ES Calendar
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Sun Sept. 25
Family Learning
10:15-11:30 am
Tues, Sept. 27
3:00 pm Dismissal
Back-to-School Night 7:00 pm
Mon, Oct. 3 Rosh HaShana No School Tues, Oct. 4 Rosh HaShana No School Wed, Oct. 5 Tzom Gedaliah 3:00 pm Dismissal
As always, please see the Kol Rambam Weekly for the all-school calendar, events and PTA notes.
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Online Photo Galleries |
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Send us your Maimo Moments |
Whether you are a parent, alumni or faculty member, your Maimo Moments are welcomed and appreciated.
Please send your Maimo Moments to
maimomoments@
maimonides.org or call our Maimo Moments hotline 617-232-4452 x424 and record your moment in a voice message.
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Welcome!
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Dear Parents,
We had a great first full week of school!
Please read on for the latest Elementary School news and information about upcoming events.
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D'var Torah
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by Rabbi David Saltzman
Two of the mitzvot described in this week's parasha have a number of similarities. These mitzvot are also written back-to-back. See if you can find the similarities and congruent ideas in these two mitzvot:
לֹא תִרְאֶה אֶת שׁוֹר אָחִיךָ אוֹ אֶת שֵׂיוֹ נִדָּחִים וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ מֵהֶם הָשֵׁב תְּשִׁיבֵם לְאָחִיךָ:
לֹא תִרְאֶה אֶת חֲמוֹר אָחִיךָ אוֹ שׁוֹרוֹ נֹפְלִים בַּדֶּרֶךְ וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ מֵהֶם הָקֵם תָּקִים עִמּוֹ:
You shall not see your brother's ox or sheep straying, and ignore them. [Rather,] you shall return them to your brother.
You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen [under its load] on the road, and ignore them. [Rather,] you shall pick up [the load] with him.
How many of these similarities did you notice?
- Both are about seeing an animal.
- Both are about the animal of your brother.
- Both are about finding the animal in difficult situations.
- In both, you are not permitted to pretend you didn't see it.
- In both, you are commanded to take action (return or assist the animal).
One other significant similarity exists in both commands. In discussing the mitzvah to return a lost item, the Torah states:
וְאִם לֹא קָרוֹב אָחִיךָ אֵלֶיךָ וְלֹא יְדַעְתּוֹ וַאֲסַפְתּוֹ אֶל תּוֹךְ בֵּיתֶךָ וְהָיָה עִמְּךָ עַד דְּרשׁ אָחִיךָ אֹתוֹ וַהֲשֵׁבֹתוֹ לוֹ:
But if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, you shall bring it into your house, and it shall be with you until your brother seeks it out, whereupon you shall return it to him.
Regarding the command to return a lost item, the finder is obligated to return the item, and the one who lost the item is obligated to seek it out. Similarly, regarding the mitzvah to assist a laden animal, the finder must help take off the burden along with the owner of the animal. In both mitzvot, each person is actively helping the other. Each one is responsible for helping their brother. The finder of the lost animal is responsible for returning the item, and the one who finds a laden animal is responsible for easing the burden of the animal. Both are taking part in the performance of a command. At the same time, the owner of the animal is required to help the performer of the mitzvah accomplish his goal; he needs to either search out the finder so the item can be returned, or assist with easing the burden of the animal. When two people each act in the best interest of the other, this is areyvut - taking responsibility for another "brother."
By recognizing that I am responsible for helping you take care of your property, and that you are responsible for ensuring that I perform this mitzvah, we are demonstrating and fulfilling the concept of areyvut. We will discuss this idea further in future weeks.
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Thoughts of the Rav on the Parsha
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Devekut, part 2
by Rabbi Dov Huff
Last week, we began discussing the act of cleaving to Hashem. The Rav z"l writes that cleaving is different than uniting since in the process of unification, the different components lose a part of what makes them unique - uniting with the divine would, the mystics believed, come at the cost of our own individuality. Uniting is found in solitude and seclusion, in retreating from worldly pursuits rather than sanctifying them.
Not so with cleaving. The pursuit of devekut is man's attempt to cleave to Hashem "[not by] denying his actual essence, but, on the contrary, by affirming his own essence. The actual muticolored human personality becomes closer to G-d when the individual lives his own variegated, original life, filled with goals, initiative, and activity."
