The Columbus Torah Academy
181 Noe Bixby Rd, Columbus OH 43213
614.864.0299

January 23, 2015

        3 Shevat  5775

Bo
  Candlelighting 5:22 p.m.
This Week on E-Dateline
Dvar Torah by Elana Katz
Preview of the Week
Dates to Remember
Sports
Scrip Update
Give & Get
Mazal Tov To
Thank You To
Condolences To
7th Grade to Present "All About That Bard"
Varsity Boys Basketball-Two Good To Believe
1st Grade Engineering
The Power of Good Dental Hygiene
News from the Lower School Judaic Studies Department
News from the Upper School Judaic Studies Department
Free Popcorn!
Upper School Judaic Receives Grant
CTA PTO
Parent Directory
Grandparents & Special Person's Day
Illustrators, Jeanette & Christoper Canyon to Visit CTA
4th Grade Night at the Games
Musical Evening with Arkadiy Gips
Community News
Advertise in Dateline
Parshat Bo Quiz
A Riddle From Israel
Join Our Mailing List
DVAR TORAH
By Elana Katz

Parshat Bo opens with one of the most crucial obligations of our nation:  

 

"Hashem said to Moshe: Come to Pharoah, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order that I may place My signs in their midst. And in order that you tell in the ears of your son and your son's son how I made a mockery in Egypt, and My signs that I placed in them, and you will all know that I am the Lord." (Chapter 10: Verses 1-2)

 

Here, Hashem teaches Moshe the collective goal of all the plagues: "in order that you should tell in the ears of your son and your son's son." Hashem clearly states that the goal of these plagues was to make such an impact that one would be inspired to pass on these stories to their children and grandchildren.

 

The importance of educating and passing on to our children was already established in connection with Avraham. Upon examining our forefathers, one could ask: Why is Avraham considered our first forefather and not Yaakov? Avraham was the father to many nations, while Yaakov was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Why was Avraham singled out as the father of Judaism? The answer can be found in Bereishis: Chapter 18: Verse 19:

 

"For I know him- that he commands his sons and his household after him, that they should keep the ways of Hashem to perform righteousness and justice..."

 

According to Hashem's words, Avraham was singled out and chosen by Hashem because Hashem knew that Avraham would continue to pass on Hashem's teachings and educate His children. A Torah education is the foundation of our religion and the characteristic by which Avraham merited to become the first of our forefathers.

 

Parshat Bo contains the last three plagues and the exodus from Egypt. Yet, as specified by the Torah, the message of the plagues is not the awesome experience and the amazing miracles. The legacy of the plagues is that they would inspire parents to educate their children and pass on this tradition. Starting with Avraham, the Torah stresses that the survival of our nation is dependent on educating our children and passing on our traditions and values. It is not enough for us to witness and recall memories or to speak about Jewish history. It is not enough for us to attend a synagogue and support the land of Israel. It is not enough for us to simply appreciate Hashem's mercy and glory, for if we are not inspired to pass it on to the next generation, then we are not meeting the expectations required of us. The goal of the ten plagues was not to impress us with Hashem's awesome might. The ten plagues were meant to inspire us to want to educate our children, to be prepared to make sacrifices for this education, and to be committed to ensuring that future generations educate their children.  Shabbat Shalom! 

PREVIEW OF THE WEEK 
Monday, January 26: Pizza Bagels
Kindergarten Preview Day
Tuesday, January 27: Tacos-Volunteer: D. Hellman
Wednesday, January 28: Pizza-Volunteer: L. Polster
Thursday, January 29: Meatball Subs
7th Grade Shakespeare Performance, 7:30pm, JCC
Friday, January 30: Tuna-Volunteer: K. Abelman
DATES TO REMEMBER 

Thursday, February 5: Kindergarten Siyum Chumash Bereshit, 1:30pm

Friday, February 6: Grandparents & Special Person's Day, 12:30-2pm

SPORTS

It's Basketball Season!

