may 4th - Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy of the Capital District

May 4, 2012Issue
Issue Number 57 Volume Number III
Upcoming Events
May 10th-
Lag B’Omer
ל”‏ ג בעומר
Candle Lighting times for May
Friday May 4th —- Light 7:41 Saturday May 5th —- End 8:48
Friday May 11th —- Light 7:49 Saturday May 12th —-End 8:56
Dvar Torah on Parashat Kedoshim, by Rachel Anisfeld
דבר תורה
‏(פרשת קדושים (
Kedoshim Tehiyu. “Be holy for I the Lord your God am holy.” So begins the second of this week’s two parshiyyot.
What does it mean to be kadosh, holy
According to Rashi, kedushah, holiness, involves the separation from the prohibited sexual unions listed in the end of
the previous parsha (as well as the end of kedoshim). But according to Nachmanides, being kadosh does not mean
keeping the bare minimum of prohibitions assigned by the Torah; it means striving for more. As Nachmanides points
out, it is easy for a person to be a naval bereshut haTorah, “a vile person within the permissible realm of the Torah.” It
is easy, in other words, to officially keep all the laws of the Torah, but to nonetheless act in disgusting ways, to eat only
permitted foods but to eat them in an uncivilized beastly manner. So the Torah added on this general statement – kedoshim
tehiyu, to let us know that we should do more than the bare minimum.
Kedushah then has a kind of reaching quality to it. It is not quantifiable; it has no maximum. It is a process, a journey,
an attitude of striving. This is the nature of many of the laws of Kedoshim – love your neighbor as yourself; show respect
to the elderly; do not go around spreading gossip; leave the corners of your fields for the poor. These laws involve
going beyond minimum neighborly decency; they offer us a picture of the kind of loving society we should be
aiming for.
The nature of Kedoshim’s laws is highlighted by a midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 24:5) which draws parallels between them
and the 10 commandments. Ari Hart on the Uri L’Tzedek website (a great new Jewish social justice movement), commenting
on this midrash, points out that the 10 commandments create a floor, a required minimum, for a functional
society, while parashat Kedoshim imagines a people striving toward a higher goal.
Thus, while the 10 commandments prohibit false testimony against a fellow in a court case, parashat Kedoshim prohibits
any type of gossip or slander. While the 10 commandments prohibit jealousy, Parashat Kedoshim says, “Wish
for your neighbor what you would wish for yourself” (ve’ahavta le’reakha kamokha). Do more than not wish him evil;
actively desire good for him. The 10 commandments say “Do not murder,” while Kedoshim says Lo Ta’amod al dam
re’ekha – Do not stand by while the blood of your fellow is being spilled. One is a minimum call to not yourself commit
a murder; the other is a call for active intervention on behalf of your suffering fellow in the world. Do not stand idly by
if you can save him.
They say that the key to ending a culture of bullying among children is to change the culture of “bystanders,” to convince
those who stand by and either support or simply watch the bullying to actively intervene in some way. This is the
message of Parashat Kedoshim. Yes, the bare minimum is the 10 commandments; first make sure you yourself are
not being the bully. But beyond that there is a world to actively fix. Being kadosh means doing more than you are required
to do, not just refraining from evil action, but helping to create a culture
of love and generosity.
.
Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy Of The Capital
District Receives
Substantial Support From

Olympics of the Visual Arts (OVA) is a state wide competition sponsored by the New York State Art
Teacher’s Association. The competition awards teams for their skill in creative problem solving using
brainstorming, research and sketching. Teams choose one problem to solve from a field of eight
problems. The problem categories are: Fashion Design, Illustration, Architecture, Photography,
Drawing, Sculpture, Painting and Industrial Design. The OVA team (7 th and 8 th graders) works after
school for six months on their “long term problem.” This year the team chose the Industrial Design
category and their problem was to choose an artist and design a table setting for four based on
researching that artist. The artist the team chose was Keith Haring. The team travels to Saratoga to
present their long term solution to be judged. This year thirty school districts were represented at
the competition some teams coming from as far south as Hicksville on Long Island and as far west as
Hamburg, New York. Another aspect of OVA is the Spontaneous Problem. Ahead of time each team
is given a list of supplies to bring to solve the Spontaneous Problem. The Spontaneous Problem is
disclosed at the competition with all teams given the same problem and same supply list. The team
has one and half hours to solve the problem which is judged along with their long term problem.

