THIS WEEK'S PARSHA
By Rabbi Zecharia Weitz | |
A Successful Failure
What makes an endeavor successful? As goal-oriented people, should we consider the Har Sinai experience a success or a failure? Bnai Yisrael (the Jewish people) got off to a strong start, but Moshe did not even make it down the mountain before things went awry, forcing Moshe to smash the Luchot (Tablets) and leaving national scars that remain until today. So is the Sinai experience still something to celebrate? Was it an accomplishment or a failure? Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, in his book Sichot Mussar, explains that although we lost those first Luchot and did not maintain that pinnacle of spiritual growth, Har Sinai was, nonetheless, an accomplishment of the highest accord. A crude analogy: imagine the Blue Jackets somehow make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to fall apart and get "swept". Wouldn't we still consider them to be winners? They did not come home with the Cup but they were transformed; the Jackets would consider themselves true Cup contenders, driven for another chance. They lost the battle of the Finals, but won the war. Har Sinai was a victory because we now understood what we could be - and we collectively committed to once again attain those heights. We experienced true closeness to G-d and would forever yearn to return to that level of perfection. Ultimate success is not attained when we climb our mountains, but rather when we develop the unshakeable resolve to remain on top.
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| TOWN HALL MEETING | |
TOWN HALL MEETING
TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014
7:30 PM
CTA LIBRARY
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PARENT BREAKFAST - FUN WITH THE FAMILY
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The gym was jam packed with mommies, daddies, brothers, sisters and more during the Annual Parent Breakfast for grades K-6. A hot breakfast filled the tummies of our students and their families as everyone enjoyed each other's company before the school day began. Enjoy the pictures!
 
 
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Monday, January 20: Martin Luther King Day - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, January 21: Chicken Nuggets: Volunteer: D. Koppes
High School Exams all week
7th Grade Shakespeare all week
Town Hall Meeting, 7:30 pm
Executive Board Meeting, 8:30 pm
Wednesday, January 22: Pizza: Volunteer: M. Szatmary
Thursday, January 23: Meatball Subs: Volunteer-M. Napper
Friday, January 24: Fish Sticks: Volunteer-P. Schiff
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Thursday, January 30: 2nd Grade Chag HaChumash, 2:30pm
Shakespeare Night Performance, 7:30pm, JCC
Friday, January 31: Shakespeare Performance, Grades K-8, CTA Shul
Tuesday, February 4: Executive Board Meeting, 7:30pm
Friday, February 7: Grandparents & Special Person's Day, Grades K-6, 12:30-2pm
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It's Basketball Season!
Saturday, January 18
HOME Games vs. Horizon Science
Varsity Boys, 7:30 pm
Wednesday, January 22
HOME Games vs. FCI Academy
Varsity Girls, 5:30 pm
Varsity Boys, 7:00 pm
Thursday, January 23
HOME Games vs. St. John's Academy
Middle School Girls, 5:30 pm
Middle School Boys, 6:45 pm
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SCRIP UPDATE - PLACES TO PURCHASE SCRIP
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CTA Scrip Office, 864-0299 ext. 112
Monday-Thursday- 7:30am-4pm
Friday-7:30am-2pm
The Scrip Office keeps a variety of available scrip on hand. Special order scrip from hundreds of stores is available by sending your request to [email protected]. To see a complete selection of all of the Scrip choices, go to www.glscrip.com. To benefit CTA with online purchases, register at www.iGive.com.
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Remember: Target Take Charge of Education Program; Box Tops for Education; Giant Eagle Apples for Students, Kroger card, and empty inkjet cartridges into the box at the front office. To view the vendors participating in the Scrip Program go to www.glscrip.com.
Call & Deliver Program for Scrip: email [email protected] or call 864-0299 to order scrip and have it delivered to your home!
If you would like to volunteer, contact Volunteer Coordinator, Kim Abelman, at 855-5195 or [email protected]. Volunteer time is worth $25 per hour towards Give & Get.
Featured Fundraisers: Fun Factory collection of Ink Jet cartridges, and iGive.com.
 Don't forget to take advantage of the Target RED Card Take Charge of Education program. Cut and paste to link your RED Card with CTA. https://www-secure.target.com/redcard/tcoe/school-details-2014?schoolId=14319&enroll=enroll. You will need to have your RED Card number with you when designating. This past quarter, CTA earned $785 thanks to your purchases.
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NEWS FROM THE LOWER SCHOOL JUDAIC STUDIES DEPARTMENT
By Dror Karavani, Lower School Judaic Studies Coordinator |
 In all of the classrooms on Thursday, we were busy welcoming in Tu B'Shevat. Each class had its own "seder" with discussions, activities and games, and most of all, enjoyed the various fruits from the  Shivat Haminim (the Seven Species of Israel).
Planting trees in Israel: Yasher Koach to all of the students who brought in money in order to have our friends in the Shiloh school in Kfar Saba dedicate and plant trees in a special area of their school. Since that school is a "green" school, they already have an herb garden, where they were excited to add our trees, helping us to fulfill the most important mitzvah of Tu B'Shevat (planting trees in Israel).
