November 20, 2009

ETERNAL WISDOM FOR A CHANGING WORLD
November 20, 2009
Shabbat Begins: 5:12 p.m.
School Reminder
3 Kislev, 5770
Shabbat Ends: 6:12 p.m.
Message from the Head of School
Earlier this week, I attended a think-tank of Jewish day school heads from
around the country. The gathering was convened by Yeshiva University’s
Institute for University-School Partnership.
26-27 - No School-Thanksgiving
1 - New Parent Breakfast-8:00 a.m.
6 - SAT @ Hillel
High School Open House
10:00 a.m. sharp
8 - PCL-Grades 1-5-3:00-4:00 p.m.
Middle School Brave Program
7:00 p.m.
9 - Grade 8 SSAT
Gr. 5 Student/Parent Morning
in Middle School
11 - First Night of Chanukah
13 - ACT @ Hebrew Academy
14 - No School - Chanukah Break
18 - ECE Chanukah Festival
19 - Last Day of Chanukah
20 - School Picnic
27 - Fast of Tevet
Rabbi Yossi Heber’s Yahrtzeit
During this two-day marathon of meetings, we discussed various issues
affecting day schools, their students and the communities served by the
schools. Although, on the one hand, it was reassuring that most schools
are grappling with similar issues and are typically going about their
resolution in similar ways, it was troubling that after so many years of the
Jewish day school system’s existence, we are still struggling with these
issues at all.
Of course, the financial situation facing day schools came up repeatedly
in conversation; most schools appear to be handling it in a bold manner. A
conflict exists between maintaining a quality program despite the reduction
in tuition income. But through the dark cloud, a ray of hope shone throughthat schools will emerge stronger and more efficient than before.
A question was raised by one of the participants and has been on my mind
since he challenged the group – Does a day school simply reflect the
culture and environment of the community from which it draws its students,
or should the school play a role in actually shaping and influencing the
norms and values of the community around it?
This is a similar question to one discussed in my High School Psychology
class – Does popular media reflect what is taking place in society or does
society mimic that which is observed in popular media?
Of course, the question about the school-community impact is much more
critical and fundamental to our day-to-day functioning. It is an essential
question that I will grapple with for a while, and I welcome you to do the
same.
Shabbat Shalom!
Edited by Norma Reiz
Dr. Roni Raab
Head of School
2400 Pine Tree Drive * Miami Beach, FL 33140 * (305)532-6421
www.rasg.org
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
Veterans’ Day Parade
Hebrew Academy students in grades 4-12 observed Veterans’
Day through experiential education this year. Marching in a
parade with 40 other community organizations, from the Miami
Beach Convention Center to Flamingo Park for a Memorial Service, students were able to see first hand those individuals who
fight for our freedom. Civic pride is something all schools discuss;
however, this unique opportunity to live such pride by marching
in a parade, meeting soldiers, and hearing a 21 gun salute, will
provide students life-long memories and an understanding of the
importance of Veterans’ Day. We are grateful to the City of Miami
Beach for providing buses to take our students to and from the
parade and for providing the entire parade brigade with a glatt
kosher picnic lunch. While other schools took the day off, our
students were experiencing life.
Welcome to Nursery 3
Parsha Vayeira taught us how Avraham had many guests and how he
did the Mitzvah of hachnasat orchim, welcoming guests. Even though
he did not feel very well, Avraham rushed to do this mitzvah. There
was a big tree next to his tent that knew to give shade to good people.
Three angels came to visit Avraham to bring him news. Avraham and
Sara were told they would have a child even though they were very
old! When the baby was born he was named Yitzchak. In relation to
the parsha, and the mitzvah we learned from Avraham, the two Nursery
3 classes participated in a memorable experience. Just as Avraham
and Sara welcomed their guests, Morah Veronica’s and Morah Kathy’s
class were invited to be the guests of Morah Naomi and Morah Leslie’s
class to enjoy snack time together. A good time was had by all and the
children learned how to be excellent hosts and hostesses and gracious
guests.
Nursery 3 Morot
Tornadoes Sweep Through Grade 5
Miss Noll
Tornadoes were brewing in the 5th grade classroom throughout
the month of October. We chased storms with Warren Faidley
in “Eye of the Storm,” viewed tornado clips from the National
Geographic website, and had a whirlpool of fun when forming
tornadoes of our own in a hands-on experiment! We connected
two soda bottles, one filled with colorful water and “debris,” with
a tornado tube, to create a tornado in a bottle. Swirling the water
around, in a rotating motion, we were able to observe a tornado
form! Stay tuned for our next fifth grade explosion....volcanoes!
