mds messenger november 30, 2012

Candle Lighting Time - 4:11 PM

Volume 12, Issue 8 November 30, 2012 פרשת וישלח

בס"ד

Let’s Have a Parade! By Aviva Yablok, Early Childhood Department Director, [email protected]; Pictures taken by Early Childhood Department Teachers

The Manhattan Day School Annual Early Childhood Thanksgiving Parade took

place this year on Wednesday, November 21st. The air was cool, the sun was out, and the

day was perfect. As usual, our parade route was lined with parents, grandparents, devoted

caregivers, friends, and even some pets. The parade was led by the Kindergarten classes

who held the banner and pushed their turkey float. They were followed by the Nursery

Four classes, then the Nursery 1 and 3 classes and the Toddlers (who walk a little slower).

The procession continued and brought the parade back around the corner to the front doors

of MDS. There was music, costumes and a brightly colored balloon for each child. The day

continued with Thanksgiving feasts for all our classes. Each class prepared a delicious

Thanksgiving specialty food and shared their meal with another class. It was a memorable

day on the Early Childhood calendar. Now we’re looking forward to Chanukah!



Celebrating Thanksgiving Pictures taken by Early Childhood Department Teachers; Poems submitted by Eileen Dahan, [email protected]

Thanksgiving 2012 By Jonathan Haberman, 6B

“We’re finally here,” I said.

we’re at my aunt’s house

we walk inside

greeted by our cousins

aunts and uncles.

My brother and I race down to the basement

and we say, “I call first game of ping

pong.”

He beat me 11 to 9

Oh!

how sad, I thought

I’ll beat him next time

I have no doubt.

We went upstairs

a big meal awaited us

right in the middle of the table

A big

Juicy

turkey.

I took a big drumstick

but when I sat down to eat

I realized that my “eyes were hungrier then my

stomach.”

Later on we had to go

Oh!

how sad I thought

Best Thanksgiving year ever

Without a doubt

When I Look Out the Window By Rose Adelman, 6G

When I look out the window I see

Cars

Cars and trucks,

Traffic

It smells like gasoline

Like Cheerios

Like soda.

The only sounds are

Vroom, Honk, Screech, Vroom

Erev Thanksgiving traffic.



What Is Your Favorite Thanksgiving Memory? Pictures taken by Early Childhood Department Teachers; Poems submitted by Eileen Dahan, [email protected]

Thanksgiving Weekend By Lior Saada, 6B

Thanksgiving

A taste of a short delightful vacation

with your family

cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandfather

all chatting, joking, eating and watching T.V.

tasting delicious meatloaf

swallowing American sweet potatoes and

marshmallows

and eating fresh, amazing pumpkin pie

A windy, bright sunny day

walking with my grandfather and cousins

talking, eating pizza

I’m alone

without siblings or parents bossing me about

eating pizza

a good Shabbat

eating salads, Tunisian meatballs and more

Now it’s over

my grandfather left

back to school

but I’ll still have good memories

and maybe next year’s Thanksgiving will be an

even better

cheerful memory!

Snow on Thanksgiving Weekend By Cayla Muschel, 6G

I run, run, run to the island of grass.

All around me, white, white, white.

Twirling, twirling through softness.

Barrels of snow, falling out of the sky.

People running toward me on that island of

grass,

Arms spread wide to catch flakes falling.

The fresh, cold taste of winter on my tongue.

Feeling falling white

forming a tiara on my head

crystals on my gloves.

Snow wanting to weave a blanket over the rock

-hard ground.

Listening to wind crashing against my ears

As I run and twirl.

Smelling the freshness of snow.

Watching, watching.

Snowflakes swirling around me.



What I Am Thankful For... Pictures taken by Early Childhood Department Teachers; Poems submitted by Eileen Dahan, [email protected]

What I Am Thankful For By Suzi Dweck, 6G

For music

filling the world with sound.

Happy music or sad

giving your day something to be excited about

saying something,

for every action you do.

Thankfulness

For the summer

A break

from work

A clear blue sky

Nothing to worry about

A hot day

I can dive into a pool

and feel refreshed

Thankfulness

For spring,

not too hot

not too cold,

the perfect day

To run around

Deep pink flowers hanging from a tree

about to bloom

Colors peeking out around the corner

About to open from their hiding places

To be free

and open to see the world

America By Loren Elmann, 6G

the food

the shelter

the clothes

the independence

America

The place where I live

It holds my freedom

I am thankful for America



Thank You, NYPD!



MDS Cares for Long Beach

As we con-

tinue our efforts to

help those impacted

by Hurricane Sandy,

MDS has focused its

resources and ener-

gies in helping the

Jewish community of

Long Beach. Fol-

lowing an assembly

this morning, each

student has received

a Tzedaka box to

help the effort. In

addition to the funds

the children collect in

the boxes, you also

have one last opportunity to be one of the sponsors of tomorrow night’s Chanukah Boutique. 25% of all Chanukah Boutique spon-

sorship dollars will be allocated directly to help Long Beach.



