1. religion and spirituality
2. judaism

February 20, 2015
1 Adar 5775
Volume 18, Issue 24
Dates to Remember:
 W Mar 3 – Taanis
Esther, Friday Schedule
 Th Mar 4 – Purim, NO
SESSIONS
 F Mar 5 – Shushan
Purim, NO SESSIONS
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In the Bnos Malka Family
☺ Mazel Tov to Ms. Nava
Kaniel and her family
on her recent
engagement.
Candle Lighting 5:18

Mrs. Rivky Babad
Assistant Principal, Kindergarten – 4th grade
In ‫פרשת תרומה‬, the Jewish nation is
commanded to build the ‫ארון הקדש‬. The
Torah says, ‫ועשו ארון עצי שטים‬. The
midrash points out that in the making of
the ‫ארון‬, the ‫ תורה‬uses the word, ‫ועשו‬,
whereas with the rest of the ‫ כלים‬for the
‫משכן‬, the word used is ‫ועשית‬. Why does
the Torah use the word, ‫ועשו‬, and they will
make, instead of the word ‫ועשית‬, and you
will make, as is used for the constructing of
the remainder of the ‫ ?כלים‬The midrash
answers that Hashem wanted all the
members of ‫ כלל ישראל‬to be involved in
the making of the Aron, so that all would
have a ‫ חלק‬in the Torah. ‫ רמב''ן‬expounds
that because the ‫ לוחות‬were kept inside the
‫ארון‬, and the ‫ ארון‬therefore had enormous
‫קדושה‬, all of ‫ כלל ישראל‬should find a way to
help with the construction, either through
donating gold, or assisting ‫בצלאל‬, or even
in just thinking about the holiness of the
endeavor. The ‫ אור החיים‬takes the message
even a step further and states that the
fulfillment of all the 613 ‫ מצוות‬cannot be
completed by one person alone. For
example, a ‫ כהן‬cannot do the mitzvah of
‫פדיון הבן‬, and a ‫ ישראל‬cannot carry out the
‫ מצוות עשה‬related to the bringing of ‫קרבנות‬
that the ‫ כהנים‬are responsible for. For all of
the ‫ מצוות‬to be fulfilled, the entire ‫צבור‬
must come together and do their share.
The Torah therefore uses the word they, in
the plural form, “and they shall make the
ark” because it is only through our
collective efforts as a unified nation that we
can fulfill our obligations as '‫עובדי ה‬.
This is a very timely message as we
enter the month of Adar. When the Jewish
nation was facing extinction at the
merciless hands of Haman and his sidekick
‫אחשורוש‬, what was it that saved the Jewish
nation? The ‫ שפת אמת‬says it was their act of
coming together of their own volition, ‫לך‬
‫כנוס את כל היהודים‬. It was the collective
gathering together to stand as one that
saved us generations ago. And it is this very
same ‫ מידה‬that will always help us to
withstand the outside forces that seek to
destroy us. Coming together need not be
on as grand a scale as the making of the
Aron that took place in the time of Moshe,
or the collective fasting and davening for
three days that took place during the time
of Mordechai and Esther. Being unified
Shabbos Ends 6:27 
can occur in our small daily interactions,
such as helping our children see a social
situation from the other person’s
perspective; reminding our children and
ourselves that ‘the other person’ has feelings
too that we must be sensitive to; and
overlooking the small infractions in our
interactions with one another. Remembering
that we are all part of the same whole, and
that this outlook is our strength, is what
connects us and strengthens us. We cannot,
as individuals, accomplish our ‫ תפקיד‬without
each other’s help.
Let us put this message to practice as we
guide our children and teach them about
what is truly important. Let us all work
together to help our children understand
that it’s okay to overlook the small things so
that we can focus on the bigger picture. I
look forward to joining with you in this
tremendously important endeavor. Wishing
you a Chodesh Tov and a good Shabbos.
Class Milestones
Kindergarten - Mrs. Eileen Cohen
Our Kindergarten class continues to be a
group of extremely sweet, delightful and
intelligent children. Their growth on an
individual and group basis remains extremely
impressive and outstanding. We are so proud
of them!
We are up to letter P in the alphabet. The
class was so excited to glue pennies and
pictures of President Washington and Lincoln
on their letter P which is part of their alphabet
book. This book will be sent home at the end
of the school year. We have been discussing
both George Washington and Abraham
Lincoln. The children were quite interested in
learning and talking about the many similarities
and differences between these two great
presidents. The class is also very aware that
February is National Children’s Dental Health
Month and we spend part of our daily circle
reviewing ways to take care of our teeth.
Star was this week’s shape. The class did
an excellent job at tracing, cutting and
collaging many different types of stars which
strengthen their fine motor skills. Our shape
unit will soon be over and we will start
learning all about numbers.
It’s hard to believe that the school year is
more than halfway over. We look forward to a
wonderful, productive and very successful
remainder of the year. Best wishes for a good
Shabbos.
 – Mrs. Bracha Yanni
With the Chumash Play coming up this Sunday, we are
singing, dancing, practicing and getting really excited for this
special milestone in our lives. We are so excited to greet all of
our family and friends to join us in the celebration. We are
coming to a close on the next perek of chumash and are
moving along so beautifully. Every part of Avram's life teaches
us so many important life lessons: working things out like he did
with Lot, being honest and truthful as he made his sheep wear
muzzles so they wouldn't steal, and caring for other Jews when
he welcomed them into his tent. These are relevant and
important lessons that help us grow. We have had very real
conversations discussing ways we can apply these lessons to our
actions. Our chumash skills are growing and we are becoming
experts at breaking apart words, finding key shorashim, and
answering questions in Hebrew. We really love learning
chumash! We are excited to see you all this Sunday so that you
can celebrate this special occasion with us.
3rd Grade – Mrs. Zahava Jeff
Is Africa a country? Ask any third grader and she will tell
you that it is NOT! It is one of our seven continents. Ask your
daughter how many countries are part of this continent and you
might be surprised. The girls are having such a good time
working in small groups researching information. It’s truly a
nachas to see how nicely the girls work together.
We are just about ready to hang up our memory quilt. The
students are having fun sewing it together. Each girl wrote
about a special memory in her life and made a cover for her
writing exercise. We are excited about putting it all together on
our hallway bulletin board.
The girls have mastered their multiplication tables and, by
so doing, are truly excelling in division. Learning fractions is
right around the corner.
I am very proud of how much the girls’ reading skills have
improved. We are all looking forward to our Biography DressUp Day when each girl will read her report to the class dressed
up as the person about whom she read. Teaching the girls is
truly a joy! Have a wonderful Shabbos!

