December 30, 2022 | פרשת ויגש | ו' טבת תשפ''ב
בס‘‘ד
JANUARY 1 With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990, new vistas and opportunities emerged to ignite the spark of
yiddishkeit in the former Soviet Union, where seventy years of Communism had robbed Soviet Jews of
M’dor L’dor Program their heritage.
Shachris at 7:50 followed by
The late Rabbi Avrohom Yosef Leiserson, Director of Chinuch Atzmai/Torah Schools for Israel visited
breakfast and learning Rabbi Avrohom Pam zt”l, Rosh Yeshiva, Mesivta Torah Vodaath and shared that an influx of Soviet
immigrants had arrived in Israel and faced the significant challenges of cultural differences, language
•••••• barriers and more. Worse, the school system was not equipped to educate their highly intelligent
children who knew little more than they were Jewish. The conversation took place immediately prior to
JANUARY 2 an Agudath Israel national convention which featured Rabbi Pam as a keynote speaker. Upon hearing
the bleak report, Rabbi Pam kept silent and became deep in thought. Finally, the Rosh Yeshiva
No Beachwood Bus responded, “I will forgo my prepared remarks at this convention and, instead, present a passionate plea
to all in attendance to help establish a network of schools for Soviet refugees in Israel.” With tears in
•••••• his eyes, he added, “Eich e’eleh el Avi vehanaar ainenu iti, How will I go up to my Father (in heaven) if
the youth is not with me?”
JANUARY 3
Rav Pam’s striking comment was a reference to the heartfelt words of Yehuda in this week’s parsha,
Asara b’Teves Vayigash. The brothers faced the Egyptian Viceroy who had insisted that Binyomin, the youngest,
Early Childhood 1:40 Dismissal remain in Egypt as a slave while his brothers return to their father, Yaakov Avinu. They knew that this
would absolutely devastate their aged father who was reluctant to part with Binyomin to begin with.
Kindergarten 2:00 Dismissal Thus, Yehuda bravely approached the Viceroy, recounted the sequence of events, pleaded for the lad’s
Grades 1-6 2:00 Dismissal release and expressed, “Eich e’eleh el avi, How will I go up to my father if the youth is not with me?
Jr. High Boys 1:00 Dismissal (44,34)”
Yavne 2:05 Dismissal Respected and revered, the venerable Rabbi Pam ascended to the convention podium and challenged
the audience to share his dream to create a framework of schools throughout Israel for Russian
•••••• immigrant children. Indeed, his revised speech and quickly altered agenda resulted in the birth of
Shuvu, a revolutionary network of schools that service Soviet immigrant children in Israel.
JANUARY 10
Amazing? Yes, but hardly unique. Throughout Jewish history, great Jewish leaders – Roshei Yeshiva,
Early Childhood Parent Teacher Rabbonim and sincere lay leaders – sacrificed much to establish schools, yeshivos, Bais Yaakov’s and
Conferences 7:00-10:00 kollelim in communities across the globe. Every community has a unique story. The pioneers in each
community lived not merely for themselves, but for the betterment of Klal Yisrael. Their objective was
•••••• building Jewish continuity. Their mantra was “Eich e’eleh el avi vehanaar ainenu iti”; we must provide
for our youth.
JANUARY 29-FEB. 5
When Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch zt”l, Telshe Rosh HaYeshiva spoke of establishing a Jewish day school –
Mid-Winter Vacation the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland – on the ashes of the Holocaust, he insisted that “men darf rateven
yiddishe kinder, we must save Jewish children”. It was all about the youth.
4:47
The lofty goals of the previous generation for our youth were to put it together; our goals are to keep it
together by building upon their incredible foundations. Just as they invested for our generation, we are
tasked to build a promising future for the next generation and beyond. It is not enough for us to
complacently make use of America’s spiritual infrastructure. We must build a stronger Klal Yisrael – for
our children and for theirs. Will we rise to the occasion?
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
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email [email protected] for your next vehicle!
Chanukah Delights
This year’s Chanukah Delights program was a fabulous success! A
warm and beau ful evening was enjoyed by over 500 people. Spe-
cial thanks goes to our parent volunteers, Mrs. Monica Goldstein
and Mrs. Yocheved Neeland. Special men on to our HAC Boys
Choir, under the direc on of Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Mann, for a stel-
lar performance and bravo to Morah Heigh and Morah Tehilla’s kin-
dergarteners for their adorable performance!
