Maimonides Community

BH. Adar

II 29, 5776 / April 8, 2016

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 7:12 Shabbos Ends:

produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & 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

8:14

-‫תזריע‬ ‫החודש‬

This newsletter is dedicated in memory of

Rose Stark on her passing at age 100 STARK CONDOLENCES Mrs. Rose Stark passed away at age 100, her funeral was today in Saratoga where she lived since marrying her husband Henry in 1946.

They were married for 68 years until his passing two years ago on Pesach. She was an artist, mother, and beloved wife. Condolences to her son (his brothers and their families) Sid and Morah Devorah Stark, their children and grandchildren. One of her favorite mottos was: “Count your blessings, not your years!” Shiva at 233 South Main (and also in Providence RI)

MAZAL TOV ROSENBLUMS MISHKAN ART PROJECT

CARL ROSNER FEATURED

Grades 2-5 worked on different parts of this Mishkan (tabernacle/temple) project in art class TimesUnion Scenes with Mrs. Levin. The students really got into it. featured inventor Some painted the Perochet wall hangings, Carl Rosner’s others made the vessels (ark, altar etc), still Schenectady home others made replicas of the instruments and and back-story, how utensils used. Not all of it is pictured here. The falling behind in his outer Mizbayach altar has a ramp and four education due to the raised corners, the Kiyor washbasin has a spout Holocaust made him and well/basin underneath, the Aron ark especially thirsty for books & knowledge actually opens and has Luchot tablets inside, “I want to know Kohain Gadol High Priest has pomegranates everything, I’m and bells hanging from the bottom of his robe. interested in everything” and when it came to This multi-class project involved research, his home “all I wanted was bookshelves.” effort and teamwork, interest and enthusiasm!

MAZAL TOV GORDONS Last Friday night Morah Dini gave birth to a baby boy! Mazal Tov to R’ Itche & Dini & the Gordon siblings.

MAZAL TOV MORRISONS Mazal Tov to MHDS alumnus Eliyahu and Rochel Leah Morrison of Cincinnati on the birth of a daughter named Shira Bracha. Mazal Tov to Bubbe and Zeide Elisheva and Leibel Morrison, and uncle Aharon Meir at Maimonides!

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

To Chananya & Sara Rosenblum of Passaic (both MHDS alumni) on the birth of a baby boy. Mazal Tov also to the grandparents Sandy & Dina Rosenblum.

MUSTARD SEED IN PETRI DISH HS Boys experimented with growing mustard seeds in Petri dishes, with slight variations in the conditions in each Petri dish to see the effect on seed germination.

ATHENS VS. SPARTA 6/7 history is learning about the differences in government, values, lifestyle and culture between these two major cities and their bitter rivalry that led to the Phoenician War.

BRISKER LEARNING This week Rabbi Meir Solveitchik, Rosh Yeshiva of Brisk Jerusalem passed away, so Rabbi Rubin thought it was an appropriate time to introduce our HS boys to the Brisk method of Talmud study. They studied a classic “Reb Chaim Brisker” on philosophical approaches to the different methods of getting rid of Chametz and how this perspective explains many Talmudic and Halachic issues.

While they were learning this, Rabbi Kelman came in and shared an amazing glowing exchange he had with Rabbi Yosef Kapach (a famous Yemenite Rabbi who resolved many nuances in Rambam text, and retranslated some Rambam texts from the original Arabic) about Reb Chaim’s brilliant explanations.

THINK YOU CAN’T DRAW? Think again! 8th graders watched a video of a man teaching drawing techniques showing that it’s possible to learn to draw even if you aren't good at it. He even worked with elderly EDIBLE MATZAH HOUSES people recovering from strokes. It got them This week Amy Drucker of PJ Library brought into drawing cartoon figures and made them a fun project to grades N-2, making “Matzah think about people’s talents & abilities that Houses” using cream-cheese as glue and may lie dormant. candies for decoration. Thanks for the sensitivity in using egg-matzah (for those who don’t eat regular matzah in the month leading up to Pesach) and for buying Chalav Yisrael cream-cheese for all our students to enjoy!

