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Sunday School for Jewish Studies
Monthly Newsletter for December, 2014
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In this Issue
Quick Links
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Tikun Olam Chanukah Fair on Sunday, December 14
Your children have been working hard on a school wide Tikun Olam (repair the world) project.
All grades will assemble in the cafeteria on December 14th at 10:30 am to display the projects and activities that they have created with the help of their teachers and our sixth and seventh graders mentors.
They will be asking you to buy picture frames, cards, bracelets and other items, which they made in their classes. Nothing will be expensive; everything will be reasonably priced.
Our teachers have been discussing the concept of Tikun Olam and the Chanukah Fair is the culmination of these discussions.
At a time of year when our students receive gifts and more gifts, we are urging them to work as a group to help others less fortunate.
All donations will be going to the Basic Needs Program of the Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Boston. The Basic Needs Program distributes gift cards to families in need. The goal of the gift cards is to enable families to choose their gifts as opposed to making do with whatever toys and presents are donated. The gift cards add an element of what is called Kavod (honor), one of the higher forms of Tzedakah (righteous behavior). When giving Tzedakah one should always do it in a manner that is most respectful to the person receiving the help.
Please join us on December 14 at 10:30 at Oak Hill and bring your extended family, friends and neighbors to help your children raise donations and bring to fruition the important lessons of Tikun Olam, Kavod and Tzedakah.
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| Classroom Chanukah Parties Following the Tikun Olam Fair, Sunday, December 14 | |
Following the Fair, all students will return to their classrooms to play dreidel games and have a party.
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| Reminder for PK/Kindergarten Class | |
Please recall that we have changed the PK/Kindergarten December schedule. Class will now meet on Sunday, December 14th.
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| Bar Mitzvah Project on December 7th to Benefit the Alzheimer's Association |
My name is Matthew Margil and I am in 7th grade at SSJS. I will become a Bar Mitzvah this spring. My project is to raise money for Alzheimer's research and I am doing that by making and selling earrings. The disease basically gets rid of your memory. It can get so bad one might forget how to talk or walk. There is really no cure at the moment, and as of now we can only slow its effects. The reason I choose this as my project is that my grandmother has Alzheimer's and I would really like to see the effects on her slowed. All the proceeds from my project will be going to the Alzheimer's Association, and put towards research. Each pair of earrings is $5.00. I will be selling on December 7th at the Sunday school. Thank you for your support!
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Chanukah Candle Sale on December 7 and 14
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 Beautiful blue and white dripless candles made in Safed, Israel, will be for sale in the Oak Hill lobby on December 7th and December 14th. The cost is $15.00 and proceeds benefit SSJS.
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| SSJS Snow Day Policy |
With winter fast approaching, it is a good time to review our snow day policy at SSJS. Our location's opening status, Oak Hill Middle School, is mandated by the City of Newton. We must wait until the city of Newton decides whether to close its' public facilities prior to communicating our status. In the event the Sunday School will be closed, we will email all of you and record a voicemail message on our school phone. We will also post the Sunday School closing on WBZ and WHDH.
In summary, if the City of Newton closes its public facilities, then we will not have Sunday School.
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| Todah Rabah...Thank you to our Volunteers | |
Thank you to those parents who attended the Bar and Bat Mitzvah
 meeting. A special Todah Rabah to
Liz Adler, Amy Baron, Staci and Rob Kirschner and Katherine Cohen,
for sharing their Bar and Bat Mitzvah stories and suggestions with the group. |
| Explore Jewish Overnight Camp Opportunities | |
December 7 from 2-5pm at the Rashi School in Dedham
Explore overnight Jewish camps at an afternoon filled with camp activities including an obstacle course, menorah making, digital photography and more! 15 camps will be represented at this free family event. Sponsored by the CJP, click here to register.
January 6 from 7-8:30pm Camp Tel Noar Talk
The Stern family (SSJS family), invite you to their home in Westwood to meet the Tel Noar Director, Efraim Yudewitz, current families and staff, to learn more about this Jewish overnight camp. Please RSVP to Becca Goldman or call 781.489.2070. Visit Tel Noar's website at www.camptelnoar.org. |
Open Community Board Meeting, Sunday, December 7th at 10:00
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All parents are invited to attend our next Board Meeting led by the SSJS Executive Committee. We look forward to seeing you there.
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Mazel Tov to our November Bar Mitzvah
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Congratulations to Ben Cohen, son of Kathernie Reynolds-Cohen and Gerald Cohen, on becoming a Bar Mitzvah. Mazel tov!
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Save the Date: February 1, Adult Learning Session at SSJS
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How Ancient Jewish Wisdom can Help You Be a Better Modern Parent
Join us for a discussion about the book, "Blessings of a Skinned Knee" exploring how Jewish teachings can help us raise self-reliant children. Facilitated by Laura Shulman Brochstein,Associate Director, Families with Young Children,Combined Jewish Philanthropies.
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December Calendar
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All classes are held at the Oak Hill Middle School and are from 9:45 to noon except where noted. Click here for a full 2014-15 calendar.
Sunday, December 7: Grades 1-7. Toddler program meets from 11am-noon. Open Community Board meeting at 10am.
Sunday, December 14: Grades 1-7 and PK/Kindergarten. Tikun Olam Chanukah Fair and classroom parties.
Sunday, December 21: Grades 1-7 in session.
Sunday, December 28: Winter Break: No School
Sunday, January 4: Winter Break: No School
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 Message from Dori Stern, Education Director
This December the Sunday School will have our first Chanukah Tikun Olam Fair. Tikun Olam literally means to "Repair the World". It is a concept that can be traced to the founders of the mystical movement in Judaism called Kabbalah. The mystics imagined that the world was shattered shortly after creation into many shards. Rabbi Luria, a 16th century mystic, believed that God contracted part of himself into vessels of light to create the world. The vessels then shattered and their shards became sparks of light trapped within the material of creation. The practice of prayer, tzedakah (justice and righteousness) and gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness) is said to release these sparks and allow them to reunite with God's essence, which will then assist in repairing the world and making it a better place to live.
With this concept in mind, the students of the Sunday School invite their parents and friends to join them as they present a Tikun Olam Fair. Each grade will have a table with an activity, which will raise money for our chosen recipients. All grades, assisted by our sixth and seventh graders and their teachers, have spent a good deal of time and energy creating activities that they hope will entice family and friends to donate to our school wide cause.
All donations will go to the Basic Needs Program of Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Boston. The Basic Needs program purchase gift cards, which they distribute to families in need. JF&CS distribute gifts cards as opposed to holding toy drives is so that families can choose the gifts they want to give to their children; items that they really desire as opposed to accepting what is given them through toy drives.
Tikun Olam is a lovely, mystical concept which all of our teachers have introduced to their students this year. We hope that you will help us reinforce our students awareness of the necessity to "repair the world" through deeds of tzedakah and gemilut chasadim and join us on December 14 for our first Chanukah Tikun Olam Fair.
Please invite extended family, neighbors and friends to attend!
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