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April 20, 2018
ה׳ אייר תשע׳׳ח
Candle lighting for Hollywood 7:28pm
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Fourteenth Annual Journal Dinner
Sha'arei Bina to hold its annual journal dinner, Sunday, May 13. Please make your reservations and send in your ads today. Covert $150 per person, ad deadline, April 29.
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Greetings From The Head Of School
This week brought with it a roller-coaster of emotions. On Monday we added half Hallel into our davening as it was Rosh Chodesh. Tuesday allowed us the opportunity to prepare for Yom Hazikaron. Students signed up to honor Israel's Fallen Heroes by pledging acts of chessed, additional prayers and tzedakkah. Yom Hazikaron itself was an extremely powerful day and of course, Yom Haatzmaut was a great birthday bash for Israel's 70th!
Sometimes as educators we wonder if our message is getting across to our students. Our school, as all schools, has an Educational Mission. We aspire to inculcate within our students a love for Torat Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael. We believe that the creation of the State of Israel is one of the seminal events in Jewish history. Recognizing the significance of the State and its national institutions, we seek to instill in our students an attachment to the
Medinah and its people, as well as a sense of responsibility for their welfare.
A fellow educator once said to me that when you are in
chinuch - you work on percentages. If you have reached one child you have hit 100% of your goal! I had such a moment on Wednesday when one of our beautiful sixth graders approached me with the following. She said - "This morning when I came in, honestly, I did not feel any attachment to the day. I didn't know what you were talking about. But now, I understand. I really learned what Yom Hazikaron means today. I can feel it. Thank You!" I thanked her for sharing this with me - and in my mind I air pumped and said Yes! We hit the mark!
Another student went over to
Morah Ronit Lerman to personally thank her for the ceremony. She said to the
Morah "You did good today" Wow - that is another bulls-eye.
There is a meme going through social media lately that reads
c
How richly rewarded we were this week.
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Calendar News
Please click here to view the complete calendar and latest news on our website
shaareibina.org
April 29 -(Sunday) - CIJE STEM Fair - Our students will be displaying their inventions - Details will be forthcoming
May7 -
11 - IOWA achievement exams grades 6-10 Times TBA
May 7 - AP Psych
May 9 - AP English
May 11 - AP History
May 13 - Annual Dinner Honoring Mr. and Mrs. Reich, Mrs. Wolf and Avital Mizrachi (Alumna)
May 14 - AP Bio
May 16 - Parent Council Bake Sale and Boutique
May 17 -
Premiere Screening of Names Not Numbers © Holocaust Memorial Documentary produced by the 8th grade.
May 18 - No Sessions - Erev Shavuot
May 21 - No sessions - Shavuot
May 28 - Memorial Day - No Sessions
June 11 -
8th Grade promotional ceremony
June 12 -
12th grade graduation
June 13 - Last Day of School - Noon Dismissal
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D'var Torah Parashiot Tazria and Metzora
Rabbi Tzvi Berkson
The
parsha begins with the expression אִשָּׁה֙ כִּ֣י תַזְרִ֔יעַ וְיָלְדָ֖ה זָכָ֑ר. The verb
Tazria is in the
Hiphil or causative verb form, revealing the Torah's belief that a woman's role in the creation of a child is active. She is not merely the incubator of the man's seed but makes an equally important contribution to the creation of the child. This notion is taken up in the Talmud as well, where our Rabbis taught: "There are three partners in man, the Holy One, blessed be He, his father and his mother." (Niddah 31a)
In the writings of Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, זצ"ל, we find an engaging distinction between the contributions of man and woman in the moral development of the child. In the Rav's work,
Family Redeemed, he writes: "There is a distinction between the mother and father's educational mission... Father's teaching is basically an intellectual nature... The teaching must be strict, exact and conscientious. However Judaism is not only an intellectual tradition but an experiential one...There is beauty, warmth and tenderness to Judaism... All this is to be found in the maternal domain. The mother creates the mood... She tells the child of the great romance of Judaism. She somehow communicates to him the tremor, the heartbeat of Judaism, while playing, singing, laughing and crying".
Of his own father's and mother's unique contributions to his understanding of Judaism, Rav Soloveitchik writes: "The laws of
Shabbat, for instance, were passed on to me by my father. The
Shabbat as a living entity, as a queen, was revealed to me by my mother.... The fathers knew much about The
Shabbat, the mothers lived The
Shabbat, experienced her presence, and perceived her beauty and splendor".
I believe that there is a connection between this concept and the events of this past week. We are coming off of Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut experiences. On Yom HaZikaron, we were exposed to the sounds and images of mothers and wives mourning the loss of their sons and husbands to war. Their voices and tears communicate the value of human life in a way that can never be understood in strict legal, logical, or philosophical terms. On Yom HaAtzmaut our united celebration allowed us to emotionally express our recognition of the beauty and grandeur of the Jewish people miraculously returning to their ancient homeland.
