| HEADMASTER'S MESSAGE | |
 This week's Torah portion, Emor, discusses many of the laws relating to the Kohanim. It is often thought that the Kohanim were supposed to strive to raise their spiritual level by separating themselves from life and locking themselves away in a kind of sanctified ivory tower. However, just the opposite is true. A review of the laws that pertain to the Kohanim reveals that the Torah's actual intention was for the Kohanim to live and act in such a way as to bring holiness into the physical world. For example, not only were the Kohanim not required to be celibate; they were commanded to get married. In fact, if the Kohen Gadol's wife passed away right before or during Yom Kippur, he was not allowed to perform the services in the Beit Hamikdash (Temple) and his (married) assistant would take over for him. This is just one illustration of the fact that the true mission of the Kohanim was not to eschew the material world, but to elevate it through identifying and expressing the spirituality and holiness inherent in G-d's universe.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Kahn
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TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK
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How can we say thank you to the teachers and administrators that spend each day caring for the academic, emotional, physical and spiritual growth of our children? There are so many ways.
This week, May 4-10, during National Teacher Appreciation Week, take a minute to drop a short note or email to a teacher who has had an influence on your children or who has made strides in the classroom or at CTA to help our students and our school community grow.
Teachers play a key role in student success and sometimes a simple "thanks" is all a teacher needs to feel valued. The decision to teach often comes with moderate pay and around-the-clock hours. Support from families can ease the difficult work teachers do. While appreciation alone does not reduce the challenges teachers face, it will let them know their efforts are not going unnoticed.
If you'd like to share a copy of what you write with us, we would love to keep that information and share it with other parents or potential parents. (No sharing will be done without permission.)
Thank you, in advance, to all of our teachers, current, retired and former. You have left an indelible mark on Columbus Torah Academy.
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Monday, May 5: Macaroni & Cheese: Volunteer: Y. Levi
Mid 4th Quarter
Tuesday, May 6: Tacos-Volunteer: L. Hoffman
CTA Twirlers, 4-5pm
Wednesday, May 7: Pizza-Volunteer: A. Kohn
Thursday, May 8: Sloppy Joe-Volunteer: C. Derrow
Friday, May 9: Tuna-Volunteer: M. Rosenberg
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Monday, May 12: Annual Meeting; Board Elections, 7:30pm
May 12-June 1: Online Book Fair is open
Friday, May 16: Lower School Dress Down Day
May 18-20: CBI - Columbus Baseball Invitational
Sunday, May 18: Spring Fling, 1-7pm
May 21-22: Senior Exams
Thursday, May 22: 1st Grade Chag HaSiddur, 9:30am
May 22-30: Spring Book Fair
Monday, May 26: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL
May 27-29: Senior Trip to Put-in-Bay
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 It's
Tuesday, May 6
AWAY Baseball Game vs.Madison Christian
5:30pm
Thursday, May 8
AWAY Baseball Game vs. Millersport
5:00pm
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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!
iGive: Do you and your family make a lot of purchases on the internet? Have you registered for iGive? More than 1400 stores are connected through iGive and when registered, a percentage of your purchases will benefit CTA. We have been registered since 2011 and have earned close to $1000. However, we only have 62 registered members. Are you one of them? To get connected, go to http://www.igive.com/HS49PpM and register today!
Labels for Education: Do you collect UPC codes from Labels for Education? We are getting ready to redeem so if you have been saving up, please send in your collection. Collection box is at the front desk. Hopefully, we will be able to buy something awesome!
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NEWS FROM THE LOWER SCHOOL JUDAIC STUDIES DEPART.
By Dror Karavani, Lower School Judaic Studies Coordinator
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 Yom Hashoah Ceremony
On Monday, our Sixth Graders under the guidance of Morah Elana, led CTA's Yom Hashoah ceremony. The Sixth Graders talked about the different stages leading up to and during the Holocaust period through personal diary entries recorded from that time and the students viewed a documentary from Yad Vashem specifically about that. Presentations and discussions happened in the various classrooms. Rabbi Kahn ended the program by talking about this topic and how it relates to our past and future.
 Birkat Ha'elanot
Just before ending the month of Nissan, the students visited our tree garden to once again say the blessing for the trees, Birkat Ha'elanot, thanking G-d for the creation of the world. As in the past, we invite you to join us in enlarging this special space by sponsoring a tree. Sponsorship funds will support educational programs at CTA. If you would like to buy a tree, please contact Dror Karavani at [email protected].
