Maimonides Community

BH.

Adar 8, 5775 / Feb 27, 2015

Candle-Lighting: Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 5:24 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org Shabbos Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 6:25 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY

maimonidesschool@gmail.com

MAZAL TOV DAVIS FAMILY

This MC Newsletter is sponsored by

on the birth of a baby boy this Wednesday morning. G-d willing, the Bris will be on Taanis Esther, as we usher in the joyous Purim spirit. Happiness & Nachas always!

Ben & Stephanie Zaientz

MAZAL TOV MOSHE RUBIN

- wishing them much happiness always!-

of Saratoga/Albany on his Bar-Mitzvah! He had multiple celebrations, including a special aliyah in Brooklyn, and a Shabbos celebration this weekend up in Saratoga. His name is Moshe and this weekend for his Bar-Mitzvah Parsha Tetzaveh there’s much emphasis and discussion about the “missing Moshe” as it’s the only Parsha since Moshe’s birth in Shmos that Moshe’s name is not mentioned!

in honor of their recent wedding

OFER’S TEFILLIN

PURIM IS NEXT WEEK!!

Time to get our costumes ready and shop and prepare for Mishloach Manot! See listing of communal events on page 4. Maimonides is having a Seuss-theme at the annual 11am Purim Prunch, bring a fun Seuss-hat or accessory if you have one! It’s an opportunity to share Mishloach Manot with families you might not see otherwise over Purim due to the many area nighttime and daytime celebrations.

For those who’d like to participate in the Seuss Books dedication in memory of Mrs. Carroll’s father bring $10 or send in to school office to expand the stack of beginner books!

HELP ISRAELI FARMERS THIS SHMITTAH WITH $7 FOR TREE Let’s participate in the Mitzvah of Shmitta, refraining to plant this year and purchasing fruit trees now (which helps farners this year) to be planted next year instead. See page 4 for our school’s $7 per family Mitzvah investment in this Israel project. Each $7 is also a vote on what type of trees we should get!

Morah Rivi’s son Ofer came to Minyan at the end of Presidents Week to put on Tefillin for the very first time as practice preparation for his upcoming Bar-Mitzvah.

Rabbi Rubin arranged Hebrew cookies to spell “Ofer Tefillin”. It was a very nice celebration that even out-of-town traveling guests enjoyed.

Interestingly, that very same day the HS Boys came across an unexpected issue in their Talmud studies that deals with: Tefillin!

GREEN EGGS & HAMANTASHEN The Maimonides Seussian Prunch poster first advertised “Green Eggs and NoHam” but our students Chaim (HS) and Nesanel (4th grade) both came up with a clever upgrade: “Green Eggs and Ham-antaschen!”

Good thinking! Positive creativity!

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

PURIM JOY AT THE MASSRY Despite the bitter cold our students went to The Massry Residence to warm up the seniors with Purim spirit and songs. It was especially impressive to see the comfort and rapport our young students had with the seniors after their lively song performance led by music Morah Lynn Gross on guitar and their tambourines.

FUN IN THE SNOW Some days were just too cold to go out, but when its in the teens or twenties, many of our students really enjoy getting out and playing in and with the snow.

SHUSHAN AND SHOSHONE 7th grade is learning this week about both Shushan in the Purim story and Shoshone, the Native American tribe Sacajawea was from.

TAKING TURNS TEACHING Mrs. Roland’s science class students are taking turns teaching some of the material to the rest of the class. Teaching can help you better understand & connect with the material.

COAST TO COAST GUESTS

AND THE WALL WAS STILL THERE..

This fort/wall was built by boys in grades 2-4, its holding up quite well despite its seeming precarious look. Good craftsmanship!

LET YOUR FEET DO THE DIGGING… On Wednesday at approx 11:48am, Mendel (on left) and Nesanel (on right) got their feet to digging on two sides of a tall snowbank.

They chiseled away with their boots, kicking the snow loose and then pulling it out by hand. By 12:06pm the two diggers met, and this tunnel was formed, and the euphoria & satisfaction from this accomplishment was palpable! Kids eagerly crawled through the hole in the last seconds before it was time to go in for lunch.

Two very interesting guests came to Minyan on Thursday morning, each shared something with the HS Boys after Shachris.

