BH. Shvat
17, 5778 / February 2, 2018
ב“ה
Candle-Lighting: Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 4:52 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org Shabbat Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 5:55 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
MAZAL TOV FIRST TEFILLINS This past Monday two of our 7th graders put on Tefillin for the first time in preparation for their upcoming Bar-Mitzvahs. Mazal Tov to Nesanel S. and Menachem S. and their families! All our davening boys went to participate at the Shteeble, and there was a very lavish and delicious spread after davening.
This MC is dedicated for a speedy recovery to our teachers and students out sick and in thanks to all who substituted for an excellent week of learning at school
ACTION PICS WITH SENIORS High School Girls are working on an album of pictures with children doing all kinds of things with seniors, from Mitzvahs to walks, games to cooking. There will be a contest with prizes! Speak to Rabbi Yossi or the HS girls with any questions or further details.
NOW U SEE IT, NOW U DON’T! Nursery students are making a 4-page folded booklet about growth “from seed to tree” for Tu Bishvat. These two students are displaying their first page of the booklet. On left all you see is the brown earth (paper) on bottom of the page. On right, if you unfold the brown paper (i.e. open up the earth) you will see the black oval seed buried within, hiding inside!
FIRST PARSHA! Second graders with Morah Devorah Leah finished the whole Parsha Breishis, their first Parsha of Chumash… now they are moving onto Parsha Noach!
TU BISHVAT HAIKUS This picture (not of the 2nd graders, taken at Tu Bishvat breakfast—see A PERSON IN TIME AND PLACE page 2) highlights the This online computer program allows students 2nd grade Haikus they to place “a person” at any place on earth, at wrote about Tu Bishvat any time of the year, to visualize the position in Mrs. Mattice’s English class about the of the sun relative to earth with many relevant “Shkaydia” song they learned in Hebrew class. earth science calculations. They each took measurements at summer & winter equinoxes, PLANTS IN SCIENCE CLASS and the fall and spring solstices, from the north pole to the south, even from Albany NY Just in time for Tu Bishvat! Mrs. and a choice of random dates throughout the Maher’s 4/5 science students learned about xylem and phloem, taproots and fibrous year. Indeed, Torah texts speak of “Olam root systems, photosynthesis and more! (place), Shana (time) & Nefesh (person).
ANNUAL TU BISHVAT AT THE NYS ASSEMBLY Why is Rabbi Rubin holding a Talmud in the NYS Capitol? He shared the Choni story from Taanit as part of the Tu Bishvat celebration “just as my ancestors planted for me, I plant for my descendants”. The pre-session celebration was attended by a spectrum of NYS Assembly(wo)men. Chuck Levine (Jewish caucus chairman) shared with our HS girls Hebrew words he remembered. Our girls met Nily Nozic (youngest woman ever elected to state legislature) and newlyelected representative Daniel Rosenthal.
PEELS & SHELLS IN LIFE HS Girls had a Mishmar event for Tu Bishvat at Shabbos House. They played a game that Rabbi Mendel made for college students at Torah Tuesday, with cards that listed various types of random challenges and each one had to explain three different approaches: (1) pistachio (easy remove shell) (2) hazelnut (hard to remove shell) and (3) apple (edible peel) to dealing with their assigned challenge.
MANY EVEREST CONNECTIONS At the Tu Bishvat Breakfast Morah Rochel told a story (and lesson) about Sir Edmund Tillary, the first man to climb the world’s tallest mountain. Before he succeeded, he first failed, but didn’t give up. He “spoke to the mountain” saying: “You won me this time, but eventually I will win over you, because mountains don’t grow but people do grow!” That fits right in with the book titled “Peak” 5th graders are reading THE ANNUAL TU BISHVAT BREAKFAST now in Mrs. M.’s class. Plus, in their recent studies of India, they learned about Mt Everest Of course, the big delicious variety of sweet and fruity cereals (Rabbi Rubin bought so many & Himalayan Mountains. Also appropriate for this year) was the main attraction, but it’s also quite amazing how much of the dried fruit and nuts went! They learned names of the fruits and nuts in Hebrew, heard the classic Talmud this week’s Parsha with Har Sinai! story of Choni HaMe’agel and its background of Bokser/Charuv/Carob (which some kids tasted), and Morah Rochel told a story of climbing Mt Everest (see story on left). CONFUCIOUS IN HISTORY 5th graders with Mrs. Ramsay are learning about Confucius, a great and influential teacher and philosopher from ancient China, who came from a noble but poor family and only became famous after his death when his students promoted his teachings.
ONE WORD VS. EIGHTY
7th grade Gemorah class learned a Tosefos that compares and contrasts three Talmud texts, attempts one answer before settling on the second one, and all this (in over 80 words of this Tosefos commentary) is dealt with JUDAH & TAMAR LESSONS subtly in Rashi commentary using one single Rabbi Mathless class learned a lot word! But without Tosefos in-depth analysis about human dignity and embarrassment in and question and answer exploration we their Chumash class this week, and how it can wouldn’t realize or appreciate what Rashi is be even worse nowadays with social media… getting at with that one word!
