View 14, Vol. 17

VOLUME 16 NUMBER 14 DECEMBER 28, 2018 20 TEVET 5779

UPCOMING Parshat Shemot By: Rabbi Landsman
EVENTS
The Mishna [Sotah 9b] discusses the concept of Divine reward and punishment that is "measure
Candle Lighting: 4:17 for measure.” One example cited is because Miriam waited to see what would happen to her brother's
Havdallah: 5:22 basket floating in the Nile, all of Klal Yisroel waited for Miriam for a seven day period when she was
temporarily "exiled from the camp" as punishment for speaking lashon hara against her brother.
Sunday, December 30
UPK In Session At first glance, the fact that Miriam stayed at the riverbank to see what would happen to her brother
does not seem to be such a great deed on her part. She may have stayed out of curiosity, it may have
Grades 5-8 Parent been out of concern, but it does not seem like such a significant and important act that it should require all
Child Learning of Klal Yisrael to wait for her in the wilderness for an entire week.

Tuesday, January 1 In order to appreciate the actual significance of her act, we need to see it in the context provided
New Year’s Day by the Gemara in Sotah [12a]. The Talmud states that Amram, Miriam's father, was one of the great men of
NO SCHOOL the generation. When he heard Pharaoh's decree to throw all the male children in the Nile, he gave up
hope and decided to divorce his wife, Yocheved, rather than bring any more children into the world who
Sunday, January 6 would just be drowned in the Nile at birth. Amram set the pattern for the rest of the nation and everyone
Siddur Presentations followed suit and divorced their wives as well.

YCQ Family News Miriam told her father that his decree was worse than Pharaoh's decree. Pharaoh's decree was
only directed at the males. Amram's decree would affect both the males and the females. Pharaoh's decree
Mazel tov to would only affect the fate of the children in this world. Amram was decreeing that the children would not
Mrs. Caryn Kramer come into existence and therefore would have no life in either this world or the next world. Amram listened
(business office) on to the advice of his daughter. He remarried Yocheved and at the age of 130 she became pregnant and had
the child who grew up to be Moshe Rabbeinu. Again, everyone else followed Amram's example and
the birth of a remarried the wives they had divorced. The Gemara then relates that when Moshe was born, the house
grandson! filled with light. Amram kissed Miriam on the forehead and told her, "Your prophecy has been fulfilled."
However, when Moshe was thrown into the Nile to hide him from the Egyptians, Amram went over to
Mazel tov to Morah Miriam and asked, "Now what happened to your 'great prophecy'?"
Leemor Abraham
It is in this context that we begin to understand the meaning of the pasuk "And his sister stood
(JHS Morah) on the away from him at a distance." The reward that Miriam later received was not just for standing at the Nile for
Bat-Mitzvah a few moments, it was for being the heroine of the whole story of Amram and all the Jews taking back their
wives. It was for being responsible for the birth of the person who became the leader of the Jewish nation.
of her daughter, She saved her brother and in effect the entire nation because she refused to give up hope.
Daniella (6G2)!
Things looked hopeless. At the time when Miriam spoke up to her father, there were already
Mazel tov to Silvia thousands and thousands of Jewish children who had died in the Nile. By standing firm to see what would
Bracha Yakubova on be with her brother, she demonstrated a particularly Jewish trait – resilience and refusal to abandon hope.
Miriam's heroic faith gave courage to the nation and saved them from the terrible fate of discouragement
her Bat-Mitzvah! and despair.

REMINDER: Rabbi Frand expresses a similar idea. The law is that if one loses an object and gives up hope of
ever getting it back (yeeush), then the person who finds the object is entitled to keep it. However, as long
December 31, 2018 as a person has not given up hope of recovering his lost object then the finder is not allowed to keep it.
3:30 Dismissal N-8 Rabbi Frand explained that a person's hope is the only thing that connects him to that object. He has lost
possession and he cannot use it. His hope alone still binds him to the object. Once he gives up hope, he
No Queens Bus has severed any connection he had to the lost object and that is why the finder can then keep it.
Service
That is why, Rabbi Frand said, it is so destructive to give up hope. Whatever the situation, as long
January 1, 2019 as one keeps his hope alive, there remains a potential cure, or a potential redemption to the crisis. One
No School must maintain hope in order to have a chance to see that salvation comes to fruition.

Had Miriam given up hope, then the last connection to the future deliverance of the Jewish people
would have been severed. This is why her act of faith was so crucial. The payback for this was that when
Miriam became a leper and the Jewish people were in the desert, HaShem told them that they must wait
for her.

Why was this an appropriate payback? Because there is one thing that should never be done in
the desert and that is to wait. In the heat, in the adverse conditions of a desert, one dare not dilly-dally
around. The Jewish people could have said – "Miriam will catch up with us. We cannot stick around. What
will become of us?" HaShem told them, "No. Remember Miriam. She had faith. She did not give up hope
because she knew that the rescue of the Almighty comes in the blink of an eye. We will wait for Miriam. Do
not worry about the water. Do not worry about the lack of food. Do not worry about the heat."

Miriam taught us the timeless lesson of not giving up hope when things look bleak. This valuable
lesson, symbolized by her waiting to see what would happen to Moshe in the Nile, is certainly worthy of the
payback of waiting for Miriam when she was not able to travel.

Shabbat Shalom!

