Maimonides Community

BH. Kislev

16, 5777 / Dec 16, 2016

Candle-Lighting: Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 4:05 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org Shabbos Ends: produced by Rabbi Mendel Rubin & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program 5:10 Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY

maimonidesschool@gmail.com

‫ב“ה‬

‫וישלח‬

This newsletter is dedicated in memory of

Mrs. Nettie Gerber in appreciation of her families continued support of Maimonides and Jewish education & continuity GERBER CONDOLENCES

DAF YOMI EXPRESS ARRIVES AT LOCAL STATION THIS SUNDAY Our older boys have been learning different parts of tractate Bava Metziah this year. They are learning Hamafkid (Chapter 3) with Rabbi Mendel and Rabbi Rubin learned with them parts of HaSocher Es HaPoalim (Chapter 7) especially pertaining to Avraham and Sarah’s hospitality. While the boys learning is like a local train, one stop at a time, the daily Daf Yomi is like the express train, doing a whole page at a time, zooming down the track. The above cartoon by Maimonides student Yochanon Yechezkel Samson depicts the Daf HaYomi Express arriving at the HaSocher Es HaPoalim platform where he & his classmates (thanks to Rabbi Kelman’s daughter for drawing that part) are awaiting Daf Yomi’s arrival with big welcome signs! Stop by Daf Yomi this Sunday (after 8am Minyan at Shomray Torah) for a taste of some wonderful Gemorah, and to hear Yochanon (and those of his classmates who can make it) read some of this Gemorah for the Daf Yomi! And guess what? Rabbi Shmuly’s middle-school Talmud classes are now learning the 10th Chapter of this same tractate, titled HaBayis vh’Aliyah, they may be able to welcome the Daf Yomi Express when it arrives at their local stop…

PLEASE BUY TKTS AND SHARE… www.maimonidesschool.org/auction Early Bird Special (free $10) ends on the 18th. If you are entering form via the mail and using a credit card, please add expiration date, thanks!

ALL ABOARD TEFILLIN

Mrs. Nettie (Garbo) Gerber passed away last week in Israel. She was born in Burlington VT, in 1917, and married Morris Gerber who was stationed there after WWII. They moved to Albany where he worked for the Times-Union and she worked as a bookkeeper for NYS Dept of Audit. Two of their three children (Etti Silverstein & family of Maale Adumim and Ari Gerber & family of Beit Shemesh) later settled in Israel so she moved there after her husband Morris passed away (part of his extensive pictorial collection of Old Albany was given to Maimonides) and she was buried in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Condolences to the Gerber, Silverstein and Wieder families.

Now that Aharon Meir has begun to wear Tefillin in preparation for his Bar-Mitzvah (two months away) all of our older boys class are wearing Tefillin daily. May they continue to put on Tefillin with such enthusiasm and dedication all the weekdays of their lives!

PROGRESS ON LAB PROJECT A lot of this is still tentative, but some new funding opportunities are now in the pipeline to help towards the big matching goal. It’s very helpful for this project to have significant pledges in place by February. THANKS ALL!

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

PACKING SNOW Students pictured range from Kindergarten thru 7th! Yet they play and work together beautifully, like snowflakes that pack & stick tightly together!

THE FALLEN SNOWMAN More about snow… That day we had snow this week, kids of all ages pitched in to roll huge balls of snow in the school’s front yard that ended up being too heavy and bulky to lift one on top of the other. The solution? They rolled the huge balls into place, creating what they called “The Fallen Snowman” with the three successive snowballs lined up horizontally and vertically. Creative solutions!

SPEAKING OF SOLUTIONS

LIGHT ACTIVITIES IN NURSERY One day this week, in preparation for Chanukah aka “Festival of Light” Morah Rivka shut the lights in the Nursery classroom and set up a few fun learning centers using light. The kids had so much fun with it!

Ms. Ford’s students worked on finding and writing up (and illustrating) the problems and solutions within stories they’re reading. Here’s some of their work on that posted on their classroom bulletin board.