 

Monday, January 26

HOME Game vs. Gahanna Christian

Varsity Boys, 7:30 pm

 

AWAY Games vs. Polaris Christian

Middle School Girls, 5:00 pm

Middle School Boys, 6:15 p

 

Tuesday, January 21

HOME Games vs. Liberty Christian

Varsity Girls, 5:30 pm

Varsity Boys, 7:00 p.m.

SCRIP UPDATE - PLACES TO PURCHASE SCRIP
CTA Scrip Office, 864-0299 ext. 212
Monday-Thursday:  7:30am-4pm
Friday:  7:30am-2pm

There are limited quantities of gift cards in stock that can be purchased! Below is a list of what we have on-hand and in what denominations. Email your order request to: [email protected].  We are still able to place special orders, just email or call in your specifics. We will give you an approximate expectation for the order to arrive.

   

GIVE & GET 

Looking to help raise money for CTA?  Here are a few ways to do it that will cost you NOTHING:

 

Kroger Rewards Card:  Go to www.kroger.com/communityrewards and register your rewards card.  Kroger will donated up to 1% of your Kroger or Turkey Hill stores.  

OFFICE MAX:  Do you shop at Office Max?  Help CTA earn money off of your purchases by using our Max Perks card number during your purchase.  The number is:  207285005 

Target RED Card: Go to https://rcam.target.com/ to manage your red card and enroll your card in the Take Charge of Education program to choose CTA.  Target will donate up to 1% of your REDcard purchases at Target stores in the U.S and at Target.com. 

Amazon Smile:  Go to smile.amazon.com and register to benefit CTA.  When you make a purchase, CTA will receive 1% of that purchase as a donation to our school.  Always shop through smile.amazon.com to benefit CTA. 

iGive:  Register with iGive at www.igive.com and your Amazon purchases and online purchases at close to 1500 retailers will give a kickback to CTA.  To date we have raised over $1000.  

Apples for Students at Giant Eagle:  If you are a Giant Eagle shopper, go to www.GiantEagle.com/AFTS to register for their donation program.  You will need your Giant Eagle Advantage Card number and the CTA School Code which is #4389. 

 

If you have trouble with any of these, contact Shari or come visit her in her office and she will walk you through it!

MAZAL TOV TO:

Eli Cieplinski and Dina Vinar (8th Grade Class of '91) on Julia's Bat

   Mitzvah

Rebecca (Weisfogel) Fink (Class of '02) on the birth of a daughter and to

   grandparents David and Rochell Weisfogel

THANK YOU TO:

Gil and Shirly Benatar, Michael and Sarah Blumenfeld, Jaime Goodman and Bernie Schubach, Lawrence and Edie Needleman, and Norman and Suzanne Schneiderman for sponsoring this month's delicious Faculty and Staff Rosh Chodesh Lunch.   

CONDOLENCES TO:

Claire (Winiarz) Subar, Joseph Winiarz (8th Grade Class of '73), Mordechai (Winiarz) Gafni (8th Grade Class of '74),  and the Winiarz family on the loss of  son, brother, husband, father and grandfather Rabbi Dovid Winiarz (8th Grade Class of '80) 

7TH GRADE TO PRESENT "ALL ABOUT THAT BARD" 

 

Next Thursday, January 29, the 7th grade will present "All About That Bard", a compilation of dramatic scenes from Shakespeare ranging from Hamlet to A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The production is a culmination of the annual 7th grade Shakespeare Festival.  The play will be presented at 7:30 pm at the Jewish Community Center on College Avenue and is appropriate for all ages.

 

The annual Shakespeare Festival is an opportunity for the seventh graders to spend two weeks totally immersed in the theater experience.  Shakespeare and the Renaissance is a central part of the seventh grade Language Arts and Social Studies curriculum at Columbus Torah Academy.  The Festival is about learning about the overall theater experience and having the opportunity to participate in the preparations and process of collaborating on a performance. The students gain an appreciation for authentic Shakespearean costumes which they wear during the show.  The production encompasses both the serious and the comical elements of Shakespeare's works.