Special thanks to Mrs. Shira Stern and Mrs. Shana Goldberg for
their invaluable help!
*Photo credits: S.Y. Mann
Yeshiva Ketana
We are back in school following a wonderful Chanukah break! It was davening, learning
and middos tovos as usual over Chanukah for Yeshiva Ketana talmidim as many completed
learning charts were submi ed to the Rebbeim. This posi ve energy has spilled over into
classroom excitement as the boys are back into the familiar rou ne of shteiging! There was
also excep onal enthusiasm for collec ng tzedakah for our fellow Jews in the Ukraine as
many boys came back asking for more raffle ckets and collec ng more money. Mi
k’amcha Yisrael!
Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Moishe Schubert on the upsherin of their son which was
celebrated in Rabbi Ma a’s 3rd grade class. May they enjoy much nachas from him!
Inside the Academy | Page 2 | December 30, 2022
Girls Elementary
It was so exciting to welcome back everyone after Chanukah vacation. The com-
pleted charts and parents’ positive feedback reflect that our girls utilized the op-
portunity to put what they learned in the classroom to good use. We are sharing
some of that feedback below:
“Yehudis (Pollack) said Tehillim by the nairos and finished the entire Tehillim
throughout Chanukah.”
“Esti (Sochaczewsky) said brachos out loud and her cousins got to say amen.
She had a lot of ‘Mi La’Hashem’ moments.”
“Dina (Meisels) davened every day and dressed like a bas melech.”
“Thank you so much! This was such a positive and exciting way for Malka (Schwartz) to do so much good
over Chanukah!”
“Menucha (Klahr) played so nicely with her siblings and cleaned up right away when Ima and Abba asked.”
All of our third grade Moros created an original version of the popular game, “Guess
Who?” The girls each designed their own boy and girl and hung them on the board to
create a “Guess Who?” board. Using their wonderful Hebrew language skills, they did a
super job playing this fun game.
All three first grades culminated the Lashon unit on
mishpacha by labeling their very own beautiful family
pictures and created a bulletin board hanging in their
classrooms.
Mrs. Rossman’s and Mrs. Dier’s 2nd graders paired up to build a dreidel using tooth-
picks and gumdrops. Chanukah Meets STEM Challenge...
The girls designed, built, attempted and then redesigned dreidels while they created
new friendships and great memories!
Chanukah Art & Writing Contest
We are proud of the many winners from this year’s Jewish Press Chanukah Art and Writing Contest. The original works
of art are on exhibit at The International Synagogue at JFK, Arrivals Building, Terminal 4.
Congratulations to: Rifka Clements (Yavne, 11th Grade), Aliza Florans (2nd Grade), Shaina Freedman (6th Grade) and
Rachel Matitia (7th Grade).
||
Kindergarten
Last Wednesday the Kindergarten
classes enjoyed an amazing
carnival!! Of course we ended with
a yummy treat of cotton candy and
popcorn.
Morah Blech and Morah Shani’s
class are learning how to say winter gear words in Hebrew!
Early Childhood
In connection with the story about Serach in this week’s parsha, Morah
Laya and Morah Chaya’s kinderlach had fun strumming on musical instru-
ments. They discussed which instruments make loud sounds vs. which
make soft sounds. The children learned that music is another way to ex-
press our feelings. The children listened to musical recordings of a harp
being played and they decorated their own harps, which they are excited
to bring home and play as they retell the story of the parsha.
Bigs & Littles Mentoring Program
Recently, the Academy's award winning Bigs and Littles Mentoring Program had its
annual leadership training for all bigs. Mrs. Alex Fleksher introduced the idea of
what lights up our fire. All girls had an opportunity in small workshop groups to
share what lights up their fire and how
they can help their little's light their fire!
The interactive workshops were facilitat-
ed by Mrs. Ruchi Koval, Mrs. Aliza Koyfman, Mrs. Alex Fleksher, Mrs. Sandy Kaplan
and Dr. Robin Lovinger.
A lavish lunch was served and the girls shared experiences and ideas with one an-
other. We introduced kindness cards for all matches to use when they are together.
Mrs. Gil Wolovitz, Program Coordinator, thanks all the dedicated big sisters for be-
ing such wonderful role models for their littles. A great time was had by all!
