BH. Shvat
12, 5780 / Feb 7, 2020
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 4:58 Shabbat Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 6:01 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY
ESTHER HOROWITZ OBM Our condolences to Rabbi Benjy Horowitz, Judy Safrin and their families on the passing of their mother Esther this week in Florida. Esther & Avram Horowitz lived on S Manning active members of Albany’s Jewish community, her parents (the Gewirtz’s) lived here, Avram was the long-time Torah reader at Shomray Torah and Esther (among other things also) served as Chair of the Maimonides Board of Education. May her memory be a blessing!
maimonidesschool@gmail.com
MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208
This MC Newsletter is sponsored in memory of
BOOK TRANSFER & LETTERS 4th graders were going through their bookshelves and found a bunch of books that TU BISHVAT PROJECTS were better suited for a younger readers. They Kindergarten colored in trees filled with took those books down to the 2nd graders who hidden fruit and wrote the Hebrew words Tu very much enjoyed reading them. 2nd grade is Bishvat above it in their own lettering, you can now learning about letter writing, so their see it hanging down teacher Mrs. Mattice thought it would be a the steps near their good opportunity to practice that. They all classroom. First and wrote and addressed thank you letters to 4th second graders made graders for the books & for thinking of them! fruit shaped colorful magnets for use in MAZAL TOV BACKMANS their homes. The HS Mazal Tov to MHDS alumnus Elimelech and girls did a beautiful Ita Backman of Brooklyn (and the Backman job with these tightly family) on the birth of a baby boy. curled color paper trees. Lots of Tu DRIED Bishvat art!
Esther Horowitz Esther Pesha bas Shmuel Shmelka May her memory be a blessing
FRUIT
Our students made a whole bunch of dried fruit packages to bring to and share with seniors as we approach Tu Bishvat this coming Monday.
LONGHOUSE PROJECTS
A student from a different class saw these projects and commented, “Whoever did this is really into detail!” It’s true! Mrs. Hammond’s MELAVA MALKA THIS SAT NITE 4th graders worked hard Combining post-Yud-Shvat & Motzai Shabbos on these longhouse Shirah, for a song-filled projects, adding all kinds farbrengen evening, along with AMERICA IS NOT DIFFERENT! of touches inside the song background, stories and See the finished NYC-themed mural of Morah Iroquois homes and meanings. 7:45pm at back room Rivi and her art class’ inside on page 3. >> around them, too. upstairs at Maimonides.
NURSERY STUDENTS AND THEIR TAMBOURINES For Parsha Beshalach (crossing of the sea) and Shabbos Shira (for the song at the sea and Devorah’s song in the Haftorah) Nursery students decorated tambourines which they love to wave , bang around & make music with.
WORKING IN PAIRS Who says Chavrutas (Hebrew for study partners) has to wait until Beit Medrash or team/group projects until Middle or High School? Kindergarteners worked in pairs to make a poster of each food blessing, pasted with cut out pictures of foods that match that blessing. The students pictured worked on “Ha’Adamah” blessings for vegetables that grow from the ground.
BEHAVIOR BINGO 4th graders have 4 different Bingo cards hanging in their classroom. Whenever there’s good behavior (ready for class, listening, or participating) Morah Chani gives them random numbers to fill in on card. Each bingo card has a different reward option: Pizza Party, Class Outing, Prize Auction or Mystery Treat and whichever gets bingo first that’s what they will win!
KNOWING THE WEATHER Mrs. Katie Hoffman does the weather with Nursery students each day and the student whose turn it is has to determine if it is cold or warm, sunny or cloudy etc and paste the appropriate card onto their calendar board. It’s their call!
FRANKENSTEIN Dr. Muse English class began reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a classic horror story. They read the author’s introduction and letters at the start that describe the end of the book (without giving away the story).
5TH GRADE AND HS HISTORY It so happens that 5th grade and High School are now learning the same thing: the fight against slavery and efforts of abolitionists like Harriet Tubman and John Brown and the secret journeys of the Underground Railroad that even came to Albany!
ALMOND TREE BLOSSOMS The Hebrew song “HaShakdiya Porachat” has to be one of the best known Tu Bishvat songs. Here the almond tree blossoms are depicted with torn colored paper, very pretty!
WESLANDIA 5th graders are reading this story about a boy who was a social outcast bullied by others who created an imaginary land in his backyard and got others to join it, with his own language, games etc.
DISABILITY INCLUSION LIMA BEANS SPROUTING
As there’s an effort called JDAIM (Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month) with many shuls and orgs doing something for it this Shabbat, grades 4-8 had an assembly on Thursday morning with each student getting a random object to try & connect with disability awareness and how to help such people feel more included. They also listened to two songs: Abie Rotenberg’s “Who am I?” from the Camp HASC concerts and 8th Day’s “We All Belong” - both songs are available on Youtube.
Yes, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders’ lima beans are now sprouting which means they will be ready to be planted into small containers next week in time for Tu Bishvat!
