| Reminders |
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, IS AN EARLY 3:00 PM DISMISSAL DUE TO A FACULTY MEETING.
Please check the Lost and Found
table and coat rack outside the Elementary School office if you are looking for a missing item.
For the boys: Every day during davening, we say the bracha for tzitzit, so please make sure your son wears some or keeps in his backpack a pair of tzitzit and a kippah.
If you have any recyclable materials, please send them in for our classes to use. Examples are:
-Paper towel/toilet paper rolls
-Paint color samples
-Scraps of contact paper, wallpaper, or cloth
-Small pieces of tile
-Any other crafty loose parts!
Please send in dress-up clothes, especially authentic doctor clothes and supplies. Thank you!
Whether you are a parent, alumni or faculty member, your Maimo Moments are welcomed and appreciated.
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How To Subscribe to the Calendar
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For step-by-step instructions for subscribing to the Maimonides Early Childhood Center calendar on your mobile device or computer,
CLICK HERE.
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From Robin Meyerowitz
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Dear Parents,
We had a great week at school this week. We ended the week on a high note with our monthly all-ECC
Shabbat Party. It was wonderful to see the younger kids and older kids together, and the siblings getting a chance to be together. We also had a wonderful opportunity to have a birthday party for our very own Marggie Burstein, whose birthday is today. The children made her cards and gave her warm
brachot.
The teachers have worked hard on assessments, portfolios, and reports for each child, and we are so excited to share them with you at Parent-Teacher Conferences on November 9 and 19. Information on how to sign up for times was sent out yesterday morning.
We are starting to invite parents to Shabbat parties. When your child is Shabbat Ima or Abba, we will make suggestions for nut-free snacks. Please feel free to bring in healthy options to give to our students in addition to challah and grape juice.
Please don't forget that Yom Chesed is a week from Sunday. I can't wait to see you all there!
As a reminder, this coming Tuesday, October 31, is an early 3:00 p.m. dismissal due to a faculty meeting.
Shabbat shalom,
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Dvar Torah
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
In this week's parsha it's four kings vs. five kings, fighting for control of the fertile eastern region of the Land of Canaan. During this battle Lot, living in Sedom, is taken captive and Avraham finds out about his nephew's plight. In order to rescue Lot and other prisoners from captivity, Avraham maneuvers through the night, invades enemy territory, and rescues the captives (sounds like the raid on Entebbe!) from the hands of the four kings.
During Avraham's return he is met by the king of Sedom. The Torah interrupts this encounter with the following event:
וּמַלְכִּי־צֶ֙דֶק֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ שָׁלֵ֔ם הוֹצִ֖יא לֶ֣חֶם וָיָ֑יִן וְה֥וּא כֹהֵ֖ן לְקל עֶלְיֽוֹן׃
And King Melchizedek of Shalem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of G-d most high.
Just about everyone asks: Why did the Torah bring this story into the narrative and essentially break the continuity of story with the king of Sedom meeting Avraham?
Rashi states that the reason
Melchizedek
comes out to Avraham and brings him bread and wine is that
לחם ויין
כַּךְ עוֹשִׂים לִיְגִיעֵי מִלְחָמָה,
Bread and wine - Thus is done for those wearied through battle.
Avraham and his soldiers were hungry and exhausted from the long battle, and
Melchizedek
, in an act of chesed, provides Avraham with food and drink.
Expanding on Rashi, Ohr HaChayim explains why the story of
Melchizedek
providing bread and wine to Avraham is placed in the context of the rendezvous with the king of Sedom:
להגיד שבח הצדיקים מה בינם לבין הרשעים כי מלך סדום יצא לקראת אברהם לראות פניו ריקם הגם שאליו יחויב להקביל פני אברהם במנחה כיד המלך והוא הרשע יצא בידים ריקניות, ושם הצדיק מבלי חיוב נדיבות יעץ והקביל פניו בלחם ויין:
This is to teach us about the difference between righteous people and those that are evil. The king of Sedom, who went out to greet Avraham, came empty-handed even though the king was obligated to bring gifts to Avraham (for saving his life and returning his kingdom). Malki Tzedek, on the other hand, without needing to bring anything (to Avraham), greeted Avraham with bread and wine.
According to the Ohr HaChayim, these stories are deliberately intertwined in order to demonstrate the stark contrast between
Melchizedek
and the king of Sedom. The King of Sedom, who Avraham saved, brought nothing! Zero! Zilch! Nada!
Melchizedek
, on the other hand, who was indirectly helped by Avraham's participation in the war, realized the benefit that he received, and that realization - perhaps in a demonstration of gratitude and thanks for saving the region from the tyrannous rule of the four kings - motivated him to bring Avraham and his hungry and tired army some much-needed food and drink.
