View 21, Vol. 17

VOLUME 17 NUMBER 21 MARCH 1, 2019 24 ADAR I 5779

UPCOMING Parshat Vayakhel By: Rabbi Landsman
EVENTS
Parshat Vayakhel marks the fruition of the instructions provided in Parshiyot Terumah and
Tezaveh. This parsha begins with a two sentence section which is almost entirely off topic from the
subject matter of building the mishkan.
Candle Lighting: 5:28 “Six days work shall be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for
Hashem, whoever does work on it shall be put to death. You shall light no fire in any of your
Havdallah: 6:29 dwellings on the Shabbat day” (Shemot 35: 2-3).

The Shabbat laws were already mentioned in greater detail in last week’s parsha. The repetition
this week, at the beginning of Vayakhel, seems totally redundant. Why is it necessary to begin the
Saturday, March 2 section dealing with donating money to the Mishkan with this brief introduction telling us about

YCQ 78th Shabbat?
Rabbi Frand notes a peculiarity in the expressions “sheshet yamim tay-a-se melacha” which literally
Anniversary Dinner means “six days work shall be done.” A more common expression (as we indeed find elsewhere in

Sunday, March 3 the Torah) is “sheshet yamim ta-a-se melachtevha” (six days you shall do your work). It is peculiar to
Grades 5-8 use the passive form of the verb for doing work. Rabbi Frand suggests that by use of this expression,
the Torah is teaching us a fundamental rule for earning a livelihood. The amount of money a
Parent Child Learning person makes is not commensurate with the amount of effort he puts into his job.
A person is indeed required to make an effort to earn a living and support a family. One who does
not make that effort and expects “mann” from heaven will be disappointed! However, it is flawed to
Tuesday-Wednesday mentally make the equation that “the more work I do the more money I will make.” It does not work
March 5-6 like that.
Book Fair
Hashem decided what each of us should earn. We can exert ourselves in our professions and
either we will not succeed in earning as much as we feel we should earn or we perhaps will earn all
that money and then lose it due to unforeseen expenses or poor investments, or a variety of other
Wednesday, March 6 “unforeseen” circumstances. On the other hand, we can exert the normal amount of effort and
Hashem may bless the actions of our hands and we may earn large sums of money, far greater than
Parent Teacher what others who work much harder than we do earn.
Conferences

This is a fundamental belief in our tradition and it is what Shabbat observance is all about.
Sunday, March 10 Common wisdom is that “Of course if one works seven days a week, he will make more money than if
he works six days a week.” And yet, the Torah commands us to work only six days. If Hashem
Grades 5-8 wanted to bestow upon us a certain degree of financial success, he will bestow it to us whether we
Parent Child Learning expend six days of effort to earn it or we expend seven days of effort to earn it.

Set Clocks Ahead This is why the Torah here states “six days work shall be done”. The work must be done, but one

One Hour should not think “you shall do work”. This is the necessary preamble to asking the people to donate
funds for the construction of the Mishkan and its associated vessels. Whenever people are
approached for giving charity whether for institutions or for individuals, it is not easy to write the
Monday, March 11 check. It is always challenging because “where is the money going to come from?”
Parent Teacher
It was in order to address this important question that Moshe prefaced the chapter asking the
Conferences Children of Israel to contribute to the Mishkan building fund with the mitzvah to observe Shabbat and

specifically with the expression “Six days work shall be done.” This expression teaches that money is
earned based on Hashem. After establishing the principle that in six days a person can earn the
same amount that he would earn in seven days because everything he earns comes from Hashem,
Moshe can proceed to ask for donations of gold, silver, copper and so on.
It was first necessary to remove the people’s anxiety and assure them that in the final analysis their
donations would not cost them anything. As the Rambam writes in Mishnah Torah, “no one becomes
poor from giving charity.” Only then did Moshe ask for contributions to the Mishkan.
YCQ Family News Shabbat Shalom!

Mazel Tov to Rabbi Mazel Tov to our JV Boys Basketball Team!
Russek on the marriage PLEASE JOIN US!
Monday Night,
of his daughter! March 4 at 7:00PM
For the Semi-Finals
Mazel Tov to Morah HALB Lions @ YCQ!
Raina Popowitz (K-101)
on the Bat-Mitzvah of

her granddaughter!