What's the Blessing on a Pill? What Do We Do Before We Enjoy Ice Cream Cake? In addition to learning the order of the different brachot (blessings) and as part of the Blessing Unit in Fourth Grade, the students also were challenged into discussing and learning about unique situations and the bracha made in those cases. A poster displaying their newly-discovered knowledge is hanging in their classroom.
Yasher Koach to the Bentchers of Shevat : Dovid Deitsch and Yaakov Newman
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ON THE UP & UP:
NEWS FROM THE UPPER SCHOOL JUDAIC STUDIES DEPT.
By Rabbi Zecharia Weitz |
Freestyle: After completing a unit about why we cover the challah on Shabbat, a few of our Upper School Gemara classes embarked on a "freestyle" project where they were challenged to best illustrate the opinions of 3 commentaries explanations with all the nuances. The results were rather impressive - Here are snippets of what some of them came up with: Avior Hazan & Josh Needleman (left), Mira Cassell & Sara Milson (right), Shayna Hersage Leilah Abelman's nail gallery and the link to Marc Abelman & Neil Kalef's blockbuster video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyJndbNdow8
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SAY IT IN HEBREW
By Galit Golan, Hebrew Language Coordinator |
 This week we commemorate Ariel Sharon, the 11th Prime Minister of Israel, who passed away at the age of 85. Sharon was a commander in the Israeli Army from its creation in 1948. As a paratrooper and then an officer, he participated prominently in the 1948 War of Independence, becoming a platoon commander in the Alexandroni Brigade and taking part in many battles. He was an instrumental figure in the creation of Unit 101, and the Retribution operations, as well as in the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition, and the Yom-Kippur War of 1973. As Minister of Defense, he directed the 1982 Lebanon War. Sharon was considered the greatest field commander in Israel's history, and one of the country's greatest military strategists. After his assault of the Sinai in the Six-Day War and his encirclement of the Egyptian Third Army in the Yom Kippur War, many Israelis grew to admire him. Upon retirement,  Sharon entered politics, joining the Likud party, and served in a number of ministerial posts in Likud-led governments from 1977-92 and 1996-99. He became the leader of the Likud in 2000, and served as Israel's prime minister from 2001 to 2006. In 1983 the Kahan Commission, established by the Israeli Government, found that as Minister of Defense during the 1982 Lebanon War Sharon bore "personal responsibility" "for ignoring the danger of bloodshed and revenge" in the massacre by Lebanese militias of Palestinian civilians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. The Kahan Commission recommended Sharon's removal as Defense Minister, and Sharon did resign after initially refusing to do so. From the 1970s through to the 1990s, Sharon championed construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, as Prime Minister, in 2004-05 Sharon orchestrated Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Facing stiff opposition to this policy within the Likud, in November 2005 he left Likud to form a new party, Kadima. He had been expected to win the next election and was widely interpreted as planning on "clearing Israel out of most of the West Bank", in a series of unilateral withdrawals. However, Sharon suffered a stroke on January 4, 2006 and was left in a permanent vegetative state until his death eight years later, on January 11, 2014 (Source: Wikipedia) Grades 5-12 learned about Ariel Sharon, and a memorial table was set in the school entrance. Shabbat Shalom!
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| MAZAL TOV TO: |
Dotan & Shari Herszage on Gillian becoming a Bat Mitzvah
Ian King (Class of '07) upon the birth of a son
Cheri & Tod Friedman on Ross' acceptance and contract to join the
Columbus Crew
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| REFUAH SHLAIMA TO: |
Laurie Alexander
Leonore Zusman
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| CONDOLENCES TO: |
Steven Siegel (8th Grade Class of '82) and Vickie Siegel (8th Grade Class
of '83) on the loss of their grandmother Minnie Siegel
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CTA BLOOD DRIVE
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CTA's Blood Drive originally scheduled for Thursday, January 23, 2014 has been CANCELLED and will be rescheduled at a later date.
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WE LOVE YOUR CHILDREN
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...and can't wait to start planning for next year! Enrollment Agreements for the 2014-2015 School Year have been mailed and you should've received them in your home "snail mail". The deadline to turn in completed Agreements is January 31. Also included in your packet is a PSAS Form for families who would like to apply for Financial Assistance. There is a firm deadline of February 28 on those forms. Forms received after February 28 will be assessed $30 by PSAS and $500 by CTA. Please be aware of the online filing option at www.psas.org/4944. If you have any questions about forms, please contact Finance Director, Norm Leist at [email protected].
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LOVE THE HAIR and the CREATIVE INCENTIVE
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 Check out this Dateline picture in COLOR - vivid color! Dr. Kennedy told his 7th grade Science class that if they all performed well on their recent tests, he would come back to school with PINK HAIR! Well the 7th graders didn't disappoint, earning B or above averages and neither did Dr. Kennedy. Building trust between the students and the teacher is an important part of ensuring success in the classroom. The teachers care deeply, no matter what it might do to their roots! Pictured are the students in front of the trophy case where the Commendation Cups recognizing Upper School student achievement, effort and success for the past ten years in ten different disciplines are displayed. Have you checked them out lately?
