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KOL ECHAD | Weekly Newsletter
April 18, 2024
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Freedom Survey 5784
By Dr. Steven Lorch, Head of School
[Pesach is rapidly approaching! We encourage families to include all or part of the following Freedom Survey in their Passover seder. Remembering some of the events of the past year will help your family keep the tradition of “בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים (In every generation one is obligated to see himself as though he went out of Egypt).” - Ed.]
Please click on this link for the Hebrew version of the Freedom Survey.
In every generation, we feel as though we went out of Egypt. In every generation, we feel as though we are becoming free.
Since last Pesach, many things have happened that make us feel freer. Some things happened that also make us feel less free:
Key:
* Recommended for Kinder through 8th grade
# Recommended for 3rd through 8th grade
^ Recommended for 6th through 8th grade
# May 2, 2023 - The Writers Guild of America begins a strike that, together with the Screen Actors Guild strike, halts the production of most movies and TV shows for six months. One of the main issues that triggered the strike is the use of artificial intelligence.
* May 5 - Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, though, according to the World
Health Organization, it is still a pandemic.
^ June 29 - The Supreme Court rules that universities may not consider the race of an applicant in deciding whether to admit them as a student.
# July 21 - In the biggest film release of the year, Barbie and Oppenheimer open on the same day. Barbie becomes the #1 box-office hit of the year, and Oppenheimer goes on to win 7 Academy Awards, including best picture.
# August 1 - The world’s oceans are the warmest they’ve ever been, and July is the hottest month ever recorded.
* August 20 - Hurricane Hillary is the first hurricane to hit Southern California in 84 years. It
causes widespread flooding and power outages.
^ October 3 - Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, is removed as Speaker of the House of Representatives after serving for less than 9 months. Three weeks later, he is replaced by Mike Johnson.
# October 7 - In the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, Hamas attacks Israel,
murdering 1,200 and taking 240 hostages. Israel declares war and vows to eliminate Hamas. Antisemitic incidents increase across America. Six months later, the war continues.
^ October 19 - Houthi militants, based in Yemen, begin attacking ships from many nations in the Red Sea in support of Hamas’s war against Israel. Starting in December, some shipping companies suspend operations in the Red Sea and reroute their ships around South Africa.
^ January 1, 2024 - By an 8-7 vote, the Israeli Supreme Court decides that it has the power to overturn laws that it considers unreasonable. This reverses a law that the Knesset had passed in July.
* February 11 - The Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl for the second year in a row,
defeating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.
# March 6 - Former President Donald Trump becomes the presumptive Republican nominee for President after his final challenger, Nikki Haley, suspends her campaign, setting up a rematch with President Joe Biden in November’s election.
^ March 7 - In a move triggered by Russia’s two-year-old invasion of Ukraine, Sweden becomes the 32nd country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
* April 8 - A total solar eclipse is visible across North America.
^ April 13 - Iran sends over 300 missiles and drones in an attack on Israel. Nearly all are intercepted by Israel and the United States. One Israeli, a Bedouin child, is injured.
At this seder, we thank God for giving freedom – to the Jewish people back in Egypt, and to us and others now. We pray to God to help us, our brothers and sisters in Israel, all Americans, and everyone else in the world to be truly free.
When we celebrate Pesach next year, we will read a new freedom survey. We pray that next year’s survey will list many things that make us feel freer and very few that make us feel less free.
Shabbat shalom and Pesach kasher v'sameach,
Dr. Steven Lorch
Head of School
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Important Dates
Wednesday April 17 - Friday, April 19
- 6th grade trip to Catalina Island
- Passover food drive
Friday, April 19
-
Passover seder for Kinder and 1st grade
Monday, April 22 - Friday, May 3
Monday, April 22
Monday, May 6
- School resumes
- Yom HaShoah ceremony, 8:45 am, on the Kadima yard
Tuesday, May 7 - Friday, May 10
- Teacher appreciation week
Wednesday, May 8
Thursday, May 9
Sunday, May 12 - Sunday, May 19
- 8th grade trip to New York City and Washington, DC
Monday, May 13
-
Yom HaZikaron ceremony, 8:45 am, on the Kadima yard
Tuesday, May 14
Monday, May 20 - Friday, May 24
- Standardized testing, 4th-8th grade
Friday, May 24
- Lag BaOmer observed in school
-
Elementary and middle school Kabbalat Shabbat and art show, 8:15 am, on the Kadima yard (parents invited)
Monday, May 27
- Memorial Day - school closed
Tuesday, May 28
Wednesday, May 29 - Thursday, May 30
- 4th grade trip to Sacramento
Monday, June 3
- Middle school trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain
-
5th grade culmination and havdalah ceremony - 6:00 pm
Tuesday, June 4
- Gesher culmination - 5:00 pm
-
PTO volunteer appreciation breakfast - 8:00 am in the Beit Knesset
Wednesday, June 5
- Yom Yerushalayim
- 8th grade graduation - 6:15 pm on the Kadima yard
Thursday, June 6
-
La’alot ceremony, kindergarten-7th grade, 10:30 am on the Kadima yard
- Last day of school - 12:00 dismissal
*For the current, 2023-24, school-year calendar, please click HERE.
*For the upcoming, 2024-25, school-year calendar, please click HERE.
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Passover Food Drive
Wednesday, April 17, through Friday, April 19
At this time of year, as we are cleaning out our chametz and purchasing Passover food, we think about the less fortunate who don't have enough to eat. We also think about what is stated in the Haggadah: "Let all those who are hungry come and eat."
At Kadima, we also consider those in the Los Angeles community who are in need of food. Therefore, we are food for SOVA, a Jewish food bank, during our annual Passover food drive.