(1) Rabbi Elias is Rosh Kollel of Keter Torah in Montreal. He once went to 770 and heard the Rebbe ask a question about a Gemorah in Brachos which says that when there are 10 Hashem comes earlier to be present. What difference does earlier make, asked the Rebbe, if the end result is the same? The Rebbe explained that if the Shechina comes earlier then we come into Hashem’s turf, but when the Shechina comes after us, Hashem is coming in on our turf. Years later this Rabbi Elias came across a Chizkuni commentary on Moshe and the Burning Bush. Why did Moshe have to take off his shoes, while later prophets did not? Ah, says the Chizkuni: Moshe was entered a place where Hashem was already there, but when Hashem revealed to the prophets, it was on their turf.

(2) The second guest was a CPA from CA who is in Albany to defend a client in Federal Court for money-laundering charges. He told our boys how 15 years ago he wasn’t observant and pretty much secular when he stumbled inside a Chabad House on Shabbos, and the spirited Lchaims and liveliness showed him that Judaism is not all stuffy and formal, but warm, fun and inviting. Fast forward 15 years later, he davens every day, has a Chayenu study booklet in his Tallis bag, and his family was transformed. Once he was encouraged to take time out everyday to study. He hesitated, after all he gets paid by the hour. But he tried it, and guess what, his business picked up and he earned more in the rest of the time at work.

Now this accountant studies Torah for 90 minutes almost every day!

HAMANTASCH BAKING IT’S DOWNHILL FROM HERE… 2nd grade went on a sledding trip, look for sledding pictures in next MC Newsletter, but this excitement and eagerness in this photo of bundled up kids tells half the story…

THE FOUNDERS As part of their Social Studies unit on the Founders of the United States, Mrs. Maher’s students made these illustrated covers for their book reports. Pictured above: John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

ANTS (AND “A”s) GO MARCHING Nursery students filled in the outlines on a uppercase and lowercase letter “A” and the ants marching across the top of the poster.

GUM: COLONS & SEMICOLONS G.U.M. stands for Grammar Usage and Mechanics, the title of the book used by Mrs. Maher’s students. This week they learned when to use a colon or semicolon.

MR. D’S CLASS FRACTIONED

3rd & 4th graders are both Many classes made time learning fractions with Mr. this week to bake homeD, only that 4th graders are style Hamantaschen in learning how to multiply & “Nathan’s Kitchen” to divide fractions which can get into the festive Purim be quite complicated but it’s also pretty useful spirit. The aroma wafted once you get the hang of it. through the building…

5 NON-ALCOHOLIC L’CHAIM DRINKS

TEI: BROKEN LUCHOS IN ARK In next week’s Parsha Ki Tisa, Moshe breaks the Luchot after the Jews sinned with the Golden Calf. Here’s the interesting thing. The Ark held both the 2nd Luchot which were whole as well as the 1st set which were broken.

Why keep the broken set when you have a new one? (Rabbi Rubin has interesting research and insight into this whole issue). TEI class discussed how all people have both whole and broken parts of life, and the broken parts are also part of who we are. Here are some student insights and contributions to this discussion:  How about this poetry: The darkness of the night sky is what helps the stars sparkle.  Sensitivity: Some kids would rather hang out with only whole people and not the broken ones. But we need both in our lives!  Focus on healing: People like to put a sickness behind them but remembering it helps us appreciate and care for our health and for the people who helped us.  Good memory: One student remembered Mr. Greenbaum who took the terrible events in his life and turned it into a positive thing.  And this great analogy: Would you throw out a torn or broken picture? No, its not perfect, but it’s a memory! And it’s worth saving...

THOMAS TURNED UPWARD A roving TNT student photographer took this candid shot in the Nursery classroom. We don’t know what this girl was doing with the tipped upward Thomas train engine, but it sure was too cute not to include in the MC!

ONE PIECE AT A TIME These first graders are working together to complete a 100-piece Hello Kitty puzzle.

BRINGING THE PLANTS HOME

PURIM WORKBOOKS

First graders are excited to bring their lima bean plants home.

They started these plants from seed, watch them take root and took pride in seeing them grow. Please care for them at home!