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Brunch And Learn With Our Principal
Mrs. Tobi Wolf
This year we read Parshiot Tazria and Metzora together. However, when Tazria is read separately, its
Haftara is the story of Naaman, which elucidates the theme of צרעת
א וְנַעֲמָן שַׂר-צְבָא מֶלֶךְ-אֲרָם הָיָה אִישׁ גָּדוֹל לִפְנֵי אֲדֹנָיו, וּנְשֻׂא פָנִים--כִּי-בוֹ נָתַן-ה' תְּשׁוּעָה, לַאֲרָם; וְהָאִישׁ, הָיָה גִּבּוֹר חַיִל--מְצֹרע (מלכים ב: ה,א).
And Naaman, the commander to the king of Aram, was an important man before
his master, and highly respected, because through him Hashem gave salvation to Aram; And the man was a brave warrior, a leper
Naaman can't find a cure and a Jewish maidservant suggests that he approach the Jewish prophet for a cure. He comes to Elisha, resplendent with his entourage and a directive from the king himself. Elisha sends him a message, "Go bathe in the Jordan River 7 times and your leprosy will be healed." Naaman is offended that Elisha didn't come out to greet him and didn't wave his hands over his body, chanting incantations to dispel the lesions. He sarcastically questions why the waters of Jordan would be more effective than the waters of Damascus. His servants convince him to give it a try. Naaman immerses himself seven times and the leprosy: disappears. Naaman proclaims
טו: הנֵּה-נָא יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אֵין אֱלֹקים בְּכָל-הָאָרֶץ, כִּי אִם-בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ
15: Behold, now I know that there is no G-d in all the land, other than in Israel.
Why is Naaman singled out as a non-Jew with צרעת ? How does he undergo such a spiritual transformation? Let us examine the actual war between Aram and Israel that led to Naaman's high status. Ahab, the King of Israel had disguised himself as a regular soldier in order to avoid being targeted as the king. The
passuk tells us:
מלכים ב: כב:לד וְאִישׁ מָשַׁךְ בַּקֶּשֶׁת לְתֻמּוֹ, וַיַּכֶּה אֶת-מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל, בֵּין הַדְּבָקִים וּבֵין הַשִּׁרְיָן
"And a man drew his bow innocently (randomly) and he struck the king of Israel..." He struck him exactly in a juncture of the weave on the vest that he wore for protection. Ahab died from this wound and the Jewish nation fled the battlefield. Our Rabbis tell us that this man was Naaman.
So we have a man who is being lauded for his courage, heralded for defeating Israel and saving Aram. And suddenly he has צרעת. We know that Hashem uses leprosy to punish a person who speaks
lashon hara. Why? A person can speak negatively about another person but still walk away feeling righteous. No action has been done, just talk. There is no guilt and no recognition of the aggression and arrogance that was expressed That is why it's so difficult to overcome
lashon hara. So צרעת comes to reveal that which is hidden inside a person. By forcing a person to confront his inner self, it can function as a catalyst for repentance.
Naaman was basking in the attention he received for the military victory. He came to Elisha as a proud warrior, surrounded by his military entourage. He mocked the prophet. But deep inside, he knew that he was not deserving. The shot had been random. The fact that it pierced Ahab at the exact point of vulnerability was highly improbable and had to have been the hand of G-d.
Elisha understood Naaman. He refused to dazzle him with the magical rituals of idol worship. He didn't even come out to greet him. He wouldn't lend credence to Naaman's overestimation of himself. On one point, though, Naaman was right. The waters of the Jordan were not physically superior to the waters of Damascus. However, in Judaism, immersion in water is a spiritual process that helps a person cleanse himself of "wicked thoughts and bad character traits" (Rambam, Mishne Torah: End of Laws of Mikvaot) to attain purity. Through immersionin the waters of the Jordan, Naaman came to recognize that his leprosy had come to reveal that which was hidden. He could embrace the truth and realize that he had been an instrument of the
Hashgacha. Such a revelation would demonstrate the sharp contrast between other religions that focus on magic and creating illusions of security and Judaism; which focuses on a person gaining true knowledge of both the world around him and of his inner world and coming to recognize the Creator.
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Throughout the day on Wednesday, the school commemorated Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day for Fallen Heroes and Victims of Terror. The day began with Dr. Brand explaining the significance of the day, enumerating the magnitude of the loss of family, friends, loved ones, in the fight for Israel's independence and continued safety. Although it is difficult to relate to numbers like 100,00 disabled veterans, 23,000 killed in battle, over 3,000 killed in terror attacks, it is enough to relate to one. Dr. Brand asked the girls to honor the lives of Israel heroes in conjunction with the Afikim Project by dedicating extra tefillot and/or acts of chesed and tzedakah. A simple but powerful display was set up in memory of Eli Shachar, A"H, who was killed at the age of 20 in the Battle in Lebanon.
Mrs. Ronit Lerman and her students in the accelerated Hebrew classes prepared and performed a deeply emotional
tekes - ceremony which left everyone in tears and sorrow. Rabbi Berkson and Mrs. Wolf participated by reciting the appropriate
tefillot -
Yizkor,
Kayl Maleh and the
Mishebarach for the
Medinah. After
mincha the students watched a short film of how a
Chareidi Rabbi taught his
talmidim the concept of
Hakarat Hatov for the
chayalim who died
Al Kiddush Hashem so that they were free to learn Torah. What an incredible message! You can see that
clip here. This is a lesson well taught.