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ON THE UP & UP:
NEWS FROM THE UPPER SCHOOL JUDAIC STUDIES DEPARTMENT
By Rabbi Zecharia Weitz, Upper School Judaic Studies Coordinator |
Scale the Mountain 
Every year we leave the 2nd Seder convinced that this year we will count through Sefira with a beracha. It's not easy to prevent life's daily adventures from derail us. How will we make sure that this year we make all the way to Shavuat?
Our 8th grade girls advocated for the cause. Shortly before Pesach break, our 8th graders put their heads together to devise a multi-pronged attack including:
- Daily texts/App reminders
- Creative charts around the school
- Catchy slides on the front lobby flat screen
- and of course, verbal reminders
 As we all, both individually and as a community, climb our way up Har Sinai, we hope our efforts in enhancing our commitment to this mitzva will serve as a z'chut for all of us.
Table Talk: The mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer (counting the days of the Omer) is understood by many commentaries as a mental build-up and anticipation to re-accept the Torah on Shavuot. That means that we prepare for this one day Yom Tov (two in the Diaspora) - that has no unique mitzvot, dietary laws, etc., for 49 days! Why is the amount of preparation for Shavout so disproportionate to the actual size and complexity of the Yom Tov?
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SAY IT IN HEBREW
By Galit Golan, K-12 Hebrew Language Coordinator |
A few weeks ago you were informed about the commemoration project, remembering2gether, done by the 9th and 10th grade Hebrew classes. The students, under the guidance of Liat, the community Shlicha, and the Hebrew teachers, researched and wrote about fallen Israeli soldiers from our sister city, Kfar Saba.
This week, the students completed their work on these projects, and presented their beautiful posters to the class. These posters will also be presented on Sunday night at the JCC, as part of the display for the Yom Hazikaron ceremony.
During their work on the project, the students have been in touch with the bereaved families, and communicated with them via email and phone. The students also wrote personal letters to the families. Below is the letter that Josh Wolf and Jacob Amedmariam wrote to the Kimelfelf family, who lost their beloved son, David.
Dear Kimelfeld Family,
We just wanted to let you know that we considered it an honor to do an Israeli War Memorial poster about your oldest son, David. Although we never met him, we know that David was a great young man. We understand that it was really hard to lose him in such a big conflict like the War of Attrition. He was young and he left behind so many people who loved him, including his friends and his family. However, other young Jewish men like us will make sure that our brother David will never be forgotten. We have been blessed to learn about some of the brave soldiers who have defended Israel. We have both laughed and cried reading their stories. They are just like us, but on a very special mission that is not only important to every Jew, but to every free person in the world as well. We are fortunate that David had the courage and strength to protect our homeland and for this we thank you and promise that we will never forget David's sacrifice for us and for Israel.
Gratefully,
Josh Wolf and Jacob Amedmariam
Columbus Torah Academy
Grade 10
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| 6TH GRADERS GET READY FOR JUNIOR HIGH |
Before break, the sixth grade was working on a special lab with their teacher, Dr. Kennedy, to build simple machines. The students have had the fortune of being taught science this year from Dr. Kennedy and to venture, each day, to the Upper School science lab. This was great preparation for their transition to Junior High next year. This week, the students were treated to a special presentation by Mrs. Delman, Mrs. Moreno and Rabbi Weitz about some of the new experiences they will have next year. We are so excited to welcome them to the Upper School hallway!
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| THIRD GRADE WAS ALSO WORKING ON SIMPLE MACHINES | |
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| IF IT'S SPRING, IT'S BOOKFAIR! |
And that means summer is just around the corner! As the school year winds down, thoughts of summer come up. This is a great time for children to build on what they know, follow their interests and learn new things. Reading provides one terrific way to do this! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to CTA from May 22 - 30 with a wonderful selection of fun, engaging and affordable books for kids of all ages to read now and over the summer. We'll be open during school with special hours during Achievement Fair so plan to come by to browse, stock up and treat your child to the fun of reading. Sneak-a-Peek at the fair during Spring Fling, too. You can also shop online from May 12 to June 1. Visit our book fair homepage -
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/cta for information about books, hours, online ordering and more.