RASG Hebrew Academy
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Authors’ Tea
Congratulations to all the authors in the third, fourth and fifth
grades for the wonderful job they did in writing their personal
narratives! It was hard work but their accomplishment was great. It
was especially great to have the students perform in front of their
parents. Thank you to all the parents who came to the Authors’
Tea to share in their celebration.
In writing the personal narrative, the students learned to zoom into
one idea and write about that idea in great detail.
The students used the writing process to write their personal
narrative. There are five stages in this process:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pre-write
Draft
Revision
Edit
Publish
In each stage, the students learned how to perfect their work.
In the Pre-write stage, they brainstormed for ideas. In the Draft
stage, they began writing their story. Revision was the stage
where much of the work of making the story better was done.
In this stage, the students learned to revise their work and add
sensory details, similes, stronger action verbs, make a better lead
sentence, a satisfying ending, use dialogue, take out parts that
didn’t belong and add parts that were necessary to make the story
more interesting. The Editing stage was next, where the students
checked for grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. Once that
was done, they were ready to type up their stories and have them
published.
The main goal of this writing workshop was to have students feel
comfortable about writing and to give their writing meaning and
purpose. The Authors’ Tea accomplished those goals.
A big thanks goes out to all the teachers, parents and others
involved who helped make the Authors’ Tea successful. Thank
you Ms. Gonzalez, Mrs. Mitrani, Mrs. Greenberg, Ms. Noll and Mr.
Martinez.
Thank you, Jane Sabet who volunteered her time to work with
the third and fourth grade girls in writing their stories, Geri Levine,
who helped with the cutting of all the laminated covers, Edith Apoj,
who helped collate all the student stories, Norma and Diana for all
the copying and laminating and for just being so
November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
helpful with everything all the time, Sal, who made sure that the
computers were working and helped get the microphones for the
performance, and Dr. Raab for bringing all those delicious cakes
from Boca Raton. A special thanks goes to the generous donor of
the writing workshop for allowing the workshop to happen.
Now onto a new genre! We have begun the genre of fiction and
we hope to admit these stories into the Miami-Dade County Youth
Fair in the beginning of January. We will keep you posted! Any
volunteers as we approach the publishing stage of the books, will
be greatly appreciated!
Tammy Goldring
RASG Hebrew Academy
“SECURITY CORNER”
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Please wear your ID whenever coming on campus,
and affix your parking decal in a visible spot on your car’s
windshield. Without the correct school ID,
parents will not be allowed on campus.
The safety and security of your children and
our staff is of paramount importance to us.
GOOD AND WELFARE
Mazel Tov to Mrs Tirtza Shapiro and family on the birth of three
grandchildren.
Mazel Tov to Mrs. Neufeld and family on the birth of a
granddaughter.
Mazel Tov to Mrs. Schochet and family on the birth of a
granddaughter.
Mazel Tov to Mrs. Benzaquen and family on the birth of a
granddaughter.
UPCOMING BAR/BAT MITZVAH DATES
Aharon Diveroli
November 20 & 21, 2009
Dean Meyerson
January 9, 2010
David Shakury
November 25, 2009
Ethan Danial
January 30 & 31, 2010
Morris Esformes
November 28, 2009
Jonah Wachtel
February 6, 2010
Ariela Stein
December 6, 2009
Eric Swartz
February 20, 2010
Everything But The Turkey
The Food Motor Company and the Greater Miami Jewish
Federation are bringing a huge community service
opportunity to the Hebrew Academy on November 25:
Everything but the Turkey! In this activity students in
Kindergarten through Grade 12 will participate in preparing
and packaging side dishes (everything but the turkey) for
300 Thanksgiving meals for area families in need. Students
will prepare Yummy Yams, Savory Stuffing, Sumptuous
Salad, and Snack Bags. Additionally the Jewish Federation
and Ford are going to provide these families with turkeys
but our students will not actually be preparing those. We
are very excited to partner with Ford Motor Company and
the Jewish Federation in this meaningful event. If you would
like to lend a hand that day please contact Ami Eskanos
at [email protected] or at (305) 532-6421 ext.105 prior to
November 23, 2009.
