Community Newsletter of the Maimonides Hebrew Day School of the Capital District 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208 (518) 453-9363/3434 www.maimonidesschool.org produced by Rabbi Mendel & students in the TNT (Torah ‘n Technology) Program

Maimonides is accredited by the NYS Board of Regents & is a beneficiary of UJF-NENY maimonidesschool@gmail.com

BH Iyar 16, 5773 / April 26, 2013

MAIMONIDES 404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

JOURNAL… AND SUPPLEMENT This year’s Tribute Journal/Yearbook is now at the printer (72 pages, with student, tribute ad pages, reflections on the Berger Award and writings by Eve Kneznek and more!) the supplement will be prepared early on Sunday. If you’d like to put an ad/greeting in the supplement, email: mhdsnews@gmail.com or mail@shabboshouse.com as soon as possible. THIS MONDAY NIGHT (4/29)... will be the annual Scholarship Tribute at the school (parking in both parking lots & on-street parking on Partridge & on Woodlawn). Buffet dinner will begin at 6pm in the “Esty Library” (the back upstairs room) followed by 7pm program in the big hall upstairs, & dessert buffet & tea downstairs in lunchroom following the program. Mincha can be during dinner, Maariv during desserts. Space is limited due to the school venue, but we still have room for last minute reservations - call office 453-9363/3434 (ext 1) Monday 9-3 or email maimonidesschool@gmail.com anytime.

EARTH-DAY CLEAN-UP Several grades took time on Monday to clean up around the outside of the school, spruce up

the garden, and plant some flowers - both outside in the ground and in soil in buckets. It’s really nice that the students take pride in their school. Everyone is happy to finally feel the warmth of the bright sun, see the grass turn green, the trees begin to bud and blossom - signs of spring all over! HS girls also did a great job cleaning up the Esty Library Room.

LAG B’OMER THIS SUNDAY! See page 4 for the “Lag B’Omer at the Lake” with JCC and Chabad. There will also be a birthday BBQ starting 6:30pm at Clifton Park Chabad. We wish a big Mazal Tov to the Gray family on Rebecca’s Bat-Mitzvah in Queens, and to those families going to the Simcha. Some will also be at the “Great Parade” in Crown Heights, thanks for representing! PRICE CHOPPER WARNING AdvantEdge Card purchases at PC Colonie through today earns you a level of discount (up to 25% off entire purchase) on the FIRST

purchase you make at Price Chopper Colonie between April 28th & May 11th. Be

sure to make a big purchase that first time you go shopping (with your AdvantEdge card) after April 27th because you don’t want a 25% discount wasted on a small shopping. If you just need a few things, buy w/o your card, so you use the discount with your card (before May 11) and get the big savings.

Candle-Lighting:

7:31 Shabbos Ends:

8:36

This newsletter is sponsored

in memory of

Dr. Lenny Morgenbesser Leib Yisroel ben Eliezer

on the occasion of his Shloshim

by friends of the family

the Bodner-Huberfeld

Tzedakah Foundation

May his memory be a blessing

A FEW “MC” CORRECTIONS From last week’s “MC” Newsletter: From the piece on “Felafel Philosophy”:

Chumus and Felafel Balls have the same basic ingredients: ground chickpeas, spices etc; but not Techina sauce - which is made from ground sesame seeds.

From Upcoming Events: NYS Museum’s CANstruction closed in mid-April, and is not open thru May as listed.

“RECONNECT” @ STARBUCKS Starbucks had a “Reconnect” one day only special recently, free cups of coffee until noon. The HS girls got in their studying, and for a treat got there in time and came back with coffees, plus a few for their teachers, too! A warm L’chaim! Does anyone remember the Parshas Lech-Lecha message learned from a word printed on the lid of coffee-cup last year? It was pictured in the “MC” newsletter…

SHAPES GO 3-D THIS WEEK Last week Ms. Livingston’s 2nd grade math class learned about 1-dimensional shapes (squares, triangles, circles, hexagons etc) and how they can split or join one another. This week they played with 3-D shapes (different shapes, but all blue translucent) of the same, as part of the new curriculum introducing math concepts (in basic form) in earlier years.

