#24 updates

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Shaloh House Update #24 (5772) Friday, April 20, 2012 Light Candles at 7:14 pm Page # 1

Shaloh House

UPDATE April 20, 2012 28 Nissan, 5772 #24 The Shaloh House Jewish Dאy School Newsletter

TEACHER FOR A DAY

FRI, MAY 25

SCIENCE FAIR

THU, APR 26, 3 PM

REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR

SUN, APR 29

Shaloh House Book Fair

On April 3, Shaloh House’s third floor was turned into the most happening book-

store around. With the aid of Deena Zuckerman, who set up the fair, and Ye-

huda Blank and Shimon Sherman, who ran the counter for much of the fair, the

halls were turned into aisle of books from beginning reading books to advanced

chapter books to choose from.

Over the course of four hours, dozens upon dozens of books were claimed for

new homes and for reading enjoyment. Our sale totals during this fair were $560, of which $50 worth of

books were donated directly to the school. With scholastic dollars factored in, Shaloh House will see $408

worth of new books to add to our collection.

The only downside to the fair, was hearing afterwards not all families had as much time as they would have

liked to explore the fair. With some speedy planning, we’ve managed to fix that problem. Shaloh House is

happy to announce a second book fair this year. During the week of May 7 through the 11th, Shaloh

House will host our first bi-annual book fair.

We’ve nearly doubled the number of books available and are moving the fair from the 3rd floor to make it

easier for families to explore. As we get closer to the fair more details will be available.

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Parshas Shemini

Pantheism and Judaism The London Controversy

By Tzvi Freeman

Question:

Lately, with the environmental movement going main-

stream, pantheism is on an upswing in popularity. I don’t

mean the cold, rational Spinoza type of pantheism as

much as the whole reverence

for nature thing, feeling the

divinity within every tree and

blade of grass, while perceiv-

ing that as a harmonious

singularity. Many of us see it

as a kosher-style return to

pagan animism, since we still

have a single G-d, only that

we’re finding that G-d within

nature instead of philosophy.

So I guess the question is,

can pantheism be kosher?

Response:

Like Solomon the Wise said, "Nothing new under the

sun." Let me tell you a story of the Jewish community in

London 300 years ago that tells it all:

David Nieto was a brilliant scholar, a wise doctor, a true

community leader and a righteous man. But I doubt he

knew what he was getting into when he accepted the

post as rabbi of the Spanish-Portuguese congregation in

London at the dawn of the 18th century. And who knows

if he had any idea of the controversy he would spark.

Rabbi Nieto arrived in England to find a country ob-

sessed with science. Sir Isaac Newton had established

firm laws of nature, and Sir Robert Boyle was busy en-

forcing them. Indeed, Mother Nature had taken on a

new life all of her own, and was touted as the heir ap-

parent as supreme deity. Taking a cue from the writings

of Baruch Spinoza, John Toland had coined the term

“pantheism,” challenging the dualist nature of Christian-

ity and proclaiming that nature alone and not G-d was to

be worshipped. The laws of nature were declared to be

absolute and fundamental to reality. The old

“Abrahamic” G-d, with all His personal likes and dislikes,

was to be retired in favor of a world run by nothing

other than “natural law.”

So it happened that one November Shabbat afternoon in

1703, Rabbi Nieto stood on the podium in the grand

Bevis Marks Synagogue and addressed the congregation.

Something like this:

“Indeed,” he said, “G-d is nature and nature is none

other than G-d.”

“My beloved brethren, listen to me clearly, and know

that what I am going to say is a fundamental belief of

our people, as it has been since we were founded. There

is no such thing as na-

ture. The word simply

does not exist in the

Hebrew language. About

500 years ago or so,

some people took the

word teva and decided

to use it to describe

what they called the

laws of nature. But in

truth, no such thing ex-

ists. King David writes in

his Psalms that G-d

‘covers the sky with

clouds and prepares rain

for the ground.’ Indeed, G-d is nature, and nature is

none other than G-d.”

At which point one of the most prestigious members of

that congregation, Joshua Zarfatti, began to fume. From

that day on, he refused to even enter a building in which

“the heretic rabbi” stood. “A pantheist in our midst!” he

cried, rallying supporters against the rabbi. “We must rid

our community of this evil disease!”

Rabbi Nieto did not back off an inch, and actually pub-

lished his words in a book the following year, which he

called Della Divina Providencia. London burned with that

controversy until August of 1705, when Rabbi Tzvi Ash-

kenazi, esteemed and respected halachic authority of

Altona, responded to the congregation’s request to adju-

dicate the matter. His response came in the form of a

letter cosigned by two other rabbinical judges of Altona,

and it exonerates Rabbi Nieto entirely.