MEM STARTS MISHKAFAYIM The Hebrew word for glasses starts with the letter “Mem” so Kindergarteners (now learning letter “Mem”) made these big Mem glasses which are traditional to make every year.
YAHADUS CHIDON TRIVIA In memory of Meir Obrien, first MHDS student at Chidon
RECORDS & A RECORD PLAYER Guess what Rabbi Yossi brought in for STEAM class this week? He dug up a diverse collection of old vinyl records in the school basement, and had the students play them on a record player. The Megama album cover on right was signed by Moshe Yess during his concert in Albany many years ago. And they also found a Theodore Bikel album who visited Albany and spoke here as well!
LUCHOT IN NURSERY They are learning letter Lamed this week, perfect for the Luchot in this week’s Parsha. Other Lamed words they learned include: Lev = heart, Lashon = tongue, Luach = calendar, Lechem = bread, and Lulav!
CROCHETING CLASS Last week Mrs. Gittel Laber taught fingerknitting in second grade, this week she did a crocheting workshop with the 4th graders. They learned both terms and techniques.
FOOTBALL TALMUD In honor of Superbowl Sunday & connecting with Talmud terms they learned, Rabbi Shmuly’s class watched a brilliant, humorous video interpreting famous football play using Yeshivish Talmud language…
BOOK ONE: Is a person allowed to self-inflict wounds in their sadness even if not for Avoda Zara? Do you need a IF SICK PLEASE STAY HOME Parents! If children are sick, please, please keep warning before each wound for it to be punishable? What two steps are needed for tattoos to be liable? them home so we can try to contain the spread of illness. Many students have been in Does the order of those steps matter? What kind of and out of school this week due to illness. It is issues could there be with prayer-surroundings? important that kids stay home and only come Why do we keep our feet together during Amidah? What should you do if you can’t face Jerusalem back to school when they feel well enough. when you pray? How many pesukim are in Birchas Kohanim? What would the Kohain Gadol do differently in Birchas Kohanim? How would the people’s Amein to Birchas Kohanim be different in the Bais HaMikdash? What does wine have to do with the Kohain blessing? How many Mitzvos is Tefillin? What are Tefillin scrolls tied up with? What are the boxes sewed tight with? Why are Tefillin not worn on Shabbos & YomTov? Which parts of Tefillin have to be black based on Halacha L’Moshe MiSinai? What three words of a pasuk teach us to Bentsch? Which blessing of PLANTING THEIR BEAN PLANT Bentsching was added by the Rabbis? How long Morah Devorah’s first graders’ beans sprouted does it take (approx) to walk 4 “Mil”? and it was time to plant them in containers. They will be caring for these plants and eagerly BOOK TWO: watching the gradual growth in the classroom. Are we allowed to benefit from (not eat) poultry cooked with dairy? What’s the punishment for eating Cheilev fats? Name two common Kosher BEAN foods that may seem to be but are not considered DISSECTION Aiver Min Hachai. List the 5 age groups for More on beans! Mrs. Erchin. Let’s say a mother says her son under age Maher’s science 13 will be a Nazir, does he have to keep that? students took a closer How many sets of Malkus would a Nazir get for look at a simple bean eating grape products? Have you ever heard of the plant, to see the parts term Chalada in the laws of Shechita? What birds inside. One thing does Shiluach HaKan apply to? they were looking for was to find the tiny BOOK FOUR: embryo inside. Is there a prescribed punishment for desiring the possessions of someone else? What are the two basic conditions to be able to keep a lost object that you found? If one person injured another, what are the 5 categories of damages that he must pay? How many official cities of refuge were there? How many additional cities could be used as a city MAKE WORLD BETTER PLACE of refuge? What’s the difference between an official Some of our classes participated in a national city of refuge or the less official ones? Name 3 art contest depicting the world as a better categories of accidental murder. Which would place. 4th graders posing here with their work. require that person to go to a city of refuge? What happens if the murderer is found before offering the EASY TORAH TIMES NEWS LINK Eglah Arufa? How about if he was known but not https://tinyurl.com/TorahTimesNewsPlaylist yet found? What are two obligations in helping an animal struggling with a heavy load? Is there a Click for the new TTN edition of the week! punishment for intentionally moving a boundary marker? Is there a difference in the aveira if this WONDER: THE BOOK 4th graders thought the whole book would be boundary marker was inside or outside of Israel? about August “Auggie” but as they progress in What is the verse that is the source of kidnapping in the Torah? What conditions must be in place to the book, further chapter are written from have to pay 4 or 5 times the value of the theft? different character’s perspectives...
at Maimonides and in the Community 2/3: SHABBOS PARSHA YIS(T)RO
2/5: CHIDON TEST #3
This Parsha has the “Ten Commandments” and it’s a big weekend for our grades 4-8 to study & review for their 3rd and final Yahadus Chidon test (so many Mitzvot and details!) this coming Monday.