November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
First Grade Writing Corner
Miquelle Cohen
The first grade has worked so hard on their reading and writing
and have decided to share with you some of their stories.
My dad and I will go to a Heat game every chance we get. Last
time I picked a good spot to sit. We saw the ball miss the net. I
licked my ice cream off my lips. I will never ever forget about the
game.
By: Benjamin Reinberg
Once upon a time there was a boy that was in an airplane and
that boy was waiting to go to Brazil. Someone came to talk with
that boy and it took a long time to get there. When he got there
he was so happy that he kicked and screamed when he saw his
grandma and kissed her many times. The boy played ball with
his cousins one day at the beach and they saw many ships. Everyday the boys were having fun. The boy will never forget about
his grandma and he will miss her so much.
By: Abraham Hirsch
One shabbos I went to meet a dog named Coconut. All of my
family went too. I never stayed with a dog before. When I got
there Coconut licked me. It was funny. We played ball. When we
left I missed the dog. Everyday I think of him. I remember when I
used to squeak his toy hotdog. It was like a special call to him. I
picked him as one of my favorite dogs.
By: Jeremy Dobin
Annual Campaign Goal
1.5 Million
100%
$1,500,000
90%
$1,350,000
70%
$1,050,000
50%
$750,000
30%
$450,000
20%
$300,000
10%
$150,000
For more information or to
involved please call Robyn Malek at
(305)532-6421 ext. 110.
RASG Hebrew Academy
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From the Desk of
Rabbi Mordechai Shifman
High School Principal/ Rav Bet Sefer
“Yitzchak sowed in the land and that year he reaped a
hundredfold; Hashem had blessed him” (26:12)
The Midrash points out that by stating that the produce was a
hundredfold, the implication is that the produce was counted. This,
however, contradicts the dictum set forth by the Talmud which states that
one should not count his possessions, for blessing does not rest on that
which has been weighed, measured, or counted. The Midrash concludes
that Yitzchak counted the produce for the purpose of tithing.
Based upon this Midrash, the Rambam credits Yitzchak with
instituting tithing. The Raavad disagrees, pointing out that the concept
of tithing already existed in the days of Avraham; after the war against
the four kings, Avraham gave one-tenth of the spoils to Malkitzedek, who
was the Priest at that time. Therefore, the Raavad concludes that it was
Avraham, not Yitzchak who instituted tithing.
Perhaps the Rambam would make the following distinction: One
of the functions of tithing is to show that we understand that all we have
belongs to Hashem. When a person tithes, he makes a statement that
the produce is not a result of “the strength of my actions,” rather it is a
blessing from Hashem. The spoils that Avraham tithed were a result of a
completely miraculous occurrence, his victory over incredible odds. One
could think that it is only under such circumstances that tithing would
be necessary. The notion that when a person applies his own efforts
in a natural manner,what is produced is still a blessing from Hashem,
is only clear when Yitzchak tithes, for Yitzchak plants and reaps in a
non-miraculous manner. Therefore, he is credited with the institution of
tithing.
Mishmar at Brauser Maimonidies Academy
On Wednesday, November 4, Brauser Maimonidies Academy in
Hollywood, Florida extended an invitation to the Hebrew Academy to
send a faculty member to run their weekly mishmar for the evening. Mrs.
Gluck (sister-in-law to recent graduate Benjy Gluck), a new super star
teacher in the High School gave an amazing workshop to the girls on,
“Who and Why are our Heroines”, which was very well received. Rabbi
Wechsler brought along juniors, David Hayes and Shlomie and Max
Landesman to help facilitate a collaborative Talmud lesson for the boys.
Shlomie prepared the Gmara with one group, Max worked with his group
to prepare a skit about the case and David studied the Rambam with his
group who were able to act as judges to decide the case. When we all
came together, it was a beautiful experience as all the groups benefited
from each other. A special thanks to Rabbi Skurowitz and Mrs. Bari
Girnun for the invitation and allowing us to showcase our school.
Rabbi Dovid Wechsler
November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
9th/12th Grade Shabbaton
The 9th/12th grade Shabbaton at the Marco Polo in Sunny Isles
was a real success, enjoyed by freshman, seniors, and faculty
alike. Friday night began with a beautiful davening and was
followed by a delicious meal. Group workshops on a range of
topics came next, enlightening and inspiring students. Afterwards,
everyone headed back to the dining room for a late-night Oneg
Shabbos, replete with games, schmoozing, and Mrs. Goodman’s
fantastic cholent.
