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December 29, 2017 - 11 Tevet, 5778
Parshat Vayechi
Candle Lighting by 4:44 pm
Shabbat Ends - 5:52 pm
REMINDER:
No School Monday January 1
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We'd love to hear from you! Email us with your suggestions,
Quiz answers, and more!
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At the end of Sefer Bereshit, we are presented with Yaakov's final blessings to his children, the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. When we read these blessings, we realize that these are not blessings in the traditional sense; rather they are prophecies highlighting the unique and distinct character traits of each brother. Yaakov understood that each of his children had special character traits and unique potential that only they could achieve. His bracha to them was that they each achieve their potential.
Rabbi Menacham Leibtag questions why Bnei Yisroel needed to be divided into shevatim at all. Why couldn't we all have inherited Israel equally and thus avoided years of turmoil and civil war that plagued us throughout the Tanach? He uses these brachot at the conclusion of Sefer Bereshit to answer this question. Throughout Bereshit-from the failure of the Migdal Bavel generation to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov-we see that the major aspiration of the Avot was to "call out in the name of Hashem," to motivate the nations of the world and to be pillars of inspiration for humanity. Based on this objective, Rabbi Leibtag explains the need for shevatim. If our goal is to inspire humanity, we must have the ability to reach as many people as possible. This necessitates the need for diversity among us. If we were all the same, we would only be able to contact a myopic group of like-minded people. In having different strengths, we are able to network a far more eclectic group, and ultimately fulfill our destiny.
On tours of our school, visitors always point out to us the diversity of our student body. This is something that makes us unique, and something that we take pride in at Hillel Academy. Our school is a place where we celebrate the uniqueness of each student and learn and grow from one another. As it says in Mishlei 22:6, "Educate your child according to his way and even when he grows old, he will not depart from it."
Rabbi Weinberg, Principal
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NEWS & VIEWS
The First Graders receieved their Chumashim!
"One who did not see Mesibat Chanukah at Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh has not seen Chagigah in his life!"
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TEACHER FEATURE - MRS. MCDOUGALL
It's hard to believe, but math teachers aren't born wanting to teach math! As Mrs. McDougall explains, "I didn't realize I wanted to be a math teacher until I was in my sophomore year of college." In her freshman year, Mrs. McDougall was pursuing a chemistry degree, until she quickly realized it wasn't as fun as it was in high school. Being unsure of what she wanted to do, she started working at a college tutoring center, and discovered she loved helping others learn math.
Math is very hard to enjoy when you don't see the purpose for it. "I really enjoy teaching Calculus and Statistics as they have a lot of real-life applications," she continues, " a lot of math is logic based and takes good problem solving skills. I use my problem-solving skills every day in my life." When math becomes applicable to everyday life, a student can then see the importance of learning it.
Growing up, math wasn't incorporated into her life more than anyone else. She was just a normal student trying to surpass the stress and challenges of high school (just like the rest of us). Just because she wasn't so intrigued about math doesn't mean she didn't like her teachers, however. " I had a couple favorite teachers; one of my favorites was my AP Calc teacher, Mr. Komorek," she explains.
Nowadays, Mrs. McDougall teaches many math classes in the middle and high schools. And for the students who need a little extra tutoring, Mrs. McDougall runs an after-school math support club to get the students the extra help they need to succeed.
Mrs. McDougall says that she
likes "the challenge of solving a problem and coming to a conclusion." This approach to life probably helped with a challenge on the home front. "I moved into a new house in April," she notes. "Some of the new challenges my husband and I have faced are figuring out why the previous owners did certain things (like carpet the upstairs bathroom). We painted the living room and dining room. The dining room was a VERY deep purple previously and the living room was partially green and partially white. We painted both rooms a subtle tan-ish color called 'sour tarts.' We also put in a fence in the backyard for privacy and did a lot of landscaping."
Consider those problems solved, and a satisfactory conclusion reached!
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SEPHARDIC COOKING
By Yosef Cohen-Melamed and Reuven Kanal
Sephardic food is all about using spices and powerful flavors. On the other hand, Ashkenazi food tends to be more bland. Sephardic food emphasizes salads,
stuffed vegetables and vine leaves, olive oil, lentils, fresh and dried fruits, herbs and nuts, and chickpeas. Ashkenazi food uses fish, and is generally less spicy because the Ashkenaz people are from Northern Europe, where people were poorer. This meant that they couldn't buy expensive spices and those that they could buy were used sparingly.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE
SCHOOL YEAR 2018-2019
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh awards grants to students who reside in the Greater Pittsburgh area (Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland Counties).
WHAT IS THE CENTRAL SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN REFERRAL SERVICE?
The Central Scholarship and Loan Referral Service (CSLRS) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh coordinates the efforts of a group of organizations, agencies, and scholarship endowment funds which provide need-based scholarships to local undergraduate and graduate Jewish students.
CSLRS is a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and is administered by Jewish Family and Children's Service.
WHO QUALIFIES?
Any Jewish high school senior, college or graduate student with demonstrated financial need is eligible to apply. All applicants must be bona fide residents of Allegheny, Beaver, Washington, Butler or Westmoreland counties for at least two years. Individuals are known by number, not name, to ensure confidentiality.
When a student applies for aid, the CSLRS committee matches the student with the funding source or sources for which they qualify. Some funding sources require high academic achievement;
all require students to demonstrate financial need.
HOW DO I APPLY?
For school year 2018-2019 Central Scholarship will again be using an on-line application process.
The on-line applications will be available in late November at
http://www.centralscholarship.org
. First-time applicants must be interviewed by CSLRS staff.
Application deadline is February 12, 2018. Regrettably, applications received after that date will not be considered.
For further information, contact Jewish Family & Children's Service,
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When you
#StartWithaSmile
, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh. Bookmark the link and support us every time you shop.
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/25-1067130
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At Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, we educate young men and women with unlimited capacity who compete in a superior manner in all challenges undertaken. Our students are Torah observant models of exemplary character, who love G-d, the Jewish people, and the land of Israel. To say that our students possess a love of learning, confidence and the ability to think critically, merely highlights the value of a Hillel education. What we ultimately achieve each day, and have been achieving for 70 years, is the gift of instilling each student with the foundation for a life spent actively serving and leading the Jewish community and society.
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Micki Myers, Editor | Hillel Happenings | 412 521-8131 |
h[email protected] |www.
hillelpgh.org
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