Have a Shabbat Shalom.

Dr. Rochelle Brand

Head of School

Parshat Yitro begins with the words Vayishma Yitro, 'that Yitro HEARD." All of the commentators delve in to what Yitro heard, but less attention is given to the Torah's emphasis on the sense of hearing specifically. Next week's Parsha discusses the laws of a Jewish slave sold for stealing. If a Jewish slave doesn't want to leave his master after six years of 'service,' the Jewish Court will drill a hole in his ear because 'the ear that heard by Har Sinai that we are not allowed to steal, and yet he stole, should be pierced....' Again, why is it specifically the EAR that gets punished? His hands stole and his legs carried him while stealing, so why is the ear singled out?

The Medrash teaches it is possible for a person to be sullied in sin with his entire body, but if his EARS haven't sinned, there's hope that he can do complete teshuva. Why is this true? Our ears have two functions; they are the conduit for hearing, and they give us our balance. Each of our senses have a spiritual side in addition to a more overt physical side. Ears represent the ability to listen to words of rebuke, as well as the ability to 'balance things' objectively to figure out which is the correct path to take. When we sincerely calculate whether our actions are the correct ones, we can grow and improve. However, if a person rationalizes everything he does with preconceived notions and is not open to hearing the truth, then there's no hope for his doing teshuva. Hence, someone who steals after hearing at Har Sinai that we must not steal, must have his ear pierced to teach him that there is something inherently wrong with the function of his ears that is causing him to go astray. Now we can understand Yitro as well. Yitro had served every Avoda Zara in the world, but since he was open to HEARING and thus to finding truth, he became the father-in-law of Moshe, with the Parsha of Kabalat Hatorah named after him. Yitro is a prime example of the Medrash that states "as long as one's EARS aren't sullied in sin, there is always the ability of doing teshuva".

May we all work on keeping our ears 'spiritually healthy,' i.e. to always be open to hearing the truth, and to always 'balance' everything we do before we do it, to make sure as best as we can, that it is Ratzon Hashem.

On Wednesday, Jan. 31, we celebrated Tu B'Shevat with an authentic Tu B'Shevat Seder . Rabbi Suissa generously donated the booklets and several girls led us in reciting special tefillot and supplications to Hashem while thanking Him for all the good he provides us.

We would like to thank Mrs. Suissa and Mrs. Girnun for helping prepare for this event and all the girls who helped with the setup. Thank you especially to Penina Rosenbaum, our GO president, who worked together with Mrs. Bodkins to include students on each grade level in the recitation of the tefillot and the explanation of what each of the species represents.

In celebrating Tu B'Shevat, we also wanted to spend time focusing on the importance of Brachot for the foods that Hashem provides for us. To that end, girls studied and reviewed the brachot rishonot and acharonot for several food items. At the conclusion of the Tu B'shvat seder we had the grade level winners vie for the Bracha Brain!  Grade Level winners were 6th grade Jeannie Roth and Sarah Malka Zeituni: 7th Grade - Esty Bensira and Naomi Wasserman, 8th Grade - Tamara Yeshurun and Aliyah Shapiro,  9th Grade - Debbie Nash and Tamar Brody, 10th Grade - Miri Mizrachi and Adi Nissenbaum, 11th grade - Rony Gir and Arielle Chemtov, and 12th grade - Penina Rosenbaum.  At the end it was a tie between Arielle Chemtov, Tamar Brody, Tamara Yeshurun, and Sarah Malka Zeitouni. Great job everyone!

while on winter break, students joined Mrs. Bejar for college tours of FAU (Boca Raton) and FIU (Miami). We enjoyed learning about admissions, academic fields of study, and campus life. Next week, upper class(wo)men interested in pursuing a career in the medical field will attend an information session and tour at Miami Dade College's Medical Campus.

This week SBTAG girls visited the Peninsula. The girls interviewed their partners, coaxing memories and helping the seniors to reflect on the people who had made the greatest impact upon them. They discussed the difference certain people made in their lives. The partners then used these observations and poetry prompts to write songs or verses together, which many performed.

Better Together listening skills:

The girls sat in pairs, back to back, and drew shapes as described by their partners. Other skills included listening to their partner for 2 minutes, and indicating attention without using words. We learned that our body language and facial expression can give clues that we are truly interested in what others have to say. There are many ways that we can show interest and thereby draw others out from their silence.

The newly formed Hollywood Bridal Gemach is looking for donations of bridal gowns in all sizes. We are also seeking bridesmaid and mother of the bride gowns in good condition. Please contact Robin Andisman at 954-588-7600 or [email protected]. We also welcome all monetary donations which will assist us in purchasing gowns for the gemach. All donations are tax deductible and much appreciated!

Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Parnes on the recent marriage of their daughter.