V'ahavta... ואהבת “Stellar Education for Every Jewish Child” Dec. 19, 2014 Kislev 27, 5775 RTA Chanukah Happening · Chanukah Happening 1 · 2nd Graders Are Stars 4 · Spelling Bee 5 · Yosef’s Coat 6 · PCL Photos 7 · Krispy Memories 8 · Latke Making 9 · PEP Info 10 · After School Pgm. 11 · RTA Basketball 12 · Art at RTA 13 · Parsha 16 Candle Lighting Friday, Dec. 19 4:36 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 Shabbat ends 5:39 p.m. Friday, Dec. 26 4:40 p.m. This year’s Chanukah Happening was a wonderful treat for the over 150 people in attendance. The whole crowd was delighted by the mesmerizing juggling, magic and humor of superstar Jonathan Austin. The evening began with an inspiring d’var Torah from 8th grade student Samantha Greene, and 1st grade students Miri David & Nathaniel Rakofsky lighting the chanukiyah and reciting the blessings. After the performance, Mr. Austin stayed until the very end making balloon animals for the children. The donut decorating stations were a hit, and the latkes and applesauce were enjoyed by all. A huge thank you to the PVA for sponsoring the event. Thank you to the many volunteers who helped make this event so wonderful: Morah Sheina David, Mrs. Shevi Holi, Mr. John Minor, Mrs. Sarah Rakofsky, Morah Jane Samora, Mrs. Yali Klestzick, Mrs. Naama Toker, Mrs. Amy Beth Lehman, Mrs. Adrienne Winkelmann & the Shaarei Torah TASC force. Special thanks to Mrs. Sorah Plotnick for her many hours of dedicated efforts that produced such a successful, enjoyable event. (more photos on pages 2 and 3 . . .) Saturday, Dec. 27 Shabbat ends 5:43 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 1 Fast of Asara B’Tevet Fast Begins: 6:01 a.m. Fast Ends: 5:38 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3 Shabbat ends 5:49 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7 JCFR Youth Campaign 5th-8th Grades 12:30 p.m. Boys’ Basketball Practice 3:35 - 5:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22Friday, Jan. 2 Winter Break Monday, Jan. 5 Classes Resume Board Meeting Executive: 6:30 p.m. Full Board: 7:30 p.m. The weekly newsletter of the Rudlin Torah Academy - Richmond Hebrew Day School Page 2 V’ahavta RTA's Monday night Bingo Game doesn't go on winter break. We need 5 volunteers every Monday night - 5:30 pm to 10 pm. Earn Give or Get dollars and raise as much as $5,000 per month for RTA. Please sign up for a Monday night in December, January and beyond. To sign up go to: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E0B4AACAE2BA02-rtamonday/21467793 RTA Chanukah Happening (...continued from front page) V’ahavta Page 3 RTA Chanukah Happening Page 4 V’ahavta Second Graders Are Stars The second graders have been real stars this past week. The students put on two shows and they did a wonderful job. This past Friday they sang at the JCC Preschool’s Shabbat party. Dressed in Yosef’s coat, the second graders sang two songs, with motions, from the weekly Torah portion as well as two songs about Chanuka. The crowd enjoyed watching them and singing along to one of their Chanuka songs. This past Wednesday, the second graders went to the Parkside Assisted Living Facility at Beth Shalom to bring light and sing Chanukah songs to the residents. The children sang three Chanuka songs with motions. They then helped the residents do a little project - they made paper stained glass dreidels the residents could hang up on their windows. It was so wonderful to see the residents light up when the children went around and helped them put the projects together. The second graders were then treated to a Chanuka song in Yiddish by one of the residents. Page 5 V’ahavta RTA Spelling Bee This year's RTA Spelling Bee was a treat for all who participated and watched, and an impressive performance by our talented students who participated. Following the format we have used in recent years, grades 1-8 held their own in-class spelling bees to determine two winners to represent their respective classes, along with one alternate. The results were: 1st Grade: Miri David & Nathaniel Rakofsky 2nd Grade: Katie Holi & Shaanan Shamberg 3rd Grade: Chaviva David & Avi Greene 4th Grade: Aharon Bart & Gabriella Baez 5th Grade: Shahar Cahana & Ahava Shull 6th Grade: William Minor & Asher Weglein 7th Grade: Jacob Rakofsky & Michael Zedd 8th Grade: Hudi Bart & Samantha Greene This past Tuesday teachers and students all watched the school-wide spelling bee with the class winners. (Louis Altman joined as the 8th grade runner-up.) It was high drama (as usual!) as the words became