WHAT DID YOU DURING TWO-HOUR DELAY? based on student responses re this week’s snow-delay

CONDOLENCE APPRECIATION Morah Rochel would like to thank many in the community and beyond who have reached out with condolences on the passing of her mother, Mrs. Risha Piekarski in Israel. May we share many Simchas with much happiness. A bunch of new fun-to-read hardcover Jewish comic-books/graphic-novels were purchased for Esty Library in her memory.

METRIC MEASURE As part of their unit on “Metric Olympics” 2nd and 3rd graders learned about measuring volume using liters and milliliters. That day’s exercise was squeezing sponges into measuring cups and observing and recording the milliliter level—how much space does that water take up? If you guesstimated it before you actually did it, how close was the estimate?

3D MATH MEASUREMENT Also related to measurement: Ms. Lisa Brennan assigned each of the 7/8 graders an actual object (can of soup, box of noodles, a drum, blocks from Kindergarten among other things) and told them to measure each of its sides/panels, edges and vertices; as they learned how to measure and calculate a 3D object in math class. They also used prisms, and that was fun to use, even aside for its shape, as it has its way with light!

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SLEPT IN: This was especially true of older students who enjoyed the extra hour or two of sleep. Some weren’t even woken up, so they slept though blissfully unawares!

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OUTDOOR SNOW PLAY, OF COURSE! Some kids were incredulous when we asked them this question. What do you mean? Of course we went right out and played in the snow, making snowmen, imagining forts, throwing snowballs…

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LOOKED FOR WINTER GEAR: It was time to dig up closets and find that missing glove or set of boots, scarves and sweaters and winter hats… Some kids said that their families took the extra time to sort laundry, clean up their rooms, and get a head start on the week’s clean-up.

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HAD A GREAT BREAKFAST: It’s always good to eat breakfast before school, some say it might be the most important meal of the day, giving your brain energy to think and learn and behave throughout the school day.

But having the extra time meant that some families had a heartier breakfast than usual, with none of the hectic rush.

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MORE TIME TO WAKE UP AND GET READY SLOWLY: Mornings are usually such a rush, trying to get up and ready and out to school on time. But a 2-hour delay meant you could be a little lazier, more relaxed, take your time and not feel rushed.

Many said they did their same daily routine, just at a slower, more relaxed pace.

CHANUKAH STAINED GLASS A bunch of classes did this Chanukah “Stained Glass” project with Morah Rivi, some in art class and others in Ivrit class. They traced Chanukah images onto plastic sheet protectors and colored them in for a stainedglass effect. Great for Chanukah which celebrates light (like the sunlight that shines through these transparent illustrations) and as a window decoration which helps “publicize the miracle” and spread the word “Petach Beito mb’Chutz” about the holiday towards outdoors.

BAKE SALE UPDATE 8th grade bake-sale is going strong, every week at Wednesday morning recess. They usually have choco-chip cookies, ricecrispy treats, brownies and cupcakes for sale but also sometime have yummy treats like muddy-buddies and popcorn. They also try to vary the offering a bit to keep it special. Most families have “tabs” (lines of credit set up) and being that we’re now heading towards Chanukah, some tabs are running low since the beginning of the school year. If you’d like to replenish a tab, you can give the money to Mrs. Backman in the school office.

THE MYSTERIOUS TECHELET Techelet is the biblical blue dye used for one strand of Tzitzit (the blue strand mostly discontinued due to diaspora uncertainty about the dye but some communities/ individuals do use Techelet today) and in the Mishkan construction. Morah Rochel brought in an Israeli book of modern Halachic and scientific research into Techelet to show 7/8 graders the fascinating discussion on his topic.

EGYPTIAN MUMMY MAKING

READS WITH MRS MAHER

5/6 Social Studies are learning about the ancient Egyptian process of mummifying their royalty and nobles, and the processes involved, as part of their version of belief in and preparation for the afterlife.

