BS”D
December 9, 2016
Candle Lighting: 4:12pm (Morganville) Havdalah (50 min): 5:20pm
Ma Chadash? A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER FOR SHALOM TORAH ACADEMY COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL AN INTERVIEW WITH OUR NEW SOCIAL WORKER, MRS. HADASSAH SHOR: Student: In general, what do you do as a social worker? Mrs. Shor: I am here to get to know all of you and to listen to everything you have to say and want to share. My job is to empower you to work through and hopefully resolve any problems or issues you might have and make you feel good about yourselves. Student: Where are you from? Mrs. Shor: I'm originally from Kew Gardens, N.Y. and I now live in Lakewood, N.J. Student: Where did you go to college? Mrs. Shor: I went to Long Island University. Student: What are the 3 main qualities you have that will help STA students succeed? Mrs. Shor: I think they would be my growth mindset, a positive attitude, and definitely loads of empathy! Student: Which do you like better- chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Mrs. Shor: My favorite ice cream is Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream which includes both.
We are so Proud of our Cheshvan Chesed Students: Talia Zucker and Ori Zaguri - who gave tzedakah to the Special Children's Center from a part of their own birthday money! Michelle Niayzov - who wrote and illustrated her own book to sell so she can contribute to our tzedakah campaign! Donni Fromm - who created Harry Potter wands out of clay to sell! Madison and Jake Terzo - who sold candy bars and brought in our largest contribution! Thank you to all of our students who helped make our campaign a successful one. We should always be worthy to be conduits to help other people in need.
Thank you to this Week’s Sponsors of a Day of Learning Mr. and Mrs. Chen in honor of their son Maoz’s 10th birthday Mr. and Mrs. Anonymous, grateful parents at Shalom Torah Academy
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M a Ch a da s h ?
A Highlight from our Specials Department Our Ivrit classes in the preschool are full of fun and learning, and we are learning the basics of Hebrew language through songs, puppets, and play. Using musical instruments, dance and games, the children are picking up so many skills and words while having fun at the same time. This week we are learning the colors in Hebrew, and we are going to let that lead us into some related Chanukah topics.
Parshah at a Glance Parshas Vayetzei Genesis 28:10–32:3 In this week’s parsha we see an act of treachery and greed which triggered one of the most extreme acts of selflessness known in history. When Yaakov came to Lavan’s house, he was impressed by Lavan’s daughter, Rachel, and asked for her hand in marriage. He saw in her the ability to build the future of the Jewish people; a mission that he knew had to be undertaken with utmost care. After working for Lavan for seven years, Yaakov saw that Lavan was not to be trusted and therefore prepared signs for Rachel to ensure that her father didn’t switch her with her older sister, Leah. True to Yaakov’s suspicions, Lavan did just that - commanding Leah to walk to the chuppah in Rachel’s place. Rachel, seeing the potential humiliation of her sister, shared Yaakov’s signs with Leah, thereby giving up not only her marriage to the one she loved, but her role as the future of a great people. Of course, the story ends well with Yaakov deciding to marry Rachel as well,and the two sister together mothered the twelve tribes. The Gemara tells us, in repeating this story, that it was due to the modesty- - צניעותof Rachel that she merited great descendants like King Shaul and later Queen Esther. One has to wonder at the usage of the term –צניעות modesty- for this deed. Graciousness, selflessness, devotion, caring… many words can describe her sacrifice for her sister, but why modesty?
From the word modesty, we learn that Rachel did not tell Leah that she was giving her the signs, and Leah never knew that her sister had actively prevented her from terrible shame and humiliation! The signs Yaakov taught Rachel were the knowledge of the three special mitzvos of a woman. Rachel simply told her sister, “Let me teach you something important you need to know if you are to marry Yaakov.” Leah never knew that Rachel could have prevented the trickery from being successful and preserved her right to marry her true partner. Let us stop and fathom this for a moment. She not only gave up her life’s dream and rightful place, but she kept quiet about it – with no need for recognition or gratitude, not from her sister or her husband, or anyone. She quietly swallowed her grief, put another before herself, and moved right on with not so much as a thank you! Can you imagine such modesty – such extreme selflessness that requires no external recognition to do what’s right? This is what we strive for when we talk about modesty. It means internally knowing what’s right and what we want to do – without the need for public accolades or pride. It means living without the need for the glitz and glamor of acknowledgement and compliments. It’s an extreme sense of confidence and security in the eternal beauty of our inner souls that allows us to understand who we really are, and live our lives for truth - not for others.
Rabbi Binyomin Y. Newmark is the founding director Of Batya, a network for teenage girls with branches throughout the East Coast servicing many of the youth of our community with weekly programs, trips, special events and Shabbatyas.
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A Highlight from our Judaic Studies Department In came Chodesh Kislev, and with it a whiff of Chanukah! The first graders are eagerly anticipating our new bulletin board project which will boast their beautiful Chanukah writings in all their Hebrew splendor! The title of this project is, B’Chanukah Ani Ohev, On Chanukah I Like… First, we had a brainstorming session together in class. The question posed was: “What do you think of when someone mentions “Chanukah?” The first graders responded with their very favorite thing about the holiday and we took notes on the white board. Next, each of the students wrote a sentence explaining their favorite part of Chanukah, to be posted on their special bulletin board so that everyone will be able to see what their answers are. Morah was very proud of the way they wrote the Hebrew sentences all by themselves, with alef bais and nekudos. Keep your eyes open and soon you’ll see the results. I’m sure you’ll love it, too!
A Highlight from our General Studies Department Our 8th graders are working on an engineering unit where they are experiencing the engineering process by creating their own backpack designs. Mrs Yafa Lamm, CIJE (Center of Initiatives in Jewish Education) Tech STEM Specialist, visited this week to observe and work with the teacher and students.
Wednesday, December 14
Parent Teacher Conferences School Dismissal 2:45 Conferences will begin at 7:00 P.M.
Tuesday, December 20
24-hour Chanukah Donation Drive and SuperParty All Parents, Teachers, Alumni and Friends of Shalom Join the Party and help raise needed funds for our school Hot Buffet, Nosh, Great Spirit and Prizes Stay posted for further details…!
Thursday December 22 at 8pm
PTO and Melava Malka Planning Meeting Light dinner will be served.
Sunday, December 25
Chanukah Extravaganza Details to be announced
December 26-30
Chanukah Vacation No School
PRESCHOOL EVENTS:
Tuesday December 20 Kindergarten 9:00am Nursery 10:30
ALL DAY and NIGHT
Wednesday December 21 PreKindergarten 9:00am RAFFLE ITEMS NEEDED We are looking for raffle items for our upcoming Mother/Daughter Melava Malka. If you have or know of a business that can offer services or items, please ask them to contribute them to our raffle. If required, certificate verifying Shalom’s nonprofit status is available in the office.
Condolences to Meira Grinman on the loss of her beloved uncle.
Rabbi and Mrs. Avrumi Rieder, STC Board Member, on the marriage of their son Tzvi.
Miriam Levin, December 12, age 2 Alexandra Avezova, December 14, age 14 Maoz Chen, December 17, age 10
Lunch Menu Monday
Onion Soup , falafel , cheese borekas , Israeli Salad
Tuesday
Roasted garlic split pea soup, hotdogs, French fries, coleslaw
Wednesday Thursday Friday
Tomato soup, fish sticks, mashed potatoes Chicken soup with noodles, roast chicken, oven roasted potatoes Tuna or cream cheese sandwiches
Shalom Torah Academy 70 Amboy Road Morganville N.J. 07751 (732) 536-0911
[email protected]