To participate, please bring a bag filled with non-perishable grocery items, whether kosher or non-kosher for Passover, to be donated to those in need. Bins will be located at drop-off starting Wednesday, April 17, through Friday, April 19, Thank you!
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Yearbook Tributes
You may commemorate your child's achievements or pay tribute to a particular teacher or staff member by placing a tribute ad.
- $25 - one-liner
- $75 - quarter-page
- $125 - half-page
- $250 - full-page
All ads, including photographs, should be emailed to asela@kadimadayschool.org as a print-ready (fully designed and sized accordingly) jpg or pdf file by Wednesday, May 1. Please Click here for the form.
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Yearbook Orders
The Kadima yearbook holds memories that you and your children will cherish for years to come. The 2023-24 yearbook is now available for sale! The cost of each yearbook is $45. There is a limited supply so get your order in today. The deadline to order yearbooks is Monday, May 6.
If you would like to purchase a yearbook, please click here or scan the QR code (Passcode-1016383893841995).
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Holocaust Remembrance Day
Monday, May 6, 8:45 am
Please join us on Monday, May 6, at 8:45 am for a special Yom HaShoah ceremony. The event is open to the community so please invite your family and friends. Gates will be open at 8:00 am. Please click here to register. Registration is required for entrance. Please bring your photo ID to enter campus.
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Yom HaZikaron Ceremony
Monday, May 13, 8:45 am
Please join us on Monday, May 13, at 8:45 am for a special Yom HaZikaron ceremony. The event is open to the community so please invite your family and friends. Gates will be open at 8:00 am. Please click here to register. Registration is required for entrance. Please bring your photo ID to enter campus.
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ECEC Israel Independence Day Celebration
Tuesday, May 14, 9:00 - 10:30 am
ECEC parents, please join us on Tuesday, May 14, from 9:00 am to 10:30 am as we celebrate Israel's Independence Day with a special concert, fun activities, food, and Israeli dancing.
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Thank you, PTO
Thank you to the Fridman, Keisari, Babelpour-Schmid, and Sinai families, as well as our wonderful PTO, for sponsoring a delicious Rosh Chodesh brunch for the faculty and staff. We really appreciate it!
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Top 10 Conversation Starters: Parashat M'tzora
By Dr. Steven Lorch
#10 - This is the second parashah whose main subject is the skin condition tzara'at. Why does the Torah devote so much space to this one condition, and not to any other, more lethal threats, whether diseases, or poisons, or dangerous animals?
#9 - The parashah opens with the purification ceremony for a person who has recovered from tzara'at. The first step in the process is for the person with tzara'at to summon the kohen (priest), and then the kohen visits him in his place of quarantine, outside the camp (Vayikra 14, 2-3). It is unusual for the kohen to play such a central role in purification; in other forms of ritual impurity, anyone with the required knowledge can help. Why is tzara'at assigned only to the kohen?
#8 - If a kohen comes in contact with ritual impurity, he is disqualified from doing his main job, which is the Temple service (22, 2-3). Therefore, the kohen must usually distance himself from all forms of ritual impurity. Why is tzara'at an exception to this rule?
#7 - The purification for tzara'at is a two-stage process: first, the kohen sprinkles a mixture of blood and water on the person with tzara'at, and the person washes his clothes, shaves off all his hair, immerses in the mikveh, and is readmitted to the camp but cannot go back to his tent (14, 7-8). Seven days later, he again washes his clothes, shaves, and immerses. Then he brings a sacrifice and is anointed with oil and blood and can go back to his tent (14, 9-18). Why is this a two-step process? What does each step accomplish? Why do the two stages contain many of the same actions?
#6 - In addition to tzara'at of the skin, in this week's parashah the Torah describes a type of tzara'at that can infest the walls of a house (14, 34). Assuming that tzara'at isn't a physical condition like skin disease or mold, but rather a punishment for sin or for a moral lapse, which is the more serious punishment - tzara'at of the skin, which results in quarantining, or tzara'at of the house, which eventually results in the house being destroyed?
#5 - The Torah introduces skin tzara'at of various kinds in a concise, consistent way: for example, נגע צרעת כי תהיה באדם (If a person has a tzara'at plague - 13, 9). However, the opening to the section on tzara'at of the house is much more expansive: כי תבואו אל ארץ כנען אשר אני נותן לכם לאחוזה ונתתי נגע צרעת בבית ארץ אחוזתכם (When you enter the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I inflict a tzara'at plague upon a house in the land of your possession - 14, 34). Why?
#4 - When the owner of the house first approaches the kohen to report the problem, he is told to say, "כנגע נראה לי בבית (Something like a plague has appeared in my house - 14, 35)." Why doesn't he just say that it's a plague? Why does he have to express doubt: "something like a plague"? Is this true even if he is a revered rabbi who knows all of the tzara'at laws? Why, or why not?
#3 - Before house tzara'at infestation becomes so long-lasting that the house is destroyed, several less extreme mitigation measures are taken: all of the house's contents are removed, it is evacuated and quarantined, and the affected parts of the walls are removed, scraped, and replaced (14, 36-42). The rabbis imagine that these interim steps could produce welcome effects, or detrimental effects. What is one possible welcome effect? What is one possible detrimental effect?
#2 - The rabbis state that "house tzara'at never happened and never will happen. Then why was it written? To learn beneficial life lessons from it." What beneficial life lesson can you learn from the laws of house tzara'at?
#1 - Most of the commentaries say that tzara'at comes as a punishment for the sin of lashon hara - defamation - and bring several Torah texts as evidence. In what ways is tzara'at a fitting punishment for lashon hara? In what ways doesn't it fit the crime?
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