Sending Our Love to Israel By Havi Pesso, [email protected]

Last week, our students in our fourth grade Lashon classes wrote letters to children in Israel. These children have been in

danger from rockets that have been fired from Gaza. We sent our letters to a school in Ashkelon, and we hope the children will enjoy

reading them and perhaps even write back to us. Here are some of the beautiful letters that our children wrote:



Chanukah Boutique, 12/1



How Are Talmudic Coins Relevant Today? By Rabbi Yehoshua Polter, [email protected]

What do Pruta, Issur, Dinar, and Shekel have in common? That’s right;

they are coins, mentioned in the Gemara, used many years ago. They are also

used in Rabbi Polter’s fourth grade boys class. The boys get recognized for

participating in class by reading, following along, asking questions, and giving

insights and answers. This “Token Economy” has had such an impact that the

learning proceeds with such excitement! There are times when some boys are

so enthusiastic that they write their insights on paper and show it to Rabbi Polter

after class – or at lunch.

Recently, after learning the dinim of Asher Yatzar, we had a 10 day

campaign to say Asher Yatzar at home. The results were amazing! Letters

came from home from proud parents, and boys were stopping me in the hallway

for me to answer to their bracha! What a Kiddush Hashem! It is amazing what

a few Prutot as an incentive can do. All in all, the boys learn with such excite-

ment it’s wonderful to watch and be a part of. Keep bringing that “money” in!



Earth Science Adventures By Krishan Khanna, [email protected]

Sixth graders are learning

Earth Science. They have begun

exploring the geology of the earth.

Students were introduced to miner-

als, such as the basic earth materials

that compose rocks. They observed,

described, and recorded properties

of different minerals and used the

scratch test to determine the relative

hardness.

Students identified the

characteristic property of the miner-

al calcite and determined that the

mineral bubbles when placed in

hydrochloric acid. They also en-

joyed observing different kind of

luster in the rocks. They had a great

time exploring the property of

cleavage or fracture.

The sixth graders also

learned the three different catego-

ries of rocks: igneous, metamorphic,

and sedimentary. They also did an

excellent job exploring rock cycles.

The students are now ready to explore earth’s atmosphere. They are very curious to find out what causes the different types

of weather to occur. This is especially significant in light of the devastation that powerful storms like Sandy can cause. It is im-

portant to understand what causes such severe weather and to be able to predict when and where these storms will occur. Stay tuned

for our next publications to find more.

How Many Passengers Can Fit in Your Boat? By Krishan Khanna, [email protected]

Students in Room 401 are learning how to design and control

experiments. They are exploring variables that can affect the result of

the experiments. In our recent science class, the students were divided

into three groups. Each group was given a 30cm X 30cm aluminum

foil to make a boat. They were asked to test their boat by loading pen-

ny passengers. The challenge was to see which boat from which group

could carry the most passengers before it sinks.

It was nice to see the students working so hard to make their

boats. They were consulting their partners to explore different ways to

improve the design of their boats. It was good to see them being inno-

vative by asking for additional material like tape to seal the edges of

the boat so that water does not enter from the gaps.

Finally, we had our results. It was a pleasure to watch them

analyze what happened and reach the conclusion that the bigger the

size of boat, the more passengers it can carry. Further, they also fig-

ured out that the placement of passengers at different locations in the

boat also matters, ensuring that boat carry more passengers without

sinking. The students are ready to explore new scientific concepts.

Keep looking for their amazing work.



Around the World in Second Grade By Julienne Dweck, [email protected]

This song “Manhattan” helps students understand where Manhattan is in the

bigger picture of the world, going from small to big.

Manhattan

Our School’s in the borough of Manhattan / Which is in the city of New York

Which is in the state of New York too / In the country of the USA

In the continent of North America / In the Northern Hemisphere

Of our Planet Earth / Our school’s in the borough of Manhattan!

We have just introduced “The Fifty States That Rhyme”. Before you

know it, the second graders will be able to recite all fifty states!

The 50 States That Rhyme Song

Alabama, and Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas

California, Colorado, Co-nnecticut and more

Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...35 to go...

Kansas, and Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine

Maryland, Massachusetts and good old Michigan

Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana

Nebraska's 27, number 28's Nevada

Next, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, and way down, New Mexico

There's New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio

Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, now let's see

Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee

Texas and there's Utah, Vermont, I'm almost through

Virginia and there's Washington, and West Virginia, too

Could Wisconsin be the last state or is it just 49?

No, Wyoming is the last state in The 50 States That Rhyme!

The second graders are learning all about geography through

maps and song! They have already memorized their seven

continents and know exactly where to place them on a blank

map. Next up, oceans!

Continents and Oceans

Let’s learn the seven continents



And then we’ll know them all.

North America, South America,

Europe, Africa, Asia,

Australia and Antarctica

And now we know them all.

Let’s learn the major oceans



And then we’ll know them all.

Atlantic and the Pacific,

Indian and the Arctic,

Last is the Southern Ocean

And now we know them all.