On Shabbos after davening and Kiddush, everyone was divided
into groups for learning and then enjoyed another delicious
meal with yummy food and beautiful Divrei Torah. Following
lunch, everyone had fun participating in different teambuilding exercises, which only helped to increase the palpable
camaraderie between all in attendance. A well-deserved naptime
was enjoyed by all, as was the Rambam learning group led by
Rabbi Goodman.
At Shalosh Seudot, not only were we privileged to hear an
uplifting Dvar Torah eloquently delivered by Rabbi Amar, Rabbi
of Chabad of Golden Beach, but we were also entertained by his
two sons who serenaded us all with their beautiful voices. As the
men left to daven Maariv, the female contingency stayed behind
for some singing and kumzitsing of their own, which was quite
beautiful as well. At the conclusion of Shabbos, everyone was left
with memories of a truly wonderful Shabbaton experience.
Ultimately, a Shabbaton is only as good as its participants. The
students truly made the Shabbaton; from the zemirot to the Divrei
Torah, to the laining in Shul on Shabbos morning, every aspect
of Shabbos was enhanced by the participation and energy of
everyone in attendance.
We are so happy to have had the opportunity to spend such
a special Shabbos with such special people, and look forward
enjoying many more future events together!
Rabbi Lefkowitz
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
MAZEL TOV KINDERGARTEN
Leonard Pitts, Jr. Addresses High School Students
In honor of Parshat Chayei Sarah, The Kindergarten celebrated a Jew-
What do you get when you take one Pulitzer Prize winning
columnist, three high school classes, and one completely star
struck teacher? An unbelievable assembly, that’s what! On Friday, November 13th, the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades were given
the opportunity to hear Leonard Pitts, Jr., the award winning and
syndicated writer, talk about everything from writing and plagiarism to dress codes and President Obama.
The majority of the students had gone over previous
articles written by Mr. Pitts in their English classes and were
familiar with his style. Using anecdotes and personal stories from
his childhood, Pitts explained to the students how he started writing. “Don’t be an aspiring writer. I don’t believe in ‘aspiring,’” he
said. “If you want to write, just write.” He discussed word choice
in his writing and told the students how each word, each phrase,
is carefully selected. “If it’s easy to read,” he said, “it was hard to
write.”
And writing is not so easy, he explained. “I have a box
of rejection letters in my closet from publishers and agents,”
he said. But eventually he did get his novel published while he
secured, as he called it, a dream job. “If you love something,”
he said,” then find a way to do what you love and get paid for it.
Find your passion and make that your job.”
Pitts fielded questions from the students on a range of
topics. On clothing: “You make a choice when you get up and get
dressed each day and don’t think that people will not judge you
based on that choice.” On politics: “The country is more divisive
now than it was in the sixties.” On his favorite word: “Niggardly.
It just sounds so nasty. It’s much more effective than ‘cheap’ or
‘miserly’. Plus, you always will get some ignorant person who
says, ‘What did he just call me?’”
Even when the bell rang and the students were sent to
class, most lingered behind to talk further with Mr. Pitts. Shaina
Sedighim, president of the Zeugma English Honor Society,
presented Mr. Pitts with a gift from the school while he signed a
copy of his book for Mrs. Ciment. The students who heard Mr.
Pitts had a rare opportunity to speak with a nationally known and
well-respected author. It was an experience they were still talking
about on Monday morning. It was something they will probably
not forget for a long time.
ish Wedding. In preparation for the event, the hallway and the classroom were decorated with fabric donated by Petal Productions. We set
up a real chupah and wrote Sheva Brachot (good wishes to the Chatan
and Kallah).
Mr. Shlomo played while we ate our delicious smorgasbord complete
with pretzels and cheerios. We had a beautiful bedeken and were then
ready for the Chupah. We rolled out the white carpet and the processional began. First came the ushers and then the Chatan, Yitzchak,
with his father, Avraham. The emotion in the room was palpable. The
bridesmaids preceded the flower girls who daintily spread flower petals
down the aisle. Then came the moment everyone was waiting for – The
Kallah- Rivkah with her father, Betuel. Everyone stood up when the
Kallah walked in. The bride walked around the groom 7 times. The
Rabbis gave their D’var Torah and Yitzchak gave Rivkah her ring. There
were Sheva Brachot (many good wishes) written by friends. The Chatan
pounced on the glass (Plastic cup). “Mazel Tov!” shouted everyone.
