The Hebrew Academy NewsFlash April 30, 2015

The Hebrew Academy
NewsFlash
April 30, 2015
Elvis and the Underdogs
Dvir Twito
By: Adina Dalfin
If you are looking to read a heart-warming story I would
recommend reading, Elvis And The Underdogs by Jenny Lee. I
loved the book, because it is interesting and entertaining with a
lot of action. Benji is ten years old and faints a lot. He is at the
hospital so much that he has his own punch card. The doctors
were so worried about his health that he had only two options:
an ugly helmet or a therapy dog. Benji chooses the dog of course!
If I had to choose between a dog or a helmet I would definitely
choose the dog. When the dog comes, it arrives in a huge crate,
and Benji was so surprised! And guess what? The dog could talk!
He told Benji his name was Parker Elvis Pembroke IV. Benji is so
confused. The dog kept talking about how he is supposed to be at
the White House. Then one day two men came to the door and
said, “We have to take Elvis to the White House”. Benji was so
upset that he started to cry. Benji loved Elvis, so when the car
took off, Benji raced after it. Read the book to see if Benji gets
Elvis back or if Elvis will need to stay at the White House forever!
I recommend this book to grades 3 -5 because it’s an easy book
and enjoyable to read. This is one of my favorite Sunshine State
Books that I’ve read so far. I really liked it and I hope you will
too.
By:Yakira Wolfson
Dvir Twito is six years old and is in
first grade at the Hebrew Academy.
Dvir was born on April 28, 2008 in
Florida. Dvir lives in Hollywood, Florida
with her parents and two sisters. Her
favorite subject in school is Hebrew, her
favorite color is pink and her favorite
food is cupcakes.
Dvir wrote a poem about family and won
an award at the Miami Dade County
Youth Fair. When Dvir found out she
won she was so happy and exited!
Dvir’s Poem:
Favorite people to spend time with
Artistic
Makes me laugh
I’m in the middle
Love them all
You have to meet them
The Life of David Blatt
By: Sammy Lurie
By: Shira Rabhan
This week’s parsha is Parshat ‫ צו‬. Parshat
‫ צו‬mentions the mitzvah of the ‫ קרבן תודה‬- The
Thanks Giving Offering. The rabbis tell us that a
person is obligated to bring a ‫ קרבן תודה‬in any of
the following situations: 1) If a person was
seriously ill and recovered. 2) If a person
traveled the desert. 3) If a person traveled
across the ocean. 4) If a person was freed from
jail. It’s interesting that on Erev Pesach we are
required to bring a ‫ קרבן פסח‬. The laws of ‫קרבן‬
‫ פסח‬are similar to those of the ‫ קרבן תודה‬. This
shows us that the ‫ קרבן פסח‬is really a ‫ ק רבן תודה‬,
which we bring to give thanks to Hashem for
freeing us from Egypt.
Morah Lisi Wolfson
By: Brielle Katz
Morah Lisi is our schools’ Kindergarten
teacher. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
She went to the Hebrew Academy and then after
graduation she attended Stern for college. She
has four girls that all attend the Hebrew
Academy. Her oldest daughter Ariella is in ninth
grade. Her second oldest daughter Kayla is in
seventh grade. Her third oldest Yak ira is in fifth
grade and her youngest Eliana is in first. Morah
Lisi has taught fourth grade, second grade, and
kindergarten. Altogether she has taught for 18
years. She loves teaching Limudei Kodesh.
Morah Lisi’s favorite color is purple, her
favorite holiday is Chanukah and her favorite
hobby is running and exercising. She has lived in
Baltimore, New York, Boston, and now Miami. I
asked what Hebrew Academy means to her and
she said, “Hebrew Academy is a special place to
me. It gave so much to me as a c hild and I am so
honored to give back by teaching my students. I
always love to learn and I want my students to
love to learn also.” Morah Lisi is a great teacher!
David Michael Blatt () was born
on May 22, 1959 in Boston Massachusetts. David Blatt
grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts. Blatt played
college basketball for the Princeton Tigers from 1977
to 1981, under Coach Pete Carril with the Princeton
Tigers. Blatt also participated in the Maccabiah
games. In his sophomore year at Princeton a coach for
an Israeli kibbutz team recruited him to play in Israel
for the summer. After competing in the Maccabiah
games, Blatt began to play point guard in Israel’s
Super League.