How Did B’nei Yisrael Travel in the Desert? By Students in 6G

This week, Mrs. Federgrun’s 6th Grade girls made models of the way the shvatim camped as described in Bamidbar. We

each designed our own models and we all worked really hard on them. We made models of the tents of the shvatim, the camp of the

Levi'im, and the Mishkan. We also labeled the directions for everything. Even though we all had to display the same thing, we all

used different materials to portray the machanot. We all had a very fun time presenting our projects! Mrs. Federgrun is so proud of

the girls’ creativity and accuracy! The projects are on display in the lobby; please come check them out!



Mi Chadash b’MDS? Rabbi Avi Genack! By Messenger Staff

Each week the Messenger introduces you to a new teacher who is infusing

our school with additional energy. This week, we introduce Rabbi Avi Genack:

O.K. where am I from? I grew up right here on the Upper West Side,

straight until I journeyed off to Israel to study Torah. While there I fell in love with

Torah study. Somewhere towards the end of my first year there, I began to toy with

the idea of making it a life-long pursuit. As I watched my rebbeim and saw their

joy in torah and joy in life, I told myself that I must try to tap into that. And so, I

stayed in Israel for nine more years and... tapped into it.

After five years there I met my wife, Yael. We now live in Monsey to-

gether with our children Simcha (8), Shoshana Sofia Rose ( no, it's not Sophia;

she’s named Sofia because she was born on the sofa in our home in Israel) (6),

Michal (4) and Tehilla - today is her second birthday. Happy birthday Tehilla!

Why M.D.S. you ask? M.D.S was a no brainer, what else could I want

than to come back to my roots, the Upper West SIde and to fulfill my passion,

teaching torah to the greatest students. On top of all that, Rabbi Besser is very sup-

portive of teachers’ ideas and encourages innovation. This is phenomenal, for it

not only nurtures innovation, but it allows the teachers to become part of the M.D.S

family. As they contributetheir own ideas and programs and creativity, they be-

come part of school.

What do I teach? I teach sixth grade gemara and navi (boys), seventh

grade chumash (boys), eighth grade navi (to boys and to girls), and eighth grade

dinim (girls).

In my spare time? You mean what’s called personal time… I think I’ll

keep that to myself. Just kidding… I sort of gave it away already; I love learning

and writing. My most relaxing time of the week is Shabbos. After I daven at the

early minyan in my neighborhood, the minyan goes across the street to Kiddush, warm overnight kugel is served, along with home-

made cake, and beverages. Next you go back to shul, you make a coffee, and you sit there with the gemara that you have been wait-

ing to study all week. Heaven!

I love spending time with my wife and kids and reading to them until we all fall asleep. Another thing I have recently picked

up, and am really enjoying is speaking about learning with my students on the phone. This is a special time, when the learning leaves

the class room, and you can give all your attention to each other.

Thanks for the interview it was a pleasure, and it is a pleasure to be part of this wonderful family - a.k.a M.D.S!

See Our Machanot Projects in the Lobby! By Messenger Staff



Our Trip to the New York Transit Museum! By Shoshana Horowitz, 3A

The third graders went on a trip to visit the New York Transit Museum. We took a bus and drove to Brooklyn. When we got

there, we took one look at the entrance and started complaining because it looked like a subway entrance. We were not in the mood to

go on a subway. We thought it would be a regular building. Once we were inside and started our tour, we were amazed. We got to

see and sit in one of the oldest subway trains. Some of the trains were over 100 years old! The seats in many of the old trains were

made of bamboo. Our guide told us that women’s stockings would rip often because of the bamboo. It was so cool to notice how

each train became more modern. There was a train called the money train. It was used for storing the money that they made from

selling tokens. Tokens were used years ago before the Metrocard. What I liked most was using the old turnstiles and comparing them

to the ones we use today. Thank you Ms. Glatzer for arranging this trip!



The Buzz on Books: Exploring Marine Life By Michele Lyons, Librarian, [email protected]

Something was “fishy” in the

library this week and that’s because

we were sharing nonfiction books

about the ocean and marine life. Al-

most all of these books are brand new

additions to the MDS Library that

were acquired during a summertime

visit to the Brooklyn Aquarium

Bookstore.

Our three-year-old Nursery

classes enjoyed two great new books.

One Lonely Sea Horse by Saxton

Freymann opens with one lonely sea-

horse in the cold and salty sea. Before

long his fishy pals in twos, in threes –

in groups up to ten—stop by to cheer him up. What’s spectacular about this book is the art! Joost Elffers creates an underwater “feast

for the eyes” with brilliant banana octopi, angelfish peppers, and simply incredible fruit and vegetable sculptures. Our students were

mesmerized! In Fish Faces by Norbert Wu, close-up photos of fish faces introduce young readers to some of the world’s most

strangely-shaped and brightly-colored ocean dwellers. Our four-year-old Nursery and Kindergarten classes explored My Life in the

Wild: Penguin by Meredith Costain. The evocative narrative in this book weaves a story around the life cycle of a young penguin as

it grows from egg to adult. Stunning illustrations focus on the details of its everyday life: from the secure comfort of the family group

to the daily dangers of life in the Antarctic. Our students went wild over this selection!

