YC Connect - 2 November 2018

DARKENU PARSHAT CHAYEI SARAH
“ON APPRECIATING THE ZAIDAS AND BOBBAS I NEVER MET!!!”
It is certainly puzzling when, in spite of parents having done ‘everything right’ - a child rebels (chas v”sh); it is equally enigmatic when despite the child’s exposure to every violence and immorality, somehow, a fine upstanding citizen emerges.
Rivka did not have Lot’s advantages – she grew up far from the rarified atmosphere of the Home of Avraham, which exerted a pull and upward force beyond the simply verbal. You almost could not help learning to look after the underdog, indeed even at personal risk, in that home.
Rivka grew up in the house of the evil man Besuel and her brother, the conniving Lavan – one of the most deceitful people in history.
Yet we meet young Rivka at the well, fully prepared to engage the needs of a wayfarer – as befits Avraham himself. Where did she get this awareness?
Perhaps an essential key to understanding our children is to look sometimes beyond our four cubits. There are zaidas and bobbas, there are generations who we did not even know. There are uncles and aunts. There is a veritable ‘shtetl’ in our homes.
The Chinuch crucible is not just the measurable in our homes. It depends on the variables of generations long gone and continents never visited.
Possibly that is why the Torah registers the birth of Rivka immediately preceding the death of Sarah. Perhaps that is why Yitzchak brings Rivka, his wife to be, into his mother’s tent. Immediately the miracles that occurred for his mother occurred for Rivka. Perhaps this is all an indication that it takes a shtetl to raise a child. It takes a history as old and as wide as the world itself.
Perhaps this opens a new page in Chinuch challenges. Perhaps we are not always our most kind and patient and uplifted selves; indeed sometimes we might even struggle with our morality. However, there is no doubt that there is an Avraham somewhere in the family who is davening passionately for all his family.
We would do well to incorporate within our Chinuch and family vision all the refined, noble, just and pious people that populate our family tree and our relationships. We don’t and we should not, fight alone.
Good Shabbos
Rabbi Avraham Tanzer
Good Shabbos
ISSUE 28 | 02 NOVEMBER 2018 | 24 Cheshvan
PARSHAT: CHAYEI SARAH CANDLE LIGHTING: 18H07 SHABBAT ENDS: 18H58


IN THIS ISSUE
Inspirational Insight from the Rosh Yeshiva
Rabbi Avraham Tanzer
From the Desk of the MD
Rabbi Leron Bernstein
Pre-Primary School News
Principal – Mrs Ruth Kirkel
Primary School News
Principal – Mr Joseph Beer
From the Principal of the High Schools
Principal – Mr Rob Long
Boys High School News
Menahel – Rabbi Daniel Kaplan
Girls High School News
Head of Student Life – Yardena Bauer
Sports News and Results
Sports Department
YES Centre News
Director – Mrs Dinah Unterslak
Hugo’s Greenhood Update Classifieds & Advertising
What’s Happening in Our Community
Dates to Diarise!
7 December 2018 Term 4 Ends


