BH. MONDAY
8 Adar II, 5774 / March 10, 2014
Candle-Lighting*: Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 6:42 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org Shabbos Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 7:43 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY
maimonidesschool@gmail.com * this coming week
Sponsor this “MC” Newsletter in honor of a special occasion or in memory of a loved one. Call the school office at 453-9363 email: maimonidesschool@gmail.com
SHABBOS SONGS AT SEA
100TH DAY OF SCHOOL Several classes had celebrations and projects celebrating the 100th day of school this week (perhaps a little more when factoring in Hebrew half-days in December). Mrs. Carroll’s first graders pictured here with their 100th day glasses & hats. Each hat is inscribed with what that student wishes to have one hundred of. They also tried to predict where in the building 100 steps outside their classroom would take them & then tested their predictions.
MAZAL TOV ROSENBLUMS to Amarit & Seth Rosenblum on the birth of a son. May they raise him in good health and happiness to Torah, Chuppah & Good Deeds.
Deep in the Red Sea, about 1500 kilometers from Israel, the MAZAL TOV MENDEL HECHT Israeli Navy on his Bar-Mitzvah! A few friends from Albany recently seized went to Kingston this past weekend to be part Syrian-made of the celebration. Mazal Tov to his parents, missiles sent via his siblings and the extended Hecht family. Iran hidden on a They also had another part of the celebration Panamanian ship in NYC on Thursday night, but the Hecht kids headed to Egypt’s were in school first thing on Friday morning Port Sudan and what a great way to demonstrate the true and intended for the lasting meaning of Bar-Mitzvah! Gaza Strip for use against Israel. This “Operation Discovery” is so MAZAL TOV MOSHE FRANK important in preventing Israel’s enemies from Moshe Frank (brother of Mrs. Liba Andrusier) acquiring longer-range & more lethal missiles. is engaged to Rikki Wenger of Montreal. Here’s something beautiful, shared with us Moshe runs “Meshulach Marketing” which is a from an online source by Mr. Norman Mann company servicing non-profits. He has been up of Saratoga: This mission took place on here often for Simchas and other occasions. Shabbos. On their way, the sailors (from all segments of Israeli society and various levels of MAZAL TOV JUSTIN BELSKY religious observance) gathered in the cavernous to MHDS alumnus Justin Belsky and his wife belly of the Israeli Navi ship around a long Hila (who have returned to the area) on the Shabbos table, put their arms around each birth of twin girls! other singing “Shalom Aleichem” together... “Who is like Your People Israel!”
MAIMONIDES AND A ROSENBLUM CONGRATS Also this week, Seth was named to the Albany Business Review’s “Forty under Forty” list of the area’s promising young business leader to be recognized at a luncheon in May. This is a fine Kiddush Hashem and a testament to his local investment & success, and respect among his peers and the greater business community. Perhaps not as much as a newborn son, of course, but a Mazal Tov is due for this as well.
404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208
THANK YOU STEWARTS! Our school received $500 from the Stewarts Holiday Match toward extra-curricular programs.
