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Candlelighting Times
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Wednesday, October 19th
Candlelighting for
Sh'mini Atzeret 5:55 pm
Thursday, October 20th
Candlelighting for
Simchat Torah 6:52 pm
Friday, October 21st
Candlelighting for
Shabbat 5:51 pm
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Mark Your Calendar
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Thursday, October 20th and Friday, October 21st
* No School - Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
Monday, October 24th
*Classes resume
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The Lunch Room
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November/December lunch menus are now posted on Renweb. Thank you to the following families who have already placed their orders: Ehrlich, Patt, Temkin, Zweifler, Brocke, Goldberg(Hadas/Michal), Gershon, Smith-Rapaport, and Rosenblatt.
Please do not wait until the last minute to enter your orders. FYI: Menus are also posted on the SSDS website in the About Us section.
Thank you,
Leah
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PTO News
Upcoming and Ongoing
Events and Programs:
Donation Drive - Keep it coming! We've already filled up Mr. C's truck a few times, so let's do it a few more times. On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings you can put your bags in the back of Mr. C's silver truck located in the parking lot.
Book Fair - Last year we had such a successful book fair in the Spring, we are going to be having two this year! The first one will be held from October 31st - November 4th. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Amy Mondschein at mondschein1@sbcglobal.net.
Lyman Orchard Pies - Order forms went home this week with the students. These pies make great desserts for Thanksgiving or, keep them in the freezer for any time of the year. Orders will be due by October 25th and the delivery will be the Monday before Thanksgiving, November 21.
PTO Co-Presidents
Jodi Schwartz jaoschwartz@gmail.com
Danielle Weiss daniellefweiss@gmail.com
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Community News
Tikkun Olam Opportunity
Sunday Household Hazardous Waste Collection October 23
This is Connecticut's only Sunday collection for household hazardous wastes. Members of the Jewish community are encouraged to spread the word so that everyone can rid their homes of potentially harmful and toxic substances. The event will be held October 23, rain or shine, from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at MDC's water pollution control facility, 240 Brainard Rd, Hartford (new site this year). For more information and/or to volunteer for this important community event, please call Barbara Katzman at (860)-666-6751.
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Emanuel Synagogue
www.emanuelsynagogue.org
Saturday, Nov. 5th at
8:00 pm A vocal concert featuring Operatic Favorites and Broadway Hits with soprano Sarah Asmar and tenor Joshua Kohl. ~~~~~~~~~~
Beth El Temple
www.bethelwesthartford.org
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B'nai Tikvoh-Sholom
Pizza & PJ Shabbat
Friday, Oct. 28th 6:00 pm
Parashat Noach
Kids can bring their favorite stuffed toy & wear PJs for a Family Shabbat service,
Followed by a pizza supper.
Kids are free, $6 per adult
RSVP by Wednesday, October 26th to office@btsonline.org or 860.243.3576.
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NUREMBURG Premier
Monday, October 24, 2011
Mandell JCC 7:00 pm
Made for the U.S. Department of War in 1948, this historic film about the first Nuremberg trial was shown in Germany, but suppressed in the U.S. Why was it banned? Come see for yourself and discover why one of the most important and dramatic films of our time was buried for more than 60 years.
Movie screening will be held in the Herbert Gilman Theater at 7:00 PM
Question & Answer Session with Nuremberg Producer Sandra Schulberg to follow.
General admission tickets $10.00 per person available at the Mandell Jewish Community Center and the JFACT office (860) 727-5771. All donations will benefit Voices of Hope, an organization created by descendants of Holocaust survivors to collect, organize and share the experiences of Holocaust survivors for the benefit of future generations.
NUREMBERG Premier
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MAH JONGG PARTY
Come Spend an Evening with Friends and Support the 2012 SSDS
8th Grade Israel Trip
Sunday October 23rd
6:30-9:30 pm
Solomon Schechter Day School
26 Buena Vista Drive
West Hartford
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Celebrating Sukkot at Camp Ramah
A beautiful, sunny day. Crisp, cool air. A nice, light breeze. Nothing could be better than the perfect fall day-except for the perfect fall day at Camp Ramah in New England during Sukkot! On Monday, October 17th, the 3rd, 4th, 5th grade team traveled to Palmer, Massachusetts to participate in special Sukkot activities organized by the education staff of Camp Ramah in New England. Once there, the students, divided into three multi-grade groups, completed various tasks that centered around the laws and requirements of the sukkah.
