Maimonides Community

BH WED Teves

22, 5774 / December 25, 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 4:10 Shabbos Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 5:16 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY

maimonidesschool@gmail.com

HALF-FULL HALF-DAYS

This Newsletter is sponsored in loving memory of

So far our halfdays have been filled with real learning and Mina Gita bas David nice educational experiences. of Saratoga Springs While some May her memory be a Blessing families have vacation and travel plans for some portions of this week and/or next, we - Yartzeit next week: Tevet 27 FIRST GRADE SNOWMAN had nice student turnouts so far on this week’s half-days with really nice learning atmosphere. Even with all the recent rain and warming temperatures this snowman did not melt! It’s MORSE CODE IN SCI-ENRICH still posted on their classroom bulletin board, Last Friday, Mrs. Ballard had her Science along with Hebrew tags (using stencils) Kovah = Enrichment students take turns tapping out a hat, Tzah’if = scarf, Makeil = stick… etc. word in Morse Code, while fellow classmates followed closely to try to figure out the word.

They also learned about digital signals & making sounds using electric current.

Marlene Aronson

FIVE FOR FIVE Bluma celebrated her 5th birthday with her Kindergarten friends and shared with them this “Dvar Torah” on 5 things in Torah that have to do with the number 5: There are 5 Chumashim, 5 Prayers on Yom-Kippur, 5 Levels of the Soul, 5 students of R’ Yochanon ben Zakkai in Pirkei Avos, and on the 5th Day Hashem created birds and fish. (There’s also the 5 expressions of Redemption in the current Parshiot of the Exodus).

WATER DOESN’T STAY STILL While there’s no General Studies during the half-days and vacation days this week, this newsletter is a good opportunity to feature some of what couldn’t fit in recent newsletters.

This poster above was put together by HS girls learning Earth Science about the water cycle, in addition to condensation, precipitation & evaporation, they learned about aeration, infiltration and saturation. Since Torah is compared to water, many of these water-cycle aspects can be parallel messages for Torah, too!

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

BIG BOOK ON “LITTLE PANDA” Mrs. Hoffman’s Kindergarteners have been reading this giant book about Hua Mei’s birth at the San Diego Zoo in 1999, the first giant panda born in the Western Hemisphere. It chronicles her first year with many close-up photographs, clearly explained with simple kidfriendly wording that is scientifically accurate.

UNDERSTANDING PRAYER… STUDENT ILLUSTRATED HALLELU-YAS Morah Rochel assigned verses of the Hallelu-yah Psalms, said in the morning prayers after Ashrei in the Pesukei d’Zimra, for girls in her davening class to illustrate. On left is: “Sing to Hashem a new song..” and the four pictured above, L-R: “Praise G-d’s Name in Dance” (see the girl dancing in a circle..); “Praise G-d with a harp and a lyre” (or what we know today as a violin); “It’s not our muscular strength that G-d desires”; and “Not in the strength of the horse”… It’s a good way to remember the meaning of the prayers!

SOUP OF THE WEEK?

APPETIZERS...

Wow, the weather turned very cold again! A warm, delicious and nutritious Soup of the Week is even more appreciated. Thanks to parents who volunteer each week! To sign up for your week, please contact Mrs. R. Wildman.

Rabbi Shmuly’s 2nd & 3rd Mishna class is now learning Mishna Brachos about blessings on foods and whether an appetizer is included in the blessings of the meal foods or not.

DID THAT WHET UR APPETITE?

LAMED IS FOR LEITZAN

Leitzan is Hebrew for clown, and it begins with the letter Lamed. These Leitzans are fun to Last week they had a make and use because they have moveable delicious PIE party, hands and feet. Here are some other words when they made that Kindergarteners learned with Morah Dini their own tasty pies that also begin with Lamed: Lechem = bread, with Mrs. Carroll Layla = night, Lulav from Sukkot, Limon = after learning about 3 Lemon, Lavan = white, Lashon = tongue (or a types of Authors language or way we speak)…

Purpose: Persuade, Inform and Entertain. They also made these plates to help them remember these different BENTSCHING WINNERS Shlomo Jeremy D. and Devorah Leah L. were purposes an author may have in writing a the winners of Bentsching for the month of book or article.

Kislev! He got a soccer ball and she got an art set. Let’s keep up the lively Bentsching after Lunch each day…

JUDAIC GENERAL INFO TEST Morah Devorah Leah’s 2nd and 3rd graders took a comprehensive random test/quiz on overall Jewish knowledge this week. It’s the type of thing they pick up in class, or at Shul, but might not study all of it directly. They had to name the 12 tribes by their mothers, find numerical values to random Hebrew letter combinations, put the Parshiot of each Chumash in order, know the 7 fruits & grains for which Israel is praised, etc. Some of these things they knew off hand, others they needed to look up and research (which is a great skill of its own).

3 MINUTES ON HAPPINESS The HS Girls’ video originally prepared & screened at the Inter-HS convention in Brooklyn is now available on YouTube via this link: www.tinyurl.com/AlbanyOnHappiness

A SCRAP HERE, A SCRAP THERE In a recent art class, HS girls gave grades 1-3 assorted color scrap paper, odds and ends, and asked them to do something beautiful with it.