Shabbat Sponsorship
With only a few more weeks left be sure
to sponsor your very own Shabbat
with us here at the Hebrew Academy
Join the
Hebrew Academy Facebook Page
at
www.facebook.com/HACDAlbany
Stay connected with events
happening at HACD!!!
Save The Date!
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
will be held on the afternoon of
Friday ~ May 18, 2012
12:00-3:00 PM
HACD
WILLY WONKA!!
May 17th, 7pm
Drama Club presents
WILLY WONKA!!
May 20th,2pm

PRESS RELEASE
“Willy Wonka”
Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy of the Capital District (HACD) will be staging the
Broadway Musical “Willy Wonka”, featuring the vocal talents of Vered Ornstein as
Willy Wonka and Celia Rosen as Charlie Bucket. ‘Golden ticket winners’ will also
be played by Sean Setzen as Augustus Gloop, Kira Gold as Veruca Salt, Aviva
Schwartz as Violet Beauregarde and Donald Goldstein as Mike Teavee.
Parents and grandparents of the ticket winners will be played by Ari Levine, Melissa
Kearns, Harrison Burack, Ella Rosen, Netania Kligerman, Ami Israel, Mollie
Laniado, Ethan Katz, Marissa Burack and Sarah Eligberg. Supporting roles will
also be played by Noah Fisher, Matan Adler, Shore Goldberg, and Jesse Levine.
The Willy Wonka Oompa Loompa Chorus showcases the talents of many students
from second through fifth grades including: Bina Kovach, Rachel Lapiner, Yoni
Eligberg, Hannah Greenblatt, Eli Horwitz, Tani Israel, Zachary Wasserman, Susan
Lord, Ilan Kligerman, Rebecca Rappaport, Sara Lapiner and Miriam Eligberg.
Play Producer Dr. Cheryl Burack is bringing back the Directing talents of DeLynn
Wickham. Accompanying music will be provided by Gene Marie Kern.
Performances are scheduled for Thursday evening May 17, at 7pm and a Sunday
matinee performance May 20, at 2pm. Tickets are on sale now and can be ordered
through Howard Goldberg at howardagoldberg@gmail.com or requests can be left
in the main office at Hebrew Academy to his attention.
* Please note that a cast picture is not available at this time and we will attempt to
resubmit when available. We wanted to make certain to make any deadlines first
for inclusion of this information. Thank you for your assistance.

Presented by the Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy
Thursday, May 17 | 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 20 | 2:00 p.m.
Tickets Prices: In Advance (by May 10): At the Door:
$6.00/Adult (9 th Grade and Up)
$4.00/Child (Pre/K-8 th Grade)
$8.00/Adult (9 th Grade and Up)
$6.00/Child (Pre/K-8 th Grade)
To purchase tickets in advance (on or before Thursday, May 10): Please complete the
form below and return it to the HACD office with a check made payable to “HACD”
with Tickets in the memo line in an envelope labeled “Play Tickets, c/o Howie Goldberg”
or contact Howie at
howardagoldberg@gmail.com (note the “a” between howard and goldberg!)
Note: Tickets purchased in advance will be held at the door;
they will not be distributed via “kiddie mail.”
Name:
Phone:
# of Tickets
Thursday, May 17
# of Tickets
Sunday, May 20
$ Total
Adult
(Grade 9 and up)
Child
(Age 4 – Grade 8)
@ $6.00 each
@ $4.00 each
Total Enclosed $