After Blatt retired from playing basketball,
Blatt became an assistant manager for Hapoel Galil
Elyon. In the middle of the season the head coach left
and Blatt took his place. He continued coaching at
Hapoel Galil Elyon while also becoming the assistant
coach of the Israeli National Team. For the 1999–2000
Season, he moved to Maccabi Tel Aviv and once again
served as assistant manager to Pini Gershon, where
Maccabi finished in second place. From 2000-2004
Blatt continued as an assistant coach and assistant
manager recruiting foreign players such as Anthony
Parker. During those four years, Maccabi won one
Euro league title, reached the Euro league Final Four
(2001–02 Season), and reached the final stage of the
Adriatic League. Maccabi won the SuproLeague title in
2001, which was held in Paris. Blatt was still working
as assistant coach of the Israeli National Team in
2002, when he won the title of Israeli "Coach of the
Year" for the second time, the year he was appointed
head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Blatt continued as a
coach in Israel and many other teams.
Drawing By: Joseph Allouche
A Glimpse of World War Two
Yom Hazikaron
By: Ariella Greenberg
On ‫ ג ' אייר‬, (This year April 22) we remember the Israeli Soldiers who
have died for Medinat Yisrael (The country of Israel). This day is
called Yom Hazikaron. Every day the Israeli soldiers risk their lives to
defend Israel. On Yom Hazikaron (day of remembrance) the Jewish
people have certain customs. For example, some people wear flats
instead of high-heels. By law, all recreational facilities are closed. On
TV and the radio, the programs are all about Israel’s wars. Al so, at
exactly 8 p.m. the evening of and at 11 a.m. that morning, a siren
sounds throughout Israel. All the cars pull over to the side of the
road and the drivers get out. Cranes hang midair. Not a sound can be
heard as Israelis stand still and think about the soldiers who have
lost their lives for Israel. It is a somber day for us. But we aren’t
completely sad. We are also thankful to the soldiers. The IDF (Israeli
Defense Force) is wonderful. Even though we don’t live in Israel, I”YH
soon we will, and most of us have family in Israel too. Israel isn’ t
where we physically live, but it is where our souls live. Ever y morning
in Davening we say a Tefillah (prayer) for the IDF: Misheberach
Avoteinu. This Yom Hazikaron, we will remember how the IDF help
our country (Israel) every day!
Drawing By: Ariella Greenberg
By: Herschel Karp
During Pesach I interviewed
my grandfather about his
experiences during the Holocaust.
Irving Karp was born in Brooklyn,
New York on April 4, 1924.
He was captured by the
Germans, and escaped and became
a sergeant in the Marines. He
liberated many concentration
camps, and has three bullet wounds
to prove it. When asked if it was
scary he said, “It was so hard; you
didn’t even have time to have
emotions. There had been times
where a group of soldiers went in,
and only one or two made it out.”
Fortunately, my grandfather has
always been one of them. He rode
in Patton’s armored car, was a
scout, and went on secret missions
that only three or four people knew
about. Whenever we see him we
always ask to hear stories about the
war. He is ninety one and still is
alive and well.
Yom Ha’atzmaut
By: Ella Shwirtz
On the 5 th of Iyar every year, there is a very special holiday called Yom Ha’atzmaut. On Yom
Ha’atzmaut we celebrate the state of Israel’s birthday and independence. This year Israel is turning 67. On
May 14 th , 1948 Israel became an official state. Three years befor e Israel became a state, the Holocaust had
ended. During the Holocaust six million Jews were killed, so the US, Argentina, Columbia, Ukraine and the
Soviet Union thought that the Jews deserved their own country. Those countries all voted for Israel to
become an official state.
Israelis celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut in a lot of different ways. In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv big nighttime
festivals are held, where tons of people come to celebrate. In smaller cities in Israel, people spend the night
dancing Israeli dances or singing Israeli songs. In the day time, thousands of Israeli families go on picnics and
hikes. Although many people celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut differently we are all celebrating for the same
reason, to celebrate our country’s independence!
Yummiest Charoset Ever
By: Ariella Greenberg
PESACH PANCAKES
By: Natasha Harari
Drawing By: Hadassah Reich
Pesach is my favorite holiday of all time ,
but I love pancakes so it is very sad that I
can’t eat them for 8 days straight! Or can I…
For the past few weeks I have been making my
own breakfast and lunch and pancakes are on
the top of my list. When I found this recipe I
was so glad kosher for Pesach pancakes
existed. It sounded perfect for me. I can’t wait
to make them! Even if you already know how
to make pancakes and probably know how to
make them kosher for Pesach, you most likely
never thought of making these so give it a try!
Ingredients:
•1⁄4 cup milk (may need slightly more if using
whole wheat matzo meal) or 1⁄4 cup orange
juice (may need slightly more if using whole
wheat matzo meal)
•1 teaspoon of salt
•4 eggs separated
•2 tablespoons of canola oil
•2 cup matzo meal (try whole wheat matzo
meal for a little more whole grains)
Directions:
1. Pour milk or juice over matzo meal.
2. Add salt to egg yolks and beat until very
light.
3. Add to meal mixture, let stand 5 minutes.
4. Beat egg whites until very stiff. Fold lightly
into yolk mixture.
5. Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto hot greased
skillet, until brown on both sides. ENJOY!
Charoset is a delicious and healthy part of the
Seder. I love Charoset. It has so many yummy flavors!
Charoset symbolizes the bricks that Bnei Yisrael used to
build Paraoh’s storage cities Pitom and Raamses. Let me
tell you, bricks have never tasted better!!! In e very
country charoset is made differently. Here is an Ashkenazi
recipe from a small shtetle (village) in Poland. Give it a
try!









Five apples
A few pinches of cinnamon and sugar
1 ½ cup of pecans
1 cup of walnuts
Food processor
Grater
Big bowl
Small cup (plastic Kiddush cup)
Peeler
Step 1: Wash the apples and peel them over a trash can.
Step 2: Over a bowl, grate the peeled apples, as you go
sprinkling in pinches of cinnamon and sugar.
Step 3: Put both kinds of nuts into the food processor
(other favorite tree nuts work too) and chop until very
small.
Step 4: Pour the nuts into the bowl of grated apples, and
add in some more cinnamon and sugar, mixing until
combined well.
Step 5: Dish out the Charoset into the small cups. Put
them on each person’s place setting at the Seder.
Step 6: Enjoy delicious traditional Charoset at your Seder,
and have a wonderful Pesach!
Jokes
Q: Why do we have a Haggadah at Passover?
A: So we can Seder right words.
Q: What kind of cheese do I eat on Pesach?
A: Matzo-rella
Q: Who was the best businesswoman in the Bible?
A: Pharaoh's daughter, she pulled a profit out of the water.
The Scary Instagram Post
By: Bennett Szafranski
Henry Werthiemer My Great-Grandfather a
Survivor of the Holocaust
By: Bailey Spitz
One day Pharoh was checking his
account on Instagram he saw that the Jews were
coming to Mitzrayim. When the Jews arrived
they checked for any updates on Instagam and
they saw that Pharoh posted that they are going
to be his slaves. They commented on the picture
#notfair. The Jews asked Pharoh “Please let us
go.” He said “No, no, no I will not let you go.”
When Hashem heard about what
Pharoh planned to do, he began to send the ten
plagues. The first plague was no iPhone
chargers. The Second plague was that all
iPhones turned into blood. The Third plague was
no electronics. The Fourth plague was darkness
everywhere. The Jews continued to ask Pharoh
to let them go. He kept on answering, “No no
no, I will not let you go.” The fifth plague was
mosquito bites everywhere and no baths or
showers. The sixth plague was a famine across
the land. The seventh plague was that everyone
lost their jobs. The eighth plague was traffic
everywhere. The ninth plague was global
warming, and the last plague was erupting
volcanoes.
Finally when the Jews asked for the last
time, Pharoh finally answered, “Yes”. They went
running out of Mitzrayim and then Pharoh said
“Where are my slaves?” He sent his army to
catch them, but they could not catch up to the
Jews. While the Jews were rushing to get out of
Egypt, they started to make challah but time got
the best of them and they had matzoh instead.
That is how Pesach became a holiday and why
we eat matzoh and tell the story of Pesach!
My great-grandfather, Henry Werthiemer, was born in Frankfurt,
Germany. My siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, and I call my greatgrandfather, Opa. He grew up for the first eight years of his life in
Germany, he then moved to Paris, France. Five years after he moved to
France, World War II broke out. The Germans invaded France right after
my Opa’s Bar Mitzvah. He and his family got in a truck and escaped to
Southern France.
At the beginning of the war my Opa went to school. Then he
posed as a Non-Jewish farmer. He was lucky and had lots of food. Some
of the food he had was potatoes, butter, fruit, milk, and sometimes
Kosher chicken. My Opa’s father was killed in a Concentration Camp, his
mother and sister survived the war by hiding in a building. His father’s
name was Nathan, his sister’s name is Ruth, his mother’s name was
Sophia, but in Hebrew her name was Sara and I’m named after her.
When the war ended in 1945, my Opa was eighteen. For four
months after the war my Opa worked in the town he lived in. Then in
1946, he came to New York where he went to live at his aunt and uncle’s
house. He wanted to be a car mechanic, but then he would have to work
on Shabbat so he became a salesman, instead.
My Opa married my Oma (great-grandmother) at the age of
twenty-four. Her name is Ruth. They had my grandmother, Janet and her
sister Judy. Janet married Saul who had my Dad, David, and my aunts
Lindsay, Talia, and Simone. My father married my mother and had my
two sisters, Riley, Jolie, and me. Telling stories about the Holocaust is
very important, because we shouldn’t ever forget our past.
