After the miraculous departure from Egypt, and Hashem’s salvation at the Red Sea, Parshat Beshalach concludes with Amalak’s savage and surprise attack against Bnei Yisroel. The Torah tells that during this battle Moshe stood at the top of a nearby mountain and as long as his hands were raised upwards, Bnei Yisroel was successful in defending themselves against the Amalakites (17:11).
The Mishna in Mesechet Rosh Hashana (29a) questions the nature of this miracle. “Can Moshe’s arms make or break war? Rather, this teaches you that whenever Israel would look upward and subjugate their hearts to their Father in heaven, they would overpower, otherwise, they would fall.” The Mishna explains that Moshe’s arms did not serve as some magic device that enabled Bnei Yisrael to defeat the Amalekites. They rather directed the solider’s attention to Hashem, in the merit of which they were granted victory.
Based on this passage, the Ketav Sofer explains that Bnei Yisroel’s victory hinged on the purity of their mission. Too often, confrontations that begin with sincere motives quickly deteriorate into battles of personal satisfaction, vengeance, and vindication. By focusing their gaze on the heavens, Bnei Yisroel were reminded of the Divine nature of their task.
As a people, we are the bearers of a great Mesorah passed to us directly from Moshe Rabbeinu. As the progenitors of this great tradition, we are often called on to defend our beliefs and ideals. This Mishna reminds us that it is important to vindicate our heritage, but that we must do so with our hearts turned upward, with pure motives and never fall into the trap of arguing out of personal pride and ego. Today, everyone seems to be arguing for the sake of arguing. It is more important than ever to make sure that our battles are l’shem shimayim, and with the utmost humility.
Shabbat Shalom — enjoy your break!
Rabbi Sam Weinberg,
Principal
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Work continues on the Lipsitz Building, as more classrooms are added.
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The Second – Fourth Grade after school art club students have been making aboriginal dot paintings.
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Tali Goldwasser reads
The Sneetches
by Dr. Seuss.
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Eighth Grade boys are combining art and World Cultures classes to create floor plans for traditional Japanese and Chinese style houses.
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Thank you Noa Chabra for everything
you have done for Hillel Academy
and our students. We will miss you!
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The First Grade learned about liquids, solids, and gasses with a delicious root beer float activity!
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The Fourth Grade is learning about the metric system. Here, they participated in a series of class contests to explore different types of measurement, including temperature, volume, mass, and length.
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As part of the Morah Shirley Dorsey OBM Middot Program, the Third Grade wrote skits to teach people about conflict resolution and responsibility.
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PREK-B tried Ziplock mittens filled with different things to see which kept their hands the warmest!
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Rochel Weisswasser squeezes oranges (which grow on trees) while learning about Tu B’Shvat.
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The Sixth Grade girls enjoy creative dramatics in the classroom with Ms. London. Students were put in pairs and trios to choose a scene from the novel
A Single Shard
and then bring it to life in a staged improv.
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As part of their unit on the short story genre, the Seventh Grade explored what makes the first line of a story compelling. Here are some of their suggestions for great first lines! Which story would YOU want to read?
He blinked and then it was gone.
The ponytail snapped.
The time had come. There would be blood tonight.
I don’t know if the chalk tasted better than the board.
By making my greatest friend, I had created my worst enemy.
He was a pacifist with a whole arsenal of guns he used during hunting season, which was weird for a pacifist.
There was a monkey making a whole lot of noise, but no-one could actually hear it.
I accidentally ate a spider.
LeBron James asks me “Do you want a Spirit Cranberry?”
Sshhhh … I’m hiding from Shia LaBeouf.
At this time he realized the things he needed were: flex tape, a broken hockey stick, and ramen noodles.
Bugs were everywhere — up my back, down my legs.
The g-ds hated me; I hate them back.
She heard the doorbell ring but when she answered it, no-one was there.
I ate a quarter; now I’m worth something.
Ice cream is the perfect thing to eat on a hot summer day, especially when it is flavored naturally, with blood.
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The Third Graders have been thinking hard about responsibility, creating interlocking ways one can be responsible when it comes to your family, friends, school, and yourself.
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Brought to you courtesy of the FAB GHS without comment.
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There is SO MUCH INCREDIBLE ART being produced by our students throughout the school! You can keep track of it by following art teacher Ashley Bouton’s Instagram page @artlifewithmissb.