For the Rav, the medium through which man accomplishes this devekut is halacha. We connect not by giving up parts of ourselves, but by focusing our thoughts and practice towards Hashem through our mutual connection to halacha. In essence, we attempt to "know" Hashem by learning and actualizing His revelatory halachic commands.
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Orchestra Sign-Up
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On Tuesday, children got an overview of what the Orchestra program is and saw a demonstration of the instruments available to them in our orchestra program here at Maimonides. Parents should have received the sign-up form by e-mail, but copies are also available in the music room. Please let Mr. Malkin know if you have any questions at [email protected] We are hoping to have a great response and make this year a successful one for the Elementary School Orchestra!
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Family Learning Next Sunday! |
We are looking forward to seeing all of you at our first Family Learning of the year on Sunday, September 25 from 10:15-11:30 a.m. Once again Rabbi Dror Saadia will be leading our discussion, and the theme for this year will be netina - giving. Each week a different aspect of netina will be the featured topic, to be studied in an engaging and exciting way.
Next Sunday we will explore the definition of netina, learn where it appears in the Torah, and write personal stories about our own netina experiences.
Bring your family and friends for a morning of learning! There will also be breakfast with bagels, pastries, coffee, juice, and prizes! We hope to see you there!
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Back-to-School Night is 9/27 - Save the Date!
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Our Elementary School Back-to-School Night will take place on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m. Come meet your children's teachers and hear about all the exciting learning and events they have planned for this year.
The schedule is as follows:
- 7:00-7:40 First session
- 7:40-8:00 Maariv / Break
- 8:00-8:40 Second session
- 8:45-9:15 5th Grade Teva Meeting
The first and second sessions are identical, with each of the teachers presenting for 20 minutes. Families with two children will be able to attend the first session for their first child and the second session for their second child.
Science, gym, art, support and music teachers will also be available.
If you have three children in the school, the parents will need to attend one session separately in order to hear from all of our teachers.
We look forward to seeing you!
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Printable and Electronic Calendars Online
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The online calendar can be customized to show only the divisions and events you wish to see. See maimonidescalendar.org/calendar-instructions for more detailed information on how to use the calendar.
In addition, you will be able to subscribe so that school events and alerts will appear on your personal calendar. More information will follow soon.
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Volunteer for Yom Chesed
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Yom Chesed is December 4 -- would you like to get involved?
Our third Yom Chesed is scheduled for Sunday morning, December 4, 2016. Yom Chesed is an all-ages community service initiative for our entire Maimonides community. Our past Yom Chesed events have each involved over 500 participants helping a broad range of community organizations.
Registration will begin later in the fall, but in the meantime, we are looking for volunteers to help with this event. Even if you can't attend Yom Chesed, we would love your help prior to the event with planning and coordinating activities, shopping for supplies, or making phone calls.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can help, please join us on Thursday, September 22 at 8:15 a.m. in the conference room in the Saval building (34 Philbrick Road).
It is not necessary to attend this meeting to help out with Yom Chesed. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact one of our parent coordinators -- Risa Gewurz, [email protected], Stef Mishkin, [email protected], or Alissa Muzin, [email protected] -- to learn how to get involved.
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Handbook Online
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Username is: maimoparents
Password is: horim
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Vehicle Policies and Procedures
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Please see this link for current information on the school's parking policies, as well as updated drop-off and pick-up procedures.
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Lost and Found
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We are starting to accumulate items - all without names. Please take a look to see whether something is familiar to you, and PLEASE label all of your child's belongings. Anything with a name on it gets returned to your child.
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Online Access to Directory
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We know many of you are eager to connect with each other! The printed Maimonides School 2016-17 Directory is in production, but parents can access the directory information online via MyBackpack.
In order to locate family or classmate contact information, follow these steps:
- Log into My Backpack
- To find a single family, search by last name in the Directory box
- To generate an entire grade list, click on "Advanced Search Options" and follow these steps:
- Click on the "Search for Student" tab
- Select the grade you want and click on "Search"
- Click on "Detail" to see email address information
NOTE: In order to return to the entire grade list, do NOT hit the browser back button. Instead, click on the "Back to Search Student/Parent" button, found above the student name (at top left).
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See What's Happening in the Other Divisions
| | Lots of wonderful things are happening at Maimonides School!
If you'd like to take a peek at the other divisions' newsletters, please click here.
If you would like to contact a specific school office, please use these emails:
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Let's be friends... on Facebook!
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!שבת שלום
Rabbi, Reena, and the Maimonides ES Faculty
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