Maimonides Community

BH. 28

Nissan, 5779 / May 3, 2019

‫ב“ה‬

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 7:39 Pesach Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 8:46 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY

MESSAGES FROM POWAY All this week after Pesach here has been much in the news and online about the synagogue shooting at Poway Chabad in which Mrs. Lori Gilbert Kaye was killed and Rabbi Goldstein and several others were wounded.

Thankfully a much worse tragedy was averted, many lives

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MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

This MC Newsletter is dedicated in loving memory of

Dr. Morton Berger - Yartzeit today: Nissan 28 Meir ben Yisrael Yehudah

were saved. Most inspiring was the resolve and resilience of Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein & congregants, with viral online videos of inspiring words even from his hospital bed, and later in the NY Times, and the White House. Pictured above is the communal “Call to Action” gathering by Capital Chabad Centers hosted at Bethlehem Chabad. May we better gather instead for joyous occasions!

MAIMONIDES DINNER 5779/’19 This year’s Maimonides Dinner theme will be “The whole world is a (very narrow) bridge” featuring broad connective bridges in our school & community: (1) Honoring Joshua & Amanda Gurock with the Maimonides Award (2) 1st 5-Year completion of Yahadus/Chidon curriculum and our coordinator: Morah Dini Gordon (3) Remembering R’ Moshe Losice, a tribute to his lifetime of honorable local dedication & exemplary leadership. Invites were mailed! Save date for Tuesday, June 4th.

Executive Dan McCoy and Peter Burdanius of the Southern Saratoga Chamber cut the green ribbon with Rabbi Rubin and each shared words of enthusiasm and encouragement for Earth Day fell over Passover this year, but this exciting new hands-on learning project.

Rabbi Rubin thought (even though school was The rain barrels were full, the compost bin was out for Pesach) it was still an opportune time started (with Pesach peels, cut-up newspaper to get the new outdoor learning center going. and redworms). Now that the weather is This is one of the three hands-on science labs milder and hopefully turning nicer, we look our school has built or renovated with support forward to putting this space to good use and of our local community with matching funds enjoying its W = Wide, O = Open, W = from the Legacy Learning Labs project. County Windows on the beautiful world around us!

RIBBON-CUTTING OF THE W.O.W. OUTDOOR LEARNING CENTER AT MAIMONIDES

THE BIG ROCKS TEST Mrs. Maher’s 5th graders took a big test on rocks and minerals. Now, here’s a question for you: Why do you think we consider Hashem (G-d) to be Tzuri “Our Rock”?

FROM TALC TO DIAMONDS MAZAL TOV ALEX DOMBERG on his Baltimore wedding to Miriam Levy!

Rabbi Mathless drove down to celebrate, and in this picture shares warm regards from Rabbi Gavriel Horan!

Thanks to this Simcha Rabbi Mathless also chaperoned the 8th grade boys graduation trip to Baltimore & Washington DC—more pictures and reports on that in next week’s newsletter.

Special thanks to MHDS alum Chaim Kudan for helping Rabbi Mathless chaperone the trip & adding so much!

Continuing on the rocks theme, Mrs. Maher’s students learned about this scale, with talc on one end and diamonds all the way on the other. It’s called the hardness scale. Talc is softest and diamonds are the hardest.

“STRETCHING OURSELVES” 6th ???? graders read this book by Alden Carter which tells a story about 3 kids with CP (cerebral palsy) in different degrees. The story helps all students better understand and be more sensitive to the challenges others face and it is also an inspiration to see how hard some people work (cheerfully!) to overcome very difficult challenges that many others take for granted.

THE COMPOST BIN Pictured here, 6th graders are turning it over.

They also occasionally add cut-up newspaper and small pieces of wet cardboard. We’re trying to keep reminding students that the compost is a great place for their apple-cores, vegetables they won’t eat, or even egg-shells.

But please: No citrus, no onion, no dairy or meat. For sure no plastic!

FIRST CHALLAH AFTER PESACH

CHALLAH THIS WAY AND THAT HS Girls had a Challah workshop with Chaya Bracha. They worked in teams using different recipes: eggless, whole-wheat and honey-sweet.