They started these colorful fun and interactive Purim workbooks with Morah Rivi and continued with Morah Dini when she returned from Israel. While working on it, and thanks to some extra doodling, they noticed a TALMUDIC HOLIDAY STUDIES trick. By coloring on the back of a picture they Rabbi Shmuly’s 5/6 grade Talmud class is now could transfer it to the other side of the page! finishing the Choni Ha’Me’agel story they began on Tu Bishvat. They made animated WARRANTY INCLUDED powerpoints of it, too! The 3/4 grade Mishna In Chumash class 7th graders learned that class began learning about Purim, and how “Vayishmirecha” (watch over you) small towns could hear the Megillah earlier! from Birchat Kohanim (priestly blessing) is like a warranty DENMARK OR HOLLAND protection for the blessing G-d Our HS students are learning about different already gave us “Yivorechicha” (G-d will bless countries and how they responded each in you). Another meaning of “guard you” is to their own way to the Nazis and how they protect us from becoming smug and arrogant treated their Jews during WWII. Albania and which can cause us to lose the blessing.

Romania are other interesting examples.

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SPARKLING: Sparkling Cider (comes as plain apple or in a few different flavors, Martinelli’s is one well-known brand that has a Kosher symbol) or Sparkling Grape Juice is a lively festive drink and great for kids Lchaims, or anyone who prefers a nonalcoholic drink to say Lchaim.

2

PLAIN OLD GRAPE JUICE: It might not be wine but grape juice still has a Borei Prei HaGafen blessing and is good for use at Kiddush and Havdalah, so it must be good for Lchaims, too!

3

MOCKTAILS: Cocktails are fancy mixed drinks that have vodka or other alcohol mixed with fruit juices for a unique taste.

Mocktails have similar mixed juice recipes without the alcohol. They add some sharp drinks like pineapple or lemon or lime to give a zesty kick or a little bite or “punch”.

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NON-BEER BEERS: Root beer has neat flavor and even some foam. A root beer float with ice-cream can make it even more festive. Israel makes Malt-Star that has no alcohol. Ginger Beer is like an intense Ginger Ale with no bubbles. Fred Water actually looks like a vodka bottle.

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WATER: There’s a classic old Albany story told by Reb Zalman Levin obm about a year in a Russian town when everyone said Lchaim on water… see the whole story search online for: Shabbos House What Happened to the Water Bottles?

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Canoe. Canoe who?

Canoe please help me with my homework?

Yankel from the old country was taking a test for immigration. They asked him to use “cultivate” in a sentence. He said, “I vas vaiting for a bus, but it vas too cold to vait, so I vent home!”

Kitah Beis is learning Parshat Noach this week.

They said, “Oh, ALL the pairs on the Teivah must have been Kosher… because pears grow on trees!”

A kid came home from a school trip to a farm. His parents asked him what he saw. He said, “I saw a man building horses.” His parents said that’s impossible! Then he explained: “Well, I saw him nailing on the feet when I was there” (Horseshoes) How to make 7 an even number? Take the “S” out.

How do you know people in Shushan were hard of hearing? The verse verse in the Megillah reads: Vayehi Biymei Achashveirosh, Hu? Achashveirosh!

Patient: Doctor, I think I am shrinking!

Doctor: well, you’ll just have to be a little patient!

at Maimonides and in the Community 2/28: SHABBOS ZACHOR

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2nd of 4 special Torah portions, this one is very important as we read Zachor on Shabbos before Purim. Those who can’t make it are encouraged to be in Shul on Purim morning for a similar reading.

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2/28: CBAJ LUNCH AND LEARN “Amalek - Understanding Genocide” by Rabbi B. Lehrfield over Shabbat Lunch at CBAJ.

2/28: RABBI REISMAN SHIUR Sat Nights 7:30pm at CBAJ Luchins Media Center with Rabbi Y. Reisman, televised from Brooklyn.

3/1: JEWISH KINGS & QUEENS Beth Tephillah Troy’s historical reenactment of Jewish Kings & Queens of non-Jewish countries and their tough choices re: their people versus their security. Queen Esther made this choice as well. Light lunch served. Admission $5, members free. No kids under 12. Contact: 894-3491

3/4: SEUSSIAN SOOS AT PRUNCH

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Kingston NY is also hosting a Purim in Paris.

It’s a popular theme this year in solidarity with the Jews of Paris who suffered this year.

AJCC Purim Carnival 5:30-8pm. Free bounces, carnival games, tours of facility, plus raffles.

“I Remember When” Purim at Troy’s Beth Tephilah, call for info.