THE BAR-YOCHAI MERON SONG Kindergarten’s Lag B’Omer book includes some of the words of the chorus of the classic “Bar-

Yochai” song that many, especially Sephardic Jews, like to sing on Lag B’Omer.

HS GEMORAH TAANIS CLASS Rabbi Rubin has been learning Gemorah Taanis with the HS Girls, which has many inspiring stories and teachings. They hope to finish an entire chapter by year’s end, even though they only meet twice each week.

TYPOGRAPHY IN ART CLASS Mrs. Levin introduced both 5th graders and 7/8 graders to Typography: the art and science behind fonts and letter forms. “Dog” was their first word to practice on (because it is only three letters and it has one letter that ascends above the line, one letter that descends and one that stays within the central lines). She showed them samples of her own commercial work, using the style of letters (themselves, even without images) to convey specific messages. Then they each tried doing the same of their own using random phrases she gave them. Rabbi Mendel shared with 7/8 a “Torah-Tuesday” class he wrote for UAlbany students that is a Torah commentary to a 2005 speech Steve Jobs (founder of Apple, Next and Pixar) said at Stanford University, which also touches upon letter forms and fonts, (and the parallel connections with the laws of Safrus - Jewish scribal art) and how it came to be that Mr. Jobs insisted that multiple typefaces be included with the Macintosh computer. PESACH SHEINI MATZA LUNCH On Wednesday, all students enjoyed a taste of Matzah (whole wheat & regular, shmurah and machine, from Israel, Brooklyn and Ukraine) with a variety of shmears: cream-cheese, butter and strawberry jam. GARAGE SALE ITEMS NEEDED General Studies are preparing for their annual Garage-Sale to benefit the year-end trip. After the dinner this week (Tuesday onward) please bring in any useful, decent condition stuff that they can sell. No major appliances or old TV’s

and computer screens. Some limited pickups are available, call the office 453-9363 ext 1 for details and with any questions.

PLANETARIUM ADVENTURES Chris Grubb of Planetarium Adventures brought the StarLab inflatable Learning Dome into the “Esty Library” at school for grade groups to take turns to enter for a star-studded visit! K-2 learned an “Astronomy Alphabet: From Astronaut to Zodiac” while Grades 3 and up learned about different stars & constellations that are viewable at different times of the year. 6th graders found a connection to the Chumash they recently learned in Parshas Bo, establishing the Jewish calendar based on astronomical observation (new moon, solar seasons etc). Thanks to Mrs. Rosenfield and the General Studies staff for arranging this educational experience.

KEDOSHIM MITZVOS Last week’s Parsha was filled with Mitzvot, grades 3/4 illustrated and captioned a few of them. Pictured here, FAR LEFT: Respect the Elderly (about a youngster giving up a seat for an older person at a school graduation) LEFT: Honesty in Business (2 workers at a Fruit-Stand, one being honest, and the other not being as honest…

TIM LYTTON’S BOOK ON KOSHER Professor Tim Lytton (Albany Law) wrote a book titled “Kosher: Private Regulation in the Age of Industrial Food” which was well-reviewed in a number of publications, including this week’s “Times-Union”.

The focus of the book isn’t so much about the observance of Kosher, but about effectiveness of private agencies in food regulation.

MINI-APPS TRIP The long-awaited APPS trip is being planned for the before Shavuos, in the meantime the middle school walked to Ridgefield Park to enjoy some ices and play the “Tray-Game” - each student picked one random item from the tray and had to think of a connection to either Pesach-Sheini or Lag B’omer. On their way back to school they stopped at the O’Brien home to make the blessing on fruit-blossoms (said once a year, usually in Nissan, which fell to early this year for tree-blossoms in our area). Here are a few of their clever connections: Scissors: haircuts/upshernish on Lag B’Omer Glasses: give near-sighted a second chance Heart-shaped Cookie-Cutter: Ahavas Yisrael Flat-Bed Truck: Lag B’Omer Parade Float Skewer: Roast Marshmallows in Campfire Battery: Energy for a Joyous Celebration Candle: the “Medurah” fire on Lag B’Omer Prescription: opportunity to fix a problem

NY STATE MATH TESTING After the ELA tests last week, grades 4,6 &8 took the state math tests this week. According to the 8th graders, it was clearer & easier than they expected after the ELA tests last week.