The cover of Ocean Picture Pops by Roger Priddy boasts “Amazing photo pop-ups like you’ve never seen before!” Our first

and second graders found out that the author was not kidding! In this fun and informative book, readers discover the incredible world

of the oceans. The unique pop-up photographs and fascinating facts truly amazed our students (many of whom displayed an impres-

sive knowledge of marine life)!

Did you know star fish are created in two very different ways? Some begin as babies that hatch from eggs. Others are creat-

ed when a grown-up fish loses one of its feet. The broken off foot becomes a whole new star by growing four matching feet, a body,

and a brain! How cool is that? “Very cool”, according to our third graders who learned these and other amazing facts about ocean

life by reading Seashore Babies by Kathy Darling.

Exploring all of these books gave us a wonderful opportunity to learn something about the genre of nonfiction. Our younger

students learned the difference between fiction and nonfiction. The content of fiction books is “fake”: these books are stories that an

author imagines and then writes. The content of nonfiction books is NOT “fake’: these books contain facts and information that is

true so that we can learn things about the world around us. Our older grades learned that nonfiction books are organized by subject

area and are located on the middle shelves of our library. They also discovered that it’s perfectly okay to read a nonfiction book out

of order—depending on what they need or want to know.

Many of our classes borrowed books from the library this week. Check out the great titles our students selected during

checkout time. Also, please remind students to bring their books back on time. A due date is stamped on a card that can be found in

an envelope in the back of each book. Enjoy the books and happy reading!

Have you seen our ParentLocker Calendar?

View current and upcoming events!

Once you log in,

simply click on the word Calendar!



Our Friendship Quilts By Mira Banin, [email protected] and Lynette Heller, [email protected]

How special it is to be a part of

the Toddler class and enjoy the many ex-

periences it brings. The children are start-

ing to build relationships and make new

friends. The children of the two Toddler

classes, Toddler Aleph and Toddler Bet

share many activities together, like play-

ing in the yard, having music with Morah

Karen and Ivrit with Morah Orit. We have

also shared Shabbat parties and playtime

together. We decided it would be wonder-

ful to create a special “Friendship Quilt”

using the handprint of each child. The

children are learning great social skills and

how important it is to play, share and have

fun with their peers. So many things can

be achieved together by holding the hand

of a friend. May this year be the begin-

ning of some very special friendships.

Celebrating Shabbat Together in Nursery 4 By Aviva Yablok, Early Childhood Department Director, [email protected]

We had a wonderful Shabbat experience at the Nursery Four Friday night Dinner, catered by our own Aleta Gelb, Director

of Food Services. Everyone enjoyed an excellent adult and children’s menu. Thank you to The Bible Players for providing entertain-

ment for the children, and thank you to Rabbi Jeremy Litton for providing entertainment to the adults. Thank you to MDS parent

Rabbi Charles Savenor for giving a devar torah. We had a wonderful Shabbat atmosphere where families were able to get to know

each other. Thank you to Chairpeople: Shira Spira, Tova Epstein, and Sarra Schwartz and to Lisa Staiman, Meryl Degan Louzoun,

and Kellie Rothman for helping set up.



Simchat Chattan v’Kallah By Julia Rose, 6G

Throughout the past several weeks, 6G has been working on a

very special project. It all started when Morah Rendler announced that

we were going to raise money for a bride. Then we decided that the best

way to raise money was… a jump –a- thon! We each received a chart

for sponsors; sponsors could either give us a flat rate or an amount of

money per jump. Finally, after lots of practice jumping, we were ready

to jump our hearts out! We went to the gym to start jumping rope. After

everyone had finished jumping the range was 32- 132 per girl!

Our next stop was to prepare for the wedding. 6G paired up and

each pair created an arch for simcha dancing. We each started with a

plain hula-hoop which eventually turned into a beautiful flower arch!

On November 15th we gathered chattering excitingly, in our best

clothes in front of the shul where the wedding took place. We each stood

with our partners holding our arches when the bride and groom flew

through and began to dance. After we danced and danced, we each got a

very special desert.

All in all we had a wonderful night and an experience to last a

lifetime! Thank you Morah Rendler and everybody who helped support

this eventful night!



Our Arches in Action! By Rivky Rendler, [email protected]



8G Devar Torah Project: VaYetze Submitted by Bethany Strulowitz, [email protected]; Devar Torah written by Miriyam Goldman, 8G

[Last week’s parsha was VaYetze. We are printing Miriyam’s devar torah so

you can keep up with the parsha cycle.]