Proceeds from the book fair help CTA's library grow and stay current giving the boys and girls many more opportunities to enjoy great books! Thank your support and see you at the fair! For more information and to volunteer at the fair contact [email protected].
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| SPRING FLING CORNER! |
Save the Date of Sunday, May 18 to celebrate Lag BaOmer and celebrate CTA at the Spring Fling Family Festival. All activities are at CTA. To volunteer, contact Yiska Weisband or go to
https://docs.google.com/a/torahacademy.org/spreadsheet/viewform?usp=drive_web&formkey=dGk0cVlqeXB1ZXV6aGp6WUV0VUt2V0E6MA#gid=0 to sign up.
Sign up for the second annual Spring Fling Fun Run. Advance registration is $5 per runner and includes a t-shirt. At the door is $10. T-shirts as available. Thank you to Fun Run sponsor, First Bexley Bank.
Spring Fling Family Festival will feature amusement rides, pony rides, a visit from a fire engine, Talent Tent, Kidz Karaoke featuring emcee, Brutus Buckeye, photo booth, PJ Library and more. Watch your dateline, email and Facebook for updates. Thank you to Event Sponsors: Joey & Lindsay Schottenstein, Leonore Zusman and the Stuart and Marilyn Cole Fund of the Columbus Jewish Federation, SuperGames.
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| COLUMBUS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL CORNER |
Have you registered you child, age 8-13 for the CBI Junior. This fun baseball clinic is for our future athletes. Get ready for the real thing by signing up for the clinic at
https://docs.google.com/a/torahacademy.org/forms/d/19SAJt3-653ApgCcKigxNQvHSez9Y5Q4FaQYGjbfSYhs/viewform or with attached form. This special event is designed for Jewish day school students from CTA and CJDS. Volunteers for CBI can contact Robin Garvin to offer their help.
 The Opening Game of CBI will be at the JCC fields on College Avenue. First pitch is on Sunday, May 18 at 7 pm. A Lag BaOmer Bonfire will be held during the opening games. CBI continues through Monday and Tuesday. Go to www.columbusinvitational.com for updated schedule. The Awesome Concession Stand will be open throughout the games.
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| MAZAL TOV TO: |
Aliza and Josh Finegold on the birth of their daughter, Shifra
Meira Zack (Class of '07) who has been selected as a Wexner Graduate
Fellow/Davidson Scholar. Meira will be leaving her job as Assistant Director of
the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA) to attend Fordham
University's School of Social Work. Mazel Tov also to proud parents, Rabbi
Howard and Linda Zack.
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| THANK YOU TO: |
Aryeh and Judith Cohen, Stacy Leeman and Gary Liebesman, Benjamin and Rachel Metz, David and Miriam Portman and Marvin and Debi Szatmary for sponsoring this month's delicious Rosh Chodesh Faculty and Staff Appreciation Lunch.
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| REFUAH SHLAIMA TO: |
Science teacher, Dr. Matthew Kennedy
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| CONDOLENCES TO: |
Anne Shulman and Miriam Cohen (8th Grade Class of '95) on the passing of
sister and mother, Elaine Cohen
Gary Quinn on the passing of his mother, Ruth
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| COLUMBUS PUBLIC BUS RIDERS |
ALL (current and new) Columbus bus riders must fill out an Application for Pupil Transportation for the 2014-2015 school year. You can access this form at CTA's website at www.torahacademy.org. Print the form, fill it out, and return it to Norma Whitmyre by the last day of school, Wednesday, June 11. Transportation cannot be guaranteed without a form.
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| KINGS ISLAND DISCOUNT COUPONS |
Special offers and coupons from Kings Island are available at the front desk. Stop by and get your discounts for the summer!
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| LOWER SCHOOL COMMEMORATES YOM HASHOAH |
 Monday's observance of Holocaust Memorial Day was a teachable moment. While it needs to be age and grade appropriate to expose children to the atrocities of the Holocaust, we must remember. Pictured are 6th grade students in their presentation of readings about the times and 5th grade students lighting memorial candles to remember the 6 million who died. Fourth, fifth and sixth grade attended the ceremony that touched on remembrance, understanding and heroes.
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| PURCHASE AN AD IN THE CTA YEARBOOK |
Do you want to publish your congratulations to the Class of 2014? Wish to get the word out about your business or your organization? Desire to support CTA and its mission? Then advertise in the 2014 CTA yearbook!