Here are 4 samples of what they did. Don’t underestimate a leftover piece, a good eye, a little effort and creativity.

BRING YOUR CARDBOARD!!

THANK YOU FOR THE MARKERS Nachman’s Bubby from CT sent new markers for his Kindergarten classroom. They all worked on this beautiful Thank-You card to send to her. It was also a nice character lesson about Hakaros HaTov showing appreciation, which Morah Dini is now learning with them about.

Try to bring in as much cardboard (clean and dry folded flat boxes of any size and shape) as you can for our cardboard fun day next Tuesday Dec 31st (no school Thurs Friday this week or Monday of next week) and we’ll build some really cool stuff at school, and recycle it afterwards. We’re going to try to build it “tongue and groove” style (cuts and inserts) but some rolls of tape could be helpful, too!

REB FEIVEL OF NY STATE FIRE ON FIRE-SAFETY Mr. Phil Chandler, also known as R’ Feivel, works for NY State Fire, which inspects state buildings and provides resources and expertise to fire departments around the state, as well as education and prevention. His daughters attended Maimonides, so he was especially happy to come in and discuss firefighting and safety with us on Tuesday. He first met with the older students, and then with a younger group. Everyone gained a lot from his presentation!

THE HILLEL CONNECTION: Many classes are learning about Hillel this week, in preparation for “Hillel Day” at school on New Years Day, next week Wednesday. Rabbi Rubin thought it would be a good idea to have a rescue expert come in to speak about safety, because Hillel was stuck up on the roof in that Jerusalem snowstorm (like they had two weeks ago) and had to be rescued on Shabbos, and to save his life they had to do certain things, because saving a life comes before any other Mitzvah! Reb Feivel pointed out that even if we are not 100% sure that its an emergency we are allowed to (and have to!) violate Shabbos, because better be safe than sorry, so we should violate Shabbos just in case.

TRICK QUESTION AND HALACHA CONNECTION: Reb Feivel told us that the first question on a firefighters exam is: “What is the main job of a firefighter” which is a trick question, because its NOT putting out fires (although that’s important, too). The real answer is saving lives.

This fits right in with language Reb Feivel showed the older students from the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch: You can’t violate Shabbos to put out a fire that is destroying property, but if there is the slightest risk to life or potential risk to life, one must do whatever possible to put it out!

LEVELS OF FIRE-TEMP: The ceiling of a room in a home fire gets extremely hot, usually about 1200 degrees. Half-way up that wall, it’s approximately 300 degrees. Think about how hot an oven has to be to bake cookies, usually 350 degrees. Just think about how hot that is!

Remember that our bodies are mostly water, and water boils at 212 degrees. This is another reason to get down low and crawl out during a fire, because its not as hot closer to the floor, and there’s less smoke. He showed us that firefighters who go in to look for people in a fire also usually crawl low down on the floor.

FIREMEN’S GEAR: R’ Feivel put on the equipment as we watched, and he explained the protections that each garment provided. “Donning” is the term for putting the special clothes on, “Doffing” is taking the clothes off. Students asked how much such clothing costs. He explained that the clothing itself is about $1,500, and the oxygen apparatus is another $2,000. The lesson for us? We don’t have all these protections and training, so we can’t stay an extra second in a burning house and must get out as soon as possible.

MORE FIRE INFO: Did you know that a home fire can double in size every 30 seconds? That’s how fast it spreads, unfortunately. It can be almost impossible to see through thick black smoke, which is why many firefighters crawl blindfolded through buildings they have never seen before for training, to try to find “people” stuck in the fire. And would you have guessed that 80% of NY State’s firefighters are volunteers?

HANDS-ON GOODIES FOR THE KIDS: Each student got a paper cut-out to make a 3-D fire-truck that had key fire-safety messages on top, plus a firehat (see top picture) and also a few Frisbees with a fire-safety message for recess play.

5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT RAMBAM (aka “Maimonides”)

at Maimonides and in the Community 12/25-29: JGR WINTER RETREAT Begins today! Info? www.JewishGirlsRetreat.net or call Mrs. Nechama Laber 727-9581.

12/26-30: NO SCHOOL No School Thurs thru Monday. Enjoy the break!

12/2013: SECRETS AT DAF YOMI Now in middle of tractate Yoma (about YomKippur and many other subjects), maybe use these year-end vacation days to get a taste of some daily Talmud study. Interesting in these few days of study is the secret of the Ketoret, and the mystery of the Lost/Hidden Ark of the Covenant…

12/28: FARBRENGEN KIDDUSH The 24th of Tevet, this year on Friday, is the local yartzeit of Mr. Joe Saidel, as well as the 1813 yartzeit of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. Kiddush after Musaf at Shomray Torah.

12/28: RABBI REISMAN’S CLASS is screened live 7:30pm at CBAJ on Sat Night.

Rabbi Frand’s class is at Thursday nights 9pm.

Kitchen” by the HS girls. Stay tuned for specials!