Does anyone know why we read the parsha every Shabbat? Why do we care

that Yaakov moved the rock off the well, or that Moshe hit a rock? These Parshiyot tell

us stories about what happened in the Torah. We read them because of the messages

we can learn from them. In last week’s parsha, Parashat VaYetze, Yaakov leaves Be’er Sheva because

his brother Esav is chasing him. Yaakov goes toward Charan and on his way he lies on

a rock and has a dream. In his dream, he sees a ladder coming from shamayim with

angels going up and down it. In this dream Hashem said, “The ground you lie on will be

the land your future generations will lie on. I will guard you in all places that you go.”

When Yaakov arrives in Be’er Sheva, he sees a well and many shepherds gath-

ered around it. He goes over to see what is going on. They tell him that there is a rock

on the well and that they are unable to get the water, even though they have tried mov-

ing the rock. Yaakov without any help moved the rock. He sees Rachel and falls in

love with her. He then works seven years in order to marry her. After seven years were

up, Yaakov was prepared to marry Rachel, but on the day of their wedding Yaakov is

tricked by Lavan, Rachel’s father, and marries Leah, Rachel’s sister instead. But, Yaa-

kov still wants to marry Rachel so Lot says if you work for another seven years you

may marry Rachel. So Yaakov works for another seven years and marries Rachel.

Rachel isn’t able to have children but Leah is. Leah has six sons and a daugh-

ter with Yaakov. Yaakov marries Rachel and Leah maidservants Bilha and Zilpa, and has two sons with both. Rachel really wants

children and davens to Hashem for children, and He grants her wish. She has a son and names him Yosef.

When Yaakov is about ready to leave Lavan’s house, he wanted to be able to take both his wives but Lavan wouldn’t let him

so they left in secret. Before they left Rachel took all of Lavan’s idols so he wouldn’t be able to worship them anymore. Lavan soon

found out and found Yaakov and blamed him for taking the idols. Yaakov made a curse that whoever took Lavan’s idols should die.

Because Rachel was the one who took the idols she died right after Binyamin was born.

While reading this parsha, I had a few questions. One is: Why Yosef is named Yosef? The Torah tells us the answer is that

she called him Yosef because she wants more children: she says, “May Hashem add on another son to me” (30:24). This bothered

me; why should Rachel be asking for another son when Hashem has already granted her one son? Rashi says she knew that Yaakov

was going to have another son, and she wanted that last son to be hers. The parsha opens with the words: “And Yaakov left Be’er Sheva and went to Charan” (Genesis 28:10). Why does it have to

say he left Be’er Sheva; why can’t it just say he went to Charan? The answer is because when you leave a place you leave an impres-

sion, as we graduate from MDS, we are going to leave an impression on the grades below us, we will leave the impression on how to

behave, how to respect each other and more. We always want to be like Yaakov and leave the best impression behind. We want to be

remembered for the good things in our lives.

Help your class win an ice cream party!

Submit your box tops to Sharon Newman In a bag with your name and class on it!

The contest is on…

Which class will win?



8G Devar Torah Project: VaYishlach Submitted by Bethany Strulowitz, [email protected]; Devar Torah written by Devora Goldstein, 8G

When is revenge appropriate? Can we hold Hashem to his promises? These are some of

the important questions this parsha touches upon.

At the beginning of this week’s parsha, Parshat Vayishlach, Yaakov sends messengers in

an attempt to appease Esav. Yaakov states that he has acquired wealth, and is sending donkeys

and oxen. Yaakov receives word back that Esav is coming towards him along with 400 men.

Yaakov becomes fearful of what might happen when Esav approaches, so Yaakov divides

his camp in two in order to insure the safety of at least one camp. That night Yaakov davened to

Hashem for safety. Yaakov prepares extensive gifts for Esav, and sends them ahead of himself,

instructing his servants to tell Esav that these gifts are from Yaakov.

Why was Yaakov so worried about what might happen to him when Esav got there, if

Hashem had already promised him safety on his journey? Should Yaakov really have relied sole-

ly on Hashem’s promise?

I believe that everything is a two-way street -- just because something is decided, doesn't

mean it can't change. On Yom Kippur, Hashem determines your earnings for the upcoming

year. This money, however, will only come to you if you earn it. If you think that just because it

was already decided that you would make this much money that year, you can spend the next year

in the Bahamas and you would still receive paychecks, you’re wrong. Hashem expects that you

will keep up with your side of the deal.

Just like if you don’t work, you don’t receive money, if you don't do some preparing to

show that you care and take responsibility for your actions, you may not receive what you were

expecting. Although Hashem spoke to Yaakov before he left Lavan, encouraging him to leave and

ensuring his safety, Yaakov still prepared for his meeting with Esav. We learn from this that eve-

rything takes effort, and if you keep up your side of the deal, Hashem will always keep his.

After he split his camp in two, Yaakov was then left alone. This turned out to be a very important moment for Yaa-

kov. Yaakov wrestled with what he would find out was an angel of G-d. In the morning, they stopped fighting and Yaakov wins, so

the angel blessed Yaakov with the name Yisrael, because he fought with an angel and overcame him. In this process, Yaakov injured

the nerves in his thigh, therefore we do not eat the thigh of animals.