Dear Parents,
We have had a very powerful week at Yeshiva College - with mixed emotions of celebration, sadness and achievement.
The Torah, this week, teaches us how to navigate the difficult world of loss and sadness. The Torah perspective is always to celebrate life. In living life, we are to be fully engaged in all its facets and to infuse it with Kedusha and G-dliness. We don’t escape life and see it as an obstacle - we see every blessing and every challenge as an opportunity for love, support and growth.
In relating to the terrible Pittsburgh tragedy, I came across a brilliant piece by CNN - which takes the unconventional approach of not placing any focus on the killer, but rather on those who were lost and how they lived their lives. Too many times, it is the infamous killer’s name which is eternalised - when it should be the victims of such destruction that must be remembered and whose good lives must be celebrated. See here - https://www.facebook.com/cnn/videos/335698233880669/
We were all absolutely shocked to learn of the sudden and untimely passing of our beloved Junior High School Afrikaans teacher, Mevrou Cecilia Van Der Westhuizen. “Mevrou” was an absolute legend of a teacher who put her dear students first, as if they were her own children. She was a shining light of radiance and love to all that she encountered. Her special chein, warmth and dedication will be sorely missed by her family, her colleagues and by our learners. We wish the family only good and they should know no more sorrow. I joined with our wonderful General Studies staff yesterday to sit and share stories about Mevrou as well as work on various ways that we can, as a school community, pay tribute and eternalise her legacy of commitment to education and spreading love and warmth everywhere she went. We will communicate information on these events with our community in due course. Go well Mevrou. We will miss you dearly.
This week, the Yeshiva College Foundation celebrated the life of a true legend of our institution, the late Gerald Leissner z”l. Gerald was the Chairman of our school for decades and committed himself to the sustainability and growth of the school. One of the ways in which he did this was through an annual business breakfast, which drew great interest from the property industry. This Thursday, our Foundation, headed by our Foundation Chairman, Laurence Rapp inaugurated the Gerald Leissner Memorial Business Breakfast in tribute to Gerald and his incredible legacy of ensuring that no deserving learner be denied the gift of a Yeshiva College education. It was a wonderful breakfast, where we paid tribute to Gerald in the most honourable of ways and it was attended by people who came from far and wide to pay tribute to Gerald’s legacies in the communal and commercial fields.
It is so fitting that on Parshat Chayei Sarah - where we learn of the passing of Sarah Imeinu but rather call the parsha, “The Life of Sarah” - that we too focus on the legacy of these great people. World Jewry has also responded in such a way with the #ShowUpForShabbos campaign to eternalise the legacy of our dear brothers and sisters that lost their lives in Pittsburgh last Shabbat.


It is so fitting that on Parshat Chayei Sarah - where we learn of the passing of Sarah Imeinu but rather call the parsha, “The Life of Sarah” - that we too focus on the legacy of these great people. World Jewry has also responded in such a way with the #ShowUpForShabbos campaign to eternalise the legacy of our dear brothers and sisters that lost their lives in Pittsburgh last Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Leron Bernstein




THE WEEK THAT WAS
Crawling like spiders, catching flies and making webs were all part of a fascinating Music and Movement ring!
Learning about the letter, “s”, turned into a musical experience for our Grade R children as one of our moms
came to show and play the saxophone. The rich sounds of the saxophone kept us captivated!


with an
amazing
sensory
experience!
So much fun
was had with
washing and
drying the
props from
the dolls’
corner!
SHABBAT SHALOM!
Ruth Kirkel
Drawing in
flour
provided our
Play
schoolers


ATTENTION ALL GRADE 1 PARENTS
Please diarise the annual Grade 1 Concert which will be held on 14th November at 18h00 in the Primary School Hall.