 

The Shakespeare Festival is embraced by the entire Lower School curriculum as students in grades K-6 are exposed to Shakespeare and the theater in their classes as well as some will be seeing a performance of the play next Friday.

 

The Shakespeare Festival is directed by Sage Moreno, CTA 7th Grade Teacher and Artist-in-Residence, Angela Barch.  7th grade students are selling tickets to the performance which are available for $5 per person or $18 for Silver and $36 for Gold Patrons, contact [email protected] or 864-0299.

VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL-TWO GOOD TO BELIEVE
Submitted by Steve Guinan
2Good2Believe
2Good2Believe

 

 

This week's CTA cager's historic back to back wins are one for the books.  There were no trophies awarded. No confetti machines deployed. No appearances on David Letterman. And no championships won.  But no one will forget: they played like champions.

 

The varsity boys' basketball team began the week with an incredible comeback win against FCI, capped off by senior Avi Kahn's game winning 3-pointer as time ran out.

 

See a short clip of game shot highlights here or click on image at top of article. http://youtu.be/eDJd8c3HwWM

 

Three days later, they did it again.

 

This time sophomore Ioni Wolfson took the honors, nailing the game winning 3 pointer with 3 seconds left, giving CTA the win.

 

"There's definitely something in the air," said Athletic Director Matt Bailey, who called the Saturday win the best game he's seen in 11 years at CTA.

 

Prior to Kahn's game winner, the last time CTA won at the buzzer was 2006. Ioni Wofson and the CTA boys didn't want to wait another 8 years.

 

In the Saturday night game, Kahn's clutch 3 broke a 44-44 tie following a steady comeback by the Lions who erased a 16-point first-half deficit. The capacity crowd stormed the court. In Tuesday's game, on the other hand, the Lions gave up a sizable lead only to have Wolfson knock down the shot after a feed from senior David Polster.

 

The wins mark a new beginning for the team that had struggled in the first half of the season.

 

This weekend the boys hope to continue to play like champions at the Maimonides Invitational in Boston, the first time CTA has ventured to "Beantown" for the tournament. Be sure to tune in this weekend at http://www.maimohoops.org/live/.
1ST GRADE ENGINEERING

Miss Tanenbaum and the first graders recently completed their 2-week unit on chemical engineering!  One of the activities in this unit includes the first graders work on improving a play dough process.  With flour, salt, and water all over the place, the first graders figured out how to change low quality play dough to high quality play dough.

THE POWER OF GOOD DENTAL HYGIENE 
Students in grades 1st through 4th grade welcomed Dr. Cheryl Golden, a local orthodontist, to their classrooms last week.  Dr. Golden helped the students understand how to keep a healthy mouth, including the proper brushing techniques.  She even brought goodie bags for each student that included a new toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss.
NEWS FROM THE LOWER SCHOOL JUDAIC STUDIES DEPARTMENT
By Dror Karavani, Lower School Judaic Studies Coordinator

Dror-new

On Wednesday we welcomed Rosh Chodesh Shevat in our school with a special B'yachad Tefillah for students from second to fifth grades. The tefillah was very moving and we all sang Hallel together. There were smiles on the faces of the students when they received their healthy treats and the Rosh Chodesh stickers from their friends in Kfar Saba.


 

 


 

To celebrate the beautiful bentching which takes place daily at CTA, we honored our "Benchers of the Month" for Chodesh Shevat.  Yasher Koach goes to Rebekah Klynn, Dovia Deitsch, Rachel Bornstein and Rebekkah Cieplinski.

NEWS FROM THE UPPER SCHOOL JUDAIC STUDIES DEPARTMENT
By Rabbi Zecharia Weitz, Upper School Judaic Studies Coordinator
Weitz

How About That!

If you pay attention, modern research often comes out with "discoveries" that actually have been part of Jewish Tradition from time immemorial.  It's of no surprise that this is especially true for education (we are "The People of the Book" after all).  Below is a link to an interesting case in point that I recently read.  The article outlines innovative alternatives to standard, "Round Robin" reading.  Here are a few highlights that are refreshingly familiar:

 

Choral Reading, where the teacher and class read aloud together, is found to enhance decoding and fluency. This style has been a hallmark of elementary Jewish Education for ages.