SLOPES: THE RATE OF CHANGE 8th grade math with Mrs. Roland is learning how to measure the slope between two designated coordinates to determine the rate of change. Measuring change (in the spread of the Tza’arat) is also a key factor in this week’s Tazria Torah portion as well as next week’s Metzorah. Note this new M.I.C. symbol we’re trying out, it stands for “Maimonides Integrated Connections” and highlights intercurricular & integrated life connections to classroom learning.

MANY HEBREW PESACH TERMS 2nd graders with Morah Devorah Leah made this Chageinu holiday bulletin board of many Hebrew terms connected with Pesach. Here a sampler: Maot Chittim = holiday charity, Yizkor = memorial prayer, Yaknahaz = acronym for order of Kiddush & Havdalah combo on Saturday Night, Tal = prayer for dew, Kol Chamira = Chametz ownerlessness declaration, L’shem Matzos Mitzvah = said as baking Matzot!

CALCULATING TIME It so happens that 3rd graders are calculating time in math class with Mrs. Maher, and also in Mishna class with Rabbi Shmuly as they learn about “Halachic Hours” which changes according to the time of year and how many hours of daylight there are. This is relevant to the timing of Mitzvot like saying the morning Shema, as well as the start time of the prohibition against Chametz, coming up soon!

VASCULAR & NON-VASCULAR NEW BOOK IN ESTY LIBRARY This early-reader/picture-book was signed by the author for Maimonides students. It has a great life message to be learned from the Kosher sign of “chewing its cud”. If you’d like to donate a new book to Esty Library in honor of a special occasion or in memory of a loved one, contact Morah Rochel for details.

Plants. That’s a important classification difference in the plant kingdom that 6/7 grade science is learning about. Low-lying moss is non-vascular, while tall trees are vascular.

OUR NEWSLETTER FEATURED SHIN-LETTER WORDS Kindergarteners are learning letters Shin/Sin and some of the words are Shomayim = PLAY MATZAH BAKERY heaven/skies, Shokolad = chocolate, Shir = Nursery students painted a cardboard box into song, Simlah = dress. Plus they are holding up a fiery red hot Matzah oven which they are pictures they made of something you wouldn’t using for playtime, “baking” Matzahs and ordinarily expect in April: Sheleg = snow! preparing for Pesach!

Our “MC” newsletter is among the school newsletters featured in this week’s edition of the “Mishpacha Junior” magazine. We didn’t see the full article yet but our students’ quotes about working on the MC should be included!

We hope to include a picture or report about the article in next week’s MC newsletter.

GIRLS REPORT ON CHIDON

FUEL TYPES & CONSUMPTION

Aside for the big final test and the game show event which were the dramatic Chidon highlights, the girls had a blast going from pizza to BBQ’s, indoor water parks, bowling and ice-skating—you name it! They even rode a double-decker bus. Shabbos was also very special, they ate Friday Night as a group at the home of Efraim and Menucha Rubin, and on Shabbos day they ate with the nearly 400 girls at a big Shabbos meal in Beis Rivka. Esther W. answered a question correctly on stage!

8th grade science had a test on various forms and sources of fuel and their consumption, as well as ways to conserve energy.

BLINTZES! 8th graders made Blintzes with Morah Rivi in Hebrew cooking class to share with senior in Better Together. The filling and super thin crepe cover are better together, too!

BETTER TOGETHER RECIPES We’re looking for submissions of recipes our students can get from seniors, neighbors or relatives or family friends. Hopefully we can get enough recipes (short stories, descriptions or backgrounds) to make a cookbook out of it!

Email to: maimonidesschool@gmail.com Pesach might a very good time for this!

WHO WAS TUDOS OF ROME

A SATURATED SOLUTION

What kind of person was he? A great person or a powerful person? To be respected or feared?

8th grade Talmud learned 2 insightful answers (Pesachim 53) based on what he was willing to selflessly give up, & what he actually gave away.

In Science-Enrichment today these 6/7 graders added 5 ml of sugar at a time to a cup of water stirring to dissolve it after each time. After a certain number of times (which each team recorded) the sugar would no longer dissolve because the solution was already saturated.