Sunday Learning

This past Sunday there were three simultaneous shiurim given by three of our Rebbeim. Rabbi
Finestone, our sixth grade Gemara Rebbe, gave an enlightening shiur entitled “Seize the
Moment.” He inspired the large crowd of fifth through eighth grade parents and children with
stories, anecdotes, and Halachic teachings about the importance of not wasting spiritual
opportunities when they present themselves. Rabbi Nat delivered an informational class to his
eighth grade honors Gemara students and parents on the background history of many of the
Tannaim and Rishonim quoted in Shas. Rabbi Bernstein gave a shiur to his seventh grade honors
Gemara students and parents on the background history of Rashi with a description of how he
developed his in-depth analysis of Chumash and Gemara. The program concluded with a raffle
led by Rabbi Bernstein and 3-on-3 basketball in the gym.

Grade 1 Welcomes Author Dina Rosenfeld in the Library

On Monday, December 24, celebrated Jewish author, Dina Rosenfeld visited the YCQ library to share
her writing process with our enthused and motivated group of first graders. Mrs. Rosenfeld is the
author of the beloved book series Yossi and Laibel, along with almost 20 more books that grace the
shelves of our library. Mrs. Rosenfeld explained that book editors are like teachers (using colored pens
to make corrections), the lengthy process of collaborating with an illustrator to match the written
words, and how a book is fused together using current-day cardboard covers as opposed to the archaic
wooden ones used in the past. The children were enthralled by Mrs. Rosenfeld’s animated reading of one
of her most popular books, Peanut Butter and Jelly for Shabbos. They were equally delighted
discovering that The Kind Little Rivka books features the same “Rivka” from the Torah in Italian,
French, Russian, and Portuguese. Class 4-306 also had the opportunity to meet the author, who
enlightened them in more grade-worthy terms about the writing process. Much thanks to the YCQ
Parent-Teacher Organization, who sponsored this outstanding author event!

Grade 1 and Grade 2 Safety Kits

Grades 1 and 2 lab science have started their new unit on Natural Disasters. They learned about
tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. In their last science lab, they learned how important it is
to follow directions when there is an emergency and about the types of things they would take
with them if they had to go somewhere safe until the bad weather passed. Each student then
made a safety kit game containing a variety of items, some they would take and some that they
would leave behind. They discussed the importance of food, water and dry clothes and how
electronics are not a good thing to take when there is no electricity. They also discussed that it is
ok to take a small special item that helps them feel safe like a teddy bear or a favorite toy.

JV Wildcats Basketball 4-0

The YCQ JV Basketball Team is off to a great start. So far, they have an undefeated season, beating Har
Torah, HALB, and HAFTR, all by double digits. In the game against HAFTR, YCQ won by a score of
51-21 with almost the whole team scoring. On Wednesday night, the Wildcats won over the Magen
David Warriors, 28-23 in a close and exciting game. It has been a true team effort, as the Wildcats have
been led by their suffocating defense and unselfish play on the offense. The Wildcats have shown
amazing teamwork, good sportsmanship, and confidence. Thank you to Coach Justin Schussheim for
leading the team to a 4-0 start. Go Wildcats!

WE THANK THIS WEEK’S SPONSORS
FOR THE WEEK OF

‫כ‘ טבת תשע"ט‬-‫ט"ו‬
DECEMBER 24-28, 2018
IN MEMORY OF
MY FATHER,

MOSHE BEN-ZUR A’’H

OLIVIA AND URI ROZIC

http://www.ycqweb.com/parnes_hayom_dedication





YCQ 5TH - 8TH GRADE STUDENT
PARENT-CHILD

SUNDAY LEARNING PROGRAM

PLEASE JOIN US THIS SUNDAY

December 30, 2018

22 Tevet 5779
FOR AN INSPIRATIONAL

LEARNING PROGRAM

Featuring World Renowned Professor,
Rabbi Mordechai Becher

“UNITY, PLEASURE, AND THE NEW YORK JETS”

9:00am - Shacharit

10:00am - Shiur

11:00-11:30am - 3-on-3 Basketball

11:30am-12:30pm– Boys Varsity Basketball Practice

12:30pm-2:00pm- Hockey Practice







HAVURAT YISRAEL
32nd Annual Ski Shabbaton

Winter Break at Mount Snow, Vermont
With Rabbi David Algaze

Wednesday January 23rd — Sunday January 27th, 2019

Complete package includes:
• Skiing: Lift tickets for Thursday, Friday, Sunday.
• Shabbaton: An unforgettably intense Shabbat experience with lots of

singing and ruach.
• Lodging: Four nights in our own private country inn (arrive Wednesday

evening, depart Sunday). Free shuttle bus to the mountain.
• Meals: Delicious kosher meals at the inn, plus sandwiches to take along skiing,

professionally catered and supervised.
• Orthodox Services: Minyanim every day and warm Shabbat services with sefer Torah.
• Learning: Shiurim and informal discussions every day, all levels.
• Many Nearby Activities: snow tubing, snowmobiling, sleigh rides, swimming and more!

A great way for families to spend quality time together, with friends and a warm friendly
Jewish community, and without the hassles of dealing with all the details!

For further info, please contact:
Serge Merkin, Shabbaton Chairman, 917-656-2722 / [email protected]

Havurat Yisrael Synagogue
106-20 70th Ave. , Forest Hills, NY 11375

WE HAD A WONDERFUL WEEK AT YCQ!