Maimonides Community

BH. Nissan

28, 5778 / April 13, 2018

‫ב“ה‬

Candle-Lighting: Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 7:17 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org Shabbos Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 8:20 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY

RABBI RUBIN & MORAH ROCHEL HONOREES This year will be the 30th annual dinner presenting the Dr. Morton Berger Memorial Award and Rabbi Rubin and Morah Rochel will be the honorees recognizing their day-in-day-out constant dedication and direction since the school was founded in 1980. The dinner will be June 5th. Invitations now at the printer and will be mailed this coming week. This online link will soon be updated with this year’s info for journal ads, dinner reservations etc.: www.maimonidesschool.org/dinner

maimonidesschool@gmail.com

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

This MC Newsletter is dedicated in honor of the first birthday of

Moshe Gavriel Michel

MAZAL TOV GORDONS Mazal Tov to Morah Dini, R’ Itche and the Gordon family on the birth of a baby boy after Pesach! We’re all excited for the upcoming Bris IYH. Wishing the Gordon family (and their visiting Bubbe and Zeide from California) much continued Nachas!

By his parents Simmy & Chaya

MIRIAM BISKIN OBM Miriam Biskin passed away at 98. She was a English teacher for 37 years at Cohoes High, author of books and articles, and for several years wrote articles for Rabbi Rubin’s Holiday Guide newspapers. She established a reading lab in Cohoes High to help students catch up on their reading skills. She was honored by our school in 2011 along with other Capital Region Jewish authors. Her husband Irving served in WWII and she saved his war-time letters to her, collecting them in a book which she read from every night after his passing.

Condolences to her daughter Anne Rothenberg (now of Jerusalem and Albany) who many know from her local work with Hadassah and her artistic contributions.

7TH GRADE SHANGHAI TRIP

They didn’t go all the way to Shanghai China but they did go down to Brooklyn with Rabbi Rubin and Mr. DovBer to see a Shanghai exhibit at the Amud Aish Holocaust museum.

They are pictured above working through a history box with materials about a survivor, piecing together dates and places on a questionnaire sheet. They later watched a video of that person’s life and recognized the details they had pieced together from the box.

There was also a display of things about Rabbi Rubin’s father who survived the war in Shanghai. They heard the story of a Rabbi Lubart who went back in the last minute to get YEAR-END SCHOOL DATES his writings (they saw the actual handwritten Stay tuned for updates on year-end trip dates, book on display) and made the train in the last school pictures day, and moving-up day and minute. Other highlights included Dagans year-end BBQ. These dates are being discussed Pizza, a visit to Reb Moshe Losice, to a big and finalized as there are some new factors to Kosher store where they got their favorite consider and we’d like to work everything in as foods for supper (eclectic selections!). They smoothly as possible. Look for updates soon, took pictures of the Manhattan skyline, saw a keep checking page 4 of the MC Newsletter. huge cargo ship, parachute jump & lots more!

SIGNS OF SPRING AT SCHOOL It may not feel like Spring yet. In fact, people have been calling it “Sprinter” (Spring-Winter) but Nursery kids made beautiful paper flowers (above) & first graders made paper robins (top).

THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM 7th grade science is learning about all the steps and organs involved in our swallowing, digesting, absorbing and secreting food. It makes you mindful of a very complex yet everyday process that we take for granted!

TORAHPALACE.COM

SEND IN YOUR PICTURES! Did you take “kids with seniors” pictures? Maybe with grandparents over Pesach? HS Girls need such pictures for a photo album they’re making for seniors that they visit. Please email pictures (with captions, details, questions or comments) to bnoschayaprograms@gmail.com. You don’t have to go to Maimonides to participate.

There are raffles for each age group, for all pictures entered… THANKS!

This online game is still open and you can win points (and then Judaica books) for answering holiday trivia questions. And it is based right here in Troy NY!

CHUMASH GAME ON SCREEN Rabbi Mathless’ 5th grade Chumash class split into teams to enjoy a live (and lively!) game of dice and questions (skill and luck) to get ahead on the screen. It was a fun Siyum activity…

NESANEL DONATED A BOOK HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE (Top) In Art class with Morah Rivi students painted all types of scenes: houses or countrysides and then painted barbed wire across it, to show how the worlds of the Jewish people changed in the Holocaust. (Above) Morah Rochel read the “Why, Zaida?” book with 4th graders (pictured above) as well as with the 3rd, 5th and 7th graders. While it is a children’s book it addresses some of the deep intergenerational questions of the Holocaust.

In honor of his Bar-Mitzvah Nesanel donated a very nice book of Rebbe stories to the school library. Another great book for students to borrow from Esty Library! Thanks Nesanel.

EYES ON THE BALL… RABBI & REBBETZIN DEBATE In Rabbi Shmuly’s Talmud class, Rabbi Shammai (aka Mendel L.) debated Rebbetzin Hillel (aka Devorah Leah S.) whether one should keep saving the best for Shabbos, or enjoy the best as it comes during the week.

KINUCH KESHET COOKIES Kindergarten is learning Hebrew letter “Kuf” so they made rainbow sprinkle cookies because Kinuach = dessert and Keshet = rainbow, and it is made with Kemach = flour.