FRINGE BENEFITS OF PESACH CLEANING

AND NOW THE BOYS ARE OFF WHAT’S ALL THIS CURLY BLUE? These four boys in 4/5 grade are representing It’s the waves of the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds) made by primary grades in art class. It’s a technique learned for a rolled paper effect.

our school at the International Boys Chidon HaMitzvos, this weekend in Brooklyn. (Eli is coming back for Shabbos for his brother’s Bris). You can see them here enjoying some pizza, and getting their Chidon group assignments with their NY chaperone Motti.

DIGGING FOR DIGGING’S SAKE

BABY BOY OR GIRL IN CRIB 3rd graders made these for this week’s Parsha Tazria about birth. First they unscrewed wooden boxes with tiny screwdrivers, then painted tiny wooden dolls and the boxes.

These Nursery students were very animated as they dug and pulled sand away in their classroom sandbox. They weren’t digging for anything specific, or using the sand for anything special but they were digging away nonetheless. This is a good lesson about learning: Some things we learn because we need to use that skill or apply that knowledge or information, but there’s also a noble goal to learning for learning’s sake, even if we never use it, only for the sake of learning!

1

Finding Things! A good thorough everywhere cleaning helps find old overdue library books, school folders lost, homework assignments, that missing shoe, car keys long forgotten, even coins in couches.

2

Getting Rid of Stuff: One of the great feelings of accomplishment of Pesach cleaning is getting rid of stuff that accumulated over time. The big bags of garbage or stuff to give away, make so much more room and breathing space, it’s like the famous story of getting the goats and ducks and chickens out of the house and feeling roomy again!

3

Ah, the clean smell and feel! Sometimes you find old lunches or snacks that have become science experiments and added a smell to the room that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. Dust and dirt really adds up, it’s amazing how fresh it feels when you get into corners and hard to reach places and get rid of it all.

4

An organized state of mind. Clutter and mess isn’t only a physical problem, it can effect our mindset and even our spirituality!

Having an organized home helps us have a more organized mind and lets us work and function more efficiently.

5

Yes, these are all fringe benefits, but the main reason is... To fulfill Torah’s positive and negative commandments not to have any Chametz in our possession during the holiday of Pesach. We go all out to fulfill it!

at Maimonides and in the Community 4/8: JOURNEY THRU THE BODY

4/17: JCC PILLARS AWARDS

4/26: SARATOGA ACTIVITIES

Thanks to our General Studies teachers and parent chaperones and drivers for allowing several of our grades to attend this exciting hands-on educational experience at the mall today.

The Albany JCC’s pillars awards breakfast will be held at CBAJ at 9:30am, honoring Malka & Eitan Evan, Richard & Kathy Kotlow and (past MHDS Morton Berger awardee) Harry & Anne Rosenfeld.

Saratoga Chabad is hosting an evening for the kids, 5-7pm on Tuesday Chol HaMoed Pesach, including carnival activities, crafts, a magic show and a Pesach dinner. Cost is: $36 per family or $10pp. More info? 526-0773.

4/8: SHIVA AT THE STARK HOME

4/20-29: SCHOOL SCHEDULE

Starting after the funeral on Friday, at 233 South Main, for the passing of Rose Stark of Saratoga.

Shiva will also be observed in Rhode Island.

4/20-21: Half-days English only 4/22-29: No School. Pesach ends 4/30.

4/8: SHALOM ZACHOR The customary Friday night baby boy welcome will be at the Gordon’s home after the Shabbos meal.

4/9: THREE TORAHS! TAZRIA, HACHODESH, ROSH CHODESH

4/28: PESACH KIDS RALLY

Motti is back with an energizing kids rally on the last day of Chol HaMoed, 11am-12pm. Stay tuned for location info. As usual, will include games and 4/22: EREV PESACH AT MHDS An annual tradition: community comes out for the prizes and holiday learning and hands-on Mitzvot. firstborn Siyum and burning of Chametz at Are you interested? DATE T.B.D. Maimonides on the morning before Passover.

4/22-23: COMMUNAL SEDERS

The first Seder is on Friday Night this year, the second This Shabbos is Rosh Chodesh Nissan, and we also Seder is on Saturday Night. read Parshat HaChodesh, the last of the 4 seasonal • Communal Seder by Chabad to be held Friday night at Federation’s Golub Center, $18 bonus Torah readings, along with Tazria, of course. suggested donation. Contact Rabbi Rubin 4234103 if interested.