4th Grade – Mrs. Beverly Fruchter
It's just like the domino effect: one event causes another
event to occur, which then causes another event to occur, and
so on. We are now learning about reptiles. This week we learned
about a worrisome snake problem in Florida, and the chain of
events that happened as a result. We concluded that one
seemingly small event can lead to unfortunate consequences in
our ecosystem.
What point are we trying to make? It will become very clear
to you when you read our persuasive essays. Each student's
thesis statement is thoughtfully worded to express her stand
regarding a specific topic that she feels passionate about. Our
Author's Share was eagerly anticipated and a definite highlight
of our busy week.
Speaking of the "point", we've moved from fractions to
geometry! It's a new world of points, lines and angles, to name a
few of the new terms we are learning to identify and draw. The
girls were able to "point" out so many examples of parallel lines
in our classroom alone! Have a wonderful Shabbos!
5th & 6th Math – Ms. Yocheved Weiner
The fifth graders have been busy learning about decimals.
They looked at how to add, subtract, multiply and divide
decimals. They also looked at different strategies used to solve
problems involving decimals. After finishing their unit on
decimals, the students are now turning to another kind of
number: fractions. They are working on developing fraction
sense, finding equivalent fractions in greater and simplest forms
and rewriting improper fractions and mixed numbers. The
students will also look at how to compare and order fractions.
They are applying those concepts to adding and subtracting
fractions and mixed numbers. The students discovered that you
need to have the same denominator to add or subtract fractions
because you cannot combine or subtract fractions if the pieces
are different sizes. They used fraction strips to illustrate this
concept. Next, the students will continue their study of fractions
by learning how to multiply and divide fractions.
In 6th grade, the students recently finished their unit on
rational numbers. They looked at different types of rational
numbers including integers, fractions and decimals. The students
explored the meaning of integers, both in math and in real life.
They looked at situations where you would use positive and
negative numbers. They also learned how to find distances, use a
number line and absolute value and how to graph points on the
coordinate plane. The students are now turning towards algebra.
They will develop their understanding of expressions, equations
and inequalities. Have a great Shabbos!
6th Grade ELA – Ms. Sara Lieberman
"We each have a voice that cannot be silenced, unless we
simply do not speak." The sixth graders have been busy exploring
mentor texts in persuasive writing. They are currently generating
ideas for their own pieces using current events, global and local
issues. I am looking forward to reading their writing! We finished
reading The Egypt Game and the girls wrote excellent pieces on
the different themes that were discussed in the book. We are
looking forward to continuing our reading with literature circles.
Have a good Shabbos!
 – Mrs. Leya Thurm
With Purim right around the corner, the 6th grade has been
very busy engrossed in the details and lessons of the Purim story.
The girls are working hard to refresh their memories of the
various perakim and delving deeper into what the mefarshim
teach us. In Navi, we are focusing on Shaul Hamelech's kingship
and how he rose to greatness and started out so close to Hashem.
There are so many lessons to be learned from both Shaul and
Esther!
 – Mrs. Chana Lederman
When it comes to assessment it is always exciting to combine
academic skills, assessment of knowledge, creativity and a good
time. The 8th grade is working on a hilchos Purim project that
encompasses all of these things. Instead of learning the
information from the teacher, the students were broken up into
groups where they discovered the different halachos on their own
from the Kitzur Shulchan Orach. There are many halachos of
Purim, so each group got a different topic to focus on. After
answering the guided questions, the groups will compose a song
that highlights all of the halachos that they learned and present it
to the class. We are all looking forward to great presentations.