4th graders are now reading “The Pinballs” about foster kids who (unfortunately) felt bounced around like pinballs in a big machine—and how they managed to win anyways. They are also working on book reports on fiction books they are reading on their own.

TALMUDIC CONNECTIONS 8th grade boys Talmud are now studying a big argument between Abbaye and Rava on 36b of Bava Metziah. They’ve just gotten into it, and already made these two connections:  Both Abbaye and Rava say that they wouldn’t appoint a judge who wouldn’t hold of their (broader) principle on this matter. That led to a discussion of presidential appointments and senate approval to fill Supreme Court vacancies and how perspective and interpretation plays a role in that process.  Rava’s reasoning has a lot to do with the hidden narrator of “The Book Thief” which they are reading in English class with Mrs. Crawford, but we don’t want to give that away if you haven’t read the book yet.

ITS ALL IN THE ASK

HS Girls Chumash class took a closer look at how the Daughters of CHANUKAH SHIELDS Tzelafchad (similarly the sons of Gilad) spoke Morah Devorah’s 2nd graders have their up for themselves, how their refined & Chanukah shields ready for the Chanukah respectful ask differed greatly from other performances—on January 2nd (the day after complainers in the Torah. It’s an important Chanukah, and New Years legal holiday). message for us nowadays as well. Yes, of course, we should stand up and speak up for SURPRISE PERFORMANCE ourselves or others, but how we go about it 4th graders want to keep this a secret, but they does make a difference. also want you to know that after much work with Morah Mushky they’re now all set with ONTO THE NEXT LETTER their Chanukah performance.

No, this isn’t Nursery or Kindergarten! Our HS Girls in Morah Rivi’s design class are now HIGHLIGHTS OF NYS COUNTIES making their second 3D letter (after the A’s 4th graders finished their research and reports they recently finished) but this time it has to of NYS counties, and Mrs. Maher asked them be rounded, like an “S” or “C” or “G” and still each to share one interesting tidbit or be able to stand on its own. The good news is highlight from each one for the newsletter: that they already know the process, they can  Warren County has one of the world’s first work a lot faster and can do it on their own multi-story McDonalds with an elevator and without as much help as last time. grand piano.  Westchester has Thomas Paine’s home.

GIVING OF YOURSELF  An elaborate sculpture park called “Opus On the anniversary to the day of 40” in Saugerties is based on Mayan ruins Rabbi Mathless donating a kidney, saving the and ancient Egyptian ideas. life of an Israeli man, he shared the story (over  The FDR Library in Dutchess County was cookies) with 4th thru 6th grade, with the DREIDEL BINGO the first of the Presidential Libraries. message of small and big things we can do to Nursery students played a fun game of Dreidel  KileanVanRensselaer made Rensselaerwyck make a difference in the lives of other people.

Bingo, with the four letters on the Dreidel Manor, in—you guessed it—Rensselaer arranged in a 4-columned Dreidel shape. In County! “Yankee Doodle” was composed at CELL addition to being a good pre-Chanukah game Fort Crailo.

BANDITS it’s a way to practice letter recognition—  Herkimer County has Herkimer Diamond Mrs. Brennan’s especially since Nun and Gimmel look similar.

Mines (known to experts as “Little Falls Science class made Diamonds”) our school visited there once.

“Wanted Posters”,  The name for Genesee County comes from for the different an Indian word for “beautiful valley”. parts of a cell,  53% of Ulster County is under 45 years old. highlighting its job  Did you know that Greene County is & function and named for Nathaniel Greene, a general in how it adds and the Revolutionary War? contributes to the  Lewis County is home to the biggest cell overall i.e. what cheesecake - it weighed 6,900 pounds! is it “wanted” for!  Long Island is the most populated island in the United States - its home to several NYS CHUMASH PIZZA FRIES SIYUM HEBREW CHANUKAH TERMS counties: from Brooklyn, Queens in the Morah DL’s 2nd graders have been tracing west to Nassau & Suffolk on its eastern side. Morah Mushky told her 3rd graders they would get a pizza & fries Siyum for all the and coloring more than 20 Chanukah terms: yellow post-its they got behind the door for Tzavah = army, Sufganiot = doughnuts, Nissim = ONLY AVAILABLE ONLINE miracles, Ohr = light, Zayit = olive, Tahor = There are 2 out-of-town special packages only reading pesukim nicely, but they had to think pure, Kedusha = holiness, Levivot = latkes… online: www.maimonidesschool.org/auction of connections between fries and pizza and the Chumash they learned. And they did!!!