Class 4-304: Brachot Experts

Last week was the YCQ Bracha Bee. The fourth grade Bracha Bee winner was Rabbi Soffer’s
class, 4-304. Every year, class 4-304 writes an email to Rabbi Heber at the Star-K asking about
a particular question about the Halachot of Brachot that came up that year.
This year, class 4-304, and David Nagarov in particular, noticed a discrepancy in one of the
cereals on the Star-K cereal list. Special K was listed as Mezonot/Borei Nefashot because of
the rice in it, but we noticed that on the Kelloggs website, it has 24% wheat in it as well. This
would cause it to be Mezonot/ Al Hamichya. Rabbi Heber checked with the OU and agreed
that we were correct and they had labeled the cereal with the incorrect bracha. Thanks to
class 4-304, they will be correcting it on their website.

Sunday Learning

This past Sunday, the fifth through eighth grade students and parents had an
amazing learning experience with Rabbi Yehuda Deutsch. Rabbi Deutsch inspired
us with a shiur connecting to the topic of “Mi Shenichnas Adar Marbim
B’Simcha”. He explained that there are five ways to obtain true Simcha. Some
points included, not focusing on the mistakes you have made and understanding
that “stuff” will not make us happy. Doing Mitzvot and being close to Hashem will
ultimately bring fulfillment and happiness as opposed to material possessions.

We are looking forward to greeting everyone at our 78th annual YCQ Scholarship Dinner.

The excitement is building as our Dinner Auction 2019 quickly approaches. Below are just a
few of our many exceptional donors that are participating in this years’ Motza’ei Shabbat,
March 2, 2019 dinner at the Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation at 8:30 in the evening.

Please see the pricing guide below available for participation at the Dinner.

Split the Pot Raffle Tickets for Prize Packages

1/$10 or 3/$25 1/$10; 3/$25; 10/$75; 25/$150

Credit Cards, Cash or Checks Payable to YCQ PTO

**If you are unable to attend, please go to our web site at:

http://www.ycqweb.com/pto-silent-auction to participate in this event to help our PTO continue
to support our faculty and students.

YCQ 5TH - 8TH GRADE STUDENT
PARENT-CHILD

SUNDAY LEARNING PROGRAM

PLEASE JOIN US THIS SUNDAY

March 3, 2019

26 Adar I 5779
FOR AN INSPIRATIONAL

LEARNING PROGRAM

Featuring YCQ Rebbe, Rabbi Kravetz
“The Jews are Beyond Destiny”

9:00am - Shacharit
10:00am - Shiur

11:00-11:30am - 3-on-3 Basketball
11:30am-1:00pm - Junior Varsity Basketball Practice

No Hockey Practice

‫בס"ד‬

Dear Parents,

As Parent Teacher Conferences are approaching, we would like to extend an invitation for all parents in grades N-5 to
utilize the conference option on ParentLocker. ParentLocker allows you to select the time slots and create your
schedule prior to arriving at school on Parent Teacher night. The scheduling system is first come/first serve, so the
earlier you sign up, the more availability there will be for appointments, and the more likely you will be able to
customize a convenient schedule for yourself.

Before beginning the process, please check the following schedule of conference dates and times in order to know
when the teachers you would like to see will be available:

Please Note: Fourth grade parents should not sign up for a Math Conference. Rather it should be done via phone or
e-mail.

Date Grades Times Slot length

Wednesday, Nursery, Kindergarten, 1-203, 2-204, 5:30pm to 10 Minutes per appointment
March 6, 2019 2-206, 2-207, 3-210, 3-212, 9:30pm
5-300, 5-301 5th Grade 5 Minutes per appointment
JHS Boys 6-9 PM
No Sign-up required

Monday, 1-200, 1-201, 1-202, 2-205, 3-209, 5:30pm to 10 Minutes per appointment
March 11, 2019 3-211, Fourth Grade, 9:30pm
5th Grade 5 Minutes per appointment
5-302, 5-303 6-9PM
No Sign-up required
JHS Girls

The online registration system will be open for registration beginning on February 12, 2019.
If you have any questions or comments at any point in the process, please contact Mrs. Blum at
(718) 793-8500 Ext. 310 or Mrs. Friedman at (718) 793-8500 Ext. 330.
Thank you





100TH DAY CELEBRATIONS