SIYUM OUTING CELEBRATIONS 3rd grade finished Parshas Vayera, 4th finished Vayeishev, 5th finished all of Chumash Breishis (with special projects for “Birchas Yaakov” memorization). The weather was so gorgeous that outdoor Siyum parties was ideal. 3/4 went to Five Rivers (see them on left all up in a

tree!) 5th went to Washington Park (where they spelled out “Thank You” using twigs).

SPRINGTIME BULLETIN BOARD Mrs. Carroll’s students built up this board, one item at a time. They painted brightly colored birdhouses; cut out paper flowers; tore orange, red & yellow tissue paper to make that great big sun; twisty googley-eyed caterpillars; and the richly colored butterflies with 3-D bodies; now they personalized bright yellow chicks…

4/27: RASHBI’S 3 CROWNS & 4TH In honor of Lag B’Omer “3 vs. 4 crowns” will be the topic of Rabbi Rubin’s talk at Shomray Torah w/ a 4-crown Kiddush & Farbrengen to follow. 4/27: WOMENS SHABBOS SHIUR 4:45pm. Again at 29 Glenwood, but this time on 2nd floor, at home of Leah Caras, given by Leah. 4/27: RABBIS REISMAN & FRAND Live screening of Rabbi Yisroel Reisman’s Navi class, now Sat Nights at 10:15pm; Rabbi Yissachar Frand’s class 9pm Thurs, both at CBAJ. 4/28: LAG B’OMER DAY Chabad joins JCC at their scenic Camp Olam

Ce-de-Ca in Grafton NY site for “Lag B’Omer at the Lake” festivities (campfire, archery, gaga, Israeli dancing, nature hikes, etc) Kosher food (organized by M. Caras) available for sale. Call Rabbi Simon 439-8280 for questions/info. Directions: 787N to 7E thru Troy. Right on 278 follow signs to turn left onto Route 2. Once in Grafton, 2 miles to Dunham Road, (if u hit Grafton Park that’s too far) turn right, and right again thru the gate after passing Martin Dunham Reservoir on left.

Birthday & BBQ at Clifton Park Chabad, 495 Moe Road (off Route 146) starting 6:30pm.

Some families are headed down to “The Great Parade” in Brooklyn. Thanks for representing!

4/29: MHDS ANNUAL TRIBUTE 6pm at Maimonides with an elegant buffet dinner, program, ending with a dessert buffet/tea room. This year reflects on 25 years of annual dinners, the Dr. Morton Berger Memorial Award and associated awards. It also recognizes (on her yartzeit) the bequest of Eva Kneznek which allowed the school to purchase its own home. 4/30: THE POWER OF ONE Linda Hooper of the “Paper-Clips Project” will speak for Federation Womens Philanthropy event, 6pm at HACD, 54 Sandcreek Rd. Open to those who contribute minimum $180 to Federation. $25pp, $18 for ages 12-21. Call 783-7800 x234. 5/1 & 5/17: CBAJ JOURNAL May 1st is deadline for journal ads, May 17th is deadline for dinner reservations: www.cbaj.org 5/2: ISRAEL BONDS COCKTAILS Capital District Israel Bonds hosts gala cocktail honoring Rodney & Carol Ann Margolis at CNSE Nanotech, 257 Fuller Rd. Guest speaker Shahar Azani, Israeli consul for media affairs. $36pp. Info/RSVP w/ Israel Bonds: (800) 724-0748. 5/4: BRENNER YOUTH AT CBAJ For this month’s Shabbos Lunch & Learn at CBAJ Dr. Artie Brenner will share about his youth and family. Contact the shul for more info.