WELL WISHERS
HACD’s production of “Willy Wonka” is coming up soon – and now is the time for every HACD
family to get involved! It’s simple, it’s easy, and it’s the perfect way to show your support for
our students and parent-volunteers who have been working tirelessly on this amazing production:
Send a message of congratulations and support to the entire cast and crew or to a special
individual … or both, in the production “PlayBill.”
Here’s what you need to do for each well-wisher message you want to have included in the
production “PlayBill”:
1) Write a SHORT message (two lines / 30 words or less).
2) Send your message(s) by email. Please include in the body of the email:
The exact text of the message(s) as you want it to appear in the program, including how you
want your message signed.
3) Send the message by email to HACDWellWisher@gmail.com
4) For each message you want included, there will be a nominal charge of $2.00 to help offset
printing costs and to support this year’s production. After you have sent your email to
HACDWellWisher@gmail.com please print out a copy of your email. Send in the printed copy
of your email, with cash or a check for the total amount due ($2.00 x the number of wellwisher
messages you are writing) to the HACD office. Write "Wonka” Well Wishers;
attn: Devorah Wasserman" on the envelope.
5) The emails and payments are still being accepted at this time.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Devorah Wasserman at HACDWell-
Wisher@gmail.com

“WILLY WONKA” PLAYBILL INFORMATION
The “WILLY WONKA” Playbill will have full page, ½ page, and ¼ page messages/notes
that you can send to cast and crew!
The prices are as follows:
FULL PAGE -- $36
½ PAGE -- $18
¼ PAGE -- $9
Please type message exactly as you want it to appear in the Playbill
and email ad to Liz Goldstein at lgoldstein@hacdalbany.com.
Please also send your payment through kiddie mail attention to Liz.
Message, notes, or other wishes for the Playbill and payment are
still being accepted at this time.

Wednesday Weekly
Due to the overwhelming requests for
community emails, HACD will now be sending out a weekly
email update on Wednesdays. If you would like to send out
information to our HACD community please
contact me, no later than the end of the day on Tuesday.
New Friday Morning Parsha Class at HACD!!!
Come in for some Torah study on Friday morning’s right after drop-off,
from 8:00-8:30.
Class taught by Rachel Anisfeld, writer of
e-shabbaton’s dvar torah.
Hebrew Academy is now offering tutoring for adults in Hebrew Language.
If you are interested,
please call
Sharon Strosberg 377-2510.

Dear Families,
We are moving forward with our planning and are in dire need
in obtaining many of these items. We would like to begin to
prepare the beds for planting in Early May. We are very excited
about this adventure and hope to reap many benefits!
HACD Community Garden
Anticipated Materials and Supplies for 6 4ft x10ft raised beds
-lumber for the beds
-seed starter containers
- 24x60x2 = 2880 / 27 = 106 Cu/yards of soil mix
- 4 ft between beds, lined with mulch or wood chips
- 1/4 inch wire mesh to line beds for gopher protection
- (3) 100ft long hose
- (2) 50ft long hose
- (2) 2 way hose connectors
- 60ft of soaker hose (with holes)

Grandparents and Special Friends Day
will be held on the afternoon of
Friday ~ May 18, 2012
12:00-3:00 PM
Each student is asked to invite a grandparent, relative or adult friend to
visit.
Volunteers from Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation
will be available as “special friends”.
Please fill out a separate form for each child.
Your guest will receive an invitation from the school.
To prevent disappointments, please invite someone who will be able to attend.
Please return this form to school ASAP
My child________________________________in grade_____:
(choose one of the following)
1. will be visited by______________________________________
Address for invitation_____________________________________
_____________________________________
2. should be paired with his/her classmate ________________________
and that guest.
3. would like Mrs. Arcus to arrange a volunteer special friend from the HACD community.

