By Chanita Teitz
My husband will soon be on his way to Eretz Yisrael to join my son-in-law and grandson, Eli, as Eli puts on his tefillin for the first time at the Kotel. Putting on tefillin is a huge milestone for every pre-bar mitzvah boy. In just a short while he will be a bar mitzvah, joining the big leagues, and what better place to initiate his transition than in Eretz Yisrael. Eli has been on a high all week in anticipation of this trip and he told my daughter after they arrived that on a scale of 1–10, being in Eretz Yisrael is 1,000!
I have said before that our schools should be teaching more about modern-day Israel. Children know from their Chumash and Navi studies about a biblical land—an abstract concept to them. Today, with all our technology, they can see videos taking them on virtual tours throughout Israel. Then the Torah they study will become alive and more meaningful. The ancient Israel will combine with the modern world and kids will be able to relate to it.
As religious Jews, our love of Zion, of Israel, of our land has to be ingrained in our souls. Unfortunately, it’s not only the unaffiliated college students who are anti-Israel out of ignorance. There are religious Jewish kids who are also lacking the passion and love for their homeland.
Seeing the ingathering of Jews from all over the world as soon as you arrive at the airport gives meaning to our tefillos. On the drive to Yerushalayim, you realize that you are climbing to higher and higher elevations; seeing the skyline of Yerushalayim in the distance up in the mountains makes the concept of aliyah l’regel meaningful.
Walking the streets, just reading the street names, sends you back in history. A good teacher can paint an image in students’ minds of kohanim walking to work in the Beis HaMikdash through the streets of the Old City. And in the Old City today, when I see children playing, I imagine the children of old playing in those same streets.
Traveling outside Yerushalayim, “jeeping” in the Judean desert, or traveling North to the Galil and seeing olive groves and crops of grapes producing the olive oil and wine that we use throughout the year connects concepts to reality. There is so much to show our children or to explain to them, always with an enthusiasm that will be contagious and will shape their connection to Eretz Yisrael.
As we head closer to Pesach, our children should feel that this is the land that we left Egypt for. Even though in a political sense things may not be perfect, we should put aside politics and our religious differences and pass on to our children and grandchildren a longing that past generations only dreamed about. We can live it, witness it, and we can hop on a plane and go there. We are such a fortunate generation. Make sure your children feel how lucky they are.
BYQ math mavens
BYQ Early-Childhood Pesach Math Program
As the year progresses, the Pre-1A students at Bais Yaakov of Queens Early Childhood Center have begun to think like mathematicians. They enjoy composing and decomposing numbers and finding creative ways to add together large groups of numbers. Children can be found during their free time working with the rekenrek (math rack), creating and recording equations, and figuring out complex math problems that pertain to their everyday activities. All of this is done voluntarily because, as far as the children are concerned, math is fun!
All of this can be attributed to Bais Yaakov’s early childhood math program which is carefully constructed to be age-appropriate and meaningful to the children. Theme-based activities have math embedded in them. Children work with