NO STRONG VERBS MAKES WRITING LESS INTERESTING
WIRING “HOMES” 4 RENT/SALE Mrs. Sahay’s 8/9 graders made small “homes” out of cardboard that had multiple rooms or floors, and wired the whole house using SIYUM SKATING parallel circuits, w/ multiple resistors so the Rabbi Yossi and Morah Devorah Leah took lights in each room could be separately 2/3 grade ice-skating controlled. They also had fun “decorating” the at the Empire State rooms with design and personal effects. Plaza for 2nd grade’s finishing Parsha WHO AM I? Breishis and 3rd 2nd & 3rd grade grade finishing the wrote Hebrew 20th chapter of sentences that Chumash Breishis in were clues to the Parsha Vayera. Some are already good skaters identity of a and others were trying it for the first time, but character in the everyone had a great time. They also each got a Purim story. “fruit-leather” nosh. It was neat to be skating so close to the New York State Capitol and in TALMUD: GAVRA VS CHEFTZAH middle of the Empire State Plaza. Rabbi Mendel’s Gemorah Sukkah class came across their third example of Gavra (person) 100TH DAY IN KINDERGARTEN vs. Cheftzah (object) in classification of a Each student in Mrs. Hoffman’s class brought Talmud argument. One classic example is: in 100 of each item, including: rubber-bands, shaking Lulav at wood skewers, Q-tips, band-aids, straws and midnight is a problem other things. Then they made projects that with how YOU (the used 100 of each thing they brought in. Gavra) are using the Lulav, but not a problem with the Lulav itself, whereas a Lulav set missing myrtle twigs is a problem with the Mitzvah object itself. They found two examples on Sukkah page 8b. The Gemorah says that the “Ganvach Braysa” is more concerned with the structure of the Sukkah itself, while the “Rakvash Braysah” is more interested in WHO built the Sukkah and whether they personally were obligated in the Mitzvah or not. The other example was in MARCH INTO READING a Rashi on 8b, which says according to Bais … is the name of the new bulletin board Hillel a Sukkah (itself, the object) does not upstairs in the main entrance put up by have to be built for the sake of the holiday or English teacher Mrs. Gray and the 6th graders Mitzvah (as long as it meets the Halachic that features some favorite books (fiction and requirements) but R’ Levi adds that YOU (the non-fiction, by both Jewish and general Gavra) need to do something small to authors) that our middle school students demonstrate that you are eating there for the recently read and especially enjoyed. sake of the holiday.
STRONG (EMPHATIC) VERBS
Mrs. Carroll’s first graders learned how (and when) to use words that have stronger, richer, more detailed meaning - like exhausted instead of tired, love instead of like, zooming instead of fast… how to match the words to your thoughts, and best express what you really want to say.
USING MATH OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
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MONEY-MATTERS: It’s hard to know if you are getting a good deal without math, so its super helpful with shopping, especially when comparing prices. Every family has a budget, and organizations and business do, too - and you can’t do that without math. You also need to calculate Maaser and Tzedakah.
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CAREER/JOBS: Obviously jobs like accounting and science use a lot of math, but it comes up in many other jobs, too! Measurement, estimate & cost-calculating is a big part of construction work, repair jobs & many other careers. Cashiers and office managers need a decent sense of math to do their jobs well.
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SURPRISING PLACES: Math is a big part of so many different things, we often don’t even realize: every Google search is based on a mathematical algorithm, math is needed for baking and cooking, and it is part of interior design.
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SHARPENS MIND & SKILLS: Math is helpful even when you are not using it, because it sharpens your mind and gives you skills to do all kinds of other tasks that seem to have nothing to do with math.
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TORAH APPLICATIONS: Both our Shabbos and Sukkah Talmud classes just learned math, it is very important in the laws of Mikvah, and in measurements of Mitzvot like Challah, Matzah & Maror, how much wine in a Kiddush cup, etc. The laws of Eruv and distance on Shabbos are very mathematical. Some of our classes recently learned about the Mishkan with many measurements. Rashi uses math to calculate years and people’s ages.
APPS ON CIRCLES (DUE THURS) EDIBLE SOCIAL STUDIES: DAL
2/3 PURIM MURAL FILLING UP Morah Devorah Leah put up a big brown paper in her 2/3 classroom, and started it off with a few Purim words and just a drawing or two. Whenever her students have some free time they keep adding to the mural, and it’s already quite full of drawings and words and Purim themes and characters.
The new APPS project on circles is due on Taanis Esther, the Thursday before Purim so they can be displayed at the Circular Purim Prunch. We understand that it’s a much shorter window than the last APPS project. Try to think out of the box: coins and buttons; round foods like Matzah and MatzaBalls, meatballs, lollipops & doughnuts, pizza-pies and sushi; pipes, tubes & wheels; merry-gorounds, polka-dots, hoola-hoops, carousels & Ferris Wheels; traffic lights & volume dials; even other shapes that spin in circles such as Graggers & Dreidels! There’s Kabbalistical infinite spheres and finite linear revelation; thinking about circles can get you going on and on, in circles!