When Yaakov realized Esav was there, he lined his family up -- first the maidservants and their children, followed by Leah

and her children, and afterwards, Rachel and her child. Yaakov went in front.

Esav and Yaakov met and embraced. Esav wanted to continue to go towards their father, but Yaakov did not wish to

go. Esav went, while Yaakov went to Succoth and dwelled there.

Yaakov then moved to Shechem, where he bought land and dwelled. Dinah, the daughter of Yaakov and Leah went out one

day and saw the prince of the land, Shechem. He was very taken by her, and he raped and kidnapped Dina. Shechem began to love

Dina, so he asked his father to allow him to take her as a wife. When Dinah’s brothers found out about what had happened to their

sister Dina, they were outraged. Hamor, Shechem’s father, the king, spoke to Yaakov saying that his son longs for Dina, and that if

Yaakov gives his daughter to his son, then he can dwell in the land and become popular there. Dinah’s brothers made a deal saying

that if all the men would agree to get circumcised, just like the brothers, then Dinah could be Shechem’s wife. All the men in the city

were circumcised, and on the third day, when all the men were weak from pain, Dinah's brothers Shimon and Levi went around the

city and killed all of the men. They retrieved Dina from the house of Shechem. Yaakov and his household cleansed themselves and

went to Beit El to build an altar for G-d.

This story bothered me, particularly because Shimon and Levi wiped out an entire city, when only two men wronged

them. So, did Shimon and Levi do the right thing? Yaakov believes that Shimon and Levi made a mistake: “And Yaakov said to

Shimon and Levi, you have tainted me, making me look foul among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and among the

Perizites. I am few in number, should thay come together and attack me, I will be defeated, me and my entire household” (34:30-

31). Shimon and Levi responded, saying “should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” Yaakov is not pleased with Shimon and Levi’s

decision. He believes they have tarnished his name, and turned everyone against him, but Shimon and Levi do not believe that they

have done anything wrong, because their sister was wronged. Although I agree with Yaakov, I also agree with Shimon and Levi. It

was necessary for something to be done. Dina was not treated correctly, but it was not necessary to wipe out the entire city. This is

an example of the problems involved in vengeance. Taking revenge can be necessary, but should never involve extreme measures.

When Yaakov left Paddan-Aram, Rachel’s wet nurse Devora died; after this Hashem spoke to him, saying your name is now

Yisrael. not Yaakov, and my name is Kel Shakei. You shall be fruitful and multiply, and the land that I gave Avraham and Yitzhak

will be yours. Nations will come from you, and kings will descend from you. Yaakov placed a pillar in that place where G-d came to

him, and he poured oil on the pillar of stone. He called the place Beit El.

On the journey to Efrat, Rachel went into labor. Unfortunately there were some complications with her labor. Right before

her death, Rachel named her son Ben Oni, but we then learn that Yaakov changes his name to Benyamin. [Continued next page]



8G Devar Torah Project: VaYishlach Submitted by Bethany Strulowitz, [email protected]; Devar Torah written by Devora Goldstein, 8G

Why did Yaakov change his son’s name? Rashi explains that the name Ben Oni means son of my sorrows, and that the name

was then changed to Benyamin, son of the right or son of the south. South refers to right. Benyamin was the only one born in Ca-

naan, which was south of where they were. Therefore, he was given the name Benyamin.

This explanation did not answer the question well enough for me, so I looked into it further, and found that Ramban had the

same question. Ramban however gave a different response. Ramban translates the name Ben Oni as son of my mourning. Yaakov

then changes his name to Benyamin, son of the right, right meaning strength, because most people favor their right hand. I believe

Yaakov is sending a message here by turning sorrow into strength. He is showing that even if you start with suffering, you can grow

and change, and become stronger.

After Rachel gives birth she dies, and Yaakov buries her on the road to Efrat. He places a monument to mark Rachel’s death, which is

still there today. Their camp moved to Migdal Esar. While they were dwelling there, Reuven slept with Yaakov’s midwife

Bilhah. The parsha then goes on to say that Yaakov had twelve sons, and to list all of them

Yaakov returned to his father, and at the age of 180 years, Yitzhak dies. Yaakov and Esav reunite and bury their father. The

parsha then concludes by counting all of the offspring of Esav, and provides an account of all the kings of the places where Esav

dwelled.

This parsha can teach you many important lessons, but I think the ones that I have chosen to elaborate on are particularly

important, not only to our ancestors who were the ones involved in the actual events, but for us as well.