Rabbi Ashkenazi cites classic sources to support Nieto,

such as the Kuzari of Rabbi Yehudah Halevi, where he

writes that “G-d, blessed be He, is the one who is called

nature in truth,” since G-d is the one who (in the words

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of the Talmud) “nurtures every creature, from the larg-

est horned mammals to the tiniest insects.” He points

out that several Kabbalistic works have noted the nu-

merical equivalence of G-d’s name Elokim and the word

used for the nature of things, ha-teva. In sum, he writes,

“We must thank the consummate scholar R. David Nieto,

whom G-d preserve, for the sermon he preached to warn

the people not to allow themselves to be led away by

the opinion of the philosophers who talk about nature,

because great injury arises therefrom, and he enlightens

the eyes with the true belief, which is that everything

comes from the providence of G-d.”

Was Nieto a pantheist? Certainly not—and he makes that

point very clear in his book. His G-d, the G-d of Israel,

can not be equated with the Creation itself, which He

transcends entirely. But neither was Nieto a dualist, nor

a deist. G-d is not separate from nature or the world He

has made. Nature is G-d working in consistent patterns,

and limiting Himself, so to speak, to the parameters He

has set for each thing.

Within classical Jewish thought, there are many views of

how involved G-d is with His universe. What Rabbi Ash-

kenazi pointed out is that there is nevertheless a consen-

sus: There is no force of the universe that is not G-d’s

hand, no system that runs independently of Him. Al-

though He transcends all, He nevertheless can be found

within all, and within every detail.

In effect, nature is nothing more than G-d playing within

His own game, hiding within each thing He has made,

waiting for us to find Him there. From www.Shaloh.org/Magazine

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Toddler Room

We were so happy to return to school and continue our learning after the long break!

Spring is here. This week we enjoyed the weather , and spent more time playing outside.

This week we focused on Parshat HaShavua Shmini.

We discussed everything about Kosher animals, birds and fish, which animals are kosher and which are not

and made a special project.

This week's letter is O for Orange.

Since we are nearing the end of the year, we started preparing

for our end-of-the year concert.

The children will perform songs that we learned throughout the

year. We are sending home all these songs and would appreci-

ate if you could practice them at home, as well as talk about

how much you would enjoy seeing them singing and dancing

on the stage.

We wish you and your family a Good Shabbos,

Morah Anna, Morah Leah and Morah Masha

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Preschool Room

In Parashat Shemini, we learn more about the mitzvah of kashrut. This parashat teaches us

which animals we are allowed to eat, how to identify kosher fish and which birds are kosher.

Morah showed us pictures of kosher animals, fish and birds.

We had a lot of fun sorting toy animals into kosher and non-kosher groups.

In Aleph-Bet we learned about the letter Tzaddi, and made a “Tzaddi for Tzedaka.” The other words we

found with this letter are Tzitzit, tzipor (bird), tzahov (yellow), and tzefardaya (frog). We learned a new song

about Tzedakah:

Tick Tak Shtay Prutot

Tick Tick Tak Shalosh Prutot

Shtay Prutot

Shalosh Prutot

Yachad Zeh Chamesh Prutot

Chamesh Prutot Bakupah

Chamesh Prutot Litzdaka.

In our A-B-Cs we learned about P and made a “P for Puzzles.” We give a

penny for tzedakah each day, and enjoy hearing the piano at music time.

We played with play dough, we ate a lot of pretzels and on Thursday we

had a pizza lunch.

We learned a special P song:

(In this song, you can substitute any five-or-six letter P words for pizza, like puzzle or paint.)

(Sung to: “Bingo”)

I know a word that starts with P,

And pizza is its name,

P-I-Z-Z-A, P-I-Z-Z-A, P-I-Z-Z-A

And pizza is its name.

Happy Birthday, Eliezer!

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Ruti, Morah Polina and Morah Basya

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Kindergarten Junior 1

The first week back at school was packed with lots of learning and fun!

We started off on Monday looking back at Pesach and sharing our experiences with our classmates. Hanging

in our classroom is the Pesach experience chart. Come and check it out.

On Tuesday we welcomed the beautiful spring weather with a ‘hello spring’ walk.

We walked down Chesnut Hill Ave looking out for signs of spring. The kids pointed

out flowers of many different types and colors and trees that had buds or blos-

soms. We walked all the way to a fruit tree which had flowers on it so that we

could make a special Bracha that can only be made in the month of Nissan. The

pictures which we took on our walk are hanging outside our classroom.

Sefiras HaOmer is an exciting time when we are counting the days up until Sha-

vuos and the giving of the Torah. We have a classroom chart which we use all to-

gether and individual charts which each child can fill out on their own. It’s also a great opportunity to inte-

grate our math lessons into Judaic curriculum.