5/5: WALK 4 FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE This year’s “Walk 4 Friendship” (with both a Family Walk & 5K Run) will be in Guilderland’s Tawasentha Park on Rt 146. If you haven’t been yet, this will be a great to explore another great town park (hilly, wooded, scenic) of the Capital Region, while supporting a good cause and enjoying a communal outing! Find out more at and support a person/team: www.capitalfriends.org 5/5: BETH ISRAEL DINNER Beth Israel’s dinner honors Debbie Gatoff, past president & current VP of the congregation & Rabbi Rami Strosberg, HACD head of school, soon headed to Westchester. They’re also honoring past sisterhood presidents. Call 377-3700 for info. 5/6: WOMENS B.M. ON ERUV (I) Womens Beit Medrash 8pm at Maimonides, this month discussing the Mitzvah/laws of Eruv. Part II of Eruv class will be next month on June 3rd. 5/22: JERNY’S “UCJ” UNITY CELEBRATION OF JERUSALEM 5-10pm at Proctor’s in Schenectady. Visit: TheIsraelCenter.org. Look for info on this year’s live concert, Israeli food court, Israeli vendors and many local organization booths and activities. 6/2: CBAJ DINNER/INSTALLATION This dinner will be the formal installation of Rabbi Binyamin Lehrfield, and also honor the long-time dedication and leadership of Mrs. Bev Shor for the Beth Abraham-Jacob synagogue. 6/6: J.F.S. ANNUAL CELEBRATION Jewish Family Services annual celebration, this year at Shabbos House, honoring Jerry and Ilene Sykes. For more info visit: www.jfsneny.org. 6/9: J.W.C. GALA LUNCHEON Year-end for Clifton Park Jewish Womens Circle. 6/11: GEORGETTE’S WEDDING Georgette/Yocheved Esther Merceron sent her wedding (to Ezra Chaim) invitation (Mazal Tov!) to the school along with a handwritten letter, asking for Albany friends to join in her Simcha! Call the school office for more info. We wish her and her Chassan much happiness together! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

www.tinyurl.com/LchaimUnite2013 A $5 or $10 vote supports Shabbos House/Lchaim

MAIMONIDES SCHOOL & COMMUNITY (Nursery / Elementary / High School)

404 Partridge Street Albany NY 12208

(518) 453-9363/3434 maimonidesschool@gmail.com

Founded in 1980, Maimonides is chartered

by the NYS Board of Regents and is a

JF-NENY Beneficiary “A Beautiful Blend: Torah & Worldly Experience!”

at Maimonides and in the Community

Annual Maimonides Scholarship Tribute Monday, April 29th, 2013 6pm at the Maimonides School

404 Partridge Street, Albany NY 12208 Elegant Buffet Dinner & Desserts

Couvert: $72pp/$126 couple

Tribute Journal/Info/RSVP: (518) 453-9363 / maimonidesschool@gmail.com

EVA KNEZNEK Yartzeit Memorial

Recognizing Eva’s generous bequest that enabled the purchase of the Maimonides School Building

25 YEARS OF DR. MORTON BERGER MEMORIAL AWARDS

& associated individual Maimonides Dinner Honorees

Dr. David Axelrod* Sharona Backman

Wendy Barnet Yefim & Galina Baskin Rabbi Mordechai Besser

Milton* & Anne* Bindell Carl Bloomberg

Hirshel & Debbie Ellenbogen Sharon Fogel Robin Freyer

Hon. Ronald Goldman Col. Jacob Goldstein Lewis & Beth Gray

Dr. Ed & Laura Jacobs Gloria Krimmer Ruvain Kudan

Dr. Norman Lamm Bruce Lorence

Avi Losice Moshe & Rivka* Losice

Noah Losice* Hon. Jack McEneny

Benjamin & Ruth Mendel Dr. Leonard Morgenbesser*

Eli Nash Hope Berger-Nathan

Dr. Jonathan O’Brien* Leo & Ruth Phaff

Dr. Richard & Vera* Propp Jack Rosenblum

Sandy & Dina Rosenblum Harry Rosenfeld

Marcia Rosenfield Nathan Rosenstein*

Rabbi Yisroel & Rochel Rubin Seymour* & Marjorie* Saslow

Norman Schimelman Faye Silton

Hon. Sheldon Silver Rabbi Nachman & Clara

Simon General Nolan Sklute Linda Berger-Spivack

Debbie Stark Salo & Johanna Steper

Ilene Sykes Dr. Bernard* & Joyce

Teitelman Ira & Sheri Woren Gordon Zuckerman

* of blessed memory

We apologize for inadvertent omissions. We also appreciate and recognize all the Maimonides Dinner Group Awardees (Rashi 900

Educators, Israel@60, Zahir!, Hudson 400 Explorers etc.)