4/9: THE SHABBOS GORDON BRIS • CBAJ first Seder at the Shul. RSVP by April 3.

The Bris for the Gordon baby will IYH be at their Visit cbaj.org for member/non-member pricing. home 29 Glenwood (approx 12:30pm) after Musaf • Bethlehem Chabad hosts first Seder at the on Shabbos Day, with Kiddush following at the Normanside. Adults $30, Children $10. RSVP Shteeble at 463 New Scotland Ave.

by April 17. To join Bethlehem Chabad familystyle Seder on 2nd Night call Rabbi Nachman 4/10: PRICECHOPPER OPENHOUSE Simon 439-8280 or Rabbi Z. Simon 866-7658.

Taste Passover specialties, meet vendors, 10am-2pm • Shabbos House, both nights, primarily for at the Colonie Price Chopper Kosher Department. students but community is also welcome. See signup at shabboshouse.org/Passover2016 4/11: WOMENS CIRCLE EVENT • Saratoga Chabad, communal Seders both nights, Pre-Pesach Albany Womens Circle at the home of Call 526-0773 for info.

Gittel Laber, 321 South Main with a soap-making • Beth Tephilah in Troy is hosting both Seders, demonstration by Leah Siegel. Monday, 7:30pm. run at the shortest time span to fulfill Halachic requirements, approx 90 minutes. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. RSVP: 8944/13: “31 NEW THINGS TO SAY” 3491. There will also be another Chabad RPI 7:45pm pre-Pesach class at CBAJ with Rabbi B. Seder on 15th Street, call for info: 894-3491.

Lehrfield, “31 New Things To Say At Your Seder” • Beth Israel Schenectady hosts the first Seder.

Call 377-3700 for member/non-member pricing.

4/14: A SENIOR BAR-MITZVAH • The Labers are hosting guests for Seders at their Once again this year, our HS Boys in the “Betterhome, call 833-0704 for more info.

Together” program will be doing a Torah-Reading • Union College Chabad, first seder 7:30pm, and Bar-Mitzvah for seniors at the Parkview Senior second seder 8pm. 479-9592 Housing (formerly Bnai Brith Apartments on Stay tuned for additional listings & details next week!

Hudson Ave) at 12pm. For more info? Call: 4950772 or 522-1872.

4/25-28: CHOL HAMOED PESACH

Pesach begins and ends on Shabbos this year, Annual event for mid-20’s to mid-40’s at Daughters which leaves a few solid midweek days to enjoy of Sarah Senior Center with food demos & tasting, outings and activities with kids. Any ideas? dinner, drinks and mingling. Vaad supervised. $20pp. RSVP: 724-3261 or foundation@dossc.org.

4/14: CHOP MIX AND ROLL

CROWN HEIGHTS BUS TRIP An attorney from Hudson NY (with support of the Jewish Federation) is trying to arrange a full-day bus trip with touring and shopping in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Shopping to include Kosher food & Judaica. Tour includes a scribe, handmade Shmurah Matzah bakery, Rebbe’s synagogue and library, a delicious lunch and more. Bus to make stops in Albany and Hudson. Cost including bus, lunch & tour: $70pp. For more info contact Rabbi Rubin 423-4103 / rralbany@gmail.com or see Eventbrite.com/CrownHeights

5/22: TENTATIVE DATE FOR BETTER TOGETHER GATHERING This date is still tentative but look for a day in May for a special “Better Together” gathering at the school with presentations by our students and food and enjoyment for all.

6/1: MAIMONIDES DINNER Save the date for the Maimonides awards dinner on Wednesday, June 1st, honoring Phyllis Silverman with the Dr. Morton Berger award and paying tribute to 3 sets of parents with long-term dedication to Maimonides, educating all their children here from start to finish: Avremi and Sharona Backman, Ruvain and Shayna Kudan and Nachman and Clara Simon. Stay tuned for dinner invite, tribute journal info and additional details.

7/11-8/19: CAMP GAN ISRAEL Registration is opening soon, a great staff is now lined up, and there are exciting plans in the works for this summer. Call Camp Director Devorah Leah Mathless 698-1836 for more info. The Gan Israel day camp is based at Maimonides, but you don’t have to go to Maimonides to attend and have a really fun, enjoyable and meaningful time.

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!”