This year at Maimonides we are learning how to act like
Melchizedek
and demonstrate our hakarat hatov for the direct and indirect good provided to us.
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Thoughts of the Rav
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Excerpted from
Abraham's Journey by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik
We do not know who Melchizedek was. Rashi (14:18) quotes a midrash that he was Shem the son of Noah (Nedarim 32b). We see that when Abraham came with his new philosophy of monotheism, there were other individuals who also knew about it. Melchizedek was the king of justice. "He was the priest of the Most High God" (Gen. 14:18), a servant of the Almighty. His philosophy was identical with that of Abraham. He was a contemporary of Abraham and apparently accepted the same certitudes, the same articles of faith, the same moral norms Abraham had formulated. Why didn't he join Abraham? Together they would have been much stronger. Not long before, the Torah had called him Avraham ha-Ivri, lonesome Abraham, lonely Abraham: The whole world on one side and he on the opposite side. Where was Melchizedek? Apparently, he was so overwhelmed by Abraham's victory that he had to give expression to his amazement. But after this episode, Melchizedek disappears. We heard nothing of him before and we will not of him after. That is the difference between Abraham
and
Melchizedek. Whatever Abraham knew, whatever Abraham treasured and considered precious and worthwhile, he wanted to share with others.
Abraham later says to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to the L-rd, the Most High G-d, the Possessor of heaven and earth" (Gen. 14:22). Interestingly, the phrase E-l Elyon Koneh shamayim va-aretz was coined not by Abraha
m
but by Melchizedek! And this phrase was incorporated into our Amidah prayer. Melchizedek had beautiful ideas, but he was never able to implement them. Abraham's greatness consisted not only in inventing ideas, in coining beautiful phrases, but in taking ideas and converting them into reality, into facts.
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2-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
This week has been a busy and creative one. We used clay, beads, and "magic" paper that activates and changes color with just water and a paintbrush. We are learning many songs during Music with Morah Linda on Tuesday mornings, and gentle yoga moves with Morah Nechama on Mondays. This Wednesday morning, we enjoyed having two fifth graders come in and read to us.
The children have been loving our dress-up clothes this week. Lions and tigers, princesses and elephants galore! On Monday, we also started another group art project, this one with pencils and crayons, and then we added dot painters on Tuesday and Wednesday. We aren't done with it yet, and the possibilities are endless. The students love to see their artwork displayed up on the walls. We hear then announce "I made that" and "I did that" as they walk past.
We did Hebrew Zumba with Tzipi on Wednesday morning and had a wonderful time. We dressed up as Avraham Avinu and acted out the parsha. It was great fun!
The kids love music and dancing, and so do we! Because it was raining, we decided to join the three-year-olds in their room, and brought in a giant parachute. Everyone loved bouncing balls on top of the parachute and going around in a circle with it. Their favorite part, though, was when the teachers all lifted it up high and the students all went underneath.
At snack time, we have begun learning about fractions. When you take one clementine, and break it in half, you have two halves. Then, when you put it back together, you get one whole. Add some sound effects, and you make math fun!
Shabbat shalom,
Morot Laura and Tzipi
Here we are using clay. First we played with and explored the clay on its own, and then added some fun and texture with colorful beads. Our creations should be dry by the end of the week, and we'll be sending them home for you to admire.
Getting stickers at the end of Morah Nechama's yoga class is just part of the fun.
This is day one of our next group art project. Pencils and crayons are a great way to practice our grip. Look, one of us put his elephant down and decided to use two pencils at one time.
This picture was taken during Morah Linda's Music class. We love it when she takes out her puppets, Cowey and Mousey, to help us learn about low and high pitch.
It's always nice to be able to comment and ask questions during a class.
Here is the "magic" cloth. All you have to do is paint with water and it makes beautiful black splashes, lines, or anything else you want to create with your brush. Then after a few minutes, it dries and you can use it all over again.
Here's a picture of the two fifth grade girls who came to read to us on Wednesday. You can see in the background how much we love our Torahs!
Hashem told Avraham,
lech lecha
, leave the land of his home and go to the place He would show them.
The people left the land where they were from with Avraham.
The people traveled a long way in the desert to Eretz Canaan.