They made two super-large oversized Challahs (see their this way/that way braiding above) for a Bar-Mitzvah this weekend.

A LITTLE ELECTRIC MOTOR In STEAM class with Rabbi Yossi these 3rd graders were introduced to the basics of a little electronic motor and how electricity and magnetism work together (or against each other, together) to make it turn. The attracting and repelling forces make it work.

DO YOU OWE BAKE-SALE?

If families owe money to the 8th grade It’s a big tradition for many families to bake girls Bake-Sale, please pay up ASAP. their own Challah after Pesach (some even put They are finalizing their graduation trip plans a key inside this first Challah, others shape and it’s only right that they be paid for what one Challah in the shape of a key) and these they worked so hard on. Thanks!

Nursery and Kindergarten students did the same at school this week—making Challah!

“TRIFLES” A PLAY

1700 TO (NEARLY) THE PRESENT Mrs. Ramsay’s Global History students in HS now are working off an abridged review sheet that covers (in brief!) world history of the past 300 years of so in one set of review sheets as they prepare for the Regents testing. From the industrial revolution to the computer age, from slavery to civil rights, from horse & wagon to cars (and soon driverless cars…)

Mr. Conley and the HS Girls are now reading this play by Susan Glaspell in English class.

The play is a murder mystery and trial but has a lot of psychological themes within it.

PLANTING IN THE DIRT

Nursery students did some planting this week and will look after their 8th grade English is reading this book (kind of seeds planted and observe the eventual and like a middle-school “Frindle” type book) that gradual growth in the weeks to come. It takes makes you rethink common assumptions. trust, patience, ongoing care…

“NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH”

PESACH—EVEN AFTER PESACH

HAVDALAH HALACHA

It so happens that several classes are learning Pesach topics now at school, even after Pesach as a holiday is over. HS Girls are learning about the 10 Makkos (plagues) in Chumash class. Both 5/6 grade Chumash classes are learning about the plagues in Parsha Va’eira.

HS Girls are learning Halachot of Havdalah.

A TALMUDIC/ATHENS DEBATE HS Girl with Rabbi Rubin learned a very interesting piece of Talmud (tractate Bechoros 8a) now studied in the Daf Yomi study cycle where Rabbi Joshua had a debate (with riddles and such) with the wise men of Athens.

THE LAST TALMUD SUGUYA 6th grade Talmud with Rabbi Mendel is now finishing up their last Talmud sugya (theme or segment) of the year before embarking on a grand review of all the tractate Sukkah sugyot they learned to remember it all a lot better, see the interconnectedness and be best prepared for the grand year-end Gemorah final. This last Sugya in on Sukkah 9b on the subject of nullifying non-Kosher Schach into Kosher schach and if/how and under what conditions live tree branches can be part of a Sukkah.

HANDWASHING AT CEMETERY

SO MANY PAPER BUTTERFLIES Morah Rivi’s art class is making so many tiny blue paper butterflies, stay tuned for what this project will turn out to be!

A BIG DEAL ABOUT A NAME Sometimes people downplay the importance of names, but in a Hebrew story with Morah Rivi, students learned how important a name was to a child Holocaust survivor.

MORE MITZVAH VISITS

A DIFFERENT OMER CHART Usually Omer charts keep adding days as the count progresses, but not this year’s Omer chart in the Nursery Classroom. It already has all the dates on, and they are all colored in, but each day they remove one more day, and gradually the progress of the Omer count will reveal the image underneath!

THE LAST DAFFODIL Morah Rochel and the 2nd graders read this children’s book about the Holocaust.

THE COLOR WHITE Why did Nursery school learn the color white this week? Because Parsha Acharei talks about the Kohain Gadol’s special service on Yom Kippur with white clothing.

BALLOON BREATH Tzvika is pictured here blowing up his red balloon for a class project with Mrs. Mattice in first grade. Red is also is featured in the Yom Kippur service with the special red thread that turned white. And on Yom Kippur we put our whole soul (breath) into it!