Here is the song we sing every day as we count:

We’re counting we’re counting the days Day after day the weeks are going by

Today is the ______ day- We’re on our way Till the day that I stood at Har Sinai

From Psach until Shavuos time The day that we love- Chag HaShavuos

Seven weeks until Forty Nine When Hashem gave us the

Torah and Mitzvos!

The Parsha of the week is Shemini and we focused on what makes animal,

fish and birds Kosher. Thanks to all the parents who sent in fish and birds for

Show and tell. It was a lot of fun to talk about each animal together especially the

beautiful hand made clay animals and super big fish!

Parsha Questions:

1. The Parsha of the week is ______. Shemini.

2. What two things does a kosher animal need to have to be Kosher? 1. Split Hooves, the feet need to

have a cut in them. 2. Chew their cud, they need to have more then one stomach and chew their food many

times.

3. What two things does a fish need to be kosher? Fins and scales.

4. How do we know if a bird is kosher? The Torah lists the birds which are not kosher. They are mainly

birds who are mean or eat other birds. The animals which are not listed in the Torah are kosher.

5. What are some examples of kosher birds? Chicken, duck, turkey, dove.

Have a Good Shabbos,

From Morah Yael and Morah Goldy

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Kindergarten Junior 2

In Kindergarten Juniors 2 this week we had a very fun and productive week back!

In Judaic studies, we started to learn about the Omer, the days between Pesach and Shavuot. We made a

classroom Omer calendar to use to count the days until Shavuot, and colored flow-

ers to count as we work our way up to Har Sinai and getting the Torah.

We also made our own personal Omer calendars to use at home. This way we can

color in or put a sticker on each square as we count.

We're excited to count all the way up to Shavuot, as well as to practice our

counting skills!

We even have a special Omer song:

We go climbing up the mountain as we count,

We go climbing up the mountain as we count,

We go climbing up the mountain,

We go climbing up the mountain,

We go climbing up the Har Sinai as we count!

In Hebrew class, both groups are learning to read. One group is read-

ing sentences, while the other group focuses on the words “at” and

“atah” (“you” for females and males, respectively).

In English we are also starting to read! We are learning to read words with the short A sound. We are also

reviewing lowercase letters and matching them to their uppercase forms.

In Math we are adding with the number 3. We are using a fun jumping game to see how the numbers

“jump” when we add another number to them.

Now that it's springtime, we love to go play outside. Please consider sending your child to school with sun-

screen, a hat, or sunglasses.

Have a Good Shabbos,

From Morah Marina and Morah Chava

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Kindergarten Senior

Parshas Shemini

Please Send in More Mitzvah Notes

We are working on doing kindness inside the school setting and at home, so please help us by remembering

to send in mitzvah notes for your child. Children are so excited and so proud when a mitzvah note of theirs is

read in class. Use the notes to tell us about any good deed the child did.

English

We have two wonderful learning groups for English studies. Group One is

continuing work on the long-vowel “a” sound. They played a bingo game

with these words and read a book called “The Snake and the Ape.” Group

Two are working on reading with comprehension. We read a book about

how much plants help us and had quite an interesting discussion. We also

read an article about fireflies and the children needed to write out their

answers to the questions. When writing stories on their own, the children are working on making spaces be-

tween the words.

If you would like to see your child make faster progress in reading, please ask your child to read to you the

book (or word cards) he or she brings home on Fridays.

Math

In math, we also have two hard-working groups. Group One focused on counting by 10s up to 100, and add-

ing and subtracting digits with a sum of 20 or less, including problems where they need to “regroup” num-

bers, such as 14-8 in order to come up with the answer. Group Two students are counting up to 100s to

1,000. They are also working on recognizing if a number belongs to the “ones,” “tens,” or “hundreds” cate-

gory, identifying bigger and smaller numbers, and doing simple addition with double digits (like 44 plus 21,

which doesn’t require regrouping.)

They are also reviewing reading analog clocks.

We encourage you to bring math into real-life situations with your children when shopping or preparing food

(“How many apples will we have left if we use half?) Math becomes meaningful when it’s used as part of life.

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Hebrew

This week, Group One worked on the eighth vowel sound “koobootz,” while Group Two worked on the ninth

and last vowel sound, “shoorook.” We can read long, complicated words, and we know the meaning of many

of the words we read. Both groups completed worksheets, games and activities to enhance our reading skills.

Judaic Studies

This week, in our parsha Shemini we learned about kosher animals. We learned that among animals, only

those creatures that have a genuine, fully-split hoof and also chew their cud are kosher. In fish, only those

which have both fins and scales are kosher. And we also learned which birds are kosher. Kosher, means “fit,”

and in the case of food, it means fit for a Jew to eat. They are helpful and not harmful to the soul.