more and more challenging. In the end it came down to a head-to-head between two outstanding spellers, with the winner being 7th grade student Jacob Rakofsky and the runner-up 8th grade student Samantha Greene. Congratulations to all, and best of luck to Jacob, representing RTA in the next round at St. Catherine’s School on January 14th! (more photos on next page . . .) Page 6 V’ahavta RTA Spelling Bee (. . . continued from page 5) Yosef’s Coat of Many Colors Last week, the first graders learned the Torah portion of Vayeshev which includes the story about the coat that Jacob made for his son Yosef. After learning the parsha, the students made their own versions of Yosef’s coat of many colors. Page 7 V’ahavta Scenes from last week’s Parent-Child Learning Please join us for our next Parent-Child Learning on January 10 at 7:00 pm! This year’s PCL program is sponsored by a generous grant from Let’s Give RVA. Page 8 V’ahavta Krispy Memories This past Tuesday, the kindergartners hit the road to go to Krispy Kreme for a Chanuka traditional favorite: Doughnuts! Anticipation was in the air for days before this event. The kindergartners were not disappointed. Despite rainy conditions outside, their faces shone when they entered Krispy Kreme doughnut headquarters. There, each student was treated to a doughnut - which was enjoyed alongside each child’s beloved TLC partner from Shaarei Torah High School. This is what they shared about their experience: I liked that my mommy drove. (Naava) I liked that I got a donut hat and a balloon. (Max) I liked that I got to have a piece of my TLC partner’s donut. (Zemorah) I liked that I got a donut. (Temima) I liked getting a balloon. (Elina) I liked that I was with Aiden’s car. (Reuven) I liked that I got a balloon. (Tovah) I liked that I went with Naava. (Abigail) I liked that my dad picked me up. (Kinneret) I liked seeing my TLC partner. (Dini) I liked to be with my partner. (Ahava) I liked that I went in my own car. (Aiden) I liked getting a donut. (Elianna) Page 9 V’ahavta Latke Making with the Kindergarten Class Page 10 V’ahavta Just when you thought your days in the classroom were over…. WHAT IS IT? The PEP (Parallel Education for Parents) Program is a nationally acclaimed program piloted by RTA in 1993. PEP is designed for parents of all ages to come together with their children and their Jewish studies teachers for an exciting evening of learning and fun! The evening will be followed by tasty refreshments (including our traditional PEP M&M’s). WHY IS IT? There is little that we as parents value more than our children’s education, growth, and happiness. You know how excited children are when they come and share with you something they learned at school. Now you have a unique opportunity to have your children actually share their school, their classroom, and their learning experiences with you as they happen. WHEN IS IT? Tuesdays: 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. January 13: Kindergarten – Morah Perel January 20: First Grade – Morah Joan January 27: Third Grade – Morah David February 3: Second Grade – Morah Aronowitz February 10: Fourth Grade – Rabbi Skaist February 17: Fifth/Sixth Grades – Rabbi Sherman February 24: Seventh/Eighth Grades – Rabbi Sherman Come with your child and experience an unforgettable evening of learning and fun!! Page 11 V’ahavta RTA AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 2014-15 WINTER SESSION RTA Chess Club (Grades 1-8) The Chess Club is open to all levels and will include both instruction and supervised play. Beginning players will learn the basic moves and rules of chess, and begin to learn simple strategy. Intermediate and advanced players will develop more advanced strategy, learn ideas for the opening, middlegame, and endgame and also improve their skills by playing against peers with helpful tips and guidance always available. Thursdays 3:40-5:00; begins January 15 Cost will be $75 for 10 weeks We are also exploring the possibility of beginning a Drama Club on Mondays – if you are interested, please e-mail [email protected]. Page 12 V’ahavta RTA Basketball On Monday, the RTA Iron Blue Lions opened their season off with a 20-12 win against rival Veritas. Even though they trailed 11-6 at halftime, they outscored Veritas 14-1 after the half. The high scorers were: Michael Zedd with eight points, Roy Toker with ten points, and Louis Altman with two points. Come out and see RTA as they go battle Guardian on January 12, 2015 at the JCC. And don t forget, it’s Iron Blue … Please see the RTA