בס''ד Y E S H I V A T O R A S C H A I M T O R A S E M E S KLURMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NOVEMBER 8, 2013 TEAM SPIRIT STAR STUDENTS

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1 בס''ד Y E S H I V A T O R A S C H A I M T O R A S E M E S KLURMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NOVEMBER 8, 2013 פרשת ויצא CANDLE LIGHTING 5:16 pm TEAM SPIRIT STAR STUDENTS NO SCHOOL MONDAY!!! TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY Yoseph Baroukh S.S. Aviel Bayles T.S. Daniel Cohen T.S. Yossi Druin S.S. David Feldman S.S. Avi Ginsparg T.S. Michael Goldberg T.S. Asher Goldenberg T.S. David Laks T.S. Yehuda Lehrfield S.S. Dan Yitzchak Leonoff T.S. Yaakov Marcus S.S. Yosef Nahon S.S. Binyomin Privalsky T.S. Aaron Riesel David Suissa S.S. Adina Albert T.S. Shoshana Cohen S.S. Elisheva El-Gad T.S. Malky Gross T.S. Tamar Hyman S.S. v Ella Liberman T.S. Dassie Mergui T.S. Esther Nahon S.S. Penina Pomper S.S. Gitty Rubin T.S. Tamar Sasson S.S. Shayna Schwartz S.S. Myriam Sipper T.S. Shira Suissa S.S. Rivkah Sutton S.S. Aliza Turner T.S. TEAM PLAYERS Aviel Bayles Netanel Dovid Corcos Ephraim Dudovitz Simcha Gassner Sam Kaplan Shua Privalsky Noam Richmond Shea Rosenberg David Sharbani Yaakov Simkins Gabriella Chattah Elisheva El-Gad Shaindel Farmer Elly Feldman Chavie Fried Sonia Ginsburg Esther Malki Goodman Avital Gutfreund Dina Malka Holzer Ella Liberman Batzie Rubin Esther Yocheved Schiff Shayna Segelman Rivkah Sutton Nechama Taillard Sarah Simcha Waisman Please see attached Dinner/Journal Update

2 Page 2 Last week s question and answer: In this Parsha, Yaakov and Eisav are a set of twins. Where else in they? is there a set of twins and who are חומש בראשית תמר and יהודה are born to זרח and פרץ,פרשת וישב In This week s question: Where in this Parsha does it talk about ice? PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES & PROGRESS REPORTS T he first marking period of the school year ends today. Progress reports will be mailed home next week and Parent- Teacher Conferences take place Sunday morning, November 17 and Monday evening, November 18. In order to meet with your child(ren) s teachers, please be sure to make an appointment by following our online instructions (sent to you via on Thursday). For help please call Mrs. Tamir in the boys office at BOOK FAIR IS HERE!! O ur Annual Book Fair has begun! We are excited to see all the new books available for purchase in our Library. Parents are invited to visit during school hours. Please see the attached schedule to see when your child(ren) will be visiting the Fair. Many thanks to Mrs. Malky Gordon and Mr. Mutty Breier for their help in setting up. We greatly appreciate the book donations from the Taieb and El- Gad families for their children s classrooms. We are still looking for parent volunteers to help at the Fair. Please fill out the attached volunteer sign up sheet if you can help. Happy Reading! MISHNAYOS PROGRAM/ OPTIONAL MISHMAR n conjunction with the extracurricular Mishnayos Program I (which began this week), the fourth and fifth grade boys will start their optional Mishmar this coming Thursday (note change from calendar). Our annual Mishnayos Kickoff Brunch in Toras Chaim is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 24.

