גמר חתימה טובה
Beit Hamikdash
Shulamith School of Brooklyn Newsletter
Erev Yom Kippur, Tishrei 5772/October 2011
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In This Issue
Article Headline

Our Students Reflect Upon Chava Willig Levy's Visit

 

A lot of people don't think about it...but having a disability is a very scary thing. Most people think "no it won't happen".  A lot of people might have said the same thing, however, their disabilities happened after they were born.

      Mrs. Levy is a very inspiring person!  She has many disabilities; but she showed us that we should be happy with what we have She reminded us that we have a lot that we should be thankful for!

     She showed us some techniques that she came up with herself.   Mrs. Levy also taught us that if we set our minds to something there isn't anything we can't achieve!

     We really enjoyed Mrs. Levy's visit and we hope she will come back again.

        By: Kellie Broyn and Natalie Mosseri

Chava Willig Levy Addresses Shulamith Students
Chava Willig Levy Addresses Shulamith Students
See Article Below

בס"ד

Preparing For Yom Kippur-An Inspirational Week

Atzeret Tefilla for Gilad Shalit

This Wednesday was an עצרת תפילה for Gilad Shalit. Here at Shulamith, grades 5-12 participated in a worldwide תפילה for Gilad who has been incarcerated for so long. We learned more about Gilad's plight, heard from Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, and Gilad Shalit's father.  We said kapitlach Tehillim together with 100 schools worldwide. Our hearts and tears go out to him and his family.

The נתיבות שלום (Slonimer Rebbi) quotes the Beit Avraham as reminding us that the ראשי תיבות of the pasuk:

כי ביום הזה יכפר...

stated regardingיום כיפור , form the word:

"בכיה."

For on Yom Kippur we are all called upon to cry in our tefillot for those things that are really important, things such as בריאות and parnassa . עם ישראל has cried many tears for Gilad Shalit; this week we added more tears and tefillot...

  

Students Daven for Gilad shalit
Students Daven for Gilad Shalit

 

 

Mrs. Chava Willig-Levy--Well-Known Inspirational Speaker Visits Shulamith

 

This past Monday, the Middle and High School and IVDU program had a very inspirational program. Mrs. Chava Willig-Levy, a professional writer and speaker, addressed our girls about our מדה of הוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות , "judging others favorably," as it says in Pirkei Avot. (See bio of Mrs. Levy below, and the thoughts of our students--article to the left). Mrs. Levy started out by asking the girls to tell her three important things about themselves. The girls offered various answers including, "I like to bake," I enjoy gymnastics" and "I like to sing". When we asked Mrs. Levy to share three important things about herself, she mentioned that she loves to cook, enjoys music and loves children. Then Mrs. Levy asked the students what a 4th important thing about her might be. After some hesitation, the girls said: "You are in a wheelchair". "Yes," said Mrs. Levy, "That is an important thing to know about me; however, it is 4th or 5th in importance, not first. You see, I am a person with many interests and various talents; those things define me more than my disability. My disability is only one thing that you need to know about me." Then Mrs. Levy told the girls the importance of being דן others לכף זכות...judging others favorably. She actually taught the girls a song about this. This is only a snippet of what Mrs. Levy said. BE"H, we hope to send you a videotape of some of the program over the next month. Mrs. Levy's message was especially meaningful to us during the עשרת ימי תשובה.

We owe tremendous thank yous to: Mrs. Levy, for gracing us with her presence and Torah; Mr. Baum, for arranging sponsorships for the program; our wonderful sponsors; John for working out all the logistics; to my colleagues, Mrs. Karp and Mrs. Fleisher for partnering with me in bringing this program to our girls and to Ariel Teitelbaum & Shaindy Braun, our High School videographers.

Mrs. Levy may be reached at c613@verizon.net ; her website is www.chavawilliglevy.com 

 

Board and Administration Show הכרת הטוב to Faculty

A tremendous thank you is also due to the Board members who sponsored the tulips which the board and administration gave to our faculty Erev Rosh Hashana. The flowers and gesture were most appreciated.  

 

Students Give Food to Local Families

Yasher koach to our students for donating their צדקה money to provide food for local families over yom tov. Thank you, in advance, to Mr. Terribello, a Shulamith parent, for distributing the food through Bnei Raphael. 

  

Shulamith School's New Website & Monthly Calendar!

This past week, Shulamith of Brooklyn initiated our new Website! Please visit our site at ShulamithofBrooklyn.com. A tremendous yasher koach is due to the Women's Organization, and especially Mrs. Shoni Eidlis, who prepared a beautiful monthly calendar for our website. The calendar is downloadable as a PDF from our website. You will notice that the girls' birthdays can be found at the end of the calendar. If anyone has suggestions for our website, please contact me at sklammer12@yahoo.com.

 

Visit to Ateret Avot

This Thursday the fifth grade girls visited Ateret Avot Nursing home. Their visit was most appreciated by the residents and the girls had a great time doing mitzvoth! Yasher koach to Mrs. Goldberg for arranging for the visit and to Mrs. Fine for getting the girls ready and taking them on this important trip. 

I've reminded the girls a number of times that the most important word at Shulamith School is:

מדות

I wish our girls tremendous הצלחה in continuing to develop excellent midot! Wishing you all a !גמר חתימה טובה

בברכות,

Rabbi Shmuel Klammer

  

About Chava Willig Levy

 

 

 

Chava Willig Levy is a New York-based lecturer, editor and author with a particular interest in childhood, parenthood, Judaism, disability and family life. She has written extensively in national publications, including McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal, Parents Magazine, Jewish Action, Woman's Day and Family Circle, frequently dispelling stereotypes about people with disabilities and presenting her experiences with a Torah outlook. She is a popular contributor at the aish.com and ou.org websites. Mrs. Levy's website, www.chavawilliglevy.com, showcases her lectures, workshops and publications.

 

A motivational speaker known for her humor, passion and compassion, Mrs. Levy has captivated audiences ranging in size from 50 to 1,500. As a person who gets around in a motorized wheelchair, she has shattered many stereotypes about people with disabilities. Her workshop, Mommy, What's Wrong With That Lady?, has delighted thousands of young people, ranging in age from four to fourteen. She is currently writing her memoir, entitled A Life Not With Standing.

 

She heads her own communications consulting firm, Lucidity Unlimited, enabling her clients to communicate with uncommon clarity. Her services range from editing books to writing brochures, résumés, speeches and marketing materials. Books she has edited include A Fire In His Soul, by Amos Bunim, The Way It Was, by Edith Krohn, a translation of the Chasam Sofer's biblical commentary, Visiting the Sick by Rabbi Aaron Glatt, M.D. and Everyone Needs a Family, a book about OHEL, the family services agency.

 

Mrs. Levy received a B.A. in French literature from Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women and an M.A. in counseling psychology from Columbia University. She pursued doctoral studies at New York University. Her positions at City University, the U.S. Department of Labor and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, respectively, include vocational counselor, management trainer and communications consultant.

 

Last but not least, she is the proud wife of Michael Levy and the adoring mother of Tehilah and Aharon.