Please share the link with family & friends! THANKS!

at Maimonides and in the Community 12/17: KIDDUSH BY DAVIS

secretly via CBAJ (hosts must be Sabbath and Kiddush at Shomray Torah (Shteeble) this Shabbos Kosher observant as per CBAJ standards) and then the guest shows up at host door on Friday Night! by the Davis family in honor of Eli’s 5th birthday.

12/17: TORAH365: NOACH/KOSHER 12/27-29: CHANUKAH @ MHDS CBAJ’s Torah365 is now studying Noach and the mention of clean/unclean animals. Rabbi Shmuel Kochman will share Kosher supervisor experiences at CBAJ Kiddush Konversations.

12/17: PIZZA NIGHT II (+ PART II OF SHIUR ON PUBLIC MENORAHS) Pizza Night by the HS Girls in “Nathan’s Kitchen” opens 7:15pm. Look for another night of delicious pizzas, with or without toppings, fries and sushi. A kids video will be shown downstairs, while at 7:45pm, Rabbi Rubin will teach Part II of the shiur on: “Blessing on a Public Menorah?”

12/18: LOCAL & EXPRESS TALMUD STUDY MEET UP THIS SUNDAY Something special at this Sunday’s 9am Daf Yomi Talmud study. The material is beautiful, as the Talmud describes hospitality, and parts of the learning will be led by Maimonides students who recently studied this piece of Talmud in class. (See the train cartoon on front page of this newsletter).

12/18: HOME DEPOT MENORAH Menorah-making workshop at the Clifton Park Home Depot 1-3pm. More info/helpful RSVP call Clifton Park Chabad: 495-0772/9.

Parents, please note (slightly changed) school schedule: 12/23: Friday, No School 12/26: Monday No School 12/27-29: Tues-Thurs, Half-day Hebrew only 12/30: Friday, No School 1/2/2017: Monday, school resumes at 8am

12/26: PJ LIBRARY AT AQUARIUM Are your kids in PJ Library? We’re looking for a few PJ Library families to join us at Via Aquarium in Rotterdam on Monday morning of Chanukah 12/26, 10:30am-12pm. A PJ Library subsidy off the high ticket prices is available only for limited number of families for this outing. Call/text Rabbi Mendel at 526-0770 if you want to join.

12/28: SCHOOL AUCTION NIGHT Wed, 5-7pm on the 5th night of Chanukah. This exciting annual school fundraiser includes the celebrated themed Chanukah dinner by the Kochmans (Italian-dairy as determined by our student election process) prize packages on display and last chance to buy tickets before drawings that night. Menorah Lighting and special dedication ceremony as well. Tickets can also be purchased in advance via US Mail, the office, or the online link: www.maimonidesschool.org/auction

PIZZA NIGHTS AHEAD:

12/18: NANO TALMUD SIYUM AND Pizza Nights planned: 11/19, 12/17, 1/28, 2/25 YUD-TES KISLEV FARBRENGEN 4:10pm Mincha/Maariv at Maimonides, followed by a Talmud tractate Siyum by the Nanotech daily Talmud study group, and then a communal farbrengen (men, women, children) in honor of Yud-Tes Kislev. If you’d like to bring something, see the online list set up by Michael Caras.

Otherwise, just come!

