-Jacob synagogue. 6pm. See: cbaj.org 6/11-14: NYS REGENTS TESTING Our HS students will be taking Regents this week. artist will share his story and fascinating life experiences at Saratoga Chabad. $5 suggested.
6/3: WOMENS B.M. ON ERUV (II)
Womens Beit Medrash Night 8pm at Maimonides, this month, part 2 of the Mitzvah/laws of Eruv.
6/4: K-2 MAGIC FOREST TRIP Kindergarten thru 2nd will be headed north to Lake George for the year-end trip to have a good time at The Magic Forest Amusement Park!
6/5: GRADES 3-7 YEAR-END TRIP Grades 3-7 and their teachers are headed for a fullday trip to Howe Caverns (Earth Science) and Old Stone Fort (American History), fully paid by the General Studies Garage Sale proceeds! Wow...
6/13: SCHOOL YEAR-END BBQ After school Thursday BBQ, following 3:30 dismissal. Cost is $5pp or $20 max per family.
6/16: FREE REPTILE SHOW Touch a snake, pet a turtle, see eye to eye with a South American frog 2-3pm at Faddegon’s Nursery (785-6726) 1140 Troy-Schenectady Rd in Latham, led by Reptile Adventures.
6/16: FATHERS DAY CONCERT Free, 6:30pm at Corning Preserve amphitheater. For details call the City of Albany: 434-2032.
6/6: J.F.S. ANNUAL CELEBRATION
6/17: MHDS GRADUATION NIGHT
Jewish Family Services annual celebration, this year at Shabbos House, honoring Jerry and Ilene Sykes. For more info visit: www.jfsneny.org.
Program to begin at 7pm at Maimonides (so no conflict with 8:20 Mincha times). Stay tuned for formal program details.
6/8: CBAJ LUNCH & LEARN
6/18: SCHOOL MOVING UP DAY
Monthly Shabbos Luncheon & speaker at CBAJ, this week’s speaker: Rabbi Rami Strosberg.
Last Day of school, moving-up ceremonies for the grades that morning, dismissal and pickup late
7/28: CHALLAPALOOZA CONCERT Sam Glazer performing at summertime Jewish music festival, contact www.JewishBerkshires.com
8/19-22: F.C. END OF SUMMER CAMP Friendship Circle provides 4 days of end-of-summer day camp for children with special needs and is looking for volunteers to help staff those 4 days. Visit capitalfriends.org or call 438-4220.
8/25: SHALOM FESTIVAL Stay tuned for details, in Saratoga’s Congress Park! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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MAIMONIDES SCHOOL & COMMUNITY (Nursery / Elementary / High School) 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 maimonidesschool@gmail.com Founded in 1980, Maimonides is chartered by the NYS Board of Regents and is a JF-NENY Beneficiary “A Beautiful Blend: Torah & Worldly Experience!”