1. Yaakov feared that because of Shimon and Levi’s actions other nations would turn them.

2. To whom did Yaakov send presents to try and appease his anger?

3. What did Rachel name her son?

4. What did Yaakov name his son?

5. Rachel died during .

6. If all the men in the city got a then Dina could ____ Shechem.

7. Who were the brothers of Dina who freed her? (their names are not placed together in the word search)

8. When Yaakov fought with the angel, he hurt the in his thigh.

9. What did the angel change Yaakov's name to?

VaYishlach Crossword Challenge By Devora Goldstein, 8G



Parsha Challenge: VaYishlach Prepared by Rabbi Binyamin Yablok, Assistant Principal, [email protected], based on questions from Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck, NJ

1. (a) Why, after 34 years away from his parents, did Ya’akov now return? (b) Why did he let Eisav know he was nearby (2

views)? (c) (1) What mistake did Ya’akov make? (2) When did Bnei Yisrael make a similar mistake with Eisav’s offspring? (d)

Why did Ya’akov believe that Eisav, after 34 years, still hated him? (e) (i) Who were the messengers Ya’akov sent to Eisav,

and (ii) what was their mission (2 opinions)? (Bereishit 32:4)

1. (a) Hashem told him to (Rashi – 31:3). (b) (1) He wanted to reconcile with Eisav while Yitzchak was alive, since Eisav would not

kill him then (Zohar). (2) Yitzchak’s home, Ya’akov’s destination, was in southern Cana’an, adjoining Edom – Ya’akov had to pass

through Edom or travel near it – fearing that Eisav would hear about his coming, he sent messengers to placate him; (c) (1) he should

have avoided Eisav, who was going his own way; (2) the Chashmonayim kings should not have sought alliances with Rome, causing

Eretz Yisrael and the Beit haMikdash to fall into Roman hands (Ramban). (d) Ya’akov saw Eisav call his land “Se’ir in Edom’s

Field” – “Edom” means red, always reminding Eisav of the birthright Ya’akov “stole” with red soup, and “Se’ir” means goat, remind-

ing him of the goatskins Ya’akov wore to “steal” Yitzchak’s blessing (Siftei Kohen). (e) (1) (i) Ya’akov’s servants, (ii) to find out

Eisav’s intent (Sforno). (2) (i) Real angels, (ii) to impress and terrify Eisav (Rashi).

2. (a) Since Hashem promised Ya’akov, “I will guard you wherever you go” (28:15), why was Ya’akov afraid of Eisav (10

views)? (b) (1) Since Ya’akov crossed the Yabok River with 11 children, and since he then had 12 (11 sons, 1 daughter), where

was the 12th child? (2) How do we know that he did not hide one of his sons? (3) What mistake did Ya’akov make? (4) How

was he punished? (c) Why did Hashem send an angel to fight with Ya’akov (2 reasons)? (d) Why did Hashem ban Bnei Yisrael

from eating the gid ha-nasheh (thigh-vein sinew)? (Bereishit 32:8, 23-33)

2. (a) Ya’akov feared that Eisav would be able to harm him since (1) he did not know if Eisav was coming for good or evil

(Chizkuni). (2) Eisav had great merit by living in Eretz Yisrael for the previous 20 years while Ya’akov was chutz la’Aretz; (3) Eisav

honored Yitzchak perfectly for 34 years while Ya’akov was away (Targum Yonatan). (4) He was too busy tending Lavan’s sheep to

study Torah, lowering him spiritually; (5) he had sinned by marrying 2 sisters; (6) he thought that Hashem’s promised protection ex-

tended only to him, not to his children; (7) he thought he had sinned by sending Eisav messengers; (8) the angels made him fearful, so

that he would pray to Hashem, Who desires tzadikim’s prayers (Bereishit Raba). (9) He feared he would have to slay others in battling

Eisav (Rashi). (10) He thought Yitzchak would curse him if he slew Eisav (Medrash Tanchuma). (10) He thought that Eisav’s coming

to attack him meant that Yitzchak had died (Da’at Zekeinim). (b) (1) Ya’akov hid Dinah in a box so Eisav would not see her and ask

to marry her (Rashi). (2) Esther Raba says that the Beit haMikdash was built on Binyamin’s land since 11 sons bowed to Eisav, but

not Binyamin, who was not born yet (Vilna Gaon). (3) He should have let Eisav marry Dinah, who could have influenced Eisav posi-

tively; (4) Shechem abducted her (Rashi). (c) He wanted (1) Ya’akov to see how He would rescue him; (2) the angel to prevent

Ya’akov from fleeing before Eisav arrived (Rashbam). (d) To remind us that while Eisav’s guardian angel injured him, Ya’akov pre-

vailed – Eisav’s offspring will inflict suffering on Ya’akov’s offspring, but in yemot haMashiach, Bnei Yisrael will prevail (Sefer

haChinuch – Mitzvah 3).

3. (a) Why does the Torah have dots above the word “va-yishakeihu” (and [Eisav] kissed [Ya’akov] (2 views)? (b) What did

(1) Eisav mean, “yesh li ruv” (I have plenty)? (2) Ya’akov mean, “yesh li kol” (I have everything)? (c) Since Ya’akov embodies

emet (truth), how could he lie to Eisav, saying that he and his family would meet Eisav in Se’ir, when he intended to go to She-

chem in Cana’an? (d) When Ya’akov arrived “shalem” in the city of Shechem, what does “shalem” mean (7 views)?