 

Similarly, Echo Reading, where teacher reads and the students repeat, is the way our Bubbies and Zaidies learned in the Shtettles.

 

Partner Reading, where students pair-up and take turns reading, is the Chavruta style learning that has been the hallmark of Yeshivot for millenia.

 

For more examples, the rest of the article can be found here:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/alternatives-to-round-robin-reading-toddfinley?utm_source-SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign-010715%20enews%20bigideas%20ngm%20remainder&utm_content=&utm

_term=blog2&spMailingID=10324983&spUserID=MTA4MjEwNDAzMzcxS0

&spJobID=460546501&spReportId=NDYwNTQ2NTAxS0 

 

Pictured are Yehuda Rosenberg and Ioni Wolfson learning "b'chavruta."


 


 


 


 


 

Food for Thought:  An almost haunting imagery is painted by Makot Bechorot (Plague of the Firstborn). What especially lingers in my imagination is the "great, unparalleled cry" that was heard throughout Egypt. What was this cry? Whose cry was it and what does it symbolize?

FREE POPCORN!


 
Another great week!  Pictures from 3rd and 1st grade nights.  Did you have a good time at "Grade Night at the Games"?  If yes, you are eligible to come back for another game and get a FREE box of popcorn at any home game this season.  Don't miss the fun at another game!

UPPER SCHOOL JUDAIC RECEIVES GRANT

Congratulations to Rabbi Weitz on receiving a grant for our school from the JEIC (Jewish Education Innovation Challenge).  The funding is for seed money to help us implement the Jewish Affect Curriculum - a supplemental curriculum for high schools that highlights Torah values in the affective domain by providing students with hands on activities and meaningful Jewish experiences that bring Torah to life.  Receipt of the seed grant enters us into the next phase of the Challenge where we can win up to $50,000.  Look for more information about our progress.

CTA PTO

COMING SOON!!  Watch out next week for your Miss Chocolate Order Forms to come home with your child. Start thinking about all of your sales last year and get ready to take your orders! We look forward to making this the best year yet to raise money for our amazing school...CTA!!

PARENT DIRECTORY 

Please make the following change in your copy of the Parent Directory:

   Yuriy Shevkin and Alina Galbmillion: phone: 522-1848 

GRANDPARENTS & SPECIAL PERSON'S DAY


 

ILLUSTRATORS, JEANETTE & CHRISTOPHER CANYON TO VISIT CTA

 

Children's book illustrator Christopher Canyon's artistic approach is perfect for the mood and tone of the books he creates. He captures that "just right visual voice" to bring his more than a dozen books to life for children.  During library we discussed how his illustrations in John Denver's Grandma's Feather Bed and Take Me Home Country Roads help create a lively and playful mood.  We also notice that the beautiful illustrations in Stickeen: John Muir and The Brave Little Dog were very different. In the story, about the famous naturalist's encounter with a huge Alaskan glacier, there's lots of rich detail and a more somber mood.  Through the stunning pictures and cumulative verse in The Tree in the Ancient Forest we learn about the plants and animals living around a single fir tree.

          

Jeanette Canyon uses relief sculptures made from polymer clay to create richly colorful and textural illustrations. Children are delighted by her beautiful and imaginative artwork.  Over in the Jungle takes us to a rainforest where we meet mother animals and their babies like spider monkeys, poison dart frogs, parrots, boas and sloths.  In Over in the Ocean a coral reef is home to sea life like clownfish, pufferfish, needle fish and sea horses.  Her third book, City Beats, gives us a bird's eye view of a busy city.

      

On Feb. 3 CTA's Lower School boys and girls will meet both illustrators!  The illustrators hope to inspire children to explore their own creativity as they share their experiences and artistic process.  This promises to be a wonderful day for everyone!