FOURTEEN LINE SONNETS 7th grade ELA is learning to read (and write OUT INTO THE PINE BUSH their own) 14-line sonnets where the ends of Rabbi Shmuly took his 7th grade girls Talmud every two lines rhyme. Some liturgical poems students on a hike through the Pine Bush (especially on the high holidays) are written Preserve. It is good to get out, especially when similar to this style. It is interesting that it the weather was milder! Parents, works on double 7 sets. They learned about please make sure children are old traditional sonnets, modern sonnets and a dressed properly for the outdoors! sonnet connected to Black History Month.
HAVE YOU SEEN OUR VIDEO “SCHOOL-SHOES” YET? “AMERICA IS NOT DIFFERENT!” ART MURAL WITH MORAH RIVI In honor of (the 6th Chabad) Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak (known as “Rayatz” or Friediker Rebbe)’s Yud Shevat Yartzeit Morah Rivi’s art class made a beautiful mural of a message of his that Morah Rivi really likes: “America is no different!” said in 1940, Judaism can really thrive here! On left is the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge with a Manhattan skyline in back and in the foreground “770 Eastern Parkway” flanked by shops students suggested, including Gombo’s Bakery and Sweet Expressions (a popular nosh and ice-cream store) along with the Jewish Children’s Museum, Judaic shops, a sofer… and the Maimonides School in Albany!
STILL LIFE ART Here’s more art in honor of Tu Bishvat a huge theme this week at school. Students drew fruit bowls as still life.
MORE ROLLED TREE ART In addition to the HS tree art on the front page here are two more rolled paper art pieces by first graders in art class with Morah Chani.
NEW BOOK IN OUR TALMUD COLLECTION
Rabbi Rubin has long been a fan of the “Bader Book” which collects info and weaves small BASI L’GANI THIS WEEK biographies of Talmudic Hs Girls and 7th graders both spent time this personalities so we get week learning “Basi LGani” mostly inspiration to know the sages on how to apply the Mishkan as a dwelling beyond and behind their teachings. Now we place for G-dliness to everyday modern life. have a new, similar work by Artscroll which They learned it in Cliff-Notes format, with Rabbi Rubin first used this week summaries, key word glossary and lines that with the HS Girls in exploring stick. Rabbi Rubin also shared his “Shtus more about Shmuel HaKattan d’Kedusha” (the good kind of crazy, a higher see column on left. form of foolishness) insights and research (to Basi L’Gani chapter 5) and the 7th graders got YAHADUS TEST III laffy-taffys to go along with that. This Monday, on Tu Bishvat! Please take time this weekend to study for this final test. HS GIRLS TALMUD CLASS Lately Rabbi Rubin has been selecting sections THE YEAST EXPERIMENT of Daf Yomi for a more in-depth discussion with the HS Girls. This week, based on Ms. Brown’s biology students are learning Talmud Berachot 29a, they learned about about fungi in chemistry and did a yeast lab “Samuel the Small” who coined the Amidah experiment, in which liquid would yeast grow blessing against the informers & the wicked most: Coke, Diet Coke, Apple Juice or Grape and how that jives with and Juice. They put balloons atop each bottle to actually explains his cryptic verse capture the fermentation. What’s your guess? quote in Pirkei Avot. We’ll let you know next week!
Maimonides entered Charidy’s “Ducks in a Row” fundraising contest. We were a finalist but didn’t win one of the top 3 slots. Part of the requirement was to create a creative video - which we did (thanks Chani Rubin) titled “School Shoes - A Metaphor”. See if you can find all the analogies and puns! You can see and share it on YouTube:
www.tinyurl.com/maimonidesSchoolShoes
ORDER “THE TORAH-TIMES” This is the best season for it… Breishis & Shmos!
www.TheTorahTimes.com (printed, bound and shipped via Amazon).
SUPPORT LOCAL KOSHER Stop in to shop at the Colonie Kosher Price Chopper or call 518-456-2970 x8 to make a special order or find out about prepared meals. --------------------Kosher Dining on UAlbany’s Indian Quad (under Vaad supervision) is open for the semester and the community is welcome for lunch or dinner. Communal participation is helpful for the continuation of this important service.
TRIP TO FIVE BELOW Hope that’s not the forecast! Morah Chani’s 5th graders had a Siyum Trip to Colonie Center and got a set amount to spend on each other (!) at Five Below. Then they had a nice brunch before coming back to school.
MR STEVE IN THE MIDDLE These boys played a fun game at recess time with Mr. Steve as the “Monkey in the Middle” with the ball passing back and forth. Wow, look how high this ball went, you can see it over the trees!
FRUIT TO SENIORS On Friday noontime Rabbi Yossi took our students around to deliver fruit bags to them (see page 1) we have pictures from their visits but space left in this MC. See it next week!
at Maimonides and in the Community 2/8: SHABBOS SHIRA BESHALACH This Shabbos we read Az Yashir - the Song at the Sea in Parsha Beshalach, and also Devorah’s Song in the Haftorah. Good Shabbos for singing!