(Bereishit 33:4-18)

3. (a) To indicate that Eisav (1) did not kiss Ya’akov with all his heart; (2) still hated Ya’akov, but at that moment, his mercy was

aroused, and he kissed Ya’akov with all his heart; (b) (1) “I have plenty more than I need, but want more since I do not have every-

thing”; (2) “I have everything I could possibly need”; (c) Ya’akov was talking about his offspring meeting Eisav’s in Se’ir in yemot

haMashiach, when Bnei Yisrael will go to Har Se’ir to judge Bnei Eisav, as stated in the haftara, Ovadya 1:21 (Rashi). (d) When

Ya’akov arrived in Shechem, he was “shalem” – whole – i.e., (1) physically whole – the limp caused by the angel was cured; (2) fi-

nancially whole – he lost nothing since Hashem repaid him for the gifts he had given Eisav; (3) spiritually whole – he did not forget

his Torah learning while living with Lavan (Rashi). (4) He arrived in the city named “Shalem”, ruled by Shechem (Rashbam).

Ya’akov felt “shalem” – safe – (5) believing the Shechemim would protect him from his enemies; (6) since he was close to Yitzchak’s

home – Eisav would not attack him there; (7) the merit of being in Eretz Cana’an would protect him (Ramban).

4. (a) Why did Hashem command Ya’akov and his family to go to Beit El to make an altar (3 reasons)? (b) Why was the place

where Rivka’s nurse Devora died called “Alon Bachut” (“Oak of Weepings”) in the plural (2 views)? (c) Why did Ya’akov

bury Rachel on the road to Efrat, instead of in Beit Lechem, less than a mile away (2 reasons)? (Bereishit 35:1-3,8,16-22)

4. (a) To purify themselves from the Shechemi (1) idols (Rashi); or (2) corpses (Ramban). (3) With Ya’akov and his family in danger

of attack for massacring the Shechemim, Hashem gave them a mitzvah to build an altar – Pesachim 8a-b says that those on their way

to doing a mitzvah are not harmed (Oznayim laTorah). (b) (1) Rivka died at the same time – people wept for both Rivka and Devora;

(2) people cried for Rivka for 2 reasons (i) mourning her death, and (ii) because she was not honored with a tzadik present at her buri-

al – Yitzchak was blind and unable to leave his house, and Ya’akov was away in Sukkot; (c) (1) When Ya’akov saw prophetically that

Beit Lechem would be in Yehuda’s territory, he buried Rachel near Efrat, in her son Binyamin’s territory (Ramban). (2) Ya’akov saw

prophetically that Bnei Yisrael would pass along this road when Nevuchadnetzar would exile them – they would be able to pray there

that Rachel intercede for them to plead for Hashem’s protection (Ohr haChaim).



The MDS Parents Council Thanks You!

MDS PARENTS COUNCIL WANTS TO THANK YOU!

Thank you to Henry and Elana Grant (Max, 1C), Cara Stein (Bailee, N4C), Eta Kliger (Daniella, 4G), Sarina Kof-man and Sophie Samuels (7G), Julian Kofman and Char-lie Samuels (7B), and Hope Langer (Raphael, 7B) for sell-ing MDS Merchandise on Parent Teacher Conference day in the MDS lobby. MDS sweatshirts, kippot, tote bags, umbrellas, tod-dler tees, and benchers (plus My Most Favorite Food cookbooks) are on sale in the business office on a regular basis. Email Ra-chel Gelfand, [email protected], to place your order. Look for more fun MDS swag coming soon! Thank you! Thank you to Dori Shwirtz (Ella, 3A, Leo, 1C, and Addie, NA3) for organiz-ing the childcare service in the library during Parent Teacher conferences. Over 120 kids watched movies, played games and colored while their teachers sung their prais-es! Thank you to our dedicated babysitters for a long day of watching our children.

mailto:[email protected]



December Lunch Menu Prepared by Aleta Gelb, Director of Food Services, [email protected]



Manhattan Day School

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Tel: 212-376-6800

Fax: 212-376-6389

www.mdsweb.org

Tel: 212-673-3066

Fax: 212-376-6389

Email all articles and graphics

to Yehudit Robinson,

Director of

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[email protected]

…

Thank you for keeping our school

a nut-aware environment.

Please join our daily parent

tehillim group which meets in the

library at 8:15 AM.

Shabbat Shalom! By Bernice Mandel, [email protected]

In the MDS Family…

Mazal tov to Rabbi Ariel Cohen (Middle

School Faculty) on the birth of Ahuva.

Mazal tov to Susan and Robert Tam and

Josh (N1) on the birth of a baby boy.

Mazal tov to Aliza and Joshua Schwalbe

and Annie (N3) on the birth of a baby boy.

Mazal tov to Blossom and Ilan Cohen and

Oren (Toddlers) on the birth of a baby boy

There will be no school on Monday,

December 10th, in honor of Chanukah.

mds messenger november 30, 2012

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