At one station, the students measured the breadth of their hands and the distance from the tip of their fingers to their elbows to determine their individual "tefachim" and "amot", important measurements for the creation of ancient sukkot. At another station, the children reviewed the laws regarding "schach", the branches that create the roof of the sukkah. Then, after scavenging in the wooded areas for appropriate "schach", they tried to create a perfect sukkah roof that withstood 3 important tests: the flashlight that helped determine whether the roof offered more shade than sun, the fan that tried to blow poorly placed leaves and branches and a darkened room with glow in the dark stars that had to be visible from under the roof. At the third station, the students investigated six sukkot that had been built by the Ramah staff in order to determine if the sukkot were actually kosher for the holiday. Finally, at the last station, the children used plastic bins and schach to build a sukkah that met all of the requirements such as size, sturdiness and, of course, proper amounts of schach. As always, the students "did Schechter proud" with their behavior, teamwork and attitude. After a picnic lunch in the beautiful camp grove, the students and teachers boarded the bus for a relaxing trip home, filled with learning and joy-the perfect combination.
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Sleeping in the Sukkah, Sleeping in the Courtyard, Sleeping in the Beit Tefilah ...Who was Sleeping?
The Middle School Sukkah Sleepover was a rousing success. Todah rabah to Mrs. Fiedler for putting together a fun and educational evening, and to the Israeli Young Emissaries, Inbarr and Kesem for their inspiring creative dramatics. Thanks also to Leah Berson for sustaining everyone with a delicious dinner in the sukkah as well as snacks and breakfast. The group was joined by Mr. Schwartzman who participated in the evening's festivities. There will be more information reported and more photos next week, as our chaperones, Rabbi Goldberg and Mrs. Kurtis, need to get some sleep.
EG chats with EG!
Ready for a fun evening!
We know how to have a good time.
 Enjoying a good show.
This is my sukkah!
Okay, so we slept for a few minutes.
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Something to Rejoice About
by Rabbi Ed Gelb
Camp Ramah in New England October 19, 2011
My favorite time at camp is undoubtedly Saturday evening after dinner when the campers sing the slower, melodic and haunting tunes of seudat shelishit (the third meal on Shabbat). My favorite song that always gives me goose bumps is "Acheinu." Gilad Shalit has been held hostage virtually my entire tenure at Camp Ramah in New England. Here is the song, and if you know or your child knows it, sing it together over this coming holiday.
Acheinu kol beit yisrael, ha'netunim b'tzara uv'shivya, ha'omdim beyn bayam uvein bayabasha. Ha'Makom yirachem aleyhem v'yotziaym mitzara lirvacha, u'meafela l'orah umishibud lig'ulah, hashta ba'agala uvizman kariv.
Any of our brethren of the house of Israel, who are delivered into distress and captivity, whether they are on sea or dry land -- may God have mercy on them and remove them from distress to relief, from darkness to light, from subjugation to redemption, now, speedily, and in our days.
Gilad Shalit has come home - to his family, to his friends, and to his country. Whether or not you think the price of the deal that got him there was too steep, you have to rejoice for him and those who love and care about him. Our Rosh Mishlachat (head of our Israeli delegation at camp), Rotem Ad-Epstein, wrote me a beautiful email that tried to capture the mood in Israel since Tuesday when the announcement was made. She said, "Since then Rabbi, I feel that even if it is for a short period of time that we will feel it, it's worth it. I can now say, that after a long time that I had doubts, I again feel Jewish, I feel Israeli and I feel my nation. You can say that some people will feel it only in happy or sad times that it is happening, but I'm telling you, this time it is different. Without going into the details of the deal, we can't ignore the values. Jewish and human values."
Rotem is correct. Her conclusions about our values go to the essence of Simchat Torah. On this holiday we rejoice that God gave us a Torah that changed the fundamental way human beings view this world. There are many aspects of Torah that we should celebrate. In Gilad Shalit's case, we celebrate the Torah's revolutionary idea that every single person is created in God's image and therefore counts. Would any other nation go through so much or give up so much to save one person? It is our Talmud that teaches that if one saves a life, it is as if he saved the whole world.
Prior to the ascent of monotheism, the world did not value individual human life. In fact, human sacrifice, slavery, and wanton murder were commonplace. The notion that God created humanity from one original person - and in God's image - means that we are all equal and have value.
Clearly, these ideals are not yet universally practiced or accepted. Thus, in a perversion of religion, many still murder others and even willingly give up their own lives doing so. Of course, this is where the "cost" side of the Gilad Shalit deal comes under criticism. To redeem Gilad, the Israeli government has to release many dangerous people.
Was it too high a price to pay? I don't know. However, although much of the world will miss this message, the values statement Israel made in sacrificing so much to bring him home teaches once again the timeless message of the Torah and fulfills our role in the world to be a light unto the nations. This Simchat Torah, let us all rejoice in that.
Chag Sameach
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Shabbat Shalom
Susan Kurtis, Editor
Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford
Deadline for submissions: Wednesday @3:30
All photos must be submitted in jpeg format
skurtis@ssds-hartford.org
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