3RD GRADE FINISHED VAYERA That’s the 4th Parsha completed for these young boys and girls. Morah Devorah Leah is seeing if she can arrange for them to go see a telescope as a Siyum trip in honor of Avraham’s vision of the stars in the Parsha.

DESCRIBING THE ART PROCESS Mrs. Mattice’s 2nd graders had a special assignment.

They each drew an object of springtime (a sunflower, a snail etc) but then had to write down the detailed process of how they drew it, step by step, to articulate the process in words and sentences. It’s a reflective piece and helps express things that may be intuitive.

It’s not quite Spring weather yet, but the snow is gone and the courts are clear. Our boys are enjoying some basketball again. It’s a great workout, keeps them moving, and there are teamwork lessons in every direction!

ATHENS VS. SPARTA 5th grade history class studied the strengths and weaknesses of each of these countries, their styles and cultures, and their great war.

They just had a test on ancient Greece. They even learned where the term and distance of “running a marathon” came from!

SPIRITUAL DNA, THE SEFIROT As we are now in the period of Sefirah with a focus on spiritual growth and character development, Rabbi Mendel learned with the HS Girls his class with icons and descriptions of each of the Kabbalistical Sefirot in terms of our emotions with personal application and life relevance.

MARSH IN SCIENCE & RASHI 4th grade science learned about marshes as part of their biome research, and they also came across the word marsh in Rashi’s Old French translation in describing where the cows of Pharaoh's dream were standing. Great connection!

KOMETZ BOOK

FISH: FINS & SCALES

GIDEON’S 300-MEN WAR

4th grade Navi class is learning about the war Nursery learned Gideon waged in defense of the Jewish people about the signs of and how the unusual preparations for that war

by Hashem’s instruction and how he ended a Kosher fish, up with only 300 men to fight, and yet won! and made their own googley-eyed A CONVERSATION ABOUT AN paper fish.

Kindergarteners made their own Kometz books which all have Hebrew words with that vowel to practice with at home. That’s the Hebrew vowel with a dot under the horizontal line, that’s underneath letters.

ARGUMENT & ITS ARGUERS 7th grade Talmud learned this week a back and forth conversation between two Rabbis discussing which of two earlier Rabbis held a certain opinion. Takeaway? The Talmud cares a lot about attribution: crediting the proper source, knowing whose opinion is behind which law—and several practical reasons why that matters.

CLASSROOM OMER COUNTING

The blessing is only recited at nighttime, but our classes make mention of the Omer count each day as well. In PERFECT NAVI TIMING! Nursery they count up KOSHER VS. NON-KOSHER Morah Rochel’s Navi class learned this week using a song each day Morah Devorah’s first graders learned about the famous story of David and Jonathan (King and they add numbered the signs of Kosher vs. Non-Kosher animals Saul’s son) and how Jonathan selflessly sponge beads to the big and cut out a bunch of animal pictures and protected David from his father’s pursuit. green Omer chart that made posters of each, as this week’s Parsha Guess what? This week’s special they painted up on the Shemini tells us “to separate” and know the Haftorah is “Machar Chodesh” wall. First and second difference between Kosher and non-Kosher. which tells this very story! graders have a twisty windy Omer chart that MORE ON they color in each day as LINCOLN! FISH SCALES 7th grade history are watching the “Lincoln” it climbs up the mountain in their classroom.

Based on the film which shows President Lincoln’s difficult Kosher fish signs in choice between ending slavery or ending the HS GIRLS CATCH DAF YOMI this week’s Parsha, war, it all hung over the passage (or not) of the Rabbi Rubin and the HS Girls learned this Kindergarten made controversial 13th Amendment. week selections of tractate Horiyot which Daf these fish with cute Yomi will complete this Shabbos. One of the pieces of colorful interesting discussions is whether it is better to FOURTH GRADE TALMUD thin tissue paper know a little about a lot, or a lot about a little.

“What’s your take on the Romans?” seemed layered upon one like a private conversation between a few another as fish Mishna Rabbis but word got out and it had SHEMINI “8” DISCUSSIONS scales are. major ramifications. We wouldn’t have the This year (thanks to 2 weeks of Parsha off for Bar Yochai cave story without it. 4th grade Pesach) we read Shemini (which means 8) 8x.

TALES OF 4TH GRADE NOTHING Talmud class is learning this classic story from Rabbi Yossi and the students discussed a lot of This book by Judy Blume is the new read in tractate Shabbos with Rabbi Shmuly and also 7’s in the natural order: days of week, Shmita Mrs. Maher’s 4th grade class. Stay tuned! making their own animated powerpoints on it. cycle, prep days of Mishkan, 7-stringed harp…

at Maimonides and in the Community 4/13: GORDON BABY SHALOM ZACHOR Mazal Tov! Friday Night after the meal at the Gordons, 29 Glenwood Street.

other services. Info? (518) 438-6651x112 or claires@albanyjcc.org

5/3: LAG B’OMER AT SCHOOL & COMMUNITY

The school looks forward to making another Lag B’Omer Parade on Thursday morning. Stay tuned for this year’s theme, route details and timing. Thursday This Shabbos is “Mevorchim” and “Machar Chodesh” we bless new month of afternoon and evening there will be a number of communal events including a Iyar with Rosh Chodesh beginning Sat Night. Kiddush at Shomray Torah 5pm BBQ with Clifton Park Chabad, a 7pm firepit for young professionals on sponsored by the Meddali’s in honor of Sarah’s and Rachael’s recent birthdays South Lake Ave, firepit at Shabbos House for college students, stay tuned for and by Simmy & Chaya in honor of their son’s Gavriel’s first birthday. more events and details.

