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Next Week
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Sat., Dec. 16
5th Chanukah candle
Chanukah Banquet,
8:15 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 18
7th Chanukah candle
Rav Seminar: 5th or 6th period (all seniors attend)
Tikva Foundation presentation: lunch (interested 11th and 12th graders attend)
Special Chanukah end of day schedule - regular dismissal time
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ues., Dec. 19
8th Chanukah
candle
11th grade breakfast with parents after davening
Special Chanukah end of day schedule - regular dismissal time
Boys' Basketball vs. Calvary (V: 5:30 pm)
Wed., Dec. 20
Maimo 80th birthday celebration, 5th period
Wrestling vs. Nashoba Tech (6:30)
Thu., Dec. 21
Regular day
Fri., Dec. 22
Winter break
begins at 1:10 p.m.
Have a great vacation!
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In Two Weeks
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New Year's Day
School closed
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ues., Jan. 2
Rav Senior Seminar: 5th period and X-block
Wed., Jan. 3
Boys' Basketball @ Winthrop (7:00 p.m.)
Thu., Jan. 4
Girls' Basketball vs. Pope John (JV 5:30 p.m., V 6:45 p.m.)
Boys' Basketball @ Pope John (JV 5:30 p.m., V 7:00 p.m.)
Fri., Jan. 5
Seniors: Project Shalom, no Friday classes for rest of year
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Having a
MAIMO MOMENT?
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Quick Links
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www.maimonides.org
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| D'var Torah |
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by Rabbi Dov Huff
There is no dedicated
gemara on Chanukah. The how and the why of Chanukah are found in the second perek of
Mesechet Shabbos, which talks about the proper and acceptable ways to light Shabbos candles. This provides the
gemara with the opportunity to transition to talking about our other
nerot. But is there a deeper reason that
Chazal chose
Mesechet Shabbos to teach about Chanukah?
The Rav explains that the nerot of Shabbos and Chanukah complement each other. The entire essence of the nerot Chanukah is pirsumei nisa - spreading the light from inside our home and radiating it outwards to the world. They are a public display of the miracles of Hashem and a declaration of our praise and thanks. For this reason they can't be set above twenty amot and must be lit in a place and at a time that will maximize their visibility.
But nerot Shabbos are different. They are about keeping the light inside. They are about shalom bayit - creating a cocoon of spiritual light in the privacy of our homes. They are about families huddling together, warming in one another's spiritual glow.
While Chanukah is about radiating light to the outside, Shabbos is about reinforcing the light within. While on Chanukah we are projecting out a message of hakarat hatov and kiddush Hashem to the world, we are reminded on Shabbos that we need to set aside time to perfect, nurture, and fine-tune our own spiritual foundations. Because the stronger the light is within, the greater it can radiate out.
Questions for the Shabbos table:
1. What can you do on Shabbos to reinforce your spiritual foundation?
2. What things do you do in your life to spread spirituality?
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Thoughts of the Rav
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by Rabbi Dov Huff
When we think about the appropriate place for the laws of Hallel in our sifrei halacha, our books of law, we would likely look towards hilchot tefilla. Since the recitation of Hallel is done as part of tefilla, it would seem appropriate to place the laws of Hallel in the sections about prayer. This is, in fact, what the Shulchan Aruch does.
Interestingly, the Rambam does not. In the Mishneh Torah, one can find the halachot pertaining to Hallel right in the middle of Hilchot Chanukah. The Rav explains the reason for this is that the function of Hallel is giving praise to Hashem, and giving praise to Hashem is at the very core of the meaning of Chanukah. The underlying theme, the reason we light candles in the places and at the times that we do, the emphasis on pirsumei nisah - all flow from this idea, which is the very essence of Chanukah.
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| Class of 2018 Begins Rav Seminar |
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Rabbi Noah Cheses '03 launched the annual Rabbi Soloveitchik Seminar for Grade 12 this week. For more than two decades, our senior class has participated in this annual seminar, which focuses on the life and teachings of Maimonides School's revered founder. This year the timing of the seminar has been shifted from the late spring to December and January in order to allow the seniors time to integrate the information and ideas into their Maimonides School experience. Rabbi Cheses, who leads Young Israel of Sharon, is leading the seminar.
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M-Cats Take Home the Trophies!
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The annual Maimonides Invitational Basketball Tournament
in Memory of Leland Gelman was a perfect antidote to winter's early arrival last weekend, as six visiting squads from around the country, their host teams, and hundreds of spectators were the ingredients for a four-day celebration of competition, sportsmanship, and spirit.
The Lady M-Cats won all four of their games, including Sunday's championship match over Berman Hebrew Academy of Rockville, MD. Tova Gelb '21 led all scorers with 29 points.
The Maimonides boys fi
nished with a 3-1 record, including a thrilling 64-59 championship win in overtime over Yeshivah of Flatbush. Eytan Pomper '20 drained a three-point field goal from the top of the key to tie the game in regulation. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Josh Weiss '18 became the eighth Maimonides basketball player to exceed the 1,000-point career plateau.
Todah rabah to tournament organizers Sheera '76 and Ahron '76 Solomont and to all the players, coaches, volunteers, hosts, and organizers for an unforgettable experience!
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| Chag Urim Sameach! |
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Students sang the Chanukah brachot and songs while lighting the menorah at school during mincha this week. Best wishes to everyone for a chag sameach!
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Town Hall Meeting in Brookline on January 3
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The Maimonides School Board of Directors
invites parents to a
Town Hall Meeting
Thank you to everyone who attended the Town Hall Meeting in Sharon this week. It was a valuable evening of meaningful conversation.
Steven Schwartz, Board Chair, and Naty Katz, Head of School, look forward to meeting with more of you after winter break, listening to your suggestions and concerns, and benefiting from this opportunity for open dialogue.
These meetings are intended to focus on the non-academic issues within the purview of the Board such as day school affordability, financial matters, and other topics of interest to the community.
The second Town Hall Meeting will take place Wednesday, January 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Brookline - click here to respond
Please check your e-mail for full details of the meeting locations, or write to [email protected] for more information.
There will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion during the meeting. To help us prepare, we encourage you to submit questions in advance to
[email protected]
We look forward to
an evening of engaging conversation with you.
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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
[email protected].
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Boy Scout Trip to Israel
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Maimonides Boy Scout Troop 54 is organizing a unique trip to Israel in February 2018. This will be a 12-day program during President's week, February 13-25.
The group will explore all over Israel with experts from botany, zoology, ornithology, ecology, and archaeology.
500 million birds begin migrating through Israel! The students
will relate this information to the Tanach and Talmud.
Students do not need to be scouts, but they will need to register with the Boy Scouts of America before the trip. Participants may be families, children 12 years and up accompanied by an adult, teens aged 14 and up, and retirees.
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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 what's happening in the other divisions, click to visit the Early Childhood Center, Elementary School, or Middle School newsletter pages.
If you would like to contact a specific school office, please use these emails:
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| Let's Get Social! |
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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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