JUMPING OVER HURDLES A few days early last week were extremely cold out so some of the recess times were indoors. One day the kids took turns trying to jump over hurdles. It started simple enough but some kids got far enough along to be able to jump and clear two chairs in a row, with one chair stacked on another, like Shmuel Dovid is doing in this (<<) picture. Jumping over hurdles is also a great life-message, L’chatchila Ariber!, go right over the obstacles that try to keep us back in life. But as with jumping over chairs, jumping over life’s obstacles takes practice, strength and skill, and you have to train yourself mentally and properly prepare for it. Plus the chair (and other obstacles) jumping was a fun and different type of exercise and good way to keeping moving even when indoors because of the extreme cold. Maimonides Moves! (Picture by Eli K.)
BOYLE’S LAW & CHARLES LAW 6th grade science learned about how volume of gas is related to its pressure & temperature.
COMMUNITY HELPERS First graders learned how people’s jobs all help create societies & help others in communities while helping themselves earn a living and support their families. Pictured above are the baker and fireman stick puppets and the few lines students wrote about those jobs and how they are helpful to others.
HOOLA HOOPS ON WINDOWS? Maimonides is getting in the spirit for the “All Around Purim Prunch” on Sunday morning, Purim Day: 10am Megillah, 11am Meet & Greet Prunch at school… that’s why there are hoola-hoops, rolls of tape and other circles hanging in the school office windows!
This week’s Soup-of-the-Week was Dal (also spelled Dahl or Daal) an Indian soup with cumin, coriander, ginger, and red and yellow lentils, with cilantro as a garnish. Mrs. Sanda made it (for the whole school) as part of a unit 6th grade is doing on India.
MEASURING HUMIDITY LEVELS Dr. Sahay’s HS students went outdoors on one TEA PARTY IN NURSERY of the nicer days this past week to measure the This week’s Hebrew letter was “Kuf” in dew points and relative humidity levels using a Nursery, they learned a bunch of words that Sling Psychrometer and recording their data. start with Kuf, and ended the unit with a Kumkum (kettle) Party with tea and fun for all!
CLOWING AROUND Nursery kids tried on masks, funny hats and other dress-up to clown around for Adar spirit and in preparation for Purim. Cheering each other up and making someone else smile is also a big Mitzvah!
PURIM ARTICLES IN J.W. See this coming issue of “The Jewish World” newspaper for some of Rabbi Rubin’s best Purim articles from years past, including his “Potter Purim Patter” about Harry Potter, Muggles & Purim, and “Pertinent Purim Pastry “DIDI ADIFA” NOW ONLINE Points” with Rabbi Rubin’s original insight into Shmuel’s humorous yet perplexing “Didi Adifa” (mine is better) Purim serious reasons on statement in Talmud Megillah is now available why Purim’s as a Torah lecture online at TheYeshiva.net. Hamantaschen are triangular. LOCAL MATANOT L’EVYONIM Plus there are Contact Rabbi Rubin 423-4103 or via email at listings of Purim rralbany@gmail.com for discreet donations to events and local families who could use some financial activities… and help for Purim Tzedakah and before Passover. recipes, etc.
at Maimonides and in the Community PLEASE NOTE CHANGED TIMES...
MEGILLAH-MEN!
Changing the clocks changes many things, including Friday dismissal time, daily Mincha/ Maariv Minyan times, and when Shabbos ends…
Like last year, 4 Yeshiva students are returning to assist with Purim celebrations, read Megillah at Nursing facilities, for shutins, bringing Purim cheer spirit with energetic dedication. Purim is one day so slots are limited, but please contact Rabbi Rubin 423-4103 or THE SHUSHAN MURAL BY KINDERGARTEN rralbany@gmail.com if you know someone or someplace Such vibrant colors and rich texture, bringing the royal city to life! who can benefit!
3/13: EARLIER FAST OF ESTHER Being that Erev Purim/the Fast of Esther falls on Shabbos this year, the fast is pushed back to the Thursday prior. Taanis Esther Mincha (with Torah Reading, Haftorah & Avinu Malkeinu) at Shteeble is at 6:30pm.
3/14: BACK TO LONGER FRIDAYS Since last weekend’s “Spring Forward” to Daylight Savings Time, Friday dismissal is now back to 3:30. Please be prompt at dismissal time.
