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BH. RC

Cheshvan 5775 / Oct 24, 2014

Candle-Lighting: Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 5:41 404 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 6:40 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY

maimonidesschool@gmail.com

TORAH IN THE NEWS Just after we read in Parshas Breishis about Lemech getting hit by an arrow mistakenly shot by his own grandson, Rabbi Rubin found this item in the TimesUnion newspaper: “Hunter gets shot by his father’s arrow.”

The hunting accident happened in Copake, not far from here. Luckily he was hit in the leg and will hopefully recover soon.

This newsletter is dedicated in loving memory of

Reb Noach Losice Yartzeit: Shmini Atzeres

JUST IN TIME FOR NOACH! This picture of Malka in a wooden boat is from the apple-picking trip at Bowman Orchards before Sukkos, but its quite timely to get it this week for Parshat Noach when we read about the ark and the great flood. See page 4 for more pictures of this enjoyable and educational trip. It’s amazing how much the weather has changed since!

RAFFLE-AUCTION COMING UP

WILD/FARM ANIMALS

Any donation or solicitation of prizes has to be 2nd grade is now in before the November 7th weekend, so we Mazal Tov to MHDS alumnus Shmuly and learning about the can finalize prize packages and have it printed Pessie Morgenbesser on the birth of a baby boy and mailed to reach homes by Thanksgiving.

6th Day of Creation, over Simchas Torah weekend, whom they so they’re making This year’s Raffle-Auction and Chanukah named Dovid. May them have much Nachas! Dinner will be on Monday evening, Rosh animal posters that differentiate between Chodesh Teves, the 7th Night of Chanukah.

Behamot (domesticated-type animals) vs.

Stay tuned for theme and additional info, Chayot (wild animals).

Also timely for Parshat including some new prizes for this year!

Noach, with all the animals aboard the Ark.

MAZAL TOV MORGENBESSERS

SOME IMPORTANT DATE NOTES   

11/7 is first early 2:30 Friday dismissal 11/11 No School Veterans Day for ParentTeacher conferences. Schedule TBA soon.

11/14 will be regular school, but on Friday 11/21 there will be no school.

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

CHABAD IN PINK AT WALK Father & Son Mathless & Father & Daughter Davis were (among the Team Chabad Goes Pink) pictured in the “Times-Union” slideshow of pictures from the “Making Strides against Breast Cancer” walk in Washington Park this past Sunday after Simchas Torah.

PUZZLE CAKE / RAINBOW CAKE A nursery student celebrated her 3rd birthday.

Her classmates’ wishes were on back of a purple paper cake, cut it in 3 pieces that fit like a puzzle! The birthday girl’s mother brought a rainbow cake in honor of Parshas Noach.

TOUCHING THE RAINBOW - WITHIN REACH! Usually rainbows are so far up in the sky, beyond reach and out of touch.

Not this rainbow in the Maimonides Nursery! Each band of color is another set of handprints made by Nursery students. Like a Maimonides education: that which is lofty or spiritual is made accessible and tangible!

KINDERGARTEN’S TEIVAH

GOOD AND BAD BACTERIA

CHARACTERIZATION ESSAYS

Morah Chaya Bracha and her Kindergarten students are in middle of working on this big beautiful Teivah poster. They painted blue rain and water droplets all around, and are now in the process of decorating the ark itself.

With all thetalk about the ebola virus and infectious disease people are pretty frightened about things like bacteria, but 7th grade science students with Mrs. Roland learned that there are many types of good bacteria which is actually very important for us and life on this planet. In fact, without good bacteria in our intestine we would not be able to break down and digest food.

After reading “The Outsiders” Mrs. Crawford had her students each write an essay about two of the story’s characters, highlighting how the author S. E. Hinton (who was only a teen when she wrote this classic book!) developed each of these characters personalities and behaviors and how these elements are important to help tell the story.

ELECTIONS & ELECTED OFFICE

WHO HELPED WHOM?

Grades 5/6 are reading “The Mr. D’s 3/4 graders learned about elections Cay” with Mrs. Maher. At first and how candidates run for office Philip is the one who and the citizens choose by voting. needed help and Timothy This election cycle there’s a vote helped him out and saved for state governor, as well as state him. Later in the book, the senate and assembly, and national roles are reversed. This time representation, too. They learned that there Philip is the one to help are many different elected officials, in the Timothy. The students different branches (legislative, executive thought this was an &judicial) and layers of government (from the especially good example of local or county level to your state government “Maimonides Middos” ROLLING RAINBOWS up to the Federal government). because it was a 2-way street, each one helped Nursery learned a lot about rainbows this the other. Everyone has something to offer week, and are pictured here rolling out thin someone else, and can make a big difference.

LOSICE YARTZEIT STORIES dough for their very own rainbow cookies.

