This week's Kol Torah is generously sponsored by. The Caskey Torah Academy Administration. Wishing everyone a Chag Kasher V'Sameach!

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1 This weekly publication is ed to all of our subscribers. The newsletter recaps the week's events at Caskey Torah Academy and informs readers of upcoming programs and events. A printed copy is sent home on Fridays to each CTA family. Happy reading and have a Good Shabbos! Candle Lighting 6:56 PM 7 Nisan 5778/March 23, 2018 This week's Kol Torah is generously sponsored by The Caskey Torah Academy Administration Wishing everyone a Chag Kasher V'Sameach! If you would like to sponsor an issue of Kol Torah in honor or in memory of a loved one, please contact Rachel Mazurek at rmazurek@taphila.org. PICTURE OF THE WEEK

2 Adar "Our Door" Contest Winners-1st Grade MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Poet Laureate Billy Collins had a very astute observation about our lives and education that he shared at a college commencement ceremony. Below is an excerpt. We live today in what Paul Virflio had called "an empire of speed," ruled over by the gods of acceleration and driven by the engines of efficiency. Decades ago, we experienced a physical acceleration - a speeding up of things - cars, planes, even food. And now we are in the midst of a more subtle kind of acceleration - a speeding up of information where facts and opinions are judged as much for their velocity, as for their truth or value. We have all heard the advantages of this new rapidity, tiresomely celebrated. Instead of having to visit a library - a task that might require putting on a jacket and starting up a car - we now click along a keyboard and instantly summon what we seek onto the screen before us. But without wanting to sound like a crank or a Luddite, I want to suggest - to warn you really - that the desire for speed is never to be fully trusted. Indeed, the wish to have everything go faster will always end in frustration because, short of the speed of light, there is no end to speed. Ask any workaholic. Ask any methedrine addict for that matter. Ask yourself the next time you are cursing your computer for taking four seconds instead of half a second to fetch a little stick of information for you. The danger in all this haste is that we ourselves will accelerate to keep pace with the speed of information, and, in doing so, we will lose sight of the real life around us, of the discrete moments of our experience, and even of the natural world, the earth which holds us in its hands.

3 How can we avoid being so caught up in an information frenzy that we forget who and where we really are? How can we widen our apertures so that we can see more than just that spot on the horizon, that unattainable dot we are always rushing toward? How can we preserve a sense of mindfulness? The answer, as usual, lies in plain view. Although teaching and learning themselves have been motorized by the hyper-pace of information, it is good to remember that the true tempo of education has always involved a deceleration. Here lies an antidote to what the cardiologist Meyer Friedman calls "the hurry sickness." Time is not just money - sorry, Ben Franklin - time is a way of telling us if we are moving at the right pace through the life that has been given us. We are all caught up in the frenzy of Pesach preparations for the "big event", but the Seder is more than a blurry rush through the Haggadah and the steps of the Seder in order to get to the brisket... The Seder is begging us to decelerate too! We spend many hours eradicating every speck of Chametz from our homes. We spend perhaps even more time preparing elaborate meals for Yom Tov. Stop, for a moment, and ask yourself: How much time have I spent preparing for the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim? Have we slowed down enough to really prepare ourselves to transmit to our children the very foundations of our Emunah and identity as the Am HaNivchar? I challenge each and every parent to take the time between now and Seder Night to spend just 30 minutes developing a "game plan" of Torah and inspiration for the seder. It is time to reclaim the Seder as an educational experience. It is time to begin to use the Seder once again to define how we connect ourselves and our families to the world that we find ourselves in. The Seder gives us that vision, and it shares this perspective of how to exist as a Jew in a world full of haste and confusion. Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Kasher V'Sameach, Rabbi Isaac Entin RABBI ENTIN' S RECO MMENDED READING To read Rabbi Entin's recommended reading, CLICK HERE! UPCO MING EVENTS Wednesday-Sunday, March 28-April 8: Pesach Break Monday, April 9: Classes Resume Thursday, April 12: Yom HaShoa Wednesday, April 18: Yom HaZikaron

