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V'ahavta... ‫ואהבת‬
“Stellar Education for Every Jewish Child”
Jan. 9, 2015
Tevet 18, 5775
Local Mutual Funds Expert Visits Mr. Lewis’s Class
· Guest Speaker Visit 1
· Give or Get Pgm.
2
· Chanukah Carnival
3
· PEP Schedule
5
· Mishloach Manot
Information
7
· After School Pgm.
10
· Art at RTA
11
· Photo Ops Info
13
· Parsha
14
Mr. Eric Shoenfeld, the Senior Vice President of Investments at The
Mutual Fund Store in Richmond, spoke to Mr. Lewis's Economics class this
past Tuesday. Mr. Shoenfeld, whose daughter Phoebe will enter RTA in
the autumn of 2015, spoke to the 7th and 8th graders about (You guessed
it!) Mutual Funds, and answered a broad array of questions from a roomful
of 12-14 year olds eager to hear about Mutual Funds, investment instruments designed to lower risk through broad portfolio diversification.
Candle Lighting
Friday, Jan. 9
4:51 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 10
Shabbat ends
5:55 p.m.
(continued on next page . . .)
Saturday, Jan. 10
NO PCL Program
Monday, Jan. 12
RTA @ Veritas
5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 13
Kindergarten PEP
6:30 - 7:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 14
Boys Basketball Practice
3:45 - 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 15
Chess Club
3:40 - 5:00 p.m.
Parent–Teacher Conferences are Monday,
January 26th.
Reservations for Parent Teacher Conferences, on Monday, January 26th,
will be taken starting on Monday, January 12th. Please call Mrs. Klosenberg
at 353-1110 or email [email protected] with your requests.
Parents are encouraged to sign-up early to be able to schedule desired
times. The deadline to sign-up is Thursday, January 22nd.
The 8th Grade will be offering babysitting services for RTA conference
day during the times of your appointments.
The weekly newsletter of the Rudlin Torah Academy - Richmond Hebrew Day School
V’ahavta
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Our condolences to Mrs. Luda Cahana on the loss of her father, Mr. Yitzchak Frimkis.
Our condolences to the Lanyi family on the passing of Mrs. Rikki Lanyi.
May the families be comforted amongst the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Thank you to Mrs. Hilary Bender for donating art supplies.
Give or Get Program Reminder
PARENTS - Please make sure to track and turn in your completed Give or Get
points! You can submit your Give or Get points as you earn them, on the
RTA website. Click on Giving, followed by Give or Get.
Have any questions about the Give or Get program? Please e-mail us at
[email protected]
Thank you for helping our school be the best it can be!!
Local Mutual Funds Expert Visits Mr. Lewis’s Class
(. . .continued from page 1)
Mr. Shoenfeld introduced the topic of mutual funds by explaining how, when given some
shares of stock for his Bar Mitzvah, his interest in the stock market began.
He spoke about the importance of listening to clients, the added value of active management of fund components, and the fiduciary responsibility he has to his clients. He
touched upon his belief that charging his clients a fee instead of a commission builds their
trust.
For the next 75 minutes, students peppered Mr. Shoenfeld with questions about Mutual
Funds, stocks, taxation of profit and other financial matters. It was exhilarating for the class
to speak to a professional mutual fund expert, and the RTA students look forward to
welcoming Mr. Shoenfeld's daughter when she enters RTA in September!
V’ahavta
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Chanukah Carnival
On the Thursday before the winter break, RTA had its amazing Chanukah Carnival. There
were games in almost every classroom including our huge gym. All students and teachers
received a beautiful tzedakah box with RTA's logo on it. Everyone had a fantastic time because of the help these people provided: The student council, the seventh and eighth graders, the Shaarei Torah girls, the teachers and Adrienne Winkelmann. We could not have
done this without you. Our sincere thanks,
Mrs. Klosenberg
Morah Jane
(more photos on next page . . .)
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Chanukah Carnival
(. . . continued from page 3 .)
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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!!
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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].
Signup Deadline: Tuesday, January 13th
V’ahavta
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The Art of Chuck Close
by the 5th and 6th Grade
Chuck Close, born 1940, is one of the most famous working artists
today. He is well known for his faces which are done in torn paper,
paint and finger paints.
The 5th and 6th grade art class used the torn paper method of
piecing together an image in an exciting way.
William MInor
Emory Bender
Yisroel Skaist
Ahava Shull
Self portrait, Chuck Close
Shahar Cahana
Emily Dolganski
(continued on next page . . .)
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The Art of Chuck Close
by the 5th and 6th Grade
Esther Miller
Tzvi Plotnick
Noam Cahana
Asher Weglein
Jaymie Cohen
Raz Toker
Stuart Altman
Carlos Baez II
Pete Chumbris
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PhotoOps by Adrienne
PhotoOps by Adrienne captures so many wonderful RTA memories.
Now you can purchase and share all of the wonderful pictures!
Click the link below
to view all of the pictures from 2013 – 2014
and from the current school year!
http://photoopsbyadrienne.smugmug.com/share/RTAPhotos
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Parsha Points
Each week we feature an article on the weekly Torah portion.
Shmot (Exodus 1:1-6:1)
The Process of Assimilation
Three Jews are at the Country Club discussing their ethnic origins. The first says,
"My father was from the old country. His name was Goldsmith. He worked in gold and
made a good living. When I took over the business, I changed my name to Gold."
The second one says, "My father also came from the old country. His name was
Silverstein. He worked in silver and made a good living. When I took over his company, I
shortened my name to Silver."
The third man says, "My father came from the old country, too. His name was
Schneider. He was a tailor and always struggled to make a living. He taught me the trade
and I struggled, too. One day I turned toward Heaven and prayed: 'Lord, help me succeed in business and we'll be partners.' Since then my business has become a great success!"