We also walked to a nearby park to make a blessing on the fruit

trees.

Once a year, in the Jewish month of Nisan (the month of Passover),

we have the opportunity to thank H-shem for the amazing pleasure

we get from fruit and from fruit trees, by making a blessing when

we first see the flowering blossoms of a fruit tree.

With wishes for a wonderful Shabbos,

Morahs Esther, Shulamis Yehudis and Tova

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Elementary School NEWS

Science

Andrew Countis

4th - 6th Grades—Science Fair

As you read this on Friday, we are less than one week from the Shaloh House

Science Fair. Students in 4th, 5th and 6th Grades are deep into preparation

for this event, researching their topic, conducting experiments and constructing materials to present their

findings. The fair will take place from 3-6 pm on Thursday, April 26, and we encourage everyone in

the Shaloh House community to come and see the amazing projects our students have created.

1st Grade

The 1st Grade is transitioning from their study of water and water conservation into a general examination of

the environment and how to protect it.

2nd Grade

The 2nd Graders are studying habitats in preparation for an upcoming project where they will do a report on

an animal of their choice.

3rd Grade

The 3rd Grade has been designated as “support staff” for the upcoming Science Fair. They have created

themed posters to advertise the event, have been consulted on the various topics the older students are re-

searching and are now primed and excited for next year’s fair. The 3rd Grade has completed its study of

plant and animal systems, and is now in the midst of an examination of magnets.

Math

George Khasin

In the past few weeks before leaving to Passover vacation, students in all grades progressed to a new, inter-

esting chapters in math and moved to new text and work books.

1st Grade

In first grade, students moved to the new workbook 2ap2 and finished working on multiplying by 2's, 3's and

4's, mass, length and volume. next week students will begin working on division by 2's 3's and 4's.

2nd Grade

In second grade, students finished working on 3ap1 and moved to a new exciting book - 3ap2. This week

students will finished the first chapter in this book- multiplication of large 2D numbers.

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In addition, some members of second grade fished working on 3bp2 and moved to 4ap. This week students

worked on numbers sense and place value of numbers between 1 to 100,000.

3rd Grade

In third grade, student finished working on 4ap1 and moved to 4ap2. the first chapter in this book they will

be working on is- bar graphs and table graphs.

4th & 5th Grade

In fourth and fifth grade, students finished 5ap1 and moved to 5ap2. In this book the already covered multi-

plication of fractions and conversion of measurements. Next week they will begin decimals.

6th Grade

Six grade students and some 4th ad 5th finished their 6bp1 book this week. the chapters covered in this book

were all in geometry- circle and four sided figures. Students learned how to analyze complex geometrical

structures and answer 3- 4 step problems including calculations of areas and circumference.

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School Happenings

Student Council Minutes, 4/17/12

Minutes from the previous meeting were read and accepted

Old business: Discussions of new curtains were tabled

New Business: End of the Year Planning was started

The council divided into committees to begin planning for the end of the year. Discussions of plans were

moved into a closed session to be shared later.

Term Length: The council finding a shortage of time to complete plans under the current term of November

through June proposed that terms be extended to run from November to October. Thus giving member a full

school year to work and keep the student council active throughout the year.

The motion was quickly seconded and passed unanimously. The meeting then adjourned.

Is it possible? Can we be nearly halfway through our 3rd trimester?

Time flies when you’re having fun; it’s been said before and certainly will be said again. As far as proving the

statement, you only need to pause and realize that as hard as it is to imagine we are well into our third tri-

mester already. However, just because we are now nearing the end of the year, it doesn’t mean the fun or

excitement is slowing down, far from it.

Over the course of the next two months, we have our Science Fair and the Regional Science Fair to look for-

ward to. We have a Hebrew play directed by Mora Liliya as well as our final concert of the year lead by Mora

Irina. We have a second book fair coming up as well as other special events for Lag B’Omer. Teacher for a

Day will be happening in May and our Math Bazaar in June.

Along with all of our school-wide events, we’ll also be finishing our final term with special projects in classes.

The 6th graders will be starting their end of the year research project shortly, the 2nd graders are working on

getting their book together to be published, the 4th and 5th graders are asking when they can start on their

portfolios and these are just a few of the many projects we’ll be working on. Over the weeks, we’ll highlight

these and other activities through posters and emails, and of course invitations to our special events.

School Events:

Shaloh House Science Fair April 26 3-6 pm 2nd floor Meeting Room

Regional Science Fair April 29 10 am- 1 pm Gann Academy

Teacher for a Day May 25

Shavuot School Closed May 28

Preschool Concert June 8

Elementary School Concert June 10

Last of School June 15

Camp Begins June 25

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