Dear Parents
WEEK: 05 - 09 NOVEMBER 2018
Please take note of the security duties for the week commencing 05 November 2018. Your attendance and punctuality is vital. If you are unable to do your allocated shift, it is your responsibility to swap your shift with another parent. Please inform Mark Finkelstein on
082 808 8632 of the change, or contact him should you have any queries.
TUESDAY 06 NOVEMBER
PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL
MORNING SHIFT 07h45 – 08h30
AFTERNOON SHIFT 12h20-13h00
MONDAY 05 NOVEMBER
EDDEN JOSS ELLENI SHANAE
AYLA MISHAN NESHAMA RABIN
AARON SASSOON SARA SUCHARD
LEXI ROMM SHIRA UTIAN
WED 07 NOVEMBER
HILLEL JACOBSON YISHAI HORWITZ
YAACOV ARONOWITZ MIKAELLA MERKEL
THURS 08 NOVEMBER
MICHAELA KLOTZ ISABELLA PIRRIE
DINAH RESNIK MICHAL SALTZMAN
FRIDAY 09 NOVEMBER
DANIEL TOCKER YONATAN MEYBERG
BENJAMIN SCHMULIAN ELCHANAN MANDELBERG
PLAYSCHOOL
MORNING SHIFT 7h45 -8h30
MONDAY 05 NOVEMBER
ARIYEH LOEB
TUESDAY 06 NOVEMBER
JONAH LUTRIN
WEDNESDAY 07 NOVEMBER
DAVID SHANE
THURSDAY 08 NOVEMBER
ARIEL SHER
FRIDAY 09 NOVEMBER
ADAM SMOOKLER
PRIMARY SCHOOL
MORNING SHIFT 7h10 - 7:45
MONDAY 05 NOVEMBER
JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN ADAM ISAACSON GABRIELLA KANTOR
TUESDAY 06 NOVEMBER
HANNAH KAVEBERG AYALA RESNIK DANIELLA REUBENSON
WEDNESDAY 07 NOVEMBER
AZRIELLA SACKS ELLA SALKINDER ADIR SASTO
THURSDAY 08 NOVEMBER
MOSHE SEVITZ ZANE SMITH ASHIRA WANER
FRIDAY 09 NOVEMBER
AARON ZULBERG AREYH FROOM MICHAL COHEN
If you are unable to do your Security Duty please swap with another parent. It is not sufficient to request a swap on your class group as people
tend to ignore the request, rather phone other parents to ask them to swap with you. If for some reason you have been unable to swap please
notify me.
Kind Regards
Mark Finkelstein


Due to the International and Local increase in security threat levels we will be making the following proactive changes to campus access through the mikveh gate.
All access to the bottom of the campus will be via the side gate on Nicholson Rd (The gate between the field and the mikveh will be closed permanently)
The side gate will only be open for access at the following times:
Weekdays 07:15 - 09:00 and 12:00 - 12:45 Friday Night 17:00 - 20:00
Shabbat Day 07:30 -13:30
Please use the main access gate on Long Avenue outside of these times
The mikveh will always be open during the week and on an appointment basis on Friday night
This change will be reviewed again in December


The CSO was established 25 years ago to protect Jewish life and the Jewish way of life while empowering the community to protect itself.
Managed by a small complement of full-time personnel, it relies on a large group of loyal, well-trained and passionate volunteers from a broad spectrum of the South African Jewish community.
The CSO survives solely on donor funding in order to continue with the work that is so vital to our people.
Protecting the community is often a stressful and thankless task, and the Annual Appreciation Dinner is an evening designed specifically to reward and thank our volunteers, staff and their partners for the work they have selflessly provided our organisation, and the Jewish Community in South Africa. This year we are celebrating our 25th year, and we are expecting over 500 people.
On this special occasion of our silver anniversary, we extend to you the opportunity to join in and give back by sponsoring a table, in honour of these dedicated, committed and loyal people who tirelessly protect our community.
The CSO will be acknowledging all donors and sponsors on the night of the event, however we are also happy if you would like to remain anonymous.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Sponsor a table at our Annual Appreciation dinner (for R 5000-00). We are a NPC, and issue 18a Tax Receipts.
For further information pertaining to the above please contact or email: Sharron Wolder 0829290284, [email protected] or Lauren Stamelman at [email protected]
You can also make a direct deposit into our bank account:
Account name: CSO
Name of bank: Standard Bank
Branch: Account no: Branch code: Ref:
Killarney 243046758
007205
Dinner sponsorship
Yours sincerely,
CSO Management, Staff and Volunteers http://csodonate.org.za