Rabbi Mendel shared with some classes a heart -warming story he heard from Sharon Berko (who lives locally and shared the story of her father’s surviving the Holocaust and the effect on his post-war family) about a non-Jewish woman who had the water and towel ready for her family when they visited their hometown cemetery in 1990.

THE FRUIT TREE BLESSING There is a special blessing to be recited on blossoming fruit trees in the month of Nissan.

It can be said until Sunday evening when we switch to the month of Iyar. Several of our classes went to the Caras home where a peach tree is blossoming beautifully! Several fruit trees are now growing at school but they are not blossoming yet. A few things our students learned about this: (1) The blessing is not said when the fruits appear but when they flowers begin to blossom.

This is a good analogy to students at school, when their skills start developing, when their character begins to blossom, even if the fruits come later. (2) More students have fruit trees at home than we expected! (3) Jews who live in the southern hemisphere like South Africa or Australia can’t say this blessing! Their seasons are switched and fruit trees do not blossom on their side of the world in the month of Nissan!

A Mezuzah, Tefillin, Shabbat Candles for Lori (who was killed in the Poway Chabad shooting on Pesach). Plus, Rabbi Yossi sang with them a special melody from the Kalever Rebbe, a Holocaust survivor who passed away this week in Israel at age 96. The Nazis did terrible experiments on him during the Holocaust that made his beard not grow and he could not have children but he was famous for his songs.

“MANIAC MAGEE” Mrs. Maher’s 4th grade students finished reading this fun read, which also has important messages about racism and homelessness other problems that people face.

ERIE CANAL IN HISTORY This year is a big year for the Canal, there’s an exhibit on it at the NYS Museum. 6th grade history is learning it now with Ms. Ramsay, they learned the mechanics of the locks and how eventually it helped shape trade and commerce and the rise of cities alongside it, but how it was initially nicknamed “Clinton’s Ditch” for the NY Governor Dewitt Clinton that was pushing for it. Yitzchak R. lives in Schenectady with a canal-side restaurant by that name—now understands why that name!

at Maimonides and in the Community 5/4: SHABBOS MEVORCHIM This Shabbos we bless the new month of Iyar. The Torah portion is “Acharei” mostly about the YomKippur service and the Haftorah read is “Machar Chodesh” the story of David and Jonathan.

5/4: WOMENS SHIUR RETURNS! The women’s shiur back for another summer season! This week’s shiur will be given by Mrs. Rochel Rubin at her home 122 South Main Ave at 4:45pm on Shabbos afternoon. If you’d like to host or give the shiur, please contact Mrs. Chaya Tal.

(Israel’s Independence Day) at CBAJ at 7:30pm.

(Mincha at 7:15) to be followed by a festive Yom Ha'atzma'ut Ma'ariv. All at CBAJ.

5/9: J-FED’S SIX13 AT THE EGG The Jewish Federation is bringing Jewish acapella group “Six13” to perform at The Egg for Yom Ha’Atzmaut on Thursday at 7pm. Adults $12, Children $8. See The Egg website for tickets: theegg.org/event/six13-israel-independence-day

6/4: MAIMONIDES DINNER

This year’s Maimonides Dinner will honor Josh and Amanda Gurock, who are dedicated parents, Sunday is the last day of the annual Albany Tulip an invested school family with broad and lively 5/3-4: CHABAD OF POWAY’S CALL Festival in Washington Park. The tulips are in communal vision and involvement. The dinner will bloom for a short time, even if you can’t make the TO “FILL THE SYNAGOGUES!” also recognize our school’s first 5-year completion festival stop by the park for tulip pics before or just This Shabbat is one week since the synagogue of the Yahadus curriculum and our students shooting at Chabad of Poway CA, and their Rabbi after the festival dates. achievements, recognized nationally . This dinner Goldstein called for as many as possible to go fill will also be a communal remembrance for R’ 5/13: WARSAW GHETTO FILM their synagogues this Shabbat!

