This week we read two Torah portions: Vayakhel, the regular weekly reading; and Shekalim, an additional reading for the beginning of the month of Adar II. Vayakhel begins with Moses gathering all the Jews and sharing G-d's instructions for building a sanctuary. Vayakhel actually means "he gathered." The second portion, Shekalim, is read at the end of the Torah reading, and describes the commandment for every Jew to donate a half-shekel coin, to be counted and used as the first official census of the Jewish people. Both readings allude to the overall need for Jewish unity. Sure, we have our differences; no two Jews are alike. At the same time, we have one important thing in common: the Jewish soul.

Coming together as one reminds us of this, and so does the identical donation of a half-shekel coin — regardless of their status, nobody gave more and nobody gave less. Everyone checked their differences at the door, so to speak. Everyone counted equally and was equally needed.

Along these lines, I feel it is imperative to stand with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine at this time. Due to the tense and volatile crisis in Ukraine, the Jewish population is living in a state of real fear. The economy has collapsed and business has come to a standstill.  

If you would like to financially support the efforts of the Jewish Community to assist the over 200,000 Jews living in Ukraine, I invite you click here and join the Jewish Federations of North America’s efforts.  

May G-d protect our brothers and sisters in Ukraine and throughout the world, and may we soon enter the era of global peace and harmony, when "One nation shall not lift a sword against another, and art of warfare will no longer be taught."

Shabbat Shalom,

Samara

First Grade General Studies

Mrs. Hurley

The first grade students are learning about a new genre....biographies! They read several biographies and discussed what type of information is in them. They studied how this genre is organized and written. Then, they came up with their own questions to ask in an interview. Each student interviewed one of the second or third grade students. They used this information to write biographies about the students they interviewed.

Middle School Judaic Studies

Rabbi Gewirtz

The competition among subjects for what will be taught during the 12 weekly Middle School Judaic periods has always been fierce. Chumash (the 5 books of Moses), Navi (prophets) Talmud (Mishna or Gemara) and Jewish History always “make the cut”. Middot (the healthy personality), Understanding Prayer, and Jewish Practice find their place too. But this year, a new subject has found a secure home in one of the prime 12 periods: “Modern Israel History”.

Increasingly, both the academic and social culture at college campuses has become more hostile towards Israel, with Jewish students struggling to present a positive view. Therefore, our mission to provide a strong foundation in Jewish literacy, classical text skills and modern Hebrew must expand to include Modern Israel History.

Our curriculum uses fast-paced videos created for young people by “Unpacked” a division of OpenDor Media, that cover major historical events and issues. Controversial topics (like Deir Yasin) are presented from both the Jewish and Arab sides. But, not surprisingly, Israel comes out much more in the “right” than in the “wrong”. The video is stopped periodically to allow the students to write down information on question sheets, which they then consult during a fun and competitive online “Kahoot” game.

So far, so good, despite scheduling the class in the final period Friday afternoon!! The students look forward to, show interest in, and are building a firm foundation of Modern Israel History!

Support our school by shopping The Scholastic Store Online for an expanded selection of exclusives, new releases, value packs, and more. All orders ship home and book-only orders over $25 ship free.

Every purchase benefits the Silver Academy and helps develop a love of reading.

Click here to shop online for many more selections.

The Silver Academy has Mishloach Manot - Purim cards for sale.

They are $1 each. You can color and mail these postcards or send them to someone else to relax and color.

Please email Amy at aroberts@silveracademypa.org or contact the office at

717-238-8775 if you wish to purchase.

All proceeds benefit The Silver Academy

The Silver Academy Passover Candy Sale is here. Please contact any Silver Academy student and family if you would like any Passover treats.

More treats and many other items can be found via the online store such as popcorn, cookie dough, kitchen accessories and even flower seeds. Please click here to visit the online store.

All proceeds benefit The Silver Academy with the designation being elementary school field trips, middle school social justice programming and the 8th grade trip to Israel.

Myrna Rubin has tribute cards available. If you would like to purchase some contact her at mrubin@silveracademypa.org

Susan Leviton has Giant gift cards. If anyone would like to purchase any she will sanitize them, put them in an envelope and do a transfer at her curb. No need to come to her door. Susan can be contacted at 717-608-0190.

Giant gift cards are also available in The Silver Academy Office. Contact the school at 717-238-8775 to arrange for pick up.

smile.amazon.com - The Silver Academy. 

 https://shop.shopwithscrip.com/Login/Enroll  Code: 5417A14L62452 

Offers Weekly Challah Order and Delivery To Students and Teachers.

Challah With a Twist, (a.k.a. Varda Challah), has been providing home baked challah to the Harrisburg community for over 24 years.

For any questions, please call or text Varda Gewirtz at 717-919-1358 .

There are no words to express the depth of our appreciation to you for your selfless efforts to give your time, energy and support to our Afghan friends and families. You have done so much to help our refugees make a new life in Harrisburg and we are hearing from our Afghan families that they are so happy with the assistance and encouragement they are receiving from all of our volunteers.

We are preparing to accept our next group of refugees in March and are seeking additional volunteers. We will be holding two volunteer informational sessions on Tuesday, March 1st at 10:00 am and at 7:00 pm and we hope you will consider attending and becoming part of this life-changing project. The links to sign up for these sessions are:

We need volunteers to help with securing housing, setting up apartments, transportation to appointments, mentorship & companionship, translation or ESL instruction, helping with clothing drives and so much more. We look forward to seeing you on March 1st to share more information about this important project.