Dear Parents
We are very appreciative of the wonderful sentiments that you have expressed in memory of “Mevrou van der Westhuizen.” Your generous and kind donations towards the Selwyn Segal Home and Kitty and Puppy Haven in memory of “Mevrou” are fitting tributes to the kind, compassionate and warm-hearted person that she was.
The Grade 11s start exams next week and we wish them all the best and know that all their hard work and preparation will pay off with good results. The Grade 10 learners write their last exams for the year, before embarking on what will be an amazing experience to Israel. We wish them a safe journey and a trip full of adventure, wonder and good things to come from the experience that they are embarking on.
Jo Hamilton ran an informative and educational program for our Grade 7 girls on the Effective Management of Relational Aggression. Jo’s presentation was very well received by the girls and we look forward to helping them implement the strategies that she equipped the girls with.
Our boys played cricket against Torah Academy on Monday, Torah Academy won a closely contested game off the last ball of the match. Yeshiva College scored 122/4 after 15 overs, M Kaplan 51 runs and G Herring 36 runs. Torah Academy 123/4 after 14.5 overs.
It gives me great pleasure to inform you that, as a team, the following boys, have achieved joint 1st position in Gauteng in the South African National Accounting Olympiad. Jordan Sandler (Joined 3rd), Liad Shulman (Joined 3rd), Doron Swartz (6th), Galia Ovad, Akiva Levit and Joseph Kaplan, have brought kudos to themselves and the school. Mr v.d. Berg and the boys are to be congratulated on this fine achievement.
A reminder: We have postponed our Information Evening for Parents of Grade 7 (2019) to this coming Thursday, 8 November 2018. The meeting will take place in the Girls High School Beit Midrash at 19h00.
Warm regards
Rob Long
MIDDLE SCHOOL HOMEWORK ALL LEARNERS MUST CONTINUE REVISING FOR EXAMS


Dear Parents,
It has been a heavy week at Yeshiva College as we were saddened by the news of “Mevrou”’s passing. We wish her and her family condolences, strength and a long life - she will be deeply missed by all.
On Tuesday morning we conducted a memorial learning assembly for the tragedy that occurred on Pittsburgh over the weekend. The YID together with the Kodesh staff ran a learning programme at the assembly. We commemorated the victims of the attack and davened for a Refuah Sheleimah for all the wounded.
This morning our Israel committee ran an interactive assembly where a panel discussed multi-dimensional views on Israel’s politics, culture and religious identity. Thank you to the panelists, Ziev Shani, Benji Shulman, Ilan Frydman and Aharon Chemel. Our chessed committee also ran a programme for the boys where they created different stations for the boys to create chessed packs for different charities.
We wish our Grade 11s Hatzlacha for their final year exams which start next week! Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Daniel Kaplan
Rabbi Daniel Kaplan


Even though the GHS has quietened down as everyone begins to get into exam mode, the YID room continues with vigour. On Friday we had an inspiring assembly by our Israel committee. A panel made up of Ziev Shani, Benji Shulman, Ilan Frydman and Aharon Chemel discussed multi-dimensional views on Israel’s politics, culture and religious identity. Following that, our alumni who have made Aliya, sent in videos explaining their Israel journey which all began at Yeshiva College. We also had an amazing and inspiring Nush shiur before school with Elisheva Gilbert.
On Friday our girls have been volunteering at different chessed organisations. Our lovely girls went off to change the world in their own little way by playing with the children at Impilo and painting the ladies nails at Sandringham Gardens.
The girls have all come together in unity as we remember Mevrou van der Westhuizen. We miss her happiness and exuberance that she will be remembered for. And the smiling way she greeted us all as ‘my skattie’.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom
Yardena Bauer and the YID team
MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF STUDENT LIFE