2/8: GIRLS AT SHABBATON Our Bat-Mitzvah age girls are away this weekend at a Shabbaton in Saratoga. Have a good time!
2/8: RABBI REISMAN SAT NITE Rabbi Reisman’s Navi Shiur is screened live from Brooklyn now at 7:30pm on Sat Nights at CBAJ.
2/8: PAMELA SCHULLER AT J-FED Comedian and advocate Pamela Rae Schuller will share comedic observations on disability, mental illness, dating, family, and past misadventures with honest confessions on what it’s like being 4 foot 6 and having a lot of Tourette Syndrome. See pamelacomedy.com. 7:30pm after Shabbat, free & open to community, at Jewish Federation, 184 Washington Ave Extension.
2/8: MOTZAI SHABBOS SHIRA & POST-YUD SHVAT FARBRENGEN Post-Yud-Shvat Melava Malka Farbrengen 7:45pm at the school. All welcome! Looking for volunteers to share their favorite or beloved Rebbe songs (either the songs composed from Tehillim or songs the Rebbe taught) along with reasons why they appreciate it, each chosen song to be sung together by those assembled. Come sing and/or enjoy!
1/31-2/9: SARANAC LAKE WINTER
presenter is the talented Sarah Dukes, composer & pianist. Cost is $20pp ($25 after Jan 29) RSVP: capitalchabad.com/ spa or 518-495-0779.
2/9: J-FED: HOLOCAUST EFFORT Rebecca Erbelding (archivist, curator, and historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, with a PhD in American history) will speak on her book “The Untold Story of America’s Efforts to Save Jews of Europe” 6pm at Ohav Shalom at Jewish Federation Joint Society program. All welcome. Info/Cost/RSVP: JewishFedNY.org or call the Federation at: 518-783-7800.
2/10: TU BISHVAT BREAKFAST
2/10: YAHADUS/CHIDON TEST III This is the last of 3 qualifying tests for the Chidon but also great breath of Jewish knowledge, Chidon or not! Don’t leave studying for last minute!
2/10: TWO SAT NIGHT FILMS
> Schenectady JCC’s Jewish Film Festival is showing “Shoelaces” an Israeli drama/comedy about an aging father & his autistic son & a dilemma. 7:30pm. $10pp ($5 for members). > Bnai Shalom Albany is showing the 1973 comedy 2/9: “YES, AND” WORKSHOP Pamela Rae Schuller will lead a creativity inclusivity of disguises and mistaken identities in the frantic “The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob” 7:30pm, $5pp. workshop for educators and community 12:45 to 1:45pm at Beth Emeth. More Info? Marci Galinkin 2/17: MORAH ROCHEL (518) 783-7800/mgalinkin@jewishfedny.org Show mixes basketball and entertainment. Tickets start around $15 for 1pm game & show at TimesUnion Center. Doors open 12pm.
70TH BIRTHDAY
2/9: WOMENS SPA, BODY & SOUL 15th year! 2-4pm at Shabbos House, co-sponsored by Jewish Women’s Connection of various local Jewish womens circles. This year look for a more condensed program, 2-4pm including a luncheon, activities & featured program. This year’s guest
Feb 21st is the deadline for the Northeast NY Federation Scholarship applications for Jewish enrichment programs like overnight summer camp or academic programs for this coming year. See their website for info and application paperwork: jewishfedny.org/services/scholarships/
Kids look forward to this special breakfast of fruity cereals, fresh and dried fruits every year! Parents: If 2/21-22: REGIONAL SHABBATON there are any tree nut allergies, please let the school This year’s regional Chabad on Campus Shabbaton will be hosted at Shabbos House with guest coming know ahead of time. from 8+ campuses throughout Eastern New York.
The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival dating back to 2/13-17: FEBRUARY BREAK 1897! (about 2.5 hours north of Albany) features winter games & activities & walk-in ice-castle! More No school Thursday through Monday, Presidents details and info at: saranaclakewintercarnival.com/ Day. School resumes 8am on Tuesday 2/18.
2/9: HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
2/21: FEDERATION SCHOLARSHIPS
On Monday, Presidents Day, there will be a 70th birthday celebration for Morah Rochel at school, men and women welcome. 7:30pm. Some people are working on some surprise presentations. Please come!
2/26: GIL TROY SPEAKS IN ALBANY The Jewish Federation hosts American History Professor Gil Troy of McGill University (now in Jerusalem) a presidential historian, Zionist activist, and author. He will be speaking on “Visions of a Jewish Homeland: Then, Now, Tomorrow.” 7:30pm at Beth Emeth, all are welcome. No charge.
3/9-10: PURIM EVE & PURIM DAY Stay tuned for communal events and activities this Purim throughout the area. But you can start thinking about and planning for your costume and Mishloach Manot now!
3/15: J-FED SUPERSUNDAY This is a big day of calling to support the Jewish Federation’s funding for local and Israel needs, including the Maimonides School which receives funding from the Federation. Parents are encouraged to sign up for one of three calling shifts on this day and we all can contribute some amount to this important communal fund.
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!”