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The Third Grade boys have been translating their names into Egyptian hieroglyphics!
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Students have been exploring color relationships in pastel by creating their own Rothkos!
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After working with clay, the Nursery students had messy trays. How could they clean them without messing up the school’s plumbing? Hearing and watching the rain gave them an idea: let nature do it! Afterwards, the students dried their trays and now they look like new!
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SAVE THE DATES!
Performances of The LION KING will be on Monday March 11 and Tuesday March 12 at the
JCC Katz Theater.
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The Hillel Happenings is published on Thursdays. Please submit stories, photos and ads by Wednesday afternoon to:
Thank you!
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AD DEADLINE: January 31, 2019
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JEWISH SCHOLARSHIP SERVICE OF GREATER PITTSBURGH
FORMERLY CENTRAL SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN REFERRAL SERVICE
of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Administered by:
Jewish Family and Community Services
828 Hazelwood Avenue · Pittsburgh, PA 15217· (412)422-5627 · Fax (412)428-8200
Applications for need-based college scholarships for the 2019-2020 school year are available from the Jewish Scholarship Service of Greater Pittsburgh (JSS), formerly Central Scholarship and Loan Referral Service, of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. This program is administered by Jewish Family and Community Services. The funds are made available through the generosity of families who have established endowments through the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish Community Center, National Council of Jewish Women, Jewish Women International of Pittsburgh
(formerly B'nai B'rith Women),
The Pittsburgh Foundation, and Rodef Shalom Congregation.
All awards are distributed on the basis of demonstrated financial need
. Depending on the scholarship fund, other factors such as academic achievement, field of study, school attending, and Jewish and general community involvement will also be considered. In addition, the applicant must be Jewish, reside in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Beaver, Butler or Washington County for at least two years, and need financial assistance to attend an accredited institution of higher education.
The 2019-2020 JSS online application is available at
jfcspgh.org/scholarships
.
All applications are due February 12, 2019.
Alayne Lowenberger, Director
Jewish Scholarship Service of Greater Pittsburgh
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Once again this year, Hillel Academy will be participating in the Box Tops for Education Program. My name is Barbara Uebing and I’m thrilled to be the Box Tops Coordinator. Clipping Box Tops is an easy way for you to help our school buy what it needs. Box Tops are each worth 10 cents and they quickly add up to real cash for our school. This school year, our school’s earnings goal is $2000.00.
To help our school, just look for pink Box Tops on products, clip them, and send them to school. Pre-K — Fourth Grade will be having a friendly collection contest to help motivate school supporters to clip Box Tops. When sending in Box Tops, please be sure to write your child’s name and grade on the outside of the envelope or baggie. For more information on the Box Tops for Education program, including a list of participating products and school’s progress, visit
www.BTFE.com
. Be sure to become a member to receive exclusive coupons and recipes and learn about extra ways for our school to earn.
I hope you’re excited for everything we can do this year with Box Tops! If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at
buebing@hillelpgh.org
. I’m here to make our school’s Box Tops for Education program a huge success this year.
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EARN MONEY
FOR HILLEL ACADEMY
SIMPLY BY USING YOUR
GIANT EAGLE
ADVANTAGE CARD
From now until March 16, you can earn funds for Hillel Academy by using your Giant Eagle Advantage Card every time you shop or fill up at Get Go Gas stations through their Apples for the Students program. Register your card today to help us raise much-needed funds. It’s easy: just go to
www.GiantEagle.com/AFTS
to link your card to Hillel Academy’s account using the School ID number 0454.
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Interested volunteers please contact
Dan Kraut
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When you #StartWithaSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh. Bookmark the link and support us every time you shop.
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/25-1067130
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MISSION STATEMENT
At Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh, we educate young men and women with unlimited capacity who compete in a superior manner in all challenges undertaken. Our students are Torah observant models of exemplary character, who love G-d, the Jewish people, and the land of Israel. To say that our students possess a love of learning, confidence and the ability to think critically, merely highlights the value of a Hillel education. What we ultimately achieve each day, and have been achieving for 70 years, is the gift of instilling each student with the foundation for a life spent actively serving and leading the Jewish community and society.
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Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh | 412 521-8131 | hillelhappennings@hillelpgh.org | www.hillelpgh.org
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