OUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL After the increasing pace and range of rockets (these rocket attacks have been going on for weeks - and even years - now) shot from Gaza by Hamas into Israeli cities, Israel launched the “Operation Pillar of Defense” military operation against Hamas in Gaza. In Hebrew the operation is called Amud Anan named for the pillar of cloud that protected the Jewish people at the Re(e)d Sea (see Rashi Shmos 14:19 how the pillar of cloud intercepted the arrows of the Egyptians). We pray for the success of the IDF in their mission to defend Israel’s citizens against ongoing terror. The building pictured (top center) is from Kiryat Malachi, where a rocket killed 3 people and critically wounded others. Here’s a local connection to the tragedy: Mendel and Raizy Rubin are familiar with that very building, for before her passing a few years ago, Raizy’s Bubbe Bluma lived on the first floor. Mrs. Mira Scharf was one of those killed, a cousin to Laiky Rubin and Mendel Cohen. She was mother of three (all wounded), pregnant with a fourth, and her husband Shmuel was critically injured. Please have in mind her husband and children in your prayers: Shmuel ben Chaya Sarah Yehudis, Yosef Yitzchak ben Mira Rut, Chana bas Mira Rut and Geulah bas Mira Rut.

MAZAL TOV R’ MOSHE LOSICE on becoming a great-grandfather! with the birth of a baby boy to his granddaughter Baila and her husband Chaim Salb. May R’ Moshe & family enjoy much Nachas and Simchas!

MAZAL TOV BOMZERS on the birth of a grandchild, a baby daughter to Yonina (Bomzer) & Shloime Kaufman, named Batsheva Chana (after Rebbetzin Kaniefsky and after an great-aunt of Shloime’s) and is a red-head like her uncle Akiva and aunt Avigail (both MHDS alumni). Mazal Tov to the grandparents Rabbi Moshe & Rochel Bomzer. This particular Simcha is a few weeks old, but it’s never too late to share a Simcha!

RAFFLE-AUCTION UPDATE 27+ Prize Packages and a Midway Chanukah theme! Did you get it by mail yet? If not, call the office. You can purchase prizes ahead of time (and get an early bird special) using the order form on the printed Raffle-Auction or by using the PDF version sent via email. We hope to soon have the auction on a website for online purchases. Stay tuned for info on that.

THE ANNUAL LENTIL SOUP This tradition goes back many years at MHDS! Each year, 1st and/or 2nd grade prepares a delicious Nezid Adashim lentil soup for the whole school to enjoy on the week that we read Parshat Toldot and the story of the soup that Jacob sold to Esav for his birthright. In these pictures you can see the first graders hard at work peeling, carefully cutting and adding ingredients, but 2nd grade helped, too.

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

BH Kislev 2, 5773 / Nov 16, 2012

Candle-Lighting:

4:13 Shabbos Ends:

5:16

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

This newsletter is dedicated

in memory of

Mrs. Mira Scharf HY’D Killed by a Hamas Rocket

with prayers for the recovery of

her husband and children

by her cousin

Laiky & Rabbi Shmuly Rubin

A ROSH CHODESH EXCURSION OF HALLEL BLESSING HISTORY On Thursday, Rosh Chodesh Kislev, less than an hour from singing that morning’s Hallel, Rabbi Rubin’s Jewish history class took a trip down into Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 422 to see first-hand the varying opinions of R’ Joseph Karo & R’ Moshe Isserless on whether to make a blessing on half-Hallel (when we skip 2 middle paragraphs) on days like Rosh Chodesh, and how this filters down to modern observance in Sephardic and Ashkenasic communities. They also explored the Taz and Shach surrounding commentaries.

A THANKS ON EACH LEAF The new main entrance upstairs bulletin board features colored paper leaves on big bumpy brown paper-bag trunk with different things that students are thankful for. PIZZA NITE UPGRADE This weekend is the first Pizza-Nite of the season, and the HS girls are trying a new method to help speed up the pizza process. Pizzas (plus sushi-rolls, garlic-knots & brownies) 7pm at MHDS’ “Nathan’s Kitchen”

CHUMASH CARTOONS The 3rd grade Chumash worksheets at times ask for a cartoon or illustration of a pasuk. This one is about King Malki-Tzedek greeting Avraham Avinu with bread and wine.

EASEL DOES IT! We’re not sure exactly what they were learning at the time of this photo, but our roving TNT student photographer got this picture of happy Kindergarten students looking up as they learn with Morah Dini using the big writing pad and easel in their classroom.