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| SAVE THE DATE - GRANPARENTS & SPECIAL PERSONS DAY |
Grandparents and Special Persons Day will be held in the Lower School on Friday, February 7 from 12:30-2 pm. The program will feature a short presentation in the shul and then invitees will go to the classrooms to engage in learning activities with the students. Please do not plan to bring younger children. If you do not have a grandparent in town, help your child choose an adult (ie: babysitter, neighbor, rabbi, teacher) who will enjoy spending time with them at school.
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| GIFTED AND TALENTED SUMMER PROGRAM |
Summer is coming! It's time to think about what your child will do over the summer. Current 6th, 7th and 8th graders might be interested in the one week program for Gifted & Talented Middle School students. The program, OWJL, in its 33rd year, is held on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University. Go to http://owjl.owu.edu for more information.
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| A NOTE FROM MRS. SAPP |
In the best interest of your child, during the winter months, please make sure your child has a coat, hat, gloves, socks and boots, if necessary. Children will be going outside for recess, weather permitting.
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| COMMUNITY NEWS |
Understanding the Arab Media with Mordechai Kedar, Professor of Arabic at the Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar Ilan University, Tuesday, January 28, 7-8:30pm, JCC, 1125 College Ave. For more information, contact Eric Brown at the Jewish Federation ([email protected]).
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| HELP CTA WIN A WIRELESS MOBILE LAB |
 CDW*G and Discovery Education are excited to announce that the 2014 Win A Wireless Lab Sweepstakes is open - so enter now to win one of two Grand Prizes of $45,000 worth of classroom technology! You can vote every day until May 3. The more votes, the better chance we have to win! Go to www.winawirelesslab.com to register. They can send you a reminder every day. Share with your friends!
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| KINDERGARTEN PREVIEW DAY A SUCCESS |
Kindergarten Preview Day was a great success this week. Twenty-five potential kindergarteners joined "veteran" kindergarteners in the classrooms for a fun-filled day of activities, story time and lunch. Kindergarten Preview Day is an opportunity to invite potential kindergarteners to explore the "mystery" of kindergarten. Siblings were so excited to see their younger brothers and sisters and a special welcome to all the new families.
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| SCHOOL'S OUT DAY - JANUARY 20, 2014 | |
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TZEDAKAH
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It has been a time-honored Jewish tradition to give tzedakah in recognition of important events. Todah Rabah to the following for their donation:
To the Scholarship Fund:
Gary Liebesman and Stacy Leeman in memory of Florence Shenk, mother
of Chuck Shenk
Steven and Smadar Import wishing a Mazel Tov to Irit and Dror Karavani on
the marriage of their son Oded
To the Annual Giving Fund:
Joel and Dana Gorfinkel in memory of Thea Press
Mel and Pearl Perel in honor of CTA graduates Lindsay (Perel) Passell
and Daniel Perel
Bruce and Alisa Weinrib in honor of Abe Weinrib
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1. Yitro had 7 names. Why was one of his names Yeter?
a. Because he caused a parsha to be added to the Torah. Yeter means addition.
2. News of which two events motivated Yitro to come join the Jewish People?
a. The splitting of the sea and the war against Amalek.
3. What name of Yitro indicates his love for Torah?
a. Chovav.
4. Why was Tzipora with her father, Yitro, and not with Moshe when Bnei Yisrael left Egypt?
a. When Aharon met Moshe with his family on their way down to Egypt, Aharon said to Moshe, "We're pained over the Jews already in Egypt, and you're bringing more Jews to Egypt." Moshe, hearing this, sent his wife and children back to Midian.
5. Why does verse 18:5 say that Yitro came to the desert - don't we already know that the Bnei Yisrael were in the desert?
a. To show Yitro's greatness. He was living in a luxurious place; yet he went to the desert in order to study the Torah.
6. Why did Moshe tell Yitro all that G-d had done for the Jewish People?
a. To draw Yitro closer to the Torah way of life.
7. According to the Midrash quoted by Rashi, how did Yitro respond when he was told about the destruction of Egypt?
a. He grieved.
8. Who is considered as if he enjoys the splendor of the Shechina?
a. One who dines with Torah scholars.
(Parsha Yitro Quiz appeared on the Ohr Somayach website)
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As part of our partnership with the Shiloh school in Israel, we will be receiving riddles each week relating to the Parasha. You will notice this each week on this back page. The goal is to have the parents and children discuss the parasha, while trying to figure out the connection between the picture and the parasha. All answered riddles should be given to the Judaic teacher on Monday. The names of the winners will be announced and sent to our friends in Israel.
 What is the connection between the picture and the parasha? Look in Chapter 19, Verse 16. You will find the answer there.
Moreh Dror Karavani will collect all of the submitted answers, put them in a box, and save them for the big raffle! You will hear more about this very soon. Keep your answers coming.
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