In the first verse of
Parshat Ha’azinu
, Moshe declares “Hearken, O heavens, and I shall speak, and may the earth listen to the words of my mouth.” Various
midrashim
and commentaries offer different interpretations of Moshe’s inclusion of heaven and earth. The
Yalkut Shimoni
explains that Moshe points to the heavens and earth as symbols of consistent obedience to God’s word. Every day for thousands of years the sun has dutifully fulfilled its role in nature, rising on the eastern horizon and later setting in the west. The earth too is a consistent contributor to G-d’s world. The earth sits ready to be tilled and worked, it is always ready to accept the seeds needed to create food. These laws have remained constant and unchanged since the time of creation. The heavens and the earth do not violate the laws of nature or shirk their responsibility. Moshe emphasizes that all the more so:
B
’
nei Yisroel
must display consistent loyalty to God and His Torah.
It seems that according to the
Yalkut Shimoni
, Moshe here alludes to the danger of religious observance growing stale. People are attracted to novelty; to new ideas and experiences — and he is worried that over time
B’nei Yisroel
too might fall into this trap. Moshe, therefore, draws our attention to the forces of nature, which remain faithful to their initial missions even after thousands of years — not deviating at all from their assigned tasks.
This lesson is especially valuable during this time of year, with all the
Chagim
. It is hard to not feel a sense of
deja vu
sitting in shul and celebrating our holidays year after year. However, Moshe implores us to find value in our dependability. While we must do what we can to infuse a sense of newness into our religious pursuits, we must also understand that devotion requires consistency. Nowadays it is hard not to get caught up in what is new and exciting in religious observance as well. It seems that checking Facebook and Instagram has become a pre-Yom Tov planning necessity. However, this Yom Tov, let’s use our new and creative Sukkah decorations to create excitement for the holiday, and also spend time reflecting on the fact that we are celebrating Sukkot in the same way it has been celebrated for thousands of years.
Shanna Tova - Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Weinberg,
Principal
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The Middle School Girls enjoyed a Rosh Hashana coloring activity. Happy New Year!
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Avigail Van Sickle reads the diary she wrote as her alter ego, a Viking Queen, using Old Norse words for Mrs. Myers’s English class.
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Mr. Vick returned to school to fill in for Deonte, and was delighted to see everyone. We were delighted to see him in return!
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The High School Boys took part in pre-Yom Kippur learning in Shaare Torah’s Beis Medresh.
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Oh no! Avigail has misplaced her spectactular helmet / crown while on her voyage. Can you help her find it in these pages?
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Welcome this semester’s Journalism Elective students, who will be using their considerable skills to bring you wonderful content each week!
Rivka Kaminsky
Chana Yolkut
Maya Davis
Shoshana Kisilinsky
Dalya Kraut
Shira Wiesenfeld
Nathan Azagury
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Rabbi Weinberg introduced students to the power of a Growth Mindset by telling them a story about his youth. Anything is possible if you reach for the stars and work hard!
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Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for daily photos, updates, and fun quizzes and contests!
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Under the expert tutelege of coach Dayna Greenfield, the cross country teams have been put through their paces in the first meets of the season. Their goals, says Coach Greenfield, are to “have fun, become more confident in yourself, get better every day, and the icing on the cake would be to win team trophies at our meets.
Our student athletes are strong not only physically but mentally. They fight until the end of each race, never give up — and they might not want to admit it, but they enjoy each and every grueling step.
Cross Country is not only physically demanding and a great exercise, but it is mentally demanding as well. There are so many physical and mental obstacles our runners encounter throughout a race: rocks, other runners, and the feeling of exhaustion to name a few — but they prepare at practice for those obstacles and are ready race day to do their best.”
TEAMS
VARSITY BOYS:
Dov Gelman, Rami Shaw
VARSITY GIRLS:
Yehudis Kanal, Chavi Beck, Tahara Reinherz, Sonia Schachter, Kayla Weinberg, Lori Ziff
JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS:
Gabriel Elvgren, Coby Shaw, Caleb Knoll,
Akiva Sunshine, Gavi Poznanski
JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS:
Sima Reinherz, Hannah Swedarsky, Julif Ziff
NOVICE BOYS:
Yinon Leibovich, Shmuel Kanal
NOVICE GIRLS:
Elisheva Sunshine, Yael Beck
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“It was fun.” — Dov Gelman
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“It had a lot of hills!” — Kayla Weinberg
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“I liked it!” — Sima Reinherz
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“It was very painful — but I had a good time.” — Tahara Reinherz
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“It was a pretty hard course, but really fun.” — Rami Shaw
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“I liked it — it felt good because people were cheering me on.” — Chavi Beck
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The hills of Pittsburgh! Students in Mrs. Bellini’s art classes have been making perspective drawings that when painted in watercolor look like stained glass windows!
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The Sixth Grade Girls love art class!
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The Sixth Grade Girls made decorations for the hallway Sukkah.
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^^ CLICK ON THE WORDSEARCH ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD A FULL-SIZE PDF YOU CAN PRINT OUT! ^^
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This year’s production is
THE LION KING!
More details to follow!
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CLUBS
CLUBS BEGIN OCTOBER 3rd
Grades K - 3
BALLET, CROSS COUNTRY, ISRAELI COOKING, MITZVOZ / MIDDOS, SNAPOLOGY,
SOCCER SHOT, VIOLIN
Grades 4 – 8 Boys
ART, ASSEMBLE, CROSS COUNTRY, LEAGUES, MISHMAR, MISHNA, MITZVOS / MIDDOS, ODYSSEY OF THE MIND, SCIENCE FAIR, SNAPOLOGY, VIOLIN
Grades 4 – 8 Girls
ART, ASSEMBLE, BASKETBALL, CROSS COUNTRY, ISRAELI COOKING, MITZVOS / MIDDOS, ODYSSEY OF THE MIND, SCIENCE FAIR, SNAPOLOGY, VIOLIN
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The next issue of the Hillel Happenings will be Thursday October 11.
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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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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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