A L’CHAIM PHOTO LAST WEEK Here’s another photo taken by a roving TNT student photographer that we don’t have too much detail about, but it is a great picture with lots of great cheer! The kids are holding cupcakes or soda cups, as they celebrate a classmates birthday. AT VETERANS DAY PARADE Some of our students attended the Veterans Day Parade this past Monday which had a few marching bands (including Albany High’s marching Falcons that played in our Lag

B’Omer Parade last year), real army cars and a grand finale with 50 motorcycles roaring by!

MORE BOOKS FOR LIBRARY Thanks to Rabbi & Mrs. Itkin for sponsoring 2 new books, for Meir’s 5th birthday & Simi’s 4th birthday. Thanks to Mrs. Ehrlich for dedicating a book in honor of Meytal’s birthday. Happy Birthdays & Happy Readers! To sponsor a book for a special occasion or to find out more about this new Library initiative call Mrs. Leah Hecht or the school office. ANCIENT EGYPT AND GREECE 6th graders have been learning in social-studies about ancient Egypt which was a great tie-in to the Chumash they are learning about the Jews in Egypt and their exodus from there. Now they are learning about ancient Greece which is also great timing as we enter the month of Kislev and look forward to Chanukah!

WELCOME GIRLS FROM SANDY Our school is proud to welcome a few girls from Far Rockaway who have no power in their homes and have been out-of-school because of the Sandy storm and flooding. Our students and teachers are happy to help these very nice girls feel comfortable and welcome here as long as they need to stay up here. COLLECTING FOR THE MAZAL SCHOOL OF BRIGHTON BEACH The Mazal School (newly renovated last year) lost a lot to major flooding during Sandy. Together with others in PEJE our school is collecting the following to help them recover: School supplies (for teacher, classroom and

for student use, in all grades from Nursery thru middle-school).

Books (new or in good condition, both Jewish and general, that would be appropriate and useful in a pre-school or elementary school).

Board games are welcome, too! Bring them into our school office, and be sure to indicate that these are for the Mazal School. BETH ISRAEL’S ADULT-ED Starting Monday Nov 12th, Cong. Beth Israel in Schenectady is offering the following classes (at no charge) for Jewish adult education: Mondays 6:30pm: “Hebrew Reading II” as

part of the NJOP Hebrew fluency program. Mondays 7:30pm: “Talmud Today” by Rabbi

Moshe Mirsky. Tuesdays 12:30-1:30pm: Ongoing class by

Rabbi Mirsky, now centered on Rabbi Bulka’s: “Best Kept Secrets of Judaism.”

For more info, contact the Beth Israel synagogue office at 377-3700.

RABBI LEHRFIELD’S CLASS 10am Wednesdays at CBAJ for tea

and Torah discussions with Rabbi Lehrfield. QUARREL POEMS w/ MRS GRAY A quarrel is an argument, a dispute, or a fight. Writing poetry about confrontation is an

interesting way of dealing with it. It can help you see the argument in a different light, from a different angle, and poetry also helps you

express your feelings and find more words to say the same things. Each student wrote their own quarrel poem, using specified patterns and numbers of lines…

FAREWELL PARTY WAREHOUSE The Party Warehouse, and the Sykes family have been good friends of our school and actively involved in many local organizations and institutions - and is now closing its doors after 25 years of business on Fuller Road and other locations (due to tight economic times and the lengthy construction closures on Fuller Road). This local landmark added spice and sparkle, color and joy to many a birthday party and celebration, and it’s sad to see it go. There will be a going-out-of-business sale starting this weekend. Be sure to stop in for whatever party stuff you may need, and in some small way support a local family business that was very supportive of the community.

ESTY B. IN “TIMES-UNION” F.C. ARTICLE Our own Esty B. was featured in a recent “Times-Union” article about Friendship Circle’s “Friends at Home” program. Esty visits 4-year old Kalea each week, to play and dance with her and have a great time together.

G.C.M. AND L.C.M. TURKEYS 6th grade with Mrs. Sahay made Greatest Common Factor and Lowest Common Factor turkeys with feathers that indicate the factor numbers for each “numbered turkey.” HS GIRLS AVAILABLE FOR JOBS Babysitting, Shabbos cleaning, tutoring… some girls have some evening/weekend availability, please contact Morah Leyee 495-0779/2.

