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HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE |
 This week we read a double Torah portion: Nitzavim and Vayelech. These parshiot continue the story of Moshe's final messages and exhortations to the Jewish people. It is extremely worthwhile to reflect upon how relevant Moshe's words are to us today, thirty-five hundred years after he first uttered them. A wonderful illustration of this is contained in Moshe's statement that the Torah is, "not too mysterious or remote from you...It is very close to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can keep it." Many times we feel that the Torah's ideals are too lofty for us, and its laws are too numerous and complicated for us to realistically perform. Moshe is teaching us that nothing could be farther from the truth. Actually, the Torah's values and commandments can be easily accessible to us if we make a sincere effort to learn about them and put them into practice. Growth is a step-by-step process; we do not need to do everything at once. The key is to try to always be moving in the right direction with our learning and observances.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Zvi Kahn |
A LITTLE LEARNING, A LITTLE SWIMMING, A LITTLE SPELUNKING |
 They davened and studied Torah. They swam. They didn't exactly put on helmets and look for stalactites, but CTA's middle-school students did do some team-building exercises in caves.
One of the games was called "camouflage", a version of hide-and-seek.
CTA's 7th- and 8th-graders spent Friday night and Shabbat at Camp Oty'okwa in Hocking Hills. The annual Junior High Retreat was "wildly successful," said Abby Weisz, a co-organizer, teacher and chaperone.
 "The most important goal was for the 7th - and 8th-graders to bond and become one unit." From all reports, a great time was had by all.
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Monday, Sept. 6: Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, Sept. 7: Hamburgers - Volunteer: M. Makias
Wednesday, Sept. 8: Pizza Bagels - Volunteer: L. Polster
Erev Rosh Hashanah, 2pm dismissal
Thursday, Sept. 9: Rosh Hashanah - NO SCHOOL
Friday, Sept. 10: Rosh Hashanah - NO SCHOOL
Monday, Sept. 13: Macaroni & Cheese - Volunteer: L. Hoffman
Tuesday, Sept. 14: Tacos - Volunteer: M. Sobol
Wednesday, Sept. 15: Pizza - Volunteer: K. Binsky
New 7-12 Parent Orientation, 6pm
Meet the Teachers, Grades 7-12, 7pm
Thursday, Sept. 16: Pasta - Volunteer: P. Young
Friday, Sept. 17: Fish Sticks
Erev Yom Kippur, 2pm dismissal |
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Tuesday, September 7
HOME Games vs. Grace Christian
Jr High Volleyball, 5pm
Jr High Soccer, 5pm
AWAY Games vs. Licking County
HS Soccer, 4:30pm
HS Volleyball, 6:15pm
Monday, September 13
AWAY Games vs. Granville Christian
Jr High Volleyball, 4:30pm
Jr High Soccer, 4:30pm
HS Volleyball, 6:15pm
Tuesday, September 14
AWAY Games vs. Gahanna Christian
Jr High Soccer, 4:30pm
HS Soccer, 6pm
vs. OSD
HS Volleyball, 6:30pm
Wednesday, September 15
HOME Games vs. CSG
Jr High Volleyball, 5:30pm
Thursday, September 16
HOME Games vs. Horizon Science
HS Volleyball, 5:30pm
HS Soccer, 5:30pm
AWAY Games vs. Cypress Christian
Jr High Volleyball 5pm
Jr High Soccer, 5pm |
SCRIP UPDATE - PLACES TO PURCHASE SCRIP |
CTA Scrip Office - Monday-Friday - 8:00am-4:00pm
Parent Volunteer, Aliza Finegold, is selling Scrip from her home and taking orders via phone (239-6356) or email ( scrip@torahacademy.org). She also delivers! Contact Aliza today! Please note that Aliza's home email address has changed to: ajfinegold@gmail.com |
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During evening activities at the school, we need a parent volunteer to sit at the front desk and let people in. All the dates are listed on the CTA calendar. If you are interested, please contact Parent Volunteer Coordinator, Robin Garvin at rgar234@yahoo.com. |
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MAZAL TOV TO: |
Dr. Bob & Patti Wolf on Josh becoming a Bar Mitzvah
Natanielle Mikalov (Class of '07) on her engagement to Avi Cooper |
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CONDOLENCES TO: |
Deena Tanenbaum (Class of '99), Joy Tanenbaum (Class of '03), Ari (Class of '02), Miriam Weisfogel (Class of '02), Rebecca (Class of '02) and Leah Weisfogel (Class of '02) on the passing of Thea Press, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother |
NEWS FROM THE HEBREW DEPARTMENT
By Galit Golan, Hebrew Language Curriculum Coordinator | |
 Shalom, and welcome to the 2010-2011 school year. It is a pleasure to walk in the hallways or peek into classrooms and hear Hebrew all around. This is a fresh start not only for the students, but within the teaching staff as well. New Hebrew teachers have joined our staff and many new and exciting projects and ideas are starting to form.
