Maimonides Community

BH. Sivan

4, 5778 / May 18, 2018

‫ב“ה‬

Candle-Lighting: Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 7:56 (Friday) 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org YomTov Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 9:07 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY

maimonidesschool@gmail.com

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

JOURNAL ADS DUE BY MAY 28 This year at 30th year of Maimonides Dinner Rabbi Rubin and Morah Rochel will be the recipients of the Dr. Morton Berger Memorial Awards. Tribute Journal ads in their honor— recognizing and appreciating their constant dedication and guidance and leadership of the school since its founding in 1980—are due by May 28th, that’s approximately two weeks away. See www.maimonidesschool.org/dinner or call the school office: 518-453-9363.

USA’S JERUSALEM EMBASSY DEDICATION CEREMONY Grades 5-7 watched most of this dedication ceremony live, with teachers pointing out many references to verses of Psalms and Jewish history mentioned by the various speakers.

Whatever politics & complexities aside, the beloved focus on Jerusalem and its centrality is important for our school and our students. One important line about learning history was said by PM Netanyahu: “By recognizing history, we make history!” The Rabbi who spoke at the ceremony was Rabbi Zalman Wolowik of 5 Towns Chabad on STARKS AUTO REPAIR CLOSING Long Island, and his son learns weekly with It’s the end of an era. Sid Stark is selling the one of our 5th graders property and closing his auto repair shop in on the phone!

Saratoga. His father Henry started it 60 years

This MC Newsletter is dedicated in special honor of

The Children of Maimonides and all over the World

who are the Guarantors of the Torah!

By a Maimonides Supporter & Friend ago, and while Sid was originally a Chemistry teacher, he took over the garage—the only Shomer Shabbos auto repair for hundreds of miles between Monsey and Montreal! The Times-Union did a front-page story on the shop’s closing, with nice testimonials from loyal customers who appreciated Stark’s Auto’s old-fashioned honesty, workmanship and reasonable rates. It was a great story, but what does the Times-Union know about the great challenge of being Shomer Shabbos in a retail business like car repair, especially when a lot of people like to bring their cars in on the weekend? They did catch on to his love of reading and books which he kept handy for slow times of the day. Another thing the Times-Union didn’t know was how early Sid would rise to daven Shachris every day!

Especially once they moved up to live in Albany to make it easier for his daughters to attend Maimonides and for Morah Devorah to teach here. Many in our community who brought our cars up there for repairs will miss it very much. It was a shop full of Mitzvos, irreplaceable! one of its kind!

FIRST AND SECOND GRADERS VISIT QUACKENBUSH SQUARE Can you find Mrs. Mattice, Chana K. & Chanale V. in the above left picture? They are behind wooden cutouts of period Dutch clothing with only their faces showing! They enjoyed their visit to the Albany Visitors Center to Quackenbush Square downtown where they played a fun scavenger hunt about Native Americans and Dutch peoples who first settled our area. Four of the students volunteered to be part of a little play about the trading between the Dutch settlers and the Native Americans. They even got to hold animal furs. They also got to watch a dark sky planetarium show about the stars in the sky. The guide there (who helped them with all the exhibits and shows) pointed out the constellations and showed them the difference between a winter sky and a summer sky.

A SHTENDER OF THEIR OWN 5th graders are happy and proud to display their handiwork, their very own “Shtenders” TISSUE PAPER FLOWERS they measured, assembled, sanded & painted Morah Devorah’s first graders made these pretty flower bouquets for Shavuos. Until they from scratch with Rabbi Shmuly in their craftsmanship class. Very nice job! And lined take them home they are adorning their up in a semi-circle it looks so official… classroom windowsill.

EDIBLE FLOWERS WHAT ARE THOSE KNOBS? They are colorful and useful and fun, where did Morah Rivka get those from? Ah, they are the round covers to the squeezable applesauce that younger kids often bring in their lunches.

Instead of throwing them out Morah Rivka has been saving them, and this week they were great for putting flowers into playdough Har Sinai’s in preparation for Shavuos! It’s the 2nd R of the 3 R’s: Reduce, REUSE & Recycle.

HAVE YOU SEEN IT YET? Rabbi Michael Caras and the 7th grade boys released their final TTN for the year on Lag BaOmer titled “Torah Through the Ages” featuring Moshe & Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva and the Rambam, down to Albany NY! See it on YouTube, look for: TTN Torah through the Ages or see the short video online at: www.TheTorahTimes.com It’s great!

Morah DL’s 2nd graders made edible sweet flowers by folding and bending fruit leather into roses! It’s a double connection to Shavuot, because of the flowers at Sinai and because Torah is sweet!

THEMES IN “WAR HORSE” 7th graders are reading this WWI novel by Michael Morpurgo. It is written from the perspective of the horse, so it is both an interesting literary device and an historical setting. It was later made into a film by Steven Spielberg. They are now discussing themes in the book.