YAAKOV & ESAV STICK PUPPETS Nursery kids had fun with the contrasts of the twins in this week’s Parsha. ANOTHER PREP FOR BOOK HS girls are doing another preparation project before reading “To Kill a Mockingbird”. They were assigned issues from the book’s historical context such as the Great Depression, Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights movement etc to have a better idea of the story background.

NEW HOME FOR OUR RABBIT Last week’s “MC” reported on the new home for our pet rabbit (who needed more run-around space and also evening-time

care). This week we have the picture of some students posing with the nice gentleman who took our rabbit to his home where he has another rabbit for it to be friends with, and he has children and grandchildren who love the rabbits and will take good care of it. (Did you notice the shiny light on the student pictured on left? That’s a safety-walking reflector tag that we gave out at school on Walk-to-School day on Zayin-Cheshvan and it really works - the camera flash bounced right off it!)

BIG GEMORAH TEST Rabbi Mendel’s 7/8 grade Gemorah class finally got through a knotty Talmudic piece (Sukkah 3a) where there is an argument whether Bais Shammai and Bais Hillel are arguing about Minimum Sukkah Size or are they arguing about Table-Placement, and there are contextual proofs both ways, plus a juxtaposition of two Braysahs, and two versions of a conversation… but after much classroom and home review, 8 worksheets with charts, and peer learning - they got it! They zipped through a 59 question test in a short Friday period! Now on to the next piece… CHAZAK V’AMATZ 5th grade finished the Book of Joshua this week, while 4th grade finished the first chapter. 4th graders loved the final words of that chapter “Chazak v’Amatz” be strong and be courageous! They also connected these encouraging words with the current situation in Israel, and today, wrote in their journals about their feelings about Israel, and about the areas now under attack from Hamas rockets. SOUP OF THE WEEK IS BACK … and the kids love it! This week Morah Devorah and her students made the lentil soup in connection with the Parsha, and next week there will be soup of the week on Wednesday, before Thanksgiving Break. Parents - please contact Mrs. Wildman to sign up for your week, and for the guidelines to prepare it in “Nathan’s Kitchen” at school. ROSH CHODESH KISLEV Minyan & Torah reading at school, thanks to those who wore white, plus a special Niggun!

at Maimonides and in the Community

11/16: CBAJ NEW MEMBER DINNER Family Shabbat dinner at CBAJ. Cost for existing members, free for new members, contact synagogue office for reservations and details. 11/17: CHAYA’S SHUL PROGRAM 10:30-11:30am for kids, upstairs at Shomray Torah. Parents, please encourage children’s positive participation and behavior, and sign up to send the nosh for a particular week. Thanks Chaya A.! 11/17: FIRST PIZZA-NITE OF SEASON 7pm start-time. First MHDS Sat Night Pizza night of the season! Proceeds benefit HS’ extra-curricular programming. Medium-round Pizza pies are $9, or $10 with added toppings. Sushi rolls are $7 each. New for this year: Herb Garlic-Knots are 3 for $1, no more soda, but the punch drink comes with free refills. Plus, they're doing brownies for dessert. A new method is being tried to speed up pizza waiting times for everyone’s convenience. Children’s video to be show as well. Hope to see you! 11/17: RABBI REISMAN ON T.C.N. Rabbi Reisman’s Navi lecture is screened all over, including right here at the CBAJ Luchins Media Center, 7:30pm (thru the end of January). Rabbi Frand gives a Thursday Parsha class, also screened at CBAJ - that lecture time is constant at 9pm. 11/18: TASTE-OF-YESHIVA DAY “Taste of Yeshiva - in 90 Minutes!” 11:30am-1pm with a dairy brunch at Shabbos House. Men and women from the community are very welcome. Depending on student attendance we will either pair up with students or with fellow community members to study a prepared pre-Chanukah Torah text curriculum chavrusa-style followed by a short class by Rabbi Rubin. Call 438-4227 for more info. Please remember that additional parking is available for this event in the Dutch Quad Student/Gold parking lot, a short walk from Shabbos House. 11/18: F.C.’s SUNDAY CIRCLE Friendship Circle’s monthly event, 1-4pm held at the Maimonides School with varied hands-on activities for children with special needs with their volunteer friends. Call 438-4220 for more info. 11/18: GLOBAL LEARNING DAY The Jewish Federation is hosting a global Jewish learning day with the morning study programs at The Massry Residence and afternoon events (and the Mifgash pre-Chanukah Bazaar) at Ohav Shalom. Contact Federation for more details.