website for a schedule of our games at: http://www.rudlin.com/content/default.asp?content=basketball Page 13 V’ahavta Woody Menorahs Created and Woven by the Art Club The Art Club's final project has taught our students how to weave yarn on a basic loom. Our weaving was turned into a tall, elegant menorah! Naava Plotnick Dovid Aronowitz Max Coon Ahava Shull Eliyahu Aronowitz Zemorah Coon Temina David Chaviva David Doni Plotnick Shaanan Shamberg Miri David Page 14 V’ahavta Menorahs by the Third Grade Page 15 V’ahavta Self Portraits by the First Grade Ezra Holi Nathaniel Rakofsky Miri David Alexander Klestzick Doni Plotnick Jasmine Starnes Beckett Pegalis Eliyahu Aronowitz Maya Tudor Theo Hirsch Page 16 V’ahavta Parsha Points Each week we feature an article on the weekly Torah portion. Miketz (Genesis 41:1-44:17) Shabbos Chanukah The Chofetz Chaim, the leader of European Jewry in the early part of the 20th century, was known as a particularly righteous and saintly man. Once he was asked to testify in a Polish court on behalf of a Jewish defendant. Before calling the Chofetz Chaim up to testify, the defense counsel went through a lengthy explanation of the Chofetz Chaim's character, citing many stories of his righteousness and saintliness. Topping them off, the lawyer spoke about the incident in which the Chofetz Chaim called out after a thief who had just stolen from him with the cry: “I forgive you! I forgive you!” The judge, duly skeptical, asked the lawyer: “Do you really believe that story?!” The lawyer’s classic response: “Your honor – I’m not sure I do believe it. But tell me do people tell such stories about you and me?" (Indeed, this courtroom saga had a happy ending. The Polish judge was so impressed with the Chofetz Chaim as a character witness, that he ultimately acquitted the defendant.) *** The impression one's moral character can make upon others is at the very heart of this week's Torah portion, Miketz. The parsha opens by describing the inability of Pharaoh's wise men to interpret two of their master's dreams. Years earlier, Yosef had correctly interpreted the dream of Pharaoh's wine steward - who reasoned now that perhaps the Hebrew lad could do the same for Pharaoh. Desperate for a suitable interpretation, Pharaoh agrees to the suggestion that the imprisoned Yosef be given a chance to explain the dreams. Yosef is brought before Pharaoh, and lo and behold, he correctly interprets the dreams! Pharaoh is so impressed by the Hebrew young man, that he appoints Yosef to be Prime Minister of Egypt, second in power only to Pharaoh himself. (How exactly Pharaoh knows that Yosef's interpretation is correct is left unexplained by the text. Some commentaries say that Pharaoh included false information in describing his dream to weed out false interpretations. Others say that when he initially dreamed his dream he was given its meaning, but forgot it when he woke up; Yosef was able to refresh his memory.) (continued on next page. . .) Page 17 V’ahavta *** Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, the late dean of the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem, wonders how it was possible for Yosef to be appointed to such a position? Besides being young, he was also a foreigner and a total unknown to the Egyptian royal court. And until now, he'd been sitting in jail! How could he come to be appointed the second most powerful person in the Egyptian empire? Rabbi Shmuelevitz says the answer is found in a careful reading of the text. Yosef refuses to take any credit for the wisdom that he is imparting. He tells Pharaoh that any insights he has to offer come through the grace of G-d. Over, and over, in his interactions with Pharaoh, Yosef emphasizes that the dreams are G-d's way of communicating to Pharaoh. Yosef's conviction that G-d is the supreme force, and his refusal to see himself as having any importance, made a tremendous impression on Pharaoh. The Egyptian monarch realized that he was dealing with a righteous, G-d fearing individual. Such an individual could be counted on to possess an honesty and integrity not normally found among the intriguing, plotting members of a royal court. For the position of Pharaoh's top advisor, this was exactly what the Egyptian ruler was looking for. In the final analysis, it was Yosef's impeccable character which yielded political power as well. Like his descendent the Chofetz Chaim, millennia later. Adapted from the award winning website, www.aish.com. Page 18 V’ahavta
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