GENETIC TRAITS SURVEY 4/5 grade science students are on the prowl to look for and record some visible genetic traits and how they (do or don’t) run in their families—like hairlines, ear-lobes and dimples.

CALCULATING VARIABLES 5th grade math began to calculate using an unknown number (symbolized by a letter) among known numbers.

VOLCANOES THEN AND NOW Mrs. Ramsay’s 5th grade history students watched a film about the Pompeii after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in Italy many centuries ago. This is just in time for the current events in Hawaii, where the Kilauea volcano is billowing smoke and spewing some lava and there are concerns about how much more might erupt and what might happen next. This also relates to High School Earth Science classes.

BAR-MITZVAH TZEDAKAH Recent Bar-Mitzvah boys in 7thgrade, Nesanel S. and Menachem S. each gave Maaser/Tzedakah to the school from their Bar-Mitzvah gifts. This was very thoughtful of them & their families.

“B2L” FAREWELL AT MASSRY Our 10th graders have been doing programs with Massry residents over the course of the year in the “Better to Lead” program. It concluded with a special luncheon celebration this week. They served blintzes with toppings and made a necklace craft with the seniors as a way of “tying together” all the programs they did and memories they shared. The girls presented a Powerpoint showing how each month’s program reflected a different biblical Jewish woman, what the girls shared and what the seniors taught them.

They also presented the online version of a (soon to be ready) photo album that they made for their senior friends with pictures and quotes. The interesting thing was that the high school students were in some ways even more emotional than the seniors at this year-end!

Special thanks to Rabbi Yossi for organizing and guiding this special program all year long.

REBBETZIN TAP AT SCHOOL Well, not in person. This lively funny Jewish dance instructor beamed into school virtually via the Jewish Girl Unite program, on the first day back to regular music after the Omer, and OUTING TO ELM PARK a fun way to get back into the holiday spirit.

Morah Devorah took her first grade students on a Siyum to Elm Park because they finished all their Hebrew language books this year!

TWO TYPES OF “SHVA” SOUNDS Speaking of first grade Hebrew language they are now learning about Shva-Nach (which does not make a sound) and Shva-Nah (which has a sound) & grammatical rules that differentiate them. Now, how many adults know that?

WRITING A TORAH SCROLL

MORAH RIVI IN THE PAPER

PRETTY COOKIE BOUQUETS Kindergartners decorated cookies on sticks with multi-colored icing to turn into edible floral arrangements for their Shavuos table.

TORAH AS A PRESCRIPTION Rabbi Mendel showed the HS girls and the 7th graders a class he wrote using about 15 analogies for how medicine can be a parable for Torah study, absorption and application.

This play Torah in Nursery is unique because they filled in its outlined Hebrew letters using a feather quill and inkwell like a Sofer does! They also made paper flower bouquets using recycled materials and made a cute “open the flap” book based on the song “Hashem gave us a present!”

Maimonides Art and Ivrit (Hebrew language) teacher Morah Rivi Bahir is featured in today’s (Thursday) “Times-Union” newspaper with the cookbook she prepared of Israeli recipes for Mifgash’s communal high school’s Israeli food event earlier this year. The focus of the article is how Israeli cuisine is a cornucopia blend of the many immigrant cultures that came to Israel from many countries. This week with all the negative press about Israel, this HERE’S WHAT DIDN’T FIT IN was refreshing to see in the newspaper!

Not enough room this week to report on the comprehensive test on laws of Muktzah, a YANNY OR LAUREL? clever connection how BOGO fits into the The internet exploded with this Shavuot narrative, Civil Rights movement, question this week. What do you cheesecake making for seniors, update on the hear? A Chabad.org article ties it right into the history wax museum, online Jerusalem game, “Zachor” and “Shamor” both said as one word and much more, perhaps in the next MC “B’Dibbur Echad” in the 10 Commandments! newsletter after Shavuot!

at Maimonides and in the Community 5/18: EREV SHABBOS/SHAVUOT—NO SCHOOL

6/3: EAT LOVE PRAY—WOMENS LUNCHEON & TALK

No school this Friday. School resumes with 9:30am late start on Tuesday.

5/19-21: SHAVUOT 3-DAY HOLIDAY

Featuring guest presenter Rus Devorah Whalen LCSW PC, along with a buffet brunch, silent auction, and musical presentations. 11am at Hyatt Place in Malta with the Clifton Park Jewish Womens Connection. 518-495-0779.

Shabbos (5/18-19) runs into Shavuot (Sunday & Monday May 20 & 21) for a 3-day YomTov. No School Friday 5/18. School resumes Tuesday at 9:30am.

6/3: ELI G. PUTS ON TEFILLIN

5/19: SHAVUOT ALL-NIGHT LEARNING

At the 8am Sunday morning Minyan at Shomray Torah/Shteeble in preparation for his summertime Bar-Mitzvah.