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3-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
The students love learning about the parsha each week. They get excited about acting it out and doing projects that reinforce the main ideas. This week we talked about how, in
Parshat Lech Lecha,
Avram had complete faith in Hashem when He told him to leave his home and go to a land which He will show him. We discussed how Avram, Sarai, and Lot needed to pack up their things quickly. Because they needed to carry their belongings, they needed to choose what they would take and what they would leave behind. We asked the students what they would take with them if they were going on a trip. Here are their answers:
Elhanan - My backpack
Noa - A bag
Perri - My baby
Noam E. - Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
Bella - Chocolate things
Noam S. - Food
Baruch - A suitcase
Avishai - A truck and a Batman car
Ellie - My mom and dad
Eliya - Ima, Abba, and a hat
Julia - Kim and all my other stuff
Shiraz - Toys and babies
Lavi - Ima, Abba, and all my things
Daniel - An excavator and a truck
Naomi - My baby
During provocations, the students enjoyed driving cars through paint and creating tracks. Some of the students explored what would happen if they drove their car through two colors of paint. They wanted to see if it would make a new color.
In the parsha, Hashem blessed Avraham and told him that he would be the father of many nations. Hashem also told Avraham and Sarah that they would have as many children as there are grains of sand on the beach, and as many children as there are stars in the sky. During Art the students made colored sand by rubbing chalk on salt. They then created beautiful pictures by gluing the colored sand onto paper.
Our mitzvah tree is starting to look beautiful! We have hung up the mitzvah notes that you have sent in. Please feel free to keep sending in notes about mitzvot your children do at home. They get excited when they see their notes hanging up!
Parsha Questions
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What is the name of the parsha? (Lech lecha)
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What did Hashem tell Avram to do? (He told him, along with Sarai and Lot, to leave his home and go to a land which He will show him.)
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Did Avram listen to Hashem? (Yes, he had complete faith in Hashem.)
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What was the blessing that Hashem gave to Avram and Sarai? (Hashem changed their names to Avraham and Sarah, and blessed them as a great nation with as many children as stars in the sky.)
Shabbat shalom,
Morot Leisa, Shayna, and Sara
Daniel, Avishai, and Lavi made a cool structure during exploration time.
We had a transportation theme this week for the parasha because Avraham Avinu left his home. We used cars to create some amazing artwork by rolling them through paint.
The cars made cool tracks on the paper!
While learning all about Avraham and his trip this week, Perri and Noam E. had fun using cars and people during provocation time.
Daniel, Avishai, and Eliya used trucks to dig in the sand table.
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Our class went on a walk this week...
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We went to see our Rosh Chodesh tree! Every Rosh Chodesh, we look at the tree to see the changes.
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Noam S. showing off his climbing skills outside |
Noam E.,Shiraz, and Noa had a blast using wet chalk to make creations on the wall.
Baruch, Shiraz, Noa, Naomi, Eliya, and Bella used their fine motor skills to wrap strings around pinecones during our exploration time.
When it got too rainy to play outside, we made sure to have plenty of fun inside in the gym.
We used hula hoops, balls...
...and even some parachutes!
Even at rest time, we find a way to have fun. Baruch and Bella created a "cast" for Ellie out of magnatiles.
Naomi got creative outside!
This week in Music with Morah Linda, the children had fun starting to learn all the names of the parshiot.
We love when the fifth grade comes to read with us!
It was very engaging!
Some of us got cozy on the couch.
We acted out the parasha hashavuah. Avraham put his wife Sarah in a box to hide her because she was so pretty.
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4-Year-Old Class Newsletter
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Dear Parents,
We have been so busy this week! We learned about Parshat Lech Lecha, and continued our work with mazes. In conjunction with the parsha, we learned about the desert and different types of transportation.
We started the week by putting out mazes for the children to play with and explore. We reviewed the rules of mazes:
1) A maze is a path from one place to another.
2) You cannot go over or through any walls of the maze.
Then throughout the week we each tried to make our own maze. It was amazing to see what everyone came up with!
In Parshat Lech Lecha we learned that when Avraham lived, most people thought that there were different gods that made things happen. One day, Avraham realized that only Hashem was the true G-d.
Then Hashem told Avraham to leave his home and go to a new land, so we talked in class about how we could travel from one place to another. Using paint, pretend animals, and toy cars, we made different types of transportation tracks. Then we made pictures with our own feet to show our footprints walking to the land of Canaan. Some students traced their feet or shoes to make prints, and others took off their socks and shoes and painted with their feet!
We learned that Hashem made a promise to Avraham that he would have so many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that you wouldn't be able to count them, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the ground.
Here are some
parsha
questions (and answers) for this week:
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What land did Hashem tell Avram to go to? (Eretz Canaan or Israel)
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Who did Avram take with him? (His wife and his nephew)
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What were the names of his wife and nephew? (Sarai and Lot)
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What was Avram careful not to let his sheep do? (Not eat from other people's grass. He did that by putting a muzzle on them.)
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What did Hashem promise Avraham at the end of the
parsha
? (That he would have so many children and grandchildren that they couldn't be counted, like the stars and the sand.)