As always, the Hebrew Department promotes open communication between parents and teachers and vice versa. This will enable you, as a parent, to know what your child is learning in Hebrew class, as well as tests and assignment schedule. To reach this goal, you can check the blogs of the different Hebrew teachers, which will be updated often, and will contain the homework assignments, as well as the quizzes and tests schedule. You will also receive reminder emails before tests and other assignments .
The Hebrew Department offers free tutoring on Thursdays from 4:00-5:00pm, in the Upper School library. Scheduling in advance is required. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. You can reach me via phone at the school: (614) 864-0299 ext. 114 or via email at: ggolan@torahacademy.org. |
WELCOME NEW FAMILIES - CORRECTIONS | |
Ms. Shira Ehrenberg & Family
Dr. and Mrs. Norman Schneiderman & Family
Mr. and Mrs. Meir Ukeles & Family
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Wolf & Family |
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CROSS COUNTRY RACER | |
Congratulations to 12th grader Zach Ebner for a fantastic finish at the Canal Winchester Cross Country Invitational. Zach finished in 14th place out of 247 other high school boys competing. He led the pack for more than 2 miles of the 3.2 mile race. His finishing time was 18 minutes and 14 seconds. Great job Zach! |
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Each week we will profile CTA's new staff members.
 Dr. David Manuta is an Upper School math and chemistry teacher. He lives in Waverly, Ohio and commutes to Columbus.
David grew up on Brooklyn, N.Y. He earned his Ph.D in chemistry from SUNY Binghamton.
He loves to play chess when he isn't deeply involved reading a book or writing. He also loves teaching because he likes working with young people.
 Don't be surprised to see Rabbi Shaanan Scherer parking his bike in front of CTA. You might even see him with a guitar strapped to his back.
The rabbi, an Upper School Judaic Studies and Hebrew Language teacher, loves music. He also loves the outdoors. Shaanan was born and grew up in Toronto. He lived in Israel for the past decade, where, in addition to studying for his smicha, he worked as a tour guide and hiked and biked all over the country.
Rabbi Scherer and his wife Emma (who is from London, England) have two daughters, Ariella, 3, and Tehilla, 1. |
GREAT BALLS OF CHALLAH! IT'S SHABBOS! | |
CTA kindergarteners got their hands on some dough and rolled it into tasty loaves. It was part of a lesson about Shabbat, as well as about measuring and following directions. This week 30 families will have the homemade challah to share.
They may find the flavors a bit non-traditional. Kindergarteners, including (left) Devora Hershenson and (right) Joshua Koppes, clamored proudly to describe their personal touches: sugar, honey, cinnamon, chocolate chips and - a special favorite - rainbow sprinkles. Emeril would be proud.  |
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LOOK OUT, BIG APPLE: CTA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE ON THEIR WAY HELP THEM GET THERE! | |
 Torah Academy's high school students are preparing for their trip to New York City and Hershey Park. The group is set to leave Sept. 25 and return Sept. 28. Students' families are sending their kids on this educational weekend getaway. But New York is expensive, and not everyone can afford all the trip entails. Reach out and give the group a little boost with a donation to the New York Trip Fund. You can contribute next time you're in the building, or send your check in, marking it ATTN: Sara Shatz.
The New York trip is always a great experience. The students get to see the place hundreds of thousands of Jews called home when they first arrived in the United States. New York still teems with Jewish life, including museums, neighborhoods and synagogues. Yeshiva University is a destination for many of our graduates.