Shomray Torah late-night learning begins after YomTov meal close to 6/3: CELEBRATE ISRAEL PARADE IN NYC midnight and goes to 3:35 dawn. Rabbi Rubin will review his involvement with Dayan Raskin of England’s Halachos of Shavuos Torah Reading. CBAJ Our local Jewish Federation will going down to participate in the 5th Ave has a 9pm Maariv & dairy dinner followed by lectures by Rabbi Roy Feldman parade in Manhattan. $30pp includes bus trip (leaves 7:30am, returns to (1st part of a 3-part lectures on legacies) and Rabbi Tzvi Goldstein of NCSY Albany 8pm) and t-shirt. RSVP/Info: 518-783-7800 x239. (on the hidden drama of Megilat Ruth) and midnight onward study with Yeshiva University TorahTours guests to a 5:45am earliest morning Shacharit.

6/5: 30TH ANNUAL MAIMONIDES

DINNER HONORS RABBI RUBIN AND MORAH ROCHEL!

5/19-21: 3-DAYS OF KIDDUSHIM AT SHTEEBLE Shabbos Day Kiddush is sponsored by the Starks, first day of Shavuos dairy Kiddush by Avremi Backman for his birthday and others in the community, 2nd day Shavuos dairy Kiddush in honor of Chaya Bracha Rubin’s birthday.

5/27-28: LAST DAYS OF COOK PARK CARNIVAL RIDES Weeknights 5-9pm, Sunday 1pm-10pm. Ride tickets are $1 each, wristbands available some days. More info at: http://www.gilletteshows.biz/

5/24: THURSDAY AREA MEMORIAL DAY PARADES

webpage with journal info: www.maimonidesschool.org/ dinner journal ads are due by May 28th (please share link with friends, family, old Albany families and alumni!).

This year, the 30th year of the dinner & the Dr. Morton Berger Memorial Award honors Rabbi Yisroel & Rochel Rubin who founded the school in 1980 and continue to shepherd it daily!

6/10: FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE WALK IN TAWASENTHA

1pm-3:30pm in Tawasentha Park (188 NY-146) in Altamont. Bring sneakers!

They start locally on Thursday and run through Sunday. Cohoes: starting at Enjoy a BBQ after the walk/run, with Arts & Crafts for the little ones and fire West End Park at 6:30pm. Saratoga: 6:30pm starting at north end of Broadway truck demonstration. $10pp or $30 per family. RSVP: capitalfriends.org/ down to Congress Park. Rotterdam: starts off 6:30pm at Warrior Pathevents/friendship-circle-walk-2018/ Mohonasen High School and finishes at the Rotterdam Town Hall.

5/27: SUNDAY’S AREA MEMORIAL DAY PARADES Rensselaer: opening ceremonies at 1pm across Beverwyck cemetery on Washington Ave leading to Huyck Park.

5/28: MEMORIAL DAY—NO SCHOOL

6/12: THE YEAR-END SCHOOL BBQ This year it will be a few days before the end of the school year, on Tuesday during the last full week of school. Cost per family is $25 or $5pp.

6/13: MENDEL C.P. PUTS ON TEFILLIN

Enjoy the extended weekend off. School resumes 8am on Tuesday.

Mendel R. (Clifton Park) puts on Tefillin for the first time at Shomray Torah in preparation for his summertime Bar-Mitzvah.

5/28: MEMORIAL DAY MEMORIAL DAY PARADES

6/18: MOVING-UP DAY AFTERNOON

Albany: 10am at Central Ave & Partridge Street going down to Education Building on Washington Ave. Bethlehem: 11am from American Legion on Elsmere Ave to Veterans Park near Stewarts. Glens Falls: 10am down Glen Street (Route 9) to Upper Glen Street’s Peace & Victory monument. North Greenbush: Steps off 1:30pm from Town Hall. And more!!!

As a number of families are getting their kids to camp (some starting earlier this year) on Tuesday, we’re moving Moving-Up Day to Monday afternoon at 2pm. Parents and families are welcome and encouraged to attend.

6/19: SCHOOL CLEAN-UP & PACK-UP DAY

5/28: DEADLINE FOR DINNER JOURNAL ADS

Teachers are all encouraged to come to school on the “day-after” to put things away, tidy up and close up the school year.

Honoring Rabbi Rubin & Morah Rochel: maimonidesschool.org/dinner Ads arriving after this date may be included in a possible Journal supplement.

6/20: EIGHTH GRADE & HS GRADUATION

5/30: YEAR-END SCHOOL TRIP All day Wednesday trip (possibly delayed return pickup at 4:30pm) for Grades 2-8. School will be renting a bus to take us to Old Sturbridge Village in MA. See www.OSV.org. Cost is $10 per student, school subsidizes rest of cost.

Wed evening, after 8th grade returns from graduation trip.

7/9-8/17: CAMP GAN ISRAEL DATES Gan Israel Day Camp dates for Summer ‘18: July 9th thru Aug 17th. Dedicated staff, engaging program, meaningful memories.

For more info call Morah Devorah Leah: 518-698-1836.

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!”