Moshe Losice who recently passed away after a The Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library (475 Moe Rd) lifetime of local leadership and dedication. The is screening “Who Will Write Our History?” a dinner invites have been mailed, the journal 5/5-6: ROSH CHODESH IYAR documentary about the Warsaw Ghetto at 6pm. deadline is May 27th. If you have questions or Sunday and Monday. The Monday 8am Minyan will be at Maimonides. Happy Rosh Chodesh! And More info? CliftonParkChabad.com 518-495-0772. would like more info, call the school office 518-453 -9363 or Raizy at 518-772-7299. it is Rabbi Rubin’s birthday!

5/12: TULIP FEST WEEKEND

5/19: WINTER RAPTOR FEST

See eagles, owls, hawks, and all kinds of raptors at this annual event at the Washington County Albany JCC is hosting a Bar/Bat-Mitzvah Expo Fairgrounds in Greenwich NY. $12 admission for with vendors and exhibitors (not all vendors will be ages 13 and up, $6 ages 7-12 and under 6 is free.

Kosher but there will be a Chabad Tefillin booth!)

More info at: www.winterraptorfest.com cost is $5 per family, 1-4pm this Sunday.

5/5: BAR-BAT MITZVAH EXPO

5/5: HISTORIC CHERRY HILL Their annual Albany History festival is 12-4pm this Sunday, no cost. 523 South Pearl Street (not far from rail trail entrance). HistoricCherryHill.org

5/5: ELECTRIC CITY MINI-MAKER FAIRE AT UNION COLLEGE Free and open to the public this first-ever event hopes to feature creative types, technologists and makers at Union and in Schenectady and the area.

11am-4pm in the Frank L. Messa Rink.

5/7: YOM HASHOAH LECTURE This year’s Malka & Eitan Evan Yom HaShoah Lecture features Dr. Elissa Bemporad (of Queens College) on “Modern Permutations of an Ancient Anti-Semitic Myth: The Blood Libel during the Holocaust”. 7pm in the UAlbany Assembly Hall (2nd floor of the Campus Center).

5/8: TEKES MA’AVAR AT CBAJ The Tekes Ma'avar commemorating Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and transitioning to celebrating Yom Ha'atzma'ut

5/23: LAG B’OMER It’s on Thursday this year. Stay tuned for events.

5/27: MEMORIAL DAY No School. Enjoy the extended weekend.

6/9-10: SHAVUOT HOLIDAY Shabbat goes straight into Shavuot’s Sunday and Monday for a “3 Day YomTov”. No school on Friday 6/8 and late 9:30am start on Tuesday 6/11.

6/19: MOVE UP & GRADUATION Moving-Up Day ceremonies (and the end of school) will be in the morning with 8th grade graduation ceremonies in the evening of the same day. High School students have a Regents testing schedule of their own.

5/27: DINNER JOURNAL DEADLINE KOSHER DINING UALBANY Please have your ads/greetings etc for the school’s annual Maimonides dinner journal/yearbook submitted by this date so it can be designed and printed in time for the dinner.

5/30: CBAJ INSTALLATION DINNER FOR RABBI ROY FELDMAN RSVP for honorary committee, dinner RSVPs or journal ads online at: cbaj.org/dinner This dinner is the formal installation ceremonies of Rabbi Roy Feldman as CBAJ Rabbi.

6/2: ISRAEL PARADE BUS TRIP Jewish Federation is chartering a bus down to the Celebrate Israel Parade. $30pp includes bus ride, tshirt. Bus leaves 7:30am from Federation. RSVP your seat by May 12th. Info? Marci at: 518-7837800 x239 or mgalinkin@jewishfedny.org.

It starts winding down second week in May, as the students near the end of the semester and the May 19th graduation, so this coming week may be a good time to eat out at the Kosher Dining on Indian Quad at UAlbany (visitor parking lot just outside of Indian Quad) for lunch/dinner by Chef Olga.

POST-PASSOVER AT K.P.C. Kosher Price Chopper (Colonie) is now postPesach mode so look for their weekly Wednesday prepared dinner specials or the big spectrum of Kosher products. Best way to know if the weekly prepared dinner specials are on or what’s on the menu is sign up for a weekly email from Chef John Piccolo: JohnPiccolo@pricechopper.com to be added to email list with menu, pricing...

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!”