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Upcoming Events
Sat, Sept 16
5th-8th grade
Leil Selichot Program
9:00pm
See Flyer
Sun, Sept 17
Shabbat Observant Cub & Boy Scouts Kick Off boys 6-17 with parents
3:00-5:00pm
Roxbury Park
Contact Jeffrey Feuer
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Join The Birthday Book Club!
Your birthday child will get to choose a new book for the library with a dedication to him or her inside, check it out first, and have their picture proudly on display in the library.
Kids love to see their names in the books!
Excess funds will be used for recreational supplies like games, balls, hula hoops and jump ropes.
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Parnas
HaYom
is a beautiful way to honor a yarzheit, merit a refuah shelemah, or celebrate a simcha. Dedicating the Torah learning of students at Hillel to mark an occasion helps us to imbue both a love of learning and appreciation for the value of Torah scholarship.
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09/13/17
The
Parnas Hayom was
generously sponsored by the Fisch Family, is
in honor of the yartzeit of Annette Fisch,חנה בת צבי יוסף ואסתר צירל, grandmother to Eric Fisch, great grandmother to Nili, Liat and Eyal Fisch. May the learning of Hillel's students be a zechut to her memory and may her neshama have an aliyah.
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09/13/17
The Parnas Hayom was generously sponsored by the Ronen family, is in honor of the yartzeit of Farha bat
Lulu, great grandmother to Lior, Talia, & Mia Ronen.
May the learning of Hillel's students be a
zechut
to her memory and may her
neshama
have an
aliyah.
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ISSUE NO. 002
Friday, September 15, 2018
24 Elul 5777
Parashat Nizavim/Vayelech-Begin Selichot Saturday Night
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Devar Nitzavim-Vayelech
By Rabbi Sufrin, Head of School
 At the end of this week's double
parasha
, it says: "Write for yourself this Song and teach it to the Jewish people" (Deuteronomy 31:19). Many commentaries use this verse as the source for the
mitzvah
of writing a
Sefer Torah
. Accordingly, the word
shirah
- "song" - used in this verse refers not merely to one song, but to the entire Torah. Why is the Torah referred to as a song?
A song is different from a simple set of words. A song requires a number of factors to coalesce in order for it to be fully appreciated and have value; it needs words to match a tune and music and emotion to infuse meaning. Likewise, the Torah is not simply a collection of words, stories, messages or commandments. Torah is a song that needs to be sung and played correctly with all of the necessary pieces in sync in order to for its full impact to be felt. Thus, in the imperative message to write a Torah, Moshe is reminding the Jewish people that they need to treat the Torah as a song - with all its complexities, nuances, and beauty - and not just an ordinary book.
This view of the Torah is an inspiration to us as we prepare for the New Year, and as we seek to joyfully connect with Gd's wisdom and embark on a year of Divine joy in all aspects of our lives.
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All are invited to a midday Century City shiur with Rabbi Sufrin "Yamim Noraim"
Wednesday, September 27 12-1pm
Address will be provided upon confirmation of attendance.
Special thanks to RVW Wealth for their generous sponsorship of this Lunch and Learn.
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Elementary School Leadership
By Chaya Kenigsberg, Director of Judaic Studies ES
 For the past three weeks, I have had the opportunity to experience our building come alive. Our learning spaces are bursting with smiling faces, helping hands, and creative minds. Classrooms are filled with learning, engaged students, and collaboration. There is another layer to what our Elementary School students are accomplishing. At Hillel, we believe in our students' leadership capabilities. This year, each Elementary School student will have the opportunity to play an integral role in a committee that will allow him or her to take responsibility for the well-being of their classmates, staff members and the building they call home. Taking part in a committee will not only build respect, awareness, and value for others but will also create opportunities for school pride and participation. The variety of options for committees include: The ביקור חולים Committee , ראש חודש Committee, אהבת ישראל Committee, "Character Counts" Committee, and the Tefillah/Parasha Committee. With three committee-focused sessions throughout the year, each student will have a chance to participate in more than one committee. I look forward to seeing our student committees grow, have fun and lead!
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Teach like Finland at Hillel
By Joanna Benporat, Third Grade General Studies Teacher
 As we move deeper into 21st-century education, Hillel models its pedagogy after Finland's educational system. This system has topped the international charts for success in critical thinking since 2001. So what exactly does this model look like, and how does Hillel implement it in our school? There are 33 strategies that have been defined by Timothy Walker in his book
Teach Like Finland
. In the book, Walker highlights the best practices of Finnish schools. At Hillel, this book was referenced many times during Teacher's Orientation Week in August.
In short, these philosophies encourage
slowing down, keeping things simple, and finding the joy in teaching and learning, because after all, learning is about pushing for future academic goals. At Hillel, this translates into using flexible spaces in which students participate in arranging classroom furniture for various needs throughout the day. Finnish-style learning at Hillel includes whiteboard paint on desks so children can demonstrate their understanding of lessons in a shared space. It focuses on Character Counts: students are reflective about their behavior in order to embody the portrait of a Hillel graduate. Our school is a place in which students, parents, teachers, administrators and stakeholders craft the core ideas and spearhead the implementation. Although it would be impossible to transplant the entire Finnish model at Hillel, we adopt strategies that help us become the unique kehilla that we are. Voices are heard, risks are taken, and change is welcomed. Hillel is the home of a growth mindset, knowing we are not perfect, but good and getting better.
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Solving the Chumash Puzzle
By Rabbi Avrohom Wagshul
Let's face it: learning a language that is not
your native one can be a challenge. This has been the age-old American Jewish day school challenge, i.e. how to engage students in the study of a text they don't yet understand. At Hillel, with our Hebrew immersion focus, it is becoming such a pleasure to see students enthusiastically apply their Hebrew skills to Torah learning. It really makes learning so much more tangible and fun. However, there is another secret I have discovered in third grade. When Chumash becomes an exciting puzzle or suspenseful story that we are passionately trying to figure out as a group, students quickly become so involved in figuring out the "puzzle" that they forget they are "translating." In third grade, we teach the Chumash to our students as a compelling story, filled with Hashem's guidance for life bursting from every pasuk. Students are not directly told the meaning, but rather, the teacher teases the meaning out fr
om the students using their Ivrit skills, as well as engaging methods like mini white boards for quick questions, brainstorming, and group translation of a pasuk. Students are excited that they can suddenly make meaning out of the Hebrew text and feel real accomplishment and connection to our Torah, and are inspired and empowered to learn more of it and apply its eternal lessons to their daily lives.
Students use mini whiteboards in a Chumash lesson to predict the meaning of the text and check for understanding.
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Thank you to Parvis and Elham Kahen for their generous sponsorship toward the Selichot Program in memory of their brother, Nissan Kahen. May his neshama have an aliyah!
Thank you to the Schwartz family and Art of Tea for generously sponsoring the besamim for Havdallah this week at Selichot program!
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Please Join Us for Hillel's Annual Anne Samson a"h Memorial Golf Tournament on November 15, 2017! For sponsorship opportunities, or to purchase helicopter ball drop tickets and playing spot reservations, visit www.hillelhebrew.org/golfregistration
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Special thanks to Gail Katz and Meyer Bick for their generous sponsorship of Hillel's participation in the Community Yoetzet Halacha program. We look forward to Ilana Gadish bringing her wealth of knowledge and experience to Hillel and the extended LA community!
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