SPORTS NEWS – 24 - 31 OCTOBER 2018
High School
RESULTS
Wednesday 31 October
H/S Cricket v Torah Academy: (YC lost) Well done to M Kaplan on 51 runs and G Herring on 36 runs.
Primary School UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday 07 November
Comm A v Houghton Primary: (Away) (Wanderers) Ter H A v Houghton Primary: (Away) Comm v Japari: (Home)
Ter H v Japari: (Away) (Zoo Lake Sports Club)
Friday 09 November
Mini Cricket at Torah Academy
RESULTS
Friday 26 October
Swimming Gala: (Well done to all the swimmers who took part in the Gala) Mini Cricket: (YC won 5 of 5 games)
Monday 29 October
U9 Cricket v Torah Academy: (YC won)
Tuesday 30 October
Ter H v Hirsch Lyons: (YC won) (Well done to L Dirmeik on 32 runs off 8 balls and L Keet on 24 runs (Ref).
Wednesday 31 October
Comm A v Linksfield Primary: (YC won). (J Weinstein 28 runs (Not Out), D |Jaffe 20 runs (Not Out).
Ter H A v Linksfield Primary: (YC won). (J Reubenson 26 runs (Ref), J Orbach 27 runs (Ref), G Graff 21 runs and A Schneider 24 runs. R Smith 3 wickets for 5 runs in 2 overs).
Cultural Day Table Tennis: Well done to all the participants of the day. You made YC proud.
Cultural Day Chess: Well done to all the participants of the day. You made YC proud.


WEEKLY LUNCH FOR THE RECYCLERS
Our Girls High School learners continue to make lunch for our Hugo’s Greenhood recyclers on a weekly basis. Each week a different class has the responsibility of brining the bread and spreads to make these sandwiches. The sandwiches are then delivered to the recyclers. #HugosGreenhood #SeeTheUnseen


YES IS HERE! – WE ARE OPEN! COME PAST TO VIEW OUR STATE OF THE ART CENTRE
FOR MORE INFO CONTACT DINAH UNTERSLAK ON [email protected]




Dear Yeshiva College Parents
A DECADE OF THE ‘FEED-A-GUARD’ PROGRAMME
For ten years our community has provided hot suppers for our campus guards on a daily basis - thanks to the participation of members of the Glenhazel campus shuls and Yeshiva College. I am really proud of the generosity of our volunteers. The security guards who look after our campus throughout the night while we are snuggled in our warm cozy beds, are deeply grateful for the hot meal they received nightly. I am now looking for volunteers to assist us with meals for next year (starting December 2018).
If you can please email me so I can include you on the roster.
Kind regards, Wendy Kahn - [email protected]
CAN YOU MAKE SUPPER FOR 3 SECURITY GUARDS ONE NIGHT EVERY SECOND MONTH?


COLLECTION OF UNUSED/ UNWANTED STATIONERY AND TEXTBOOKS
Yeshiva College families are renowned for their warmth and generosity. With the 2018 school year almost at a close, we have begun collecting any unused or unwanted books, pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, tippex, glue, crayons, kokis, pencil bags, school bags, and library bags, etc. These will be donated to learners at our sister schools in Alexandra Township.
We have also started a 2nd Hand Textbook Shop. Please kindly donate any textbooks that you are no longer using.
For more information, please contact: either Nicky Mandelberg (082 325 1070), Lauren Radomsky (082 451 2718) or the Foundation Office (011 640 9909).
COLLECTION POINTS:
Boys High School – YID office
Girls High School – Devorah’s office
Primary School – Vanessa’s office
Nursery School – Office
Thank you so much for your support!


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Gemara Shiur
Masechet Taanit Every Tuesday 19h30 Main Shul
Parsha of the Week
Shabbat morning 11h15
Pirkei Avot
Every Thursday (Ladies only) 10h30
In Rabbi A Tanzer’s office
The Light of Shabbat
Exploring the practical commandments from this holy day.
Tuesday afternoons (Ladies only) Big Shul – 16h45
Wednesday mornings in the Beis
A social and learning experience
08h30 am – 11h30 am (All invited)
Hilchot Kashrut
Come and join us for a practical shiur – focusing on the principles of kashrut.
Monday mornings 11h15 - Beit Mordechai Kollel
ART OF TEFILLAH – THE LAWS AND IDEAS BEHIND DAVENING – 40 MINUTES BEFORE MINCHA IN THE BIG SHUL