12/18: EMPIRE “SKATE” PLAZA Empire State Plaza ice-skating rink is open for the winter season, against the backdrop of the NYS Capitol. Free ice-skating, skate rentals for small fee.

12/23-26: JGR WINTER RETREAT See www.JewishGirlsCamp.com or speak to Nechama Laber for registration, cost or more info.

This year held at the Holiday Inn in Latham.

12/23: CBAJ MYSTERY GUEST A Mystery Guest Shabbat—guests and hosts sign up

CHANUKAH EVENTS: more info and updates as we get closer next week…

12/24: First Night of Chanukah! NCSY hosts a Sat Night Chanukah Carnival at CBAJ. 12/25: Chinese Chanukah - Troy’s Beth Tephilah. $5pp, $2 child, $18 family. Crafts, music, Chinese food buffet. More info? 894-3491 12/25-26: Friendship Circle Camp, contact Chaya if you’d like to be a part of this or assist in any way 12/26: Chanukah Fun-Day with crafts and lunch at Susman Room of Saratoga Library: 526-0773.

12/26: Bethlehem Chabad Ice-Skating, Delmar Car -Menorah Parade & “Frozen Menorah Lighting” at the Four Corners with Chanukah Dinner back at the new Bethlehem Chabad: 393 Delaware Ave 12/26: Baby Loves Chanukah! 11am Tiny Tots Tea Room in Clifton Park. Chanukah party for tots.

Sensory activities, singing, movement: 495-0772/9.

12/26: Troy Public Menorah lighting with Mayor Patrick Madden at Monument Square, Troy

12/27: “Dreidels & Doughnuts” with the Labers at East Greenbush Library. 4:30-7pm with program 12/27: “Glow the Dark” Chanukah at Clifton Park Center, near Boscov’s, 4:30-7pm. 495-0772/9.

12/28: School Raffle-Auction & Chanukah Dinner (with the voted-on menu!) 5-7pm at MHDS 12/29: Chanukah Bowling in Saratoga 526-0773 12/29: Menorah Car Parade around Albany leaves school on Thursday. Stay tuned for details.

12/31: Bethlehem Chabad at Delmar’s First Night

1/2: CHANUKAH PERFORMANCES 9:30am at school. It’s a legal holiday (New Years nidche) but we’re having full school that day starting at 8am, with the plays and performances at 9:30am.

Parents & friends very welcome for the program.

1/22: LAURIE LANS TO SPEAK AT WOMENS SPA FOR BODY & SOUL Lt. Commander Laurie Lans of the US Navy (and wife of US Army chaplain Rabbi Moshe Lans) will be the guest speaker at this year’s spa for the body and soul. Save the date and stay tuned!

1/29: J-FED SUPER SUNDAY Federation’s Super Sunday fundraiser supports both local and overseas beneficiary organizations, from Maimonides to Sderot. Parents: please sign up for a shift to call, or for one of the follow-up calling nights. It benefits the community and our school.

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RAFFLE-AUCTION UPDATES 

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You (and please share with others!) can buy tickets using the form via mail, at the event or online at: www.maimonidesschool.org/auction Some prizes have several numbered items within that package. Winner wins all of those parts.

If you purchase any tickets by December 18 you get an Early-Bird-Special free $10 ticket. Call office if you can’t get that online.

There’s a Samsung Tab3 tablet for $5 ticket.

Laptop is a quality Lenovo Flex-version which means the screen can flip 360 degrees to become a touch-screen tablet.

Shopping Spree gives winner $100 at each of these stores: Macy’s, Target, Kohl’s, and TJMaxx/Marshalls. Plus $180 at Amazon!

This year’s Game Galore Package includes the beloved Settlers of Catan, Splendor, Bananagrams, along with many other fun games.

Canon T5 DSLR camera comes with 2 lenses, camera bag and a memory card.

Morganite Earrings from Delmar Intl in Canada feature pink/peach stones set in tiny diamonds.

The Lego Package totals 2200+ pieces!

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!”