This year on Shmini Atzeret, at a Kiddush for the yartzeit of his father Reb Noach, R’ Moshe LATITUDE & LONGITUDE Losice shared many stories about his father, GPS coordinates are based on this, and GPS especially about his miraculous just-in-time today plays an important role in everyday life, escape from Poland before the Holocaust, and from online maps to his arrival in Albany and his insistence to keep phone apps that are Shabbos even in a retail business setting. Years tailored to location. ago, Reb Noach obm shared some of these Plus, our Shabbos stories, but R’ Moshe shared many details that candle-lighting times we had not heard before. Some of our older change according to our boys were lucky to be present for this Kiddush. LETTERS TO ISRAELI FARMERS Grades 3-4 wrote & illustrated Hebrew letters specific position on R’ Moshe also shared memories of Nathan to Shmittah-observant farmers in Israel. Every earth, so there’s lots of Rosenstein delivering Kosher groceries from 7th year in Israel has special agricultural laws practical real-life application to understanding his family’s store on Thursday, and he spoke and Israeli farmers are very in touch with and how planet earth is measured using latitude about inspiration from Reb Zalman Levine, affected by these laws of the sabbatical year. and longitude - and where they meet. and other early Albany communal pillars.

WHAT WE DID FOR CHOL HAMOED SUKKOT OUTINGS

1,000 BOOKS!

BNAI BRITH SUKKAH PROJECT

Rabbi Rubin came back from Brooklyn this morning with a van-load of Sefarim books, 20 boxes, totaling approximately 1,000 scholarly volumes for our school library & collection, from HebrewBooks.org (an online internet library of scanned Jewish texts, with over 60,000 books in its searchable collection). We don’t know yet where to put it all, the boys will be sorting the books with Rabbi Rubin, which will be a great educational opportunity of its own. There a lot of Haggadahs in the mix (because HebrewBooks.org knows how much R’ Rubin likes Haggadah commentary) but also books like R’ Chaim on the Rambam, the 39 Melachos, Aggadot of the Talmud by Simcha Raz, and many many more!

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VEHICLES: Some went to the antique Car Show in Ballston Spa with hundreds of cars on display (and learned about carburetors vs. fuel injection), others went to the big Museum of Firefighting in Hudson NY. Going even faster? Some went down again and again on zip-lines at Jiminy Peak!

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SONGS: Of course, there was a of singing in Shul for Hallel, in Sukkos for the holiday also at evening Simchas Beis HaShoeva’s hosted in different Sukkahs. But some students also went down to Monsey and Brooklyn for live exciting Chol Hamoed concerts with famous Jewish singers!

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GIVING & GETTING: Some gave of their free time to help other Jews do the Mitzvah of Lulav and Etrog, visit elderly, or help at communal events. Helping out at home or with younger siblings was also something a lot of our students did. YomTov is also a time to get things, quite a few went shopping at area malls and shops, aside for lots and lots of food shopping, of course!

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT: One student and his father used a ham-radio to talk to someone in Maine, a few went hiking, some had a fire-pit, many did Sukkah-hopping to see and enjoy other people’s Sukkahs.

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COMMUNAL EVENTS: The kids rally was a big hit, and some of the prizes were really neat, including a kids piano and a razor scooter; there were carnival booths and a show up in Saratoga; the Kleine Klezmer accompanied Rabbi Rubin singing the Sukkahleh Song in Clifton Park, there was a great BBQ and bouncey-bounce with Friendship Circle, and much more!

IN THE BETTER TOGETHER NEWSLETTER

Our Sukkah construction with the seniors at Bnai Brith Apartments was featured in the current “Better Together” newsletter. The HS girls will soon be starting an interview project, each student with a senior as part of this year’s Better Together project in our High School.

BOYS SARATOGA SHABBATON Many of our older boys will be up in Saratoga for a special group Shabbaton together. They WELCOME TO THE SCIENCE LAB Today was first graders very first visit to the will be there to celebrate Sid Stark’s BarMitzvah anniversary, which he celebrates every Dr. Jonathan O’Brien Science Lab at MHDS. Mrs. Ballard-Hubble showed them around and year on Parshas Noach. their first lesson was about observation. They each got a different sea-shell and had to try to find out as much as they could about the shell A Russian officer asked a Jew and describe it in their own words. why are you leaving Communist Russia. The Jew replied: “I can’t complain about life here.” So he asked him “If so, why are you leaving?” The Jew repeated, “I can’t complain about life here.”

This went back and forth a few times, until the Jew explained: “I’d rather live where I’m able to complain!”

What did the baby corn say to Mama Corn?

“Where’s Popcorn?”

How do you know Aharon wasn’t busy with the counselors? Because Moshe usually was the one with the staff.

THEY USED TO BE SHOEBOXES

Mendel R. (Schen) helped Mrs. Carroll roll up the garden hose (it’s quite long!) so that it would be out of the way and people won’t trip on it.

Goldie K. offered to switch the iPad she was using with a classmate who was having trouble with hers, because she figured she could get it to work.

