A Visit Is Worth A Thousand Words

Dear DKJA Families, One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is the opportunity to visit with our students and interact with them. I truly love experiencing their learning — and being a part of it too! Last week, I had the honor of visiting all of the Kindergarten and first-grade classes. Reading has always been a passion of mine, so I had the best of both worlds when I read one of my favorite books to the captivated students, I Love You Because You’re You. I really enjoyed these visits, as I was able to interact with all of the students. In particular, I expressed to them how special each individual is — and that it’s important to recognize this in each other. We recently welcomed a sweet new year, and the students and I celebrated our learning and the connection to the goodness we must see in each other. The culmination of my visit was my giving of a small token to the students – chocolate kisses to be exact ‑ to symbolize this message. We will continue to rejoice, begin anew and celebrate Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on Monday and Tuesday, marking the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings.  As a K-12 school, sharing learning experiences and accomplishments is so important, as it enables us to realize the great strides made by our community of learners. This is the perfect opportunity for me to transition to praising our most senior students, in every sense of the word. Beginning the sweet new year with pride and honor has already been achieved! I am proud to announce that four Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School seniors have been recognized as Commended Students by National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Brett Cohen, Jordan Nakdimon, Matthew Ribacoff and Asher Gritz (pictured left to right) have earned recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test used for program entry. Over 1.5 million students took the 2014 PSAT with only 34,000 of them earning Commended Status. Each student received a Letter of Commendation with a congratulatory message. Asher Gritz and Brett Cohen also have been recognized as National Hispanic Scholars through the National Hispanic Recognition Program. These students scored in the top 2.5% of the Hispanic and Latino PSAT/NMSQT test takers in our region. Mazel tov on another wonderful week. I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday (school will not be in session on Monday and Tuesday in observance of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah). Shabbat Shalom, Helena Levine Head of School

Shake it till you make it! Sukkot the Festival of Joy

The Gemura calls Sukkot Zman Simchatanu (the time of our joy) – noting that in the Torah when referring to Sukkot it mentions simcha more times then in any other holiday. Therefore on Sukkot we are commanded to be joyful. 

But how can one be commanded to be joyful? What if we don’t feel like being happy? 

There are two concepts that can help us understand why we are commanded to be happy.

First, in Hebrew there are two different words for joy or happiness. One is Simcha and the other is Ashrei. Simcha is an imposed joy. Just as the Torah states in Leviticus 23:40…”And you shall rejoice before Hashem your G?D seven days.” 

The happiness comes from an external source.  For example, it’s your birthday and we are having a party, so be happy!  I just got a raise at work, so I am happy. The happiness is dependent on something outside of one’s self. Ashrei is an internal happiness that comes from the state of being happy. It does not depend on outside influences. It is a serene consciousness. 

Second, there are several Midrashim that expound on the symbolism of the four species – Lulav, Etrog, Willow, and the myrtle branch.

For example the Four Species represent the different types of Jews. The Etrog has taste as well as fragrance, and is compared to Jews who learn and do good deeds. The Lulav has taste but no fragrance, corresponding to Jews who possess learning but not good deeds. The Myrtle branch has fragrance but not taste, like the Jews who possess good deeds but not learning. And the Willow has neither fragrance nor taste, for the Jews who possess neither good deeds nor learning. 

Hashem says “Let them all be tied together in one band and they will atone one for another.” The Rabbis also compare the four species with the parts of the human body to which they are similar in shape. The Lulav represents the spine, the Etrog the heart, The Myrtle the eyes, and the Willow the lips. By bringing together these species, representing these four organs, man symbolically unites all of his organs. These seemingly unrelated parts work together in unity to serve God. For more examples see Midrash Rabbah (Vayikra, Parshat Emor).  

It is difficult to perceive Hashem in our daily lives. How are the seemingly unrelated phenomena in daily life part of a Divine plan? We see suffering and evil and we wonder how there can be a God with such cruelty in the world. Sometimes, there is a flash of insight that makes people realize how all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. At such times we can understand how every note, instrument and participant in God’s symphony of Creation plays its role. The result is an inner joy. 

This is the great wisdom of the four species. Through the joy of doing the mitzvah of the four species we begin to achieve the recognition of Hashem’s mastery of the world. We see that the seemingly separate parts of the four species when brought together fulfill the mitzvah, but if we are missing but one of them the mitzvah cannot be fulfilled. This is true metaphorically also. The Jewish people who are compared to the species are an inseparable unit made of many different parts, yet we are dependent and bound by one another. 

This is the joy of Sukkot. We begin with an external imposed commandment that creates within us a consciousness in which we realize that all the apparently unrelated and contradictory phenomena do indeed meld into a coherent, merciful and comprehensible whole.  

We begin with simcha and through it achieve ashrei. As it says in the Psalms. Ashrei Yoshvei Batecha “Happy is the one that dwells in your house (booths). May we all merit the joy of the mitzvoth of Sukkot and through them attain and be transformed to an even higher form of consciousness an internal joy, an internal peace. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.