4 Thursday, April 19: Yom Ha'Atzmaut INSIDE THE CLASSROOM - 4B LIMUDEI KO DESH Ah, springtime! With the birds chirping, flowers blooming, and warm sun-drenched afternoons, it certainly feels like Pesach is fast approaching..., somewhere. For most of us Philadelphians, we'll just have to check the calendar to know for sure. But the 4th Grade Boys definitely have spring fever as they diligently prepare for Pesach. They have ignored the winter weather as they focused on Chag Ha'Aviv. As the Halacha states, they began to prepare 30 days before the Yom Tov (well, 29 days, actually, on Shushan Purim), learning about the laws of Pesach. First they learned about Chametz, then moved on to the mitzvos of Pesach, including Achilas Matza and Arba Kosos. The students are now deep into the Hagada and have acquired many Torah thoughts to share with their families on Pesach. The students will take home their very own, complete Hagada for use at the Pesach Seder. They have also begun making a specially decorated and personalized Ke'ara for them to enjoy on Pesach night. Learning for Pesach is all-encompassing and takes place on many different levels. Come to think of it, kind of like cleaning for Pesach. Though the weather outside is still wintry, inside our classroom there is a very warm atmosphere indeed. Feels like spring to me. Have a Good Shabbos! Rabbi Friedman INSIDE THE CLASSROOM - IVRIT המקראה The 5th grade boys are working in the book.מגדלור ביקור בישראל The last chapter we learned was devoted to various points of interest in ירושלים that the fictional characters in the book were about to visit. These places included Mount Scopus, the Mount of Olives, the Knesset, Mount Herzl, The Kotel, Migdal David, the Shuk, etc. The students decorated the bulletin board outside room 208 to present the places they learned about. They put together a city map of drew or colored pictures of the places in the book, and wrote a short,ירושלים description about each of the places.

5 Shabbat Shalom! Morah Miriam Goldberg STUDENT DVAR TORAH - EYTAN SO MMER תתחדש! יש דברים רבים שאנו עושים בקביעות. יום אחרי יום, שבוע אחרי שבוע. למשל, תפילה אנו מתפללים שלוש פעמים ביום או התפילין שאנו מניחים, אפילו השבת, שחוזרת אלינו מידי שבוע. גם הדברים המיוחדים ביותר, שבהתחלה התרגשנו מאוד לקיים, עלולים להפוך לאחר זמן מה להיות רגילים בעיננו ואפילו משעממים. בפרשת השבוע אנו לומדים על הקרבן שהביאו אהרון ובניו ביום שבו נמשחו לעבודת המשכן " זה קורבן אהרון ובניו אשר יקריבו לה ביום המשח אותו עשירת האיפה סלת... " (ו ', י"ג) רש"י מלמד אותנו בפירושו שההבדל בין הכהנים הפשוטים (הדיוטות) ובין הכהן הגדול היה שהכהן הגדול היה מקריב את הקרבן בכל יום מחדש : " אף ההדיוטות מקריבים עשירית האיפה ביום שבו הם מתחנכין לעבודה, אבל כהן גדול בכל יום..." מה אנו יכולים ללמוד מדבר זה? אנו לומדים שככל שהאדם גדול יותר כך הוא גם צריך להתחדש בכל יום בעבודה שלו. הוא חייב להרגיש כאילו בכל יום מחדש הוא מתחיל את העבודה בפעם הראשונה! גם אנו יכולים ללמוד מהכהן הגדול, להשתדל בכל יום מחדש לשמוח ולהתלהב מן המעשים שאנו עושים: מהמצוות, מהמטלות שעלינו לעשות ואפילו מן הדרך שבה אנחנו מסתכלים על העולם. בכל יום יש חידוש. שנזכה גם אנחנו להתחדש בכל יום, בשמחה, בהתלהבות - כאילו אנחנו מתחילים עכשיו בפעם הראשונה. Enrichment Clusters ENRICHMENT PRO GRAM Spotlight on "Eating to Live" with Mrs. Gore- Grades 6-8

6 In "Eating to Live" we've discovered that the Torah promotes a lifestyle of healthy eating. After perusing through the Rambam's writings about the best practices (some purely Medieval, many quite apropos) and benefits of healthy eating, we met twice with Courtney, the in-house Nutritionist at the Haverford Giant. At our first session, we learned the basics of the food groups, 'eating the rainbow,' preparing our own food, and how to build nutritious meals and snacks. Next, on a tour of the store, Courtney showed us how to make smart choices based on nutrition labels (fiber, added sugars, ingredients, whole grains...) and not to be fooled by advertising. Back at school, we baked delicious, wholesome treats to share with our friends, to show them that healthy eating can be deliciously simple! We're planning a beautiful, informative banner to be displayed in CTA's lunchroom, so all kids can learn to make smart food choices. Recipe: Applesauce Muffins Ingredients: ½ cup butter or oil Pam ½ cup sugar 2 eggs ¾ cup plain applesauce 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour 1 tbsp baking powder ½ tsp salt Topping: Pam ½ cup of sugar ¼ tsp cinnamon Steps: Cream oil and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time until the batter is fluffy. Add the applesauce and mix. Sift in dry ingredients. Place in muffin tins and bake at 350 until golden. When warm, spray muffin tops with PAM, and dip into cinnamon sugar mixture. Enjoy! Enrichment Celebration This week marked the final meeting of Middle School Enrichment Clusters. We celebrated the conclusion of this session with students displaying and presenting their work to 4th and 5th graders. Thank you to all the teachers and administrators who facilitated clusters! We are so proud of our students and their creative and thoughtful projects! ECP SPO TLIGHT

