BH.
Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org
produced by Rabbi Mendel & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY
maimonidesschool@gmail.com
Elul 10, 5771 / September 9, 2011
Candle-Lighting:
6:59 Shabbos Ends:
7:58
This newsletter is back on for a new year of weekly publication and available for edition dedications in memory or in honor of a loved one or special occasion. To sponsor a newsletter week ($54 or $72) please call the school office 453-9363/3434
NEW HOUSE/FLOOR SAFETY On the first day back at school, before the day began, Morah Rochel asked the students for safety tips they’d suggest for someone building a new house, or adding a new floor to an existing house. Students came up with smokedetectors, carbon-monoxide detectors, make a Chanukas HaBayis, have checked Mezuzahs… Morah Rochel added one more from this week’s Parsha: a “Ma’akeh” safety fence around a flat roof. She added that each new FISHING FOR A GREAT YEAR THE BIG BOX OF COOKIES year is like a new floor added to each student’s Mrs. Volovik brought in a big brown 10 lbs Mrs. Carroll and her students made this building of education, and new safety box of chocolate chip cookies from Pollak’s colorful bulletin board to welcome back precautions are needed. We have to be extra Bakery in NY for a first-day-back-at-school students to a new year. Our students in TNT treat. All the classes enjoyed! Thanks so much careful not to cause harm or damage to the came up with a bunch of connections of fish school building or property, or to fellow for the thoughtful (and yummy!) gesture. to learning, school and the new Jewish year: students, whether physically or emotionally. Fish swim in schools! We have to make sure our friends are It takes time and patience to go fishing, and NEW AND RENEWED AT MHDS comfortable, and everyone has a secure and it takes time and patience to learn. Some classrooms have new carpet thanks to R’ safe spot, so “no one falls off.” On Rosh Hashanah some have the custom Moshe Losice and Modern Carpet (465-6300) to eat the head of a fish. on Broadway in downtown Albany. Some SAFETY MEETING AT J-FED It’s also a common custom to eat fish on classrooms were repainted to be fresh for the Rabbi Rubin attended a security briefing at the Rosh Hashanah because they are so plentiful new year thanks to the teachers and parents Jewish Federation with FBI, local and federal and are a symbol of abundance. who pitched in and painted and cleaned up law enforcement agencies on 9/11 and High Some communities try not to eat fish on around the school during the summer. Holiday security concerns and awareness. Rosh Hashanah, because for “Dag” (fish) is similar to “Da’agah” which means worry. Fish eyes are always open. Keep your eyes MAIMONIDES open to always learn new things. 404 Partridge Street One of the favorites at recess (that’s not an Albany NY 12208 actual sport) is the “Fishy, Fishy” tag game. Rabbi Akiva (in Talmud Brachos) used the parable of fish in water to explain to Papus the attachment Jews have to Torah, and without it (like fish out of water) Jewish life is simply impossible. It takes strength and effort to reel in a big fish, and the same is with learning. Major accomplishments don’t come easy. On Rosh Hashanah it is customary to go to say Tashlich at a body of water that has fish. You have to go beneath the surface to fish..