Rav Baruch Plotkin

The Mitzvah of Welcoming Guests into our Sukkah

HOSPITALITY is a skill that we can develop in our children. The holiday of Sukkot provides us an opportunity to do just that.

This Sukkot (and all year), teach your children the mitzvah called hachnasat orchim,  hospitality, which teaches us to honor our guests.                                                                                       
According to the teachings of the Talmud, we are required to:                                         

*Greet guests at the door and escort them inside.
* Make an offer to remain cheerful during the visit.                                                                
* Ask our guests questions about their interests and activities.                                          
* Escort them to the door when they leave.

On Sukkot we perform a short ceremony to welcome the ushpizin (Aramaic for “guests”). The full text for the invitation includes prayers that our fulfillment of the mitzvah of 
Sukkah will be worthy of Divine favor, it is printed in a full daily/festival Siddur (prayer book).

Then, on the first day we say, “I invite to my meal the exalted guests, Abraham, Isaac, 
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. May it please you, Abraham, my exalted 
guest, that all the other exalted guests’ dwell with me and with you – Isaac, Jacob, 
Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David.” 

On each day, a different one of the seven is singled out, in order. Recently, it has 
become popular in some circles to invite matriarchs and other important women of 
Israel – Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, Leah, Miriam, Abigail, and Esther – either paired with the 
men or on their own.

• Abraham and Sarah represent hospitality, love and kindness
• Isaac and Rebecca represent restraint and personal strength
• Jacob and Rachel represent beauty and truth
• Moses represents eternity and dominance through Torah, Leah represents binah – understanding 
• Aaron and Miriam represent empathy and receptivity to divine splendor
• Joseph and Devorah represent holiness and the spiritual foundation
• David and Esther represent the establishment of the kingdom of Heaven on Earth

“When we act in ways that manifest one of these spiritual attributes, the divine light 
shines down into the world and brings it closer to its completion” (Derech Hashem 4:2:2,5).

Moadim Lesimcha, Morah Miriam.

ADL NPFH @ DKJA Peer Trainers: Class of 2015​

The Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School No Place for Hate club is excited to welcome TWENTY-FIVE new ADL NPFH Club members. Over the past three Sundays, these students have gone through the ADL A WORLD OF A DIFFERENCEⓇ Institute Peer Trainer certification program. Through this program students become certified ADL A WORLD OF A DIFFERENCEⓇ Institute Peer Trainers. 

The Peer Training Program is built on the knowledge that the most important influences on young people are the attitudes and behaviors of their peers. The Peer Training Program prepares Rosenblatt High School students to use the positive power of peer influence to promote respect and civility in DKJA and beyond. 

Peer Trainers learn how to effectively respond when they hear racial slurs, name-calling, and put-downs in the hallways, lunchrooms and classrooms of their schools. They also develop the skills to lead interactive discussions and workshops for their peers and younger students. 

The A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute Peer Training Program provides Peer Trainers with the training and resources to design and lead interactive programs that promote an environment that is respectful and civil. Their efforts play a key role in creating environments where differences are valued and respected.

As part of their final day of training, students presented a mock training activity and received feedback. The day ended with students receiving certificates, official t-shirts and being installed as ADL A WORLD OF A DIFFERENCEⓇ Institute Peer Trainer certification program.

“It was a day of great joy and pride. I can think of no better way to celebrate the Jewish New Year than with our first of three trainings for this year.  The students' attitude and commitment will continue to build our proud No Place for Hate programming at DKJA and other schools in our community. You are the facilitators and the positive trend setters for kindness and Ally behavior at our school and beyond. You create the climate that influences our school culture, to be a place where we all feel welcomed and included.”

- Mrs. Amanda Dawes, No Place for Hate Program Director

We are grateful for the outstanding ADL A World of Difference facilitators, Stanley Zamora and Tali Ben-David Connell, who generously gave their Sunday to train our 2015 Peer Trainers. Their energy and knowledge facilitated the growth and engagement of the group.  

We cannot wait for the year to come!

Joseph Zeuner (11) & Daniella Wirtschafter (12)

What Do a Sukkah and a School Have in Common?

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of meeting with a group of parents about school-related items and had the opportunity to share some words of Torah with them, which I would like to share with the larger community as well.

On Sunday evening, we begin the holiday of Sukkot. This is one of the three pilgrimage festivals mentioned in the Torah (Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot), the festival on which the Jewish people would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Temple. But long before Sukkot involved this ritual, the Torah tells us, in God’s name, that we must reside in Sukkot for 7 days because God himself placed us in Sukkot (Leviticus 23:42-43).

The rabbinic commentators have a field day with these two verses because they are not totally clear and they raise a number of questions, of which I’ll share just one: What is the Sukkah which is being referred to in the verse?

Regarding the question, the responses can be put into two major camps: 1) a Sukkah was actually God’s clouds of glory, clouds which traveled with the people and protected them during their time in the desert and 2) a Sukkah was an actual Sukkah...a temporary structure that was built during this time of the year.