7 ADAR "OUR DOOR" CONTEST WINNERS Mazel Tov to the First Grade Class for coming in First Place in the CTA "Adar Our- Door Decorating Competition!" Their theme of "Dor L'Dor Yishtabach Maasecha" by the "A-door-able 1st Graders" was creative, colorful, clever, and distinctly studentmade. Their door was covered in smaller doors, designed by each student, depicting the mitzvos of Purim happening in their own homes. On Monday, the 1st Grade was treated to a special visit from the official Door Judges, Rabbi Entin, Rabbi Schwersenski, and Mrs. Sasson, who awarded each child (and teacher!) with a 1st place blue ribbon, and had their picture taken, to be displayed in the front office! Keep up the great work, 1st Grade :) KIMMEL CENTER TRIP

8 After months of studying an exciting repertoire of recorder, vocal, and orchestral music, 4th and 5th grade girls participated in an interactive concert at the Kimmel Center this week. Our students played along with the Philadelphia Orchestra and enjoyed a beautiful and fun concert. We would like to extend thank you's to the CTA PTO for their generous contribution toward this trip! Calling All Hair Donors! CHESSED OPPORTUNITY Mrs. Gore and Mrs. Weinstein (along with some other CTA teachers) are donating their hair to the children of Zichron Menachem, Israel's premier organization servicing and supporting children and young adults battling cancer. Their hair will be used to make wigs for kids who have lost theirs due to medical treatment. If you'd like to donate along with them, please bring your hair (in a braid, tied at both ends) to the Education Office before Pesach. Please include a paper with the full name and address of the donor. Thank you to the family of Noa Levy (Bat Sherut) for bringing the special delivery to Israel for us! For more information about hair donation, see Zichron Menachem's website: Tizku L'Mitzvot! AFTER SCHO O L ACTIVITIES Below is the link to the Google Form for the 3rd session of After School Activities. Once you click on the form there is a link to see all of the activities, along with their dates, prices and contact information. Please enroll using the Google Form, as there will be no paper handouts sent home this time. All questions pertaining to a particular activity and/or payment arrangements should be directed to the contact person listed by the activity. Please remember that many of the activities require a minimum number of students to signup, so in order to help ensure the program will occur, please do not wait until the week of the activity. CLICK HERE to sign up! Thank you! Rabbi Silver asilver@taphila.org

9 CTA HAGGADAH The Caskey Torah Academy students from Rabbi Silver's classes have once again published a new edition of The Haggadah for the Generations. Here is the link to purchase the Haggadah- Same wonderful format and activities; new divrei Torah, questions and recipes! 238 pages filled with clear print, both in English and Hebrew, student written divrei Torah, questions, and family tradition recipes, along with activities opposite every page to help enhance your Seder. If you, family members or friends would be interested in purchasing this wonderful Haggadah, it can be ordered by going to the link above or you could go to and search for "The Haggadah for the Generations 2018" For more information contact Rabbi Silver at asilver@taphila.org. P RE-P ESACH DINNERS Make your Pre-Pesach week easier and more delicious, while supporting the CTA 8th Grade! You must pre-order these individually-wrapped meals to be a part of this delicious deal. Eating accommodations will be available in the CTA gym for those who choose to eat-in. Take it out or eat it here, from 5PM- 8PM. Drinks will be available for purchase. Deadline for all orders is Friday, March 23rd. CLICK HERE to order. PTO NEWS Ongoing PTO free FUNdraisers make a big difference!!! Please save the following items on behalf of the CTA PTO...and urge friends and family to participate in these easy, no cost programs. Currently, we are collecting Box Tops for Education logos (go to for a complete product listing and for offers and sweepstakes) and Brown's Shoprite and Fresh Grocer receipts (must be current...within the last 5 months). A collection box for these items is at the front security desk. Please register your Giant Bonus Cards ( to benefit CTA PTO (use CTA id # 23875)...anyone with a Giant card can participate in this program and you can support up to 2 schools. Once you have registered, there is no need to re- register for the new school year. CTA also participates in the Amazon Smile program and in the and programs, so keep CTA in mind as you shop online. For any questions about these programs, please contact jeisenberg345@gmail.com.

10 Host our B'not Sherut for a meal Click here to view and sign up for the meal schedule. TA Text Messaging Stay informed with important TA information such as emergency announcements, school closings and event reminders. To opt in - click here CTA SNAPSHOTS

11 Click Here for the School Calendar Kol Torah is for Grandparents too! Would your parents like to have a window into their grandchildren's Torah Academy's world? To receive Kol Torah, please send addresses here.