Save the Date!
Heritage Awards Dinner and Auction
Honoring
Amy and Richard Drucker
Marian Alexander and Rabbi Daniel Ornstein
Beverly and Dr. Warren Geisler
for outstanding service and dedication
Also to be honored: Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy
students and graduate classes of
1982, 1992 and 2002
A Special Recognition will be given to our very own
Middle School math teacher Alexandra Schmidt
who recently obtained National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards certification. Through her efforts and the support of
the school and faculty we have an amazing math program which
includes math enrichment and competition opportunities through
Mathcounts and the American Math Competition (AMC-8).
Thursday, May 24, 2012
6:00 p.m.
Temple Israel, Albany, New York

SHOMRAY TORAH ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
DONORS 2011-2012
Todah Rabah to our extended family for your support.
Grandparents
Elizabeth and Moshe Anisfeld
Irene Ashery
Barbara and Eugene Berkun
Mirian Biskin
Malka and Eitan Evan
Sandra and Jerome Goldberg
Felice and David Gordis
Herbert Horwitz
Nina Israel
Sedell and Bernard Kamenir
Leo Koppel
Rainy and Stu Kovach
Barbara and Howard Levine
Esther and Morris Massry
Adrienne and William Rockwood
Norma Rosen
Evelyn Segel
Florence and Harvey Sharfstein
Valerie and Spike Solomon
Margo and James Strosberg
Ruth and Herbert Swift
Barbara and Harry Ungerman
Diana Yanklowitz
Cydney Yerushalmi
Dora and Mikhail Zelman
Alumni
Rachel and Jeremy Arcus-Goldberg
Ellen and Jonathan Berkowitz
Annette Kriegel Davidoff and
Ravin Davidoff
H.M. Dollinger
Deborah and Hershel Ellenbogen
Tamar Silton and Jeremy Epstein
David Farber
Sarah Farber
Jennifer and Jeffrey Finkelstein
Aaron Friedman
Harry Friedman
Sophie Friedman
Mindy Greene Huber and Josh Huber
Lea and David Kamen
Nadine and Raphael Kieval
Jenny Kovach
Maya Kovach
Nancy Kriegel
Lisa and David Kriegel
Aviva and Jay Leberman
Sarah Magidson
Beena and Steven Levy
Lisa and Jason Packer
Elana Zimand and Simcha Pearl
David Phaff
Wendy Phaff
Helena Rosenstruch
Paul Rosenstrauch
Gina C.R. Fiss and
Joshua M.F. Rubenfeld
Aliza and Daniel Scher
Ariella Segal
Benjamin Segal
Samuel Segal
Talia Segal
Lee Setzen
Ruth and Joel Simon
Wendy and Steven Susswein
Meital and Howie Teitelman
Nehama and Lawrence Teitelman
Alumni Parents
Rochelle and Sheldon Abelson
Ellen and Richard Ancowitz
Les Apple
Sue Swartz and Jeffrey Bernstein
Rabbi Moshe Bomzer
Sally Bratspis
Nanette and Arthur Brenner
Barbara and Karl Brodsky
Sharona Wachs and
Rabbi Donald Cashman
Stacy and David Cohen
Marilyn and Herbert Cohen
Morris Cohen
Arlene and Sol Daum
Martha and Jeffrey Farber
Deborah Biskin Flancbaum and
Louis Flancbaum
Judith and Daniel Flax
Deborah Moskowitz Fleischner and Arthur
Fleischner
Sherry and Marvin Freedman
Roberta and Michael Fuhrman
Beverly and Warren Geisler
Elana and Ephraim Glinert
Harriet and Neil Gold
Judy and Martin Goldman
Sally and Matthew Greenblatt
Nancy and Elliott Greene
Kimberly Hacker