11/18: TWO SHOPPING BAZAARS (a) Mifgash brings vendors and artisans (and some kids activities) for an annual pre-Chanukah Bazaar, held this year at Cong. Ohav Shalom, proceeds benefit the communal after-school high school. (b) Beth Emeth Religious School hosts a “Winter Shopping Land” with vendors open from 9am-3pm to benefit their school. 11/21: BAKE SALE RETURNS Grades 7/8 are bringing back the weekly bake-sale to benefit their year-end/graduation trip. First day will be Wednesday before Thanksgiving during the morning recess. They’ll be selling cookies, popcorn-bags, hot-cocoa cups, and even Rugelach. Prices and details to be posted soon and sent home next week. 11/21: “EREV”-THANKSGIVING WEDNESDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE PARENTS PLEASE NOTE: On Wednesday before Thanksgiving: Hebrew classes will end at 11:45am, followed by recess and lunch with soup-of-the-week served. At 12:30pm the students will enjoy a special “Yaakov & Rochel Wedding” until 1pm. School ends at 1pm. Parents have the option to join a special Family Yoga class with Amanda open to women and girls and boys first grade and under from 1:15pm until 2:15pm. During that time, Eli K. and Moshe K. will run a Mishmar afterschool learning and activity for boys grades 2 and up. The after school yoga and Mishmar programs will end at 2:15pm. Classes are suspended for Thanksgiving until 8am on Monday morning. 11/22: KOSHER THANKSGIVING Saratoga Chabad is once again hosting a communal Kosher Thanksgiving Dinner: turkey, pumpkin and other favorites, along with atmosphere and Jewish-American flavor - 4:30pm at Saratoga Chabad. RSVP's requested, cost is $10pp or $54 per family. Call 526-0773 with questions/RSVP. 11/27: ART VIEW OF HOLOCAUST Mr. Tibor Spitz of Kingston, survived the Holocaust at age 15. He was born in a little town in the mountains of Slovakia where his father was a Chazzan and his mother was a teacher. He expresses his Holocaust experience and memories through art (painting, sculpting, ceramics, wood-carving etc), and has a remarkable story of his escape from Communism. He studied chemistry in Prague in 1968 escaped to the West. He will present his art and his story at 7pm at the Clifton-Park-Halfmoon Library on Moe Road, this presentation is not intended for children. Call 495-0772/9 for info.

11/27: CHANUKAH ESSAY DUE Each year, American Friends of Lubavitch lights the “National Menorah” in Washington DC and in addition to greetings from dignitaries and music by the US Naval Band, the event honors two school children with reading their essays about “What Chanukah Means to Me” (this year on Dec 9th, Sunday, the 2nd night of Chanukah). 2 essays will be submitted from each school (a 3-4 grade essay and a 5-6 grade essay). It is due at the school office by Nov 27th. Winners receive free airfare and hotel for the student and one accompanying adult. 11/28: PARENT-TEACHER CONF. Classes will be held as usual, with a scheduled list of meeting for parents to meet with teachers. This was sent home this week. Call the office prior to this date if you have any questions. 12/1: YUD-TES KISLEV WEEKEND The actual date is Sunday night-Monday. Motti and Yeshiva Bochurim friends will be up for this Shabbos at Shomray Torah for added flavor, learning and warmth, and a communal Melava Malka Farbrengen (with kids program) will be that Sat Night (either at school or at Shomray Torah). Details to be announced next week. 12/11: MHDS CHANUKAH 4TH NITE

“MIDWAY” AUCTION & DINNER Raffle-Auction is now printed, look for it in your mailbox this coming week, if you don’t get it please call the school office… this year it’s on the 4th night, so look for a “Midway” themed evening! 12/8-16: CHANUKAH IS COMING! Stay tuned for a listing of upcoming Chanukah events in next week’s “MC” with Menorah Lightings, Chanukah Dinners and Parties, Ice-Skating, Bowling, Displays in stores and lots more! The first night/Menorah Light is on Motzai Shabbos this year.. 1/13/13: SPA FOR BODY & SOUL Save the date for this annual womens communal event, with an inspiring speaker, delicious luncheon and hands-on workshops, held once again in Clifton Park. Call Leah 495-0772 or Clara 439-8280 for more information or to volunteer.

MAIMONIDES SCHOOL (Nursery / Elementary / High School) & COMMUNITY

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!”