3rd and final Chidon qualifying Yahadus test (covering the last chapters in each class’ respective books) will be on Monday morning, Feb 5th.
2/3: SHABBOS PARSHA YIS(T)RO Mathless Chassan Torah Kiddush at Shteeble, just as Parsha is about Mattan Torah.
2/3: DAF YOMI ON TORAH STUDY The Daf Yomi page scheduled for this Shabbat is tractate Avodah Zara page 19 which has beautiful teachings about the study (and effect) of Torah. Even if you don’t follow Daf Yomi regularly, stop by for a listen this Shabbat!
2/3: GREAT JEWISH RIVALRIES III “Reform vs Orthodox” a talk by Rabbi Roy Feldman Shabbat at CBAJ.
2/5: MONDAY WOMENS CLASS Morah Rochel’s Monday night women’s class resumed, this time studying and discussing Tanya. 8:30pm at her home.
2/9-2/12: EXTENDED WEEKEND OFF Parents please note this school schedule: No School on Friday 2/9. And a 9:30am late start on Monday 2/12.
2/3: PIZZA NIGHT & ESTY LECTURE 2/11: TIMES UNION Please note the two parts of the evening: (1) HS Pizza HOME SHOW Night will sell and serve pizza, fries, sushi etc. 7:158:40pm downstairs at Maimonides. (2) At 8:45pm Chava LeVine will share her fascinating story "From Papua New Guineau to Israel" about her personal journey in discovering Judaism. Children ages 10 and over who can sit respectfully are welcome upstairs to the talk, there will be a children’s program downstairs as well for younger children. This annual Esty Lecture is in memory of Esty (Rubin) Cohen, who was a great listener and loved hearing people’s stories!
2/4: LAKE GEORGE WINTER FEST Look up www.LakeGeorgeWinterCarnival.com for schedules and events. Several Sundays in February.
10am-5pm at Times Union Center. $10pp, kids under 14 free. Vendors & exhibits all about home.
2/11: 42ND ANNUAL ANTIQUE SHOW
2/11: FEISTY FISHERS @PINEBUSH 1pm-2:30pm. Learn about this feisty animal indoors, followed by a 1-mile walk into the Pine Bush looking for signs of it. $3pp or $5 per family.
2/4: SNOWSHOE AT DYKEN POND
1-3pm, $5pp includes snow-show rental. Call ahead 2/11: GIL TAMARY, ISRAEL TALK Jewish Federation Joint Society event at Ohav to reserve and to ascertain snow conditions: (518) Shalom. Gil is Washington DC bureau chief for 658-2055 or dykenpond@gmail.com. Israel's Channel 10 News.
2/4: SUGAR ON SNOW Maple syrup + shaved ice = taffy? See how its made at Riverside Maple Farms in Glenville, 12pm-5pm. $3pp. Kashruth may need to be determined.
2/18: MURDER MYSTERY IN TROY
Beth Tephilah is hosting “The Mysterious Megillah 60 antique vendors 10am-4pm at Shenendehowa High School East in Clifton Park. $3pp, kids under Robbery” & dinner 5:30pm. $10pp. RSVP by 2/13 to get your character: EventsAtBTS@gmail.com or 12 free. call: 518-894-3490.
2/15: JEWS AND THE MOB You wouldn’t expect this at Chabad. But Myron Sugarman will tell his own story about Jewish mob connections, 7pm at Bethlehem Chabad.
2/4: SUNDAY NIGHT SHIUR
Short Chassidus Shiur Sunday night, after Mincha/ 2/16: CBAJ COMEDY SHABBAT Maariv (this week just before 5) at Shomray Torah. CBAJ hosts comedian Jessica Schechter at a 6:15pm Shabbat Dinner (prayers 5:15pm). Register 2/5: BREAKFAST WITH JOHN FASO online at: www.cbaj.org/comedy-shabbat/ Jewish Federation hosts Congressman Faso for a communal breakfast, 8-10am. $5pp. 518-783-7800.
2/19: PRESIDENTS DAY No School. Enjoy the extended weekend.
2/28: PURIM NIGHT (WED) Hard to believe but Purim is in February this year! It falls Wednesday night into Thursday, stay tuned for a listing of communal events and celebrations (in addition to synagogue Megillah readings). Purim under the Sea 6pm at Saratoga Chabad Purim Carnival for college students in UAlbany’s Campus Center Ballroom
3/1: PURIM DAY (THURS) Purim morning “Israeli Startup Prunch” at
Maimonides. Megillah, light foods, Mishloach Manot swap with school & community families. Emoji Purim Clifton Park, 4:30, Megillah 5:15 Black & White Purim Bethlehem Chabad, 5pm Albany JCC Purim Carnival 5:30-8pm More Purim listings to be updated next week!
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!”