2014 YEARBOOK ADVERTISING RATES
Ad prices reflect commitment to advertise by May 16, 2014. After May 16, the price increases by $15 per ad. If you will need an ad to be designed for you, please add a $20 prep fee to each price.
Full page Plus (7.5 x 10 inches) - $215 - Receive a copy of the full-color 2014 CTA Yearbook!
Full page (7.5 x 10 inches) - $125
1/2 page (7.5 x 5 inches) - $95
1/4 page (3.75 x 5 inches) - $65
1/8 page (3.75 x 2.5 inches) - $35
We appreciate your support! Please email Yearbook Adviser Amy Neiwirth -[email protected] - to obtain an advertising contract if you are interested in purchasing an ad. Space is limited in our yearbook so don't delay!
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| COMMUNITY NEWS |
YOM HAZIKARON CEREMONY: Sunday, May 4, 7:00 p.m. at the JCC, 1125 College Ave. Yom HaZikaron is Israel's Memorial Day, remembering those who have given their lives defending our Jewish State. Our nation, as a whole, shares this collective grief. The memory of our brave soldiers is cherished by Am Yisrael, all over the world. This year we will share stories of deep friendships, comradeship, during battle and remember soldiers who gave their lives while assisting and saving their fellow-soldiers. We hope you can join us for this important event.
2014 ISRAELFEST: Tuesday, May 6, 4:30- 8:00 p.m. Volunteers are needed at the JCC on College Ave. There are many opportunities to help out: crowd control, helping with activity tables, registration, set up, clean up, food service, and other jobs. Please email Shelly Igdaloff at [email protected] if you can help out. The Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration is one of the most well-attended in the Jewish community every year (usually hosting over 1,000 attendees), and is the only annual Jewish community event in Columbus that involves every Jewish agency in its planning and participation. This year's theme is all about the colors of Israel: the green uniform of the IDF, the blue Kineret, the golden city of Jerusalem, the white Mount Hermon and the Jaffa oranges. Are all part one of big celebration bringing the colors of Israel to life.
SUMMER READING SKILLS PROGRAMS are being offered by Miami University in Columbus at Ohio Dominican University and in Westerville at Otterbein University for incoming Kindergarteners through 11th graders. Flyers can be picked up at the front desk or for more information or to register call 1-800-570-8936.
JCC SUMMER CAMPS: It's not too late to join the SUMMER FUN! Flexible Day Camp programs are available for 2 year-olds through 9th grade: Sports, Art, Music, Judaics, Science and Performing Arts. Register on-line at www.columbusjcc.org and receive $75 off the late fee.
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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:
Dr. & Mrs. Joel Gorfinkel in memory of Frances Tanenbaum Flamholz
Bob and Marcia Hershfield in memory of Fran Flamholz
The Blumenfeld family wishing a refuah shlaima to Dr. Kennedy
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| MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH AT THE JCC | |
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| SAVE $75 OFF JCC CAMP REGISTRATION | |
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1. Which male descendants of Aharon are exempt from the prohibition against coming into contact with a dead body?
a. Challalim - those disqualified from the priesthood because they are descended from a relationship forbidden to a kohen.
2. Does a kohen have an option regarding becoming tamei (ritually impure) defiled when his unmarried sister passes away?
a. No, he is required to do so.
3. How does one honor a kohen?
a. He is first in all matters of holiness. For example, a kohen reads from the Torah first, and is usually the one to lead the blessings before and after meals.
4. How does the Torah restrict the Kohen Gadol with regard to mourning?
a. He may not allow his hair to grow long, nor attend to his close relatives if they die, nor accompany a funeral procession.
5. The Torah states in verse 22:3 that one who "approaches holy objects" while in a state of tumah (impurity) is penalized with "karet." What does the Torah mean by "approaches?"
a. Eats.
6. Who in the household of a kohen may eat terumah?
a. The kohen, his wife, his sons, and his unmarried daughters.
7. If the daughter of a kohen marries a "zar" she may no longer eat terumah. What is a zar?
a. A non-kohen.
8. What is the difference between a neder and a nedavah?
a. A neder is an obligation upon a person; a nedavah is an obligation placed upon an object.
(Parsha Emor 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 23, Verse 15. 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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