On Friday, we had a special Shabbat party with the whole ECC! We also celebrated Morah Marggie's birthday!
Shabbat shalom!
Morot Irit, Mimi, Marggie, and Chava
P.S. Please make sure you send in tzitzit every day for your son to wear for davening.
In honor of Parshat HaShavuah, Parshat Lech Lecha, we started our long-term project. On Tuesday, the students started to make a desert using sand and glue on cardboard.
On Wednesday, we added details to the desert after discussing it during circle time. The students used clay, spaghetti, and small sticks to create cacti and other plants, and added them to their desert.
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The students also enjoyed playing in the sand table with people and animals.
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Our morning provocations also included drawing and tracing pumpkins and gourds with crayons and markers.
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Look how beautiful their creations are!
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We did another tracing activity. The students took their picture, put a transparency sheet on top, then traced the features of their faces.
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In South American Cooking in Spanish with Morah Marggie, we made Brazilian chocolate balls.
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On Wednesday, the fifth graders came to read to us.
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During snack time we made some letters with the pretzels. Ella made an A like in her name.
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Avraham made an A, and Leah made an H.
Simcha made a
ש
from pretzel and apple.
Getting comfortable during circle time.
We made a display of our special blocks that have our faces on them.
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Parent-Teacher Conferences
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Get ready to sign up for
Parent-
Teacher
Conferences! The registration website will open on Monday, October 30 at 9:00 p.m. and close on Monday, November 6 at 10:00 p.m.
Fall
Parent-
Teacher
Conferences will be taking place:
- Thursday, November 9: Grades K-12 from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., ECC from 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. (no classes)
- Sunday, November 19: Grades K-12 from 12:00 - 7:00 p.m., ECC from 2:00 - 7:00 p.m.
The conference hours can also be viewed at http://www.maimonides.org/PTC
The registration website can be found here. Please note that the link will not work until the website opens for conference registration.
Instructions for accessing the website were sent out yesterday. If you did not receive an e-mail with your student(s) ID and registration information, please contact the division office.
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Three Upcoming Events
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Thursday evening, November 2 - An Evening in Memory of Rabbi Reuven Cohn
z"l
Sunday morning, November 5 - Yom Chesed
Sunday evening, November 5 - Annual Kristallnacht Commemoration
An Evening in Memory of Rabbi Reuven Cohn z"l
Please join us for an evening of learning, tribute, and appreciation in memory of our beloved teacher Rabbi Reuven Zvi Cohn z"l next Thursday, November 2 at 6:45 p.m. at Saval Campus, 34 Philbrick Road.
Yom Chesed Registration Extended!
Yom Chesed is a week from Sunday, on November 5! Registration will close soon, but we currently have limited availability for some projects.
Our Yom Chesed web page has a complete list of projects as well as an online registration form.
This schoolwide community service initiative is in its 5th year and is fun for everyone, including students, parents, faculty, grandparents, alumni, and parents of alumni.
In addition to the many hands-on projects that take place in our school buildings and throughout the community, our Saval Auditorium will host two organizations that focus on medical needs. Gift of Life, a bone marrow and blood stem cell registry, will be on hand to register new donors, and the Hope Time Cure Epilepsy Foundation will be here to share information about its mission to promote epilepsy awareness and provide support to individuals with epilepsy and their families.
Please don't wait to sign up
- together we CAN make a difference!
Annual Kristallnacht Commemoration
Maimonides School's annual commemoration of the Kristallnacht pogrom is scheduled for Sunday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. (ma'ariv at 7:15).
The speaker will be Dr. Jonathan Skolnik, assistant professor of German and adjunct assistant professor of history and Judaic and Near Eastern studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Maimonides began this lecture more than 20 years ago, when Rabbi Isaiah Wohlgemuth,
זצ"ל
, described his personal experiences on Kristallnacht - the night of Nov. 9, 1938. Rabbi Wohlgemuth, who joined the Maimonides faculty in 1945, was then a young rabbi in the town of Kitzingen, where a mob attacked his shul. Rabbi Wohlgemuth subsequently was detained at Dachau for several months.
Reservations are not required but would be appreciated (mike@maimonides.org, 617-232-4452 x 405).
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Mazel Tov!
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Send us your simchas!
Please share your simcha announcements with us by sending details to info@maimonides.org.
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Social Time!
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There's so much going on here at Maimo! Be sure to check out our social media to get the inside scoop (with lots of great photos) on happenings at school.
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See what's happening in other divisions
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 Lots of wonderful things are happening at Maimonides School!
If you'd like to take a peek at the other divisions' newsletters, please click here.
If you would like to contact a specific school office, please use these emails:
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