These two responses represent two different understandings of the term Sukkah: one was a spiritually-based form of shelter and protection and one was a physically-based form of protection. The spiritual shelter, God’s clouds of glory (ענני כבוד) covered the Jewish people and traveled over them, protecting them, as they wandered for 40 years in the desert. The physical shelter, actual Sukkot, gave them protection from the elements, from the wind and the cold and the rain, as they made their way to the Promised Land. Each approach is important and possible, but each answer focuses on a different human need; the importance of both spiritual nourishment and protection in life AND physical protection and support in life.

Building of our Sukkah

How then is the Sukkah like a school? If you look to combine these two approaches (as many commentators do), we recognize that each understanding has value and provides for a different need. We all recognize that within a school building, there are some basic elements that would define a place as a school: classrooms, labs, sports fields, and more. These are physical elements that create an environment which both protects those within it but gives them the basic structures and supports to carry them through life. At the same time, the school is filled with teachers, mentors, rabbis and others who are there to offer spiritual support, to help raise self-esteem, to challenge one to be their best self and to guide young people to achieve greatness.

Both elements of the school - the structure and the people - are important on their own but are that much more powerful when thought about as a unit. Each brings value to the school community and most importantly, to the experience of a student. Similarly, a Sukkah in which one can both appreciate the safety and support which the physical structure provides while also recognizing that during 40 years in the desert, a physical structure alone would not lead the people to the Promised Land (they needed God’s divine support as well!), raises the meaning of the Sukkah to another level.

May we all find meaning in these two different approaches...and find the support we need in both our Sukkot at home and our Sukkot in school!

Chag Sameach,

Rabbi Lesack

Welcome New ADL No Place for Hate Peer Trainers and Parents!

We are excited to welcome our new Club members to the ADL A WORLD OF A DIFFERENCEⓇ Institute Peer Trainer certification program. 

Through this program students become certified ADL A WORLD OF A DIFFERENCEⓇ Institute Peer Trainers. The Peer Training Program is built on the knowledge that the most important influences on young people are the attitudes and behaviors of their peers, the Peer Training Program prepares Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School students to use the positive power of peer influence to promote respect and civility in DKJA and beyond. 

Peer Trainers learn how to effectively respond when they hear racial slurs, name-calling, and put-downs in the hallways, lunchrooms and classrooms of their schools. They also develop the skills to lead interactive discussions and workshops for their peers and younger students. 

The A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE Institute Peer Training Program provides Peer Trainers with the training and resources to design and lead interactive programs that promote an environment that is respectful and civil. Their efforts play a key role in creating environments where differences are valued and respected. The peer trainings will be held on:

Sunday September 13th, 2015 from 9am -3pm (please bring your own Kosher lunch)

Sunday September 20th, 2015 from 9am -4pm (please bring your own Kosher lunch)

Sunday September 27th, 2015 from 9am -3:30pm (please bring your own Kosher lunch).

Please note that the 20th is until 4pm and the 27th is 3:30pm.30pm.

All trainings will be held in room 130 in the Rosenblatt High School building.

Today was a day of great joy and pride. I can think of no better way to celebrate the Jewish New Year than with our first of three trainings for this year. The students' attitude and commitment will continue to build our proud No Place for Hate programming at DKJA and other schools in our community. You are the facilitators and the positive trend setters for kindness and Ally behavior at our school and beyond. You create the climate that influences our school culture, to be a place where we all feel welcomed and included.

We want to also thank DKJA parent, Craig Zeuner, for his inspirational speech to the new trainers and continued commitment to making our program a national precedence. We are also grateful for the outstanding ADL A World of Difference facilitators, Stanley Zamora and Tali Ben-David Connell, who generously gave their Sunday to train our 2015 Peer Trainers.  Their energy and knowledge facilitated the growth and engagement of the group.  

You are an amazing group of student leaders, it is my honor to be your ADL NPFH @ DKJA Club adviser.  Shanah Tova!! 

Best Wishes,

Amanda Dawes   

Dean of Technology Integration

"Contributing to the development of Digital Global Citizens"

www.facebook.com/dkjanoplaceforhate

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www.facebook.com/AmandaBrookeETPD

Claire & Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School at Donna Klein Jewish Academy

AP Psychology/ World History I/US History

ADL NPFH@DKJA Program Director

National Technological Honors Society: Tech Fellows/SWAT (Students Willing to Assist with Technology) Team Advisor

M.TechnologyEd

AP Bio/Chem Kids Bring Science to Life!

AP Biology students built polypeptides with ball and stick models. Once built, they then used the 3-D models to learn about dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis by performing the actions that would take place in these processes.The students really enjoyed the hands-on learning experience and felt that the concepts “popped” for them.

                                                                                                                                                        

  

AP Chemistry students put their learning to practical use. Having just learned how to calculate and make solutions on paper, the students then put their knowledge and lab skills to the test by producing three different solutions. These solutions will be used by the AP Biology students in their upcoming plasmolysis lab.

Submitted by Lauren Jordan