1/20: WOMENS BET MEDRASH This month’s topic is Tu Bishvat, the Jewish New Year for Trees, and celebration of growth, and the presenter is Nechama Laber who has done so many workshops and camp activities for girls centered on the theme of planting, blossoming and growth.

This annual phone-a-thon raises funds for Federation’s allocations to local organizations & beneficiaries (including Maimonides) as well as overseas Jewish needs. Maimonides parents are asked to please volunteer for one-shift as this supports our school! Thank you!!

1/30: APPS PRESENTATION DAY The current APPS “What Warms You?” (thanks to Rivka L. for the idea) about physical, spiritual or emotional warmth is due in the last week of January and the presentation date will be Wed Jan 30th. This gives our students 5 weeks (including vacation days) to work on their projects at home.

The trip/activity date will be in early/mid-February.

Look for an uplifting concert this year, with a Women & Girls are invited to a Concert by Chaya dynamic new Jewish star, in addition to the Sara Weiss (NJ) & Rivka Leah Cylich (Melbourne) luncheon and workshops. This year to be held at 8pm Sat Night, at the Jewish Girls Retreat, this year Shabbos House. Contact Clara Simon or DL at the Holiday Inn Express, 400 Old Loudon Rd in Rubin to get involved in the planning of this Latham NY. Cost: $15pp (sponsors $54). Info? 518special annual communal program for women. Stay 727-9581 or nechama@jewishgirlsretreat.net.

We will be doing some regular learning on this last day of 2013, plus a cardboard fun day, too! Save at home flattened (clean) cardboard boxes of all sizes for a fun activity day. Bring to school on Tuesday!

1/1/2014: HILLEL DAY AT SCHOOL On the last of the half-days, on New Years Day, we will have skits, presentations etc by various classes on Hillel the Mishnaic sage and his teachings. Look for a skit on Hillel’s patience, the famous Hillel on Roof story, Rich & Poor Posters on his Prozbul enactment, and a skit on the stories of “The Three Converts”, some of his beloved sayings & more!

1/11: YUD-SHVAT MELAVA MALKA Look for an inspiring Chassidic Melava Malka get together at Shabbos House, with stories, melodies, light food and inspiration. 7pm open to all. Please park in nearby Dutch Quad Student Gold Lot.

1/18: PIZZA NITE III AT MHDS

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1/26: JFED’S SUPER-SUNDAY

12/28: CONCERT @ GIRLS RETREAT 2/9: WOMENS SPA 4 BODY & SOUL

12/31: CARDBOARD FUN DAY!

In connection with his 20th of Tevet Yartzeit this past week.

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YEAR-END GIVING This time of year many people make year-end contributions to charities. Please consider a contribution to Maimonides Hebrew Day School. Each dollar goes a long way and helps provide quality education. Your gift is an investment in our community & our future.

THANK YOU!

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CARDBOARD FUN DAY Save clean & dry cardboard boxes for a special fun day at school on Tues, December 31st.

Break-down the box so it is flat, and bring it on Tuesday. After it will be used in an educational fun craft project it will be picked up from school for recycling.

Rambam’s “Mishne-Torah” is unique among classic books of Halacha in that (a) it is the most comprehensive of all Halachic works covering all laws of the Torah, even those not applicable nowadays without a Temple (b) was written in clear & simple Hebrew, geared for the layman, not only for the scholar (c) It was the first work of Halacha to be so well organized by theme and topic, collected, sorted and distilled from all over the Talmud and its commentaries.

Most of the Rambam’s books (such as his commentary on the Mishna and his “Guide to the Perplexed”) were originally written in Arabic (the language spoken in the countries which he lived: Spain, Morocco & Egypt), and later translated into Hebrew by Shmuel ibn Tibbon, but the Mishne Torah was written originally in Hebrew by the Rambam himself.

The Mishne Torah is divided into 14 Books (which is why there are 14 Pillars with elaborate built-up interconnected beams covering the walkway to his tomb in Tiberias) and 83 Halachic sections in those 14 books. He was born on the eve of Passover, and died on the 20th of Tevet, exactly 83 days shy of his 70th birthday.

Rambam wrote his “Commentary to the Mishna” when he was in his twenties. “Ani Maamin” and the 13 Principles of Faith come from this work (on tractate Sanhedrin) which was condensed 200 years later by Daniel ben Yehuda Dayan into “Yigdal” a 13-line poem sung to in many congregations. Other famous selections from Commentary on the Mishna include “The 8 Chapters” which is his introduction to Pirkei Avot, and his own family lineage at the end of tractate Uktzin.

A bit about his family. Rambam’s father & teacher was Rabbi Maimon (hence the name Maimonides), his brother was David (a gemmerchant who died at sea), his son was Rabbi Avraham. He was born in Cordoba Spain, lived for about 5 years in Fez Morocco, and spent most of his later years in Fostat (Old Cairo) in Egypt, and is buried in Tiberias, Israel near the shores of the Kinneret Sea.

Remember, you can get this free weekly “MC” newsletter to your email inbox: Contact: maimonidesschool@gmail.com

Look for the 3rd Pizza Nite this season at “Nathan’s

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!”