Meridith Englander and Joshua Heller
Abbey Farbstein Herd and
Joseph Herd
Linda and Daniel Hershberg
Jennifer and Richard Honen
Charlotte and Stanley Isser
Laura and Edward Jacobs
Rosalind and Gary Judd
Shelley and Stephen Justa
Lisa and Joseph Kay
Rabbi Rena and Shalom Kieval
Gail Kendall
Marta and Mark Koblenz
Sheila and Paul Koppel
Kim Friedman Landau and
Michael Landau
Ida Leberman
David Levine
Nancy and Norman Levine
Estate of Hannah Lorch
Rabbi Beverly and Richard Magidson
Phyllis and Lewis Morrison
Barbara and Edward Orris
Andrea and Neal Packer
Lenora and Alan Pfeffer
Renea and Larry Pollack
Rona and Louis-Jack Pozner
Anita and Ken Rabinoff-Goldman
Ruth and Steven Rich
Joan and Jack Rosenblum
Claudia and Mark Rosenholz
Pearl and Harris Sanders
Joan and James Savitt
Barbara and Michael Scher
Ellen and Eric Schwartz
Laura and Hilton Segal
Stanley Segel
Nancia and Kenneth Segel
Roberta and Richard Seiden
Malcolm Sherman
Shara and David Siegfeld
Amy and Ron Sohn
Barbara and Les Stein
Lisa and Beno Sternlicht
Joyce Teitelman
Joyce and Melvin Toub
Barbara Wachs
Nini Wu and Ira Zackon
Current Parents
Karen and Mordecai Bienstock
Paula Binyamin
Ana Sobel and George Bizer
Shelly L. Goldman Black and
Johnny Black, Jr.
Linda and Chris Carothers
Elana Gordis and
Mitchell Earleywiine
Amy Gingold-Horwitz
Deborah and Tsvi Gold
Jill and Howard Goldberg
Michele Levy and Daniel Greenblatt
Chana and Mark Israel
Elana and Steven Kamenir
Dale and Richard Katz
Ilana and Robert Kovach
Carolyn and Jim Levine
Marci Galinkin and Stephen Levy
Julie Solomon and Cole Libby
Rachel Anisfeld and Timothy Lytton
Suzanna Randall and
Rabbi Naomi Manon
Naomi Falk and Cantor Rogerio Marx
Jerald O’Brien
Marian Alexander and
Rabbi Dan Ornstein
Rachel and I. Paul Rappaport
Anna and Jonathan Rosen
Amarit Rosin and Seth Rosenblum
Tatyana and Benjamin Schwartz
Karen and Gavin Setzen
Jane and Arkady Shurin
Deborah Greene and
Rabbi Rami Strosberg
Sirafima Rits and Vladimir Vitkin
Tammy and Joel Weingarten
Chava and Adam Weisstuch
Community
Helene S. Ainspan
The Sidney & Beatrice Albert
Foundation
Patty Balmer
Martin Barr
Evalyn and Joseph Basloe
Amy Bloom
Joyce and Sanford Bookstein
Dorice Brickman
Sidney Cohen
Rachael and Yishai Cohen
Nancy Crom
Toby and Arnold Elman
Evelyn and Laurence Farbstein
Joanna and Eric Fried
Selma Goldberg
Neil, Jane, William & Estelle Golub
Family Foundation, Inc.
Cindy and Neil Greenstein
Karen and Gerald Hausler
Michael Kupferschmid
Megan Levine
Karen and Alan Lobel
Davida Manon
Carol Ann and Rodney Margolis
Shirley and Irving Mennen
Kathleen and Ryan Miller
Jerald O’Brien
Pardus Family Philanthropic Fund
Barbara and Peter Rosenfeld
Mary Rosenstein of The Jewish
Community Endowment
Fund of Jewish Federation
of NENY
Lois and Richard Rubin
Lucie and Scott Schuster
Phyllis Silverman
Linda Woodward and Frederick Stein
Gene and Howard Tarler
Philip Ziffer
Names listed reflect
those whose
payments have been
received.
Help us add more names to our list of supporters by sending in your pledge.