3/15: PARSHAS ZACHOR READING It’s an important Mitzvah to hear the special reading about Amalek on the Shabbos before Purim (this year on the day before Purim). Those who can not make it on Shabbos should make an effort to hear the Torah reading on Purim (Sunday morning) which is almost identical to Zachor.
3/15-16: PURIM CELEBRATIONS! Sat Night into Sunday is Purim this year! In addition to Megillah & festivity at local synagogues here’s some of the communal events (so far): SAT NIGHT “PURIM IN ISRAEL” Megillah, Israeli food and festivity at Saratoga Chabad, Call 526-0773 for more info. SAT NIGHT PURIM AT BETH ISRAEL in Schenectady, masquerade & Megillah etc. Call 377-3700 for more information. CBAJ PURIM-BOUNCE Megilla, Masquerade and Bouncing Fun. MEGILLAH AT SHOMRAY TORAH 8:15pm Megillah Reading (remember, Shabbos ends late now that clocks have changed). PURIM-PRUNCH, Megillah 10am, Prunch 11Noon (or 12:30pm) at Maimonides. Look for a Circular “All Around Purim” theme and come to see, meet and greet circles of friends from around the community in costume and with exchanges of Mishloach Manot.
3/17: SHUSHAN PURIM (MONDAY) 9am school start with davening at 9am. (BarMitzvah boys 8am at Shteeble as usual). Not everyone gets to see everyone else’s Purim costume on Purim Day (especially those that live further away) so bring your costume on Shushan Purim, for a special costumed assembly and festivity during the morning and regular classes in the afternoon. NOTE: The Wildman’s are having an Upshernish celebration at school at 3:30pm.
3/17: HALF-SIYUM (ON HOTZA’AH) Rabbi Rubin’s 8/9 Gemorah Shabbos class recently finished the first 8 pages of tractate Shabbos that deal with Hotza’ah outdoor carrying. They’ll have a Siyum at Shteeble after Shachris on Shushan Purim with leftover Mishloach Manot. Join if you can!
3/23: DONNA GRACIA MENDES History comes to life once again at Beth Tephilah in Troy! 1pm reenactment of the historic period of this famous Jewess with foods from 1500-1600’s. Please only over age 12. RSVP/Info: 894-3491.
3/23: BDS, ISRAEL BOYCOTTS, ETC.
Federation’s Joint Society hosts Dr. Jonathan Adelman (who was the doctoral advisor for former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and has spoken internationally on behalf of the US State Department, author of several books and a dynamic speaker on Israel and the Middle East) for a talk at Beth Emeth (100 Academy Road, Albany) ITALIAN PURIM Sunday afternoon in Clifton 7:15-9pm on the recent efforts to boycott and Park: theme, food, Megillah & festivity. Call 495 divest from Israel. Pre-register online at the -0772/9 for info. Federation’s website, or contact them for more PURIM AT THE STADIUM with Bethlehem info. Young adult is $10, regular admission is $25. Chabad Sunday afternoon at the Normanside Country Club, with a lively sports theme and festivity. Call 439-8280 for more info.
THE SHANGHAI MIRACLE Preview the trailer and support the documentary production effort: http://igg.me/at/shanghaidocumentary or speak to Rabbi Rubin. 423-4103.
KRAV MAGA DATES These classes are by private arrangement (this is separate from bi-monthly at Maimonides for boys in grades 4+). Sundays: 10:30-11:15 coed ages 5-9, Girls only ages 10-14 11:15-12. Sundays of March: 9, 23 & 30. April 6 & 13th. May: 4, 11 & 18. Cost is $8per child per class. For info / questions call Liba 894-1088.
MHDS PURIM CARDS It’s not too late! Do you have out-of-town friends & family that you’d like to think of on Purim? Order the school’s virtual Mishloach Manot $18 for 10 colorful cards that say that a donation was made to Maimonides in lieu of sending an actual package. While this doesn’t fulfill the actual Mishloach Manot Mitzvah it certainly is thoughtful and is certainly a Mitzvah of supporting Jewish education!
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!”