The other two look at him and say, "Do you really expect us to believe that story?"
"Sure," he says, "haven't you ever heard of Lord and Taylor?"
SAFEGUARD TO CONTINUITY
When we last left Jacob and his 12 sons, they were thriving. Despite being set in
the midst of a corrupt Egyptian society, the Jewish community was flourishing with
schools, synagogues and social networks. With such a strong "Jewish" infrastructure,
assimilation was virtually non-existent; in fact, the Talmud reports there was only one incident of intermarriage!
Today, with "Jewish continuity" such a priority (as it is in every generation), we
want to know: What was the secret of success for the Jewish community in Egypt?
The Torah provides us with two insights: First, in Genesis 46:28, when the Jews
move down to Egypt, Jacob sends Judah ahead to make advance arrangements. The
word the Torah uses to describe Judah's preparations - "li-horot" - means "to teach." The
Midrash says that before any synagogue, senior center or JCC, Judah established a
Jewish school. To ensure Jewish continuity, Jewish education must be the number one
priority.
Second, the Midrash says that when Jacob's family arrived in Egypt, they made a
pact amongst themselves to prevent assimilation. They agreed not to change their
names, style of dress, or language. With these safeguards, they were able to maintain a
healthy degree of unique identity.
DUAL LOYALTY
At the beginning of this week's Parsha, the Torah says:
"Joseph died, along with all his brothers and that entire generation. The Jews increased and became very strong and the land was filled with them." (Exodus 1:6-7)
The tide had turned. Immediately after the old generation died, the Jewish People
spread throughout Egypt and the assimilation began. They dropped their Jewish customs
and blended into secular society.
What happens next may shock you. Immediately, verse 8 reports the rise of antiSemitism in Egypt. What makes this so unusual is that hatred of one group for another is
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typically due to what sociologists call "dislike of the unlike." Foreigners are frequently discriminated against because they have strange customs. But in this case, the Egyptians
didn't bother the Jews as long as they kept to themselves. Only once they began to resemble "regular Egyptians" did the anti-Semitism begin.
As the Torah records:
"[Pharaoh] told his people: 'Behold, the Jews are more numerous and stronger
than we. Let us take precautions so that if a war should occur, they won't side with our
enemy." (Exodus 1:9-10)
The dual loyalty issue had reared its ugly head.
Anti-Semitism is often generated with the perception that Jews have power and
influence. Case in point: "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." A forgery purporting to be
the conspiratorial discussions of the Jewish elders plotting to take over the world, it was next to the Bible - the best-selling book in the world during the 1920's. In the United
States, Henry Ford sponsored its publication. It has since been printed in numerous languages internationally, and presently has widespread distribution in Japan.
And today on the streets of America, whispers can be heard: "Jews control Hollywood, Jews control the media, Israel gets too much foreign aid, etc."
Every American Jew has heard the question posed: "If the United States and Israel went to war, on whose side would you fight?" It's a good question to ponder...
CAUGHT IN THE TRAP
As it turns out, the Egyptians did not enslave the Jews outright. Pharaoh played
off the Jews' desire for acceptance, and announced the beginning of a massive public
works campaign. All "good" Egyptian citizens were invited to participate in building the
storage cities of Pitom and Raamses. To set an example, Pharaoh himself came out the
first day wearing a brick-mold around his neck.
As expected, the Jews came out in full force. Even more, they bent over backwards to prove themselves as loyal Egyptian citizens: the Jews worked extra hard, put in
overtime, surpassed production quotas, etc.
Then Pharaoh made his move. He announced that for the Jews, the work was no
longer voluntary. Each Jew was now enslaved, and expected to produce abundantly. In
fact, the Egyptians kept accurate records and knew exactly how much each Jew could
produce - while working overtime! This became the new quota. In their effort to be accepted by the Egyptians, the Jews had sealed their own fate.
The Torah says: "The Egyptians enslaved the Jews bi-perach" (Exodus 1:14).
"Perach" is usually translated as with "crushing hardness." But "perach" can also mean
with "a soft mouth." The Jews were sweet-talked into it.
WHERE ARE WE TODAY?
A little over a hundred years ago, an "enlightened" Jewish philosopher-poet by the
name of Yehudah Leib Gordon admonished his listeners with a phrase that became the
watch-word for much of Jewish behavior in that era: Yehudi bi-vay-techa, Adam bi-tzaytecha - "Be a Jew in your house, and a regular person outside." In other words, keep your
Jewishness and its practice as your own private affair, and when interacting with the rest
of the world, relegate your Jewish identity to the back burner. Or hide it altogether.
Many followed Gordon's advice, and the outward signs and symbols of Judaism Kipah (head-covering), Tzitzit (fringes on the garment), Tefillin (phylacteries), Brachot
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(blessings) and Kashrut (dietary laws) - to name just a few - were abandoned in public,
as the Jews strove to imitate and emulate their gentile neighbors.
Eventually this public neglect of Jewish life spilled over into the private arena as
well, and soon the motto was altered: "Be a Jew neither in your house nor outside."
It's happening again today and the consequences are devastating. Young Jews
are apathetic and disinterested. But if you're reading this, you are amongst those who
care. We can break the cycle and turn our ship around. How? Express your Jewish identity on a regular basis. Make the commitment to Jewish education and Jewish observance. Light Shabbos candles, or say the Shema. Listen to Torah mp3s while commuting, or start a lunchtime study group at the office. Teach your children (or your neighbor's children). Speak Hebrew and play Jewish music. Or even pay that long-overdue
visit to Israel.
Don't hesitate. Judaism is not all-or-nothing. The options are endless. The experience is transforming. The reward is eternal.
Adapted with permission from the award winning website, www.aish.com.
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