 

Consider a lasting memory of the day!  Several of the illustrators' books are available for purchase.  Books will be personalized, autographed and delivered to the children.  If you would like to purchase book(s) look for ordering information coming via e-mail and at the front desk. Questions?  Contact Cheryl Miller at [email protected]

 

To learn more about The Canyons, go to www.jeanetteandchristophercanyon.com.

4TH GRADE NIGHT AT THE GAMES

 
 

MUSICAL EVENING WITH ARKADIY GIPS

  
 

COMMUNITY NEWS

Columbus Conference for Jewish Women:  Sunday, February 8 from 9:15 am - 1:45 pm at Franklin Park Conservatory (FPC).  A day of engagement, education and introspection for women of across the community.  With the theme, "What Can I Say, What Can I Do?" addressing the high and low moments that we face as individuals and as a community.   

To register, go to http://thekollel.givezooks.com/events/columbus-conference-for-jewish-women-2015 or 237-7133.

 

PJ Library Community Day:  Sunday, February 8 from 10 am- 12 pm at Franklin Park Conservatory (FPC).  This event is perfect for families with children ages 1- 8 years old and includes Tu B'Shevat activities.  Cost is FREE for children and $13 for adults.  FPC members are free.  For more info, contact [email protected].

ADVERTISE IN DATELINE

By demand, the E-Dateline will now be offering advertising space in its weekly newsletter.  Space is limited and rates are weekly as follows:

 

Weekly Dateline Sponsorship $150 (includes tribute line at top of newsletter)

 

Full Weekly E-Dateline Sponsorship:  $150 - Name at top

Full Size Submission:  $75 - size is 780 x 432 pixels/10 x 6"

Half Size Submission:  $50 - size is 390x 216 pixels/5.4 x 3"

1/3 Size Submission:  $30 - size is 260 x 144 pixels/3.6 x 2"

 

Rates are weekly and all submissions must be received by Wednesday at noon.  At this time advertising is only available in the e-Dateline, not paper version.  Advertising submissions are subject to content review. Contact [email protected] for more information. 

PARSHAT BO QUIZ

1.    What was Pharaoh's excuse for not releasing the Jewish children?

       a. Since children don't bring sacrifices there was no need for them to go.

 

2.    How did the locusts in the time of Moshe differ from those in the days of Yoel?

      a. The plague brought by Moshe was composed of one species of locust, whereas the plague in the days of Yoel was composed of many species.

 

3.    How did the first three days of darkness differ from the last three?

      a. During the first three days the Egyptians couldn't see. During the last three days they couldn't move.

 

4.    When the Jews asked the Egyptians for gold and silver vessels, the Egyptians were unable to deny ownership of such vessels. Why?

       a. During the plague of darkness the Jews could see and they searched for and found the Egytians' vessels. 

 

5.    Makat bechorot took place at exactly midnight. Why did Moshe say it would take place at approximately midnight?

      a.  If Moshe said the plague would begin exactly at midnight, the Egyptians might miscalculate and accuse Moshe of being a fake.

 

6.   Why did the first-born of the animals die?

      a.  Because the Egyptians worshipped them as gods, and when G-d punishes a nation He also punishes its gods.

 

7.    How did Moshe show respect to Pharaoh when he warned him about the aftermath of the plague of the first-born?

      a.  Moshe warned that "All these servants of yours will come down to me" when, in fact, it was Pharaoh himself who actually came running to Moshe.

 

8.    G-d told Moshe "so that My wonders will be multiplied" (11:9). What three wonders was G-d referring to

      a.  The plague of the first-born, the splitting of the sea, the drowning of the Egyptian soldiers.

  

(Parsha Bo Quiz originally appeared on the 

Ohr Somayach  website, www.ohr.edu)

A RIDDLE FROM ISRAEL

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 10, Verse 1.  You will find the answer there.

 


 


 


 

This week's riddle winner: Yona Liebesman

 

Moreh Dror Karavani will collect all of the submitted answers, put them into a box, and save them for the big raffle! You will hear more about this very soon. Keep your answers coming.

I hope you enjoy the electronic version of our Dateline. Please check out our website at www.torahacademy.org.