Omri Casspi
By: Akiva Itzkowitz
Omri Casspi was born on June 22, 1988 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is the first Jewish Israeli basketball
player. Omri Casspi didn’t go to College, and Omri Casspi was drafted in 2009. He went straight into Maccabee
Tel Aviv and then signed a contract with the Sacramento Kings. He was the twenty third overall pick by the
Kings. He played on four teams in the NBA, the Sacramento Kings, the Houston Rockets, the Cleveland
Cavaliers, and the New Orleans Pelicans. He then returned back to play with the Sacramento Kings.
Coach Mallory Huml
Comic By:
David Slomianski
By: Rachel Eskin
Coach Mallory is one of our amazing PE coaches. She
was born in Elburn, Illinois. She went to Kaneland High
School. She attended Northern Illinois University. Her favorite
part about working at Hebrew Academy is introducing her
students to try new things.
Coach Mallory was involved with sports ever s ince she
could walk. Her favorite sport to play is softball. She would
like to visit Ireland. Coach Mallory likes to cook and her
favorite hobby besides playing sports is playing her guitar.
Her favorite color is green.
Coach Mallory is excited to be coac hing softball for the
summer. She has one sister, and two brothers. Coach Mallory
got married in Chicago recently to her lovely husband Rob.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
By: Sara Reinberg
Welcome back to book review by Sara Reinberg! The book I will be reviewing today is called Escape
from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, written by Chris Grabenstein. It is about a boy named Kyle Keeley. Kyle is a
huge fan of Mr. Lemoncello because he likes Mr. Lemoncello’s games. Mr. Lemoncello is a famous board
game designer. Mr. Lemoncello is opening a public library. At school he hears that if you write an essay
about why you should sleep over at the new library you can win an amazing prize. The winners could actually
have a chance to sleep at the library for one night. Kyle is eager to win. Well guess what? He won! There
was one problem. Kyle’s enemy, Charles Chiltington was also one of the winners. Kyle still had the best time
playing in the library game room and at the café until it was morning and he tried to leave. He realized that
the doors were locked. “What was going on?” he thought. Mr. Lemoncello walked into the library and
explained to them, “This is a game and whoever finds their way out first will be famous.” Kyle wasn’t ready
for this game. He needed all the help he could get to find his way out. However, he knew he had a chance to
win because he played all of Mr. Lemoncello’s games. Read the book to find out if Kyle could beat h is
enemy!
I recommend this book to people who like mysteries, surprises, adventures, and for 3 rd through 5 th
graders. I enjoyed this book because I love surprises and this book had plenty. I give this book five stars.
Tune in next time for another exciting book review by Sara Reinberg!
How Israel Became a State
Elizabeth Ebner
By: Asher Miller
By: Owen Ebner
The Holocaust ended on May 8, 1945.
The Jews needed a place to go. Finally, on
May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the Head
of the Jewish Agency declared, “The
establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz
Israel, to be known as the state of Israel.”
Between 1896 and 1948, hundreds of
thousands of Jews resettled from Europe to
what was then the British controlled
Palestine. Europe convinced the Jews they
needed their own country, and their current
homeland seemed like the right place .
In 1947, the United Nations voted to
split the land into two countries Israel and
Palestine. It was split between roughly
650,000 Jews and the Arabs. The Arab
population was given a portion twice the
size of the Jewish population. Today 42% of
the world’s Jews live in Israel.
This year, the winner of the Purim costume
contest for Kindergarten through Third Grade was
Elizabeth Ebner. Her real name is Elizabeth, but
many people call her Lizzy. For Purim, she
dressed as a nerd. Lizzy chose this costume
because she thought it was funny.
Lizzy is eight years old and is in Second
Grade. Her favorite color is purple. She loves to
play with toys, and she also loves to read.
Macaroni and Cheese is her favorite food. In the
summer, she goes on vacation with her family to
Beach Haven, New Jersey, which is the place she
loves the most. She loves to watch The Wizards
of Waverly Place on TV, and when she’s older, she
wants to be a hair stylist. Lizzy has two siblings an older sister named Samantha and an older
brother named Owen.
Lizzy loved celebrating Purim in school with
all of her friends and can’t wait for next year’s
Purim carnival!
Newsflash Staff
Co-Editor in Chief- Ariella Greenberg and Asher Miller
Artistic Contributor- Hadassah Reich and Joseph Allouche
Layout and Design- Bailey Spitz
Fiction Contributor- Bennett Szafranski
Sports Editor- Sammy Lurie and Akiva Itzkowitz
Faculty Spotlight- Rachel Eskin and Brielle Katz
Student Spotlight- Yakira Wolfson and Owen Ebner
Sunshine State Book Review- Sara Reinberg and Adina Dalfin
D'var Torah- Shira Rabhan
Comic Strip- David Slomianski
Photographer- Hannah Folk
Recipe Contributor- Natasha Harari and Ariella Greenberg
Reporter- Ella Shwirtz
Co-Advisor: Rachel Leubitz
Co-Advisor: Beth Landesman