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School Pictures
Now that picture day is over, we continue to offer a completely RISK-FREE ordering system with two tiers. In an effort to give
everyone a little longer to order, we have added an additional prepay option. The link to order is: cavanaughphoto.com/
order, then choose Hebrew Academy of Cleveland.
1) RETAKE /ABSENT ORDER EVENT: You can place an order for your child’s school pictures anytime from now through
January 16th. This is a pre-pay system, so you will NOT proof your picture first and pictures will all be delivered AFTER
RETAKE/ABSENT DAY to the school. If you aren’t happy with your pictures once you receive them, you can get a full refund -
no questions asked.
2) LATE SALE: You can also wait about 3-4 weeks after picture day and then all of the proofs will be posted online for
viewing and purchasing. You are welcome to wait for the proof, however please note that the prices for the “late sale” are
slightly higher and the packages are only available for a “ship to home” service for a small fee.
Should I send my kid for retakes?
Picture envelopes are being send home this week. Every single student will get an envelope - whether they purchased a
picture or not. If they did not pre-order, inside is a little card with a proof on it and ordering instructions. So, everyone will be
able to see the proof before retake day.
RETAKE DAY IF SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 16, 2023 AT ALL THREE CAMPUSES
Any questions or concerns please reach out to Cavanaugh Photography directly at: [email protected] or (440) 973-
4390.
Condolences to
The Diller, Tropper, Berman, Cohen and Elbaz families on the loss of their brother, Mr. Jack Diller, ז‘‘ל.
.המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים
Mazel tov!
Mr. & Mrs. Josh Bennett on the bar mitzvah of Yehuda
Rabbi & Mrs. Avrohom Cohen on the upcoming marriage of Yossel to Chana Forscheimer
Mr. & Mrs. Mair Cohen on the upcoming marriage of Menachem to Chana Leah Backman
Mazel tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Sholom Ber Chaikin and Mrs. Eva Cohen.
Mr. & Binyamin Hoen on the engagement of Sara to Yitzy Shaykevich
Mazel tov to Mr. & Mrs. Michoel Hoen.
Mr. & Mrs. Ramiel Howitt on the birth of a granddaughter to Yosef & Hindy Howitt
Rabbi & Mrs. Ahron Dovid Lebovics on the bar mitzvah of Yitzy
Mr. & Mrs. Avrumi Pollak on the birth of twin boys
Mazel tov to Dr. & Mrs. Mark Berkowitz and Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Pollak.
Rabbi & Mrs. Yaakov Schwartz on the birth of a son
Mazel tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Hillel Drazin and Rabbi & Mrs. Simcha Schwartz.
A picture is worth a thousand words....
THANK YOU Chanuka Activities
to our Sponsored by:
generous The Gottesman Family
sponsors! The Admon Family
The Rosner Family
CHANUKAH The Roffman Family
5783
BOY'S
JUNIOR
HIGH
Chanukah
Mesibos
sponsored by:
The Gross Family
The Schwartz Family
The Grodko Family
The Silver Family
The Fleksher Family
A picture is worth a thousand words....
Epic Carnival Misc.
Sponsored by: Sponsorships:
The Frank Family The Russel family
The Ireland Family The Botnick Family
The Canteen The Kirsch Family
The Spector Family
The Rossman Family
The Kohn Family
The Cohen Family
The Fertig Family
The Goldbaum Family
CHANUKAH
5783
Chanukah BOY'S
Chazara Program JUNIOR
Sponsored by: HIGH
The Bennett Family
The Gancz Family Torah by the
The Berner Family Menorah
Sponsored by:
The Bennett Family
The Graiser Family
The Feldman Family
SPONSORS NEEDED
To get your portion
in this unbelievable
zechus Please
contact Rabbi Y. Kahn
at 443-435-4013
A tremendous Yasher Koach to the over 200
families who took upon themselves the 30
minute screen free challenge over Chanukah.
Please, kindly complete the following confirmation:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSerr7YiKjyIAbUlm
zle62gqUIAr1uDISeDsWV5dXEacxgD6iw/viewform?usp=sf_link
The ice cream coupons will be sent out and the raffle will take place
next week iy"H!
May this program be a zechus for all of us to see only much nachas from our families!