3 Page 3 YEDIOS HATORAH ur Yedios Hatorah program has begun! Ask your O children about the Yedios Hatorah packets they received this week. MAZEL TOV T o Mr. and Mrs. Neil Vaiselberg and family on the birth of a son. REFUAH SHELAIMA T o Mr. Michael Greenberg and family on the marriage of his son, Dovid. 1G ELECTION DAY O n Tuesday the first grade girls commemorated Election Day with their own class elections and..the results are in! SUCCESS MAKER WINS BY A LANDSLIDE!!! proposition was: The voting took place by secret ballot. The What would be the best activity to include if the school day was extended an extra 1/2 hour. The class was given 5 options to vote on: reading books, art activities, games, Success Maker, or free choice. Success Maker was the overwhelming winner - a sure indicator of its popularity among the students. Chaim Yosef ben Rus Mina Yehudis bas Masouda Yaakov ben Rachel Aharon Dovid ben Chaya Tinok ben Dina Esther bas Chaya Sara Yitzchok Shmuel ben Pesha Sara Yitzchok Reuven ben Malka Tzvi Zelig ben Chasya Rochel Galit bas Ruma Rivka bas Minnie Dovid ben Rochel Dovid Tzvi Aharon ben Alte Rochel LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT CHANUKA PRESENT? Y ou can now purchase a variety of gift cards from Yeshiva Toras Chaim Toras Emes Spend and Raise program. Give the perfect gift and credit your spend and raise account at the same time. See attached flier for a list of participating stores or contact nheller@ytcteam.org.

4 Page 4 Erev Shabbos Parashas Vayetze 5774 Dear Parents, When a person contemplates his own performance of a Mitzva, or adherence to Halacha, he might evaluate his action in one of two ways. He can laud his Mesiras Nefesh (self-sacrifice), his own self-control and how he struggled and succeeded, or he can take the attitude that this was enjoyable, perhaps downright fun and part of a happy life. Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt l points out this very duality in his Sefer Darash Moshe (Bereishis 31:14). He questions the response of Yaakov s wives Rochel and Leah, to Yaakov s proposal that they leave their father s house. Yaakov presents the factors justifying his proposal for all of them to leave. Then Yaakov informs them that Hashem came to him and instructed him to take his entire family, leave Lavan s house (after 20 years) and return to Eretz Canaan. Yaakov s wives responded affirmatively, justifying their response by stating Are we not (considered) like strangers (in our father s house)? Only as a seeming afterthought do they also agree because Hashem said to leave. This is bewildering, points out Rav Moshe Yaakov just said this was Hashem s command and they respond they like the idea but for their own reasons. They should have responded if Hashem said it, that s what we ll do! Rav Moshe explains what Rochel and Leah were doing was minimizing the Nisayon, the trial, in following Hashem s command, making it easier for them to adjust to the idea. They would of course follow what Hashem said but they didn t want to make it overly difficult, discouraging, and heroic. By explaining it also makes sense to leave, they brought the potentially difficult act of leaving their father s house, the comfort of their childhood home, down to a manageable level, where they could wholeheartedly embrace the idea. We see clearly, that considering oneself a hero for keeping Mitzvos has significant drawbacks. There are advantages to minimizing the difficulty in our mind s eye, and magnifying the enjoyment. We keep Shabbos not just because we have great inner fortitude to do what s right no matter what, but rather we should also focus on the enjoyment, the delight of keeping Shabbos. -continued-

5 Page 5 page 2 This has far reaching implications for how we raise and train our children. Rav Moshe further points out that 70, 80 years ago there were a number of Jews in America who, with great courage, clung tenaciously to Shmiras Shabbos. They shared with their children that despite the difficulty, they were strong and withstood the temptation. (Oy, es iz shver tzu zein a Yid!) What happened to the children of these brave, pious souls? Many ran away from Mitzvah observance as fast as possible. They did not consider themselves on their parents level. Therefore there was no way they could be as strong, so Shabbos disappeared from the family s future generations, R L. What if the emphasis in their childhood home had been on the beauty and enjoyment of Shabbos rather than the difficulty? What if they heard from the parents that it is so wonderful to be a Jew, and how lucky they are to be Mitzvah observant? The outcome would have probably been very different. We need to inculcate in our children a confidence in being a Torah Jew and appreciation to Hashem for blessing us with such a lifestyle. It is true that the ultimate reason we do Mitzvos is because Hashem said to do them. Many of us have chosen a life of greater spirituality at great self-sacrifice because we believe it is the right thing. We persevere despite hardships and pitfalls because to us the truth of the Torah has become a central rallying point in our lives. Our children, however, are not we. They may lack our fervor, our focus on sacrificing for truth. They are not yet there yet. As young children they need to feel that keeping Halacha is the most natural thing in the world, and that they would not trade a Torah lifestyle for all the treasures of the world. With such an attitude embedded in their lives, they can proceed with deepening their intellectual and emotional connection to Hashem and His Torah, and proudly and happily bear the torch for a new generation of our people. Best wishes for an enjoyable, delight-filled Shabbos, Rabbi Kalman Baumann Principal

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