4/14: SHABBOS MEVORCHIM & DOUBLE-KIDDUSH

4/14: RETURN OF THE WOMENS SHABBOS SHIUR It’s after Pesach! Time for the weekly Shabbos afternoon Women’s Shabbos Shiur this week given by Chaya Tal at her home, 4 Halsdorf Street, 4:45pm.

4/14: DAF YOMI SIYUM OF TRACTATE HORIYOT It’s a small tractate to be completed this Shabbos in the Daf Yomi study cycle.

Our HS Girls learned some of it, too!

4/14: RABBI REISMAN’S SAT NIGHT SATELLITE SHIUR Now screened 10:15pm on Motzai Shabbos at the CBAJ Media Center.

4/15-16: ROSH CHODESH IYAR, MINYAN & BRIS

5/10: SCHOOL PICTURE DAY Dress your best that Thursday! Individual student pictures, class pictures and the official school picture scheduled for that Thursday. Parents will have options to purchase a variety of digital/print picture packages. Stay tuned!

5/20-21: SHAVUOT 3-DAY HOLIDAY Shabbos (5/18-19) runs right into Shavuot (Sunday & Monday May 20 & 21) for a 3-day YomTov. School resumes Tuesday morning at 9:30am.

6/5: 30TH ANNUAL MAIMONIDES DINNER HONORS RABBI RUBIN AND MORAH ROCHEL! Save the date! Dinner invites will be mailed next week and webpage with online options should be ready soon. This year, 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 to this day!

Sunday and Monday. Minyan 8am Monday morning at Maimonides. IYH the Gordon Bris will follow the Monday Minyan at Maimonides.

4/15: WILTON PRESERVE CORNELL FIRETOWER Opens 10am weather-permitting this Sunday and next for high-up views of the preserve and to learn about the role of fire-towers. Contact Larry Gordon at (518) 469-0918 to confirm hours, availability and weather conditions.

4/15: BABY ANIMAL BARN AT INDIAN LADDER

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.

9-6pm Sunday (and also weekday hours) through May 6th. $7 per child (no charge for accompanying adult, though other adults are $7pp). Plus you can go 6/18: MOVING-UP DAY AFTERNOON see the outdoor farm animals at no cost. Info? Contact Chrystie Stafford (518) As a number of families are getting their kids to camp (some starting earlier 573-7485 or via: indianladdertours@gmail.com. this year) on Tuesday, we’re moving Moving-Up Day to Monday afternoon at 2pm. Parents and families are welcome and encouraged to attend.

4/18: YOM HA’ATZMAUT COMMUNAL CELEBRATION

6pm-10pm at the Sage College Armory, 130 New Scotland Ave. 7pm “Tekes 6/19: SCHOOL CLEAN-UP & PACK-UP DAY Maavar” and at 8pm Rami Strosberg will be back with the Nafsheinu orchestra Parents, teachers and students are all encouraged to come to school on the for music and dancing, with a visiting food truck and more. Sponsored by the “day-after” to put things away, tidy up and close up the school year. There will Jewish Federation of NENY. Free and open to the community. be refreshments and tidbits of learning shared.

4/21: RABBI RUBIN’S 70TH BIRTHDAY KIDDUSH Birthday is Rosh Chodesh, Kiddush next Shabbos at Shomray Torah.

6/20: EIGHTH GRADE GRADUATION Wednesday evening, after the 8th grade returns from their graduation trip.

4/22: FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE DINNER AUCTION EVENT

7/9-8/17: CAMP GAN ISRAEL DATES

6pm at the Jewish Federation 184 Washington Ave Extension. Delicious Chinese Dinner Buffet. Admission is $30pp/$54 per couple. Raffle tickets are extra. Info? Chaya@capitalfriends.org

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.

4/29: HADLEY MAPLE IN APRIL FESTIVAL 9am-4pm on Rockwell Street in Hadley NY with vendors, arts & crafts, a car show and more. Info? hadleyba2003@yahoo.com

4/29: HEALTH FAIR FOR ADULTS @ALBANY JCC 10:30am-2:30pm. Free, co-sponsored by Beth Emeth. Health screenings and

UALBANY KOSHER DINING ONLY ABOUT A MONTH LEFT TO THE UALBANY SEMESTER

UAlbany’s Kosher Kitchen in the Indian Quad Dining Hall is open for lunch & dinner under Vaad Supervision. Visitor parking is just outside Indian Quad. Call 518-442-2668 for info, menu, cost...

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!”