“Purim in the Wild West” at Chabad of the Berkshires 4pm at Lenox Community Center. $18 adults, $10 over 12. $5 off for costume!

Plus morning Minyan, Torah and Megillah Reading at Shomray Torah, CBAJ etc.

3/6: SHUSHAN PURIM 9am start, with davening at 9am. Children are asked to please come in costume for the school’s annual Shushan Purim costume parade!

3/6: FED SCHOLARSHIPS DUE The Jewish Federation offers scholarships for overnight summer camps and other experiences.

Forms are available at the school office or from the Federation. Applications must be in by this date.

10am Megillah, 11am Prunch, great opportunity to 3/8: PRICE CHOPPER OPEN HOUSE exchange local Mishloach Manot. Green Eggs and 10am-2pm at Colonie Kosher PC with samples and Hamantaschen! Books will be dedicated in vendors from Kedem, Empire, Dr. Browns, Hain, memory of Mrs. Carroll’s father.

47th St Pizza and Montreal Kosher etc.

3/4: PURIM NIGHT (WED) Purim Night is “March (4th) Forth!” this year so its an easy date to remember. Look for many local events and celebrations including:  Big Bounce Night at CBAJ, 1st reading 6:30pm, 2nd reading at 8:30pm.  Purim Carnival @ UAlbany Campus Ballroom.

Free, Raffles extra. 1st reading: 7, 2nd: approx 9  Beth Israel Megillah 6:30pm, music food etc...  Italian (Dairy) Purim at Saratoga Chabad, 6:30  #JeSuisJuif! “Purim in Paris” for grad students & young profs, 7pm at University Heights Chabad 147 South Lake.  No-Frills Megillah Reading at Shomray Torah

3/5: PURIM DAY (THURS) The Mitzvah of Mishloach Manot and the Purim Meal is supposed to be done on Purim Day, and yes, there are more communal celebrations!  Annual Maimonides Purim Prunch: 10am Megillah, 11am-12pm Prunch at the school.  “Purim Under Sea” with Bethlehem Chabad 5pm at the Normanside Country Club includes Bubble Show, Sushi, Seaside Salad buffet etc. $10 advance, $15 door, $5 kids.  “Purim a Paris” with Clifton Park Chabad 4:30 at the West Crescent Fire Hall, French food, wine tasting and fun. $10 adults, $5 kids.

3/8: SCOUTS PINEWOOD DERBY You do not have to be a scout to join, this event is open to boys and girls ages K-8, 1-4pm at Temple Israel Social Hall. Signup by 3/1: contact Contact Jesse Weinstock gashach@gmail.com 222-4070 or Adam Selsley attrcjcos@gmail.com 368-8713.

3/20: BETTER2WRITE ESSAY DUE

$7 HELPS MHDS PURCHASE FRUIT TREES IN ISRAEL Our school is participating with “Zo Artzeinu” IsraelTrees.org to support religious farmers this Shmitta year and contribute towards the preparations and planting of fruit trees.

We are asking each school family (community friends are welcome to participate as well) to send $7 (Shmitta year is the 7th year) to school which will be used to purchase a fruit tree! Each tree is $45, we hope to plant at least 2 or 3 trees, perhaps more!

The organization in Israel will give us educational materials relating to agricultural Halacha in the Land of Israel. Please send $7 and indicate which tree you prefer, we will purchase the trees based on the total votes:  Olive Tree  Grape Vine  Pomegranate  Fig Tree  Date Palm  Citrus Tree P.S. Of course, families who wish to buy a tree for $45 can do so (preferably via Maimonides) but we hope all participate with $7 minimum so we purchase trees as a school community.

Student participants in our school’s “Better Together” teens & seniors program have to submit their essays no later than this date.

3/22: BAR-ZOHAR SPEAKS Michael Bar-Zohar is a former Knesset member and a best-selling author of a book on the Mossad speaking for JFed’s Society (open to community) at Agudat Achim, 7:15pm. $25pp, $10 for under 40.

Reserve with Federation, limited to 250 seats.

4/19: JCC PILLARS EVENT HONORS MOSHE LOSICE AND BLOOMBERG Reb Moshe Losice, who is well-respected in our community, is one of the JCC’s Pillars event awardees this year, along with Mr. Carl Bloomberg who is a past recipient of the Dr. Morton Berger Memorial Award. For more info on the Pillars event contact the Sidney Albert Albany JCC.

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!”