LOTS OF GAGA THIS WEEK It rained much of this week, so it was mostly indoor recess and gaga is the best option (as it tries to keep the ball near the floor).

Kids are getting faster & nimble!

And now they are Parsha Boxes. Each week Morah Dini’s students make a Parsha foldable NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN “MC” and they are stored in these decorated boxes. Next week: 13Colonies, Yosemite, Rome’s Fall

at Maimonides and in the Community 10/24-25: THE SHABBOS PROJECT

11/2: WELCOME ESHKOL REGION

Hundreds of communities and thousands of individuals around the globe are following the example of South Africa last year to make a major effort to keep one Shabbos, or increase observance.

One beautiful hashtag is: #KeepingItTogether.

Our Northeastern NY Jewish Federation partners with the Eshkol region in Israel, an area deeply affected by the Gaza rockets and terror, and will welcome leaders from that region at Agudat Achim in Schenectady, starting at 6:30pm. Cost is $25pp, and an All-American BBQ will be prepared by “As You Like It Catering” of Agudat Achim, as per their Kashrut guidelines.

10/24-25: ROSH CHODESH Two days of Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan: Friday and Shabbos. Remember to add Yaaleh v’Yavo to the Amidahs and Bentsching, there’s Hallel and also a special Musaf on Shabbos Day.

10/25: WINTER WOMEN CLASS As in past years, Chaya Tal is continuing the Shabbos womens shiur in a different format once the summer season is over. 3-4pm at her home on Halsdorf studying books by Rabbi Sholom Arush.

10/26: GIL HOFFMAN OF JPOST to speak at Federation Joint Society event (society membership not required) at Temple Israel, with a buffet dinner prior by “As You Like It” catering of Schenectady. Mr. Hoffman is the chief political correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, and has interviewed major political players from across the spectrum. $25pp, $10 ages 22-40.

10/27: WOMENS BET MEDRASH 8pm at Maimonides, once a month on Mondays, this year’s topic is biblical women with rotating presenters: Morah Rochel will present on Rachel our matriarch. Come and learn!

10/29: CBAJ TORAH & TEA IS BACK Rabbi Lehrfield’s Torah & Tea classes resumes after the holidays, 10:30am at CBAJ.

11/4: RACHEL IMENU 11th of Cheshvan is the yartzeit for Rochel Imenu, we commemorate it at school every year.

11/5: MAZAL & ASTROLOGY @CBAJ Rabbi B. Lehrfield will be giving a class, 7:15pm at CBAJ on Mazal, Astrology & Fortune in Judaism.

11/11: PARENT-TEACHER CONF. There will be No School on Veterans Day to allow for Parent-Teacher Conferences to discuss individual student progress. A schedule of parentteacher appointments will be sent home.

11/14: YES, THERE’S SCHOOL! There was a mistake on the school calendar. There is school this Friday, but there will be no school the following Friday on November 21st.

12/13: KISLEV 19 MELAVA MALKA Annual local tradition by Capital Chabad (going back earlier with R’ Zalman Levine), Chassidic stories, melodies and Melava Malka/farbrengen atmosphere. Stay tuned for more program details.

12/22: MHDS RAFFLE-AUCTION AND CHANUKAH DINNER

Now in its 12th year! We are now finalizing the raffle-auction prize packages (donations are still Others may be busy with fear and fright on the 31st welcome!) with hopes to have it printed and mailed but the school will be celebrating the relief of the in time to reach homes before Thanksgiving. There last Jew arriving home after the holidays in biblical will be an online version as well. The prize viewings times. This day symbolizes “No Jew Left Behind” and drawings, 5-7pm at Maimonides, will be as look for a special program at school. nearly every year in the past on a Chanukah evening (this year on the 7th night) together with a 10/29: WELCOME KELMANS delicious themed dinner prepared by the 5pm event at Schenectady JCC to welcome Rabbi Kochmans at “Nathan’s Kitchen”.

Avraham and Rabinessa Liora Kelman to Beth Israel and the Schenectady community. For info/ $650 CURRICULUM ACQUISTION rsvp: judyb@schenectadyJCC.org or call: 377-8803. Pictures next week of the extensive Yahadus

10/31: ZAYIN CHESHVAN

11/1: “THE DREAMERS” AT CBAJ CBAJ movie night presents “The Dreamers” a film about two Orthodox women who seek to produce films. Separate film for kids 8th grade & younger.

7:15pm. Snacks and drinks provided.

(General Jewish Knowledge based on Rambam) professional curriculum of textbooks, workbooks and teacher’s guides purchase by the school.

Thanks to some initial sponsorships to help cover this quality investment. More next week!

IMPORTANT: SCHOOL CALENDAR CORRECTION The school calendar mistakenly lists no school on Friday November 14th, but there will be regular school that Friday. Instead there will be no school on Friday November 21st, as well as no school the following week from Wed ?? Thru the weekend for Thanksgiving Break.

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!”