The room was beaming with happiness. Dancing broke out everywhere- in our classroom, the hallway, our neighboring classrooms, etc.
The day was glorious and beautiful from beginning to end. We will never
forget Yitzchak and Rivkah’s Kindergarten wedding and Parshat Chayei
Sarah!
Morot Lisi, Shoshana and Gail
Adina Ciment
RASG Hebrew Academy
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Ninth Grade Novelists!
By Adina Ciment
It’s that time of year again. The turkey, the stuffing, the sales
- you know what we’re talking about. But for the students in
9th Grade English, it’s not just any ol’ month. It’s National
Novel Writing Month! Oh yes, my friend, the game has
started and the writing is insane!
If you’re not familiar with National Novel Writing
Month, or NaNoWriMo for short, you need to get with the
program a bit. NaNoWriMo is an international event in which
thousands of people attempt to bang out a novel – 50,000
words to be exact – in 30 days. Our ninth graders are aiming for 25,000 words by the end of the month and, as of
now, they are well on their way. Using time in class and at
home, students are pounding away at keyboards and developing unhealthy addictions to caffeine. But in the end, it will
all be worth it when they earn the proud title of “NOVELIST”
at the end of the month.
Student progress is charted on a huge wall-size
graph in the hallway of the second floor. But if you want to
get a real taste for the process, stop by during NaNo-days
when the students are writing in the lab. Or better yet, come
to one of the Friday parties where we celebrate the highest word counts of the week and collaborate on individual
“noveling” problems.
November 30th is looming and the students are
hard at work creating characters, killing-off antagonists, and
writing some of the greatest prose this side of…well…not
exactly Shakespeare, but maybe a close second. Check out
the end of the month update in the next Sabbath Lights!
(For more information or to register for next year, go to
www. NaNoWriMo.org)
Tile Painting Day!
On November 18th, students, parents, faculty,
and staff created beautiful tiles for the front of the
school. The new tiles will go up in front of the business office on December 2nd. Stay tuned for the
unveiling in a few weeks! Thank you to all those
who participated in this fundraiser.
Adina Ciment
November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
Warriors Win Boys’ Flag Football Championship
Coach Martinez
On Monday, November 9, 2009, the RASGHA Charlotte Rohr Middle School Boys’ Flag Football team took on the Greenfield Day School for the Jewish Athletic League Championship at Hebrew Academy. This was the third time the schools
played each other this season.
In their first meeting on October 14th, the Hebrew Academy traveled to Greenfield for their first meeting of the regular
season. This would be Hebrew Academy’s first and only defeat of the season by a score of 18-14.
On October 20th the two teams met again for the second time at the friendly confines of Hebrew Academy where the Warriors redeemed themselves against Greenfield by a score of 20-14.
These two matches set the stage for their third match which was an intense championship game.
In the third and final match, the Warriors victory sealed the Jewish Athletic League Flag Football Championship with a winning score of 28-20.
From left to right back row:
Tomer Zilbershtein, Jared Meyerson, Sage Greenstein, Coach Martinez, Michael Freund, Jonah Dermer, Ariel Ben-David, Eli Tabacinic (behind Ben-David), and Coach Ansel.
From left to right fron row: Danny Saka, Kobi Fox, Jacob Mitrani, Danny Bister, Chad Masin, David Yerushalmi, and Josh Hayes
LADY WARRIORS GIRLS’ VARSITY BASKETBALL
On Monday 11-16-09 the Lady Warriors Girls’ Varsity Basketball team defeated Sheridan Hills
Christian 47-27. Team leaders were Bari Gordon- 17 points, Hessie Friedland- 14 points and 4
assists, and Miriam Mond- 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. The Hebrew Academy Warriors
improve to 1-0 on the season.
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
MAZEL TOV
TO OUR VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR
KAYLA & JEFFREY RYNOR
Last Call
RASG Hebrew Academy
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
Tuesday, November 24th.
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770
RASG Hebrew Academy
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November 20, 2009 - 3 Kislev, 5770