You can watch clips of our Yom Hazikaron program here:
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Going from sadness to joy - מיגון לשמחה, SBTAG celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut with a variety of activities coordinated by Morah Emily Kaufman and her Hebrew students. After a
tefillah chagigit and
chumash classes, the students went on a virtual tour of Israel. The girls were able to dip candles in "Tsfat", prepare chocolates at the "Elite Factory in Ramat Aviv" , create beautiful sand art at "Chof Ha'almog", paint ethereal butterfly drawing in the Artists Quarter, and dig up pottery on Masada. We had our "Bible Contest" as well. No celebration would be complete without food- and the girls devoured the typical Israeli lunch of Falafel,
Hummus,
Pitot, Salad and Chips.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Israel blooms at Sha'arei Bina. Our Israel 70 fence is almost in full bloom. We have been collecting water bottles for many month, snd with over 300 bottles and counting, Sha'arei Bina's basket ball court is being framed in flowers. The fence is a
collaborative effort. Students of all grades and teachers alike, brought water bottles to the art room and waited patiently for their transformation. The students painted the bottles and then cut and sorted them by size and colors. The seniors were in charge of stringing and blinging, the ninth graders helped cut and shape them into flowers, and the seventh and tenth graders shaped the letters and were in charge of hanging them and filling the fence. We are well on our way to fill the entire fence and we are so happy that we were able to celebrate Israel's 70th birthday in bright color! Thank you to all the girls who were instrumental in bringing the fence to flowering life!!
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Rabbi Yosef Weinstock, Rabbi of the Young israel of Hollywood, spoke to the students after
Tefillat Shacharit, on Friday
Hay Iyar, 70 years exactly since the establishment of the State of Israel. Rabbi Weinstock described the discussion which took place regarding whether Hashem's name should be included in Israel's declaration of Independence. And it does as
Tsur Yisrael, and above Rav Maimon's signature as
B'ezrat Hashem. At the signing of the Declaration, a
Shehecheyanu was recited. Rabbi Weinstock explained Rav Kook's Z"L, position of
Yishuv Eretz Yisrael, the mitzvah of living in Israel. Rabbi Weinstock's lesson serve as a terrific culmination to all of the ceremonies, festivities, and activities that we experienced this week at SBTAG.
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From The Desk Of Noa Bejar
Junior Achievement Business Workshop: On Tuesday April 24th our high school students will be taking part in a special finance awareness workshop through JA Personal Finance®. Following participation in the program, students will be able to:
* Recognize the fundamental elements of their personal finances: earnings, saving and investing, budgeting, credit, risk management, and giving.
* Apply these fundamental elements to a personal financial plan that allows them to set specific goals for their lifelong financial needs and desired quality of life.
The sessions' titles and summaries are as follows:
Session One: Plan to Earn Students- learn that healthy personal finances take planning and managing. They begin to analyze major life events and issues that have financial implications.
Session Two: Saving for Life - Students analyze the role saving plays in their personal finances and how having a healthy savings plan is necessary in all phases of life.
Session Three: The Budget Game- Students investigate budgeting and why many people have difficulty staying within a budget.
Session Four: Credit Choices Students analyze the importance of credit and the outcomes of wise and poor use of credit. Session Five: Savvy Consumer Groups work together to create public service announcements (PSAs) to inform each other of risks they could face in their finances and identify ways to protect themselves from potential loss.
We thank Noa Bejar, our college advisor for arranging for this program.
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Art Studio
Rina Pollock- Grade 6
Our art class has many different styles of lessons such as this one called: The Choice Based Workshop. This means that the students are able to choose their medium and subject for their artwork. This style has led the students to make decisions, problem solve for art challenges that arise, and lots of expression from the students. It is so amazing to see the students develop their skills based on their interest. The photos below are some of the art works from our Choice Based Workshop.
Many of us recall learning a rule about solving inequalities: when multiplying or dividing both sides of an inequality by a negative number, we reverse the direction of the inequality. But why? Grade 7 students are reasoning about contexts to understand why this rule makes sense. For example, suppose you have a savings account with $100 balance and want to begin withdrawing a fixed amount each month. You want your balance at the end of the year to be at least $25. This situation can be described by the inequality -12x + 100 > 25, where x represents the dollar amount of the monthly withdrawal. Students reason about what the -12x represents (the total change to the balance after 12 months) and identify some values of x that make the inequality true. They come to realize that a monthly withdrawal amount of $6.25 or less will work. While the original inequality represented a greater than or equal to situation, its solution involves less than or equal to.
In another example, a band promoter determines from past experience that if they charge t dollars for a ticket to the concert, they can expect attendance of 1000 - 50t. The promoter uses this model to figure out that the ticket price needs to be $8 or less in order for 600 or more to attend. Do you agree with this claim? Why or why not? How would you describe the situation and its solution with inequalities? Discuss your reasoning with your student!
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