Experiences like this make CTA a special school. They are why you send your kids here.
Let's make sure it happens! |
AND LET'S ALSO HELP OUR EIGHTH-GRADERS WITH THE WASHINGTON TRIP | |
The annual 8th grade Magazine Subscription Drive is underway. The class earns 40% of the sale monies for both new and renewal subscriptions for its Washington trip. If you are interested in purchasing a subscription or renewing one, please see any 8th grader or go on-line to www.online.qsp.com/cta. Don't forget - magazine subscriptions make great gifts! |
FROM THE CTA STAGE TO THE BIG (AND LITTLE) SCREEN |
 Marcia Hershfield remembers the way one of her star students took to the stage. He performed a lead role in the annual English department Shakespeare festival, and he stole the show. He also was a terrific student, especially of literature.
Today, Josh Radnor, who graduated from CTA in eighth-grade in 1988, lives in Los Angeles and gets lots of acting jobs. He stars as Ted Mosby is the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." He also just finished production on a film he wrote and directed, "happythankyouplease," which premiered here Wednesday night at the Drexel Theatre.
The $125/ticket screening was a fundraiser to support the efforts of a new nonprofit group now supporting the theater, which is a landmark in the community.
Radnor ultimately graduated from Bexley High School and attended Kenyon College, where his school's theater department presented him with the Paul Newman Award, named for the school's most famous alumnus. Radnor received his master of fine arts degree in acting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. |
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Roni and Barry Leeman in honor of Lindsey and Joey Schottenstein's
daughter Emma
Mr. & Mrs. Arnold Hordish in honor of Dr. & Mrs. Saul Kahn
Max Tennebaum in honor of the 2010 Graduates
Ian and Pamela Rodier in honor of the 7th, 5th, and Kindergarten teachers
Rabbi Michael Ungar and family in honor of the upcoming marriage of
Alison Barnett and Avrahom Block
Jay and Jean Schottenstein in honor of Elliot Reif's Birthday
Ken and Nancy Supowit in memory of Marlene Sobol's mother
Larry S. Pollak in memory of Lillian Ganz, mother of Marlene Sobol and
Dr. Warren Sobol, in honor of Rabbi Chaim Capland with gratitude to
Hashem for his Refuah Shlaima, and in memory of Howard Newman,
father of Daniel and Ilana |
PARSHAT NITZAVIM VAYELECH QUIZ
By Rabbi Zecharia Weitz |
1. What are the names of this week's parshiot?
a. Nitzavim and Vayalech
2. When the Torah tells us we are responsible for each other's sins, there are dots over the words "lanu u'livanainu," "for us and for our children." What is the significance of these dots?
a. It signifies that the Jewish people will not accept this responsibility until the events at Mount Gerezim and Mount Avil, which happened in the time of Yehoshua (Joshua).
3. The events in the entire Book of Devarim took palce during the last 5 weeks of Moshe's life. When did Parshat Nitzavim take place?
a. The last day of Moshe's life.
4. What does Moshe mean when he says that the Torah is not located overseas or uip in the heavens?
a. That it is readily accessible to all.
5. Who/what does Moshe summon to bear witness to his warnings to the Jews?
a. The heavens and earth.
6. The word E-L-U-L is spelled out using the first letters of a 4 word phrase in this Parsha, can you find it? Can you see a connection?
a. See 30:6
7. ON Sukkot of the Shimeta year, the king would read a selection from Devarim to the nation in the Beit HaMikdash. What is this procedure called?
a. Hakhel
8. "So now, write this song for yourselves..." - what mitzvah is derived from this verse?
a. The mitzvah for every Jew to write a Torah scroll.
9. What section is the specific "song" being referred to here?
a. Ha'azinu
10. Can you name the month and dates that Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot begin on?
a. The 1st, 10th, and 15th of Tishrai, respectively.
Discussion Question
The calendar is deliberately arranged so that we always read Nitzavim the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah. What message is so relevant to Rosh Hashanah in this Parsha? |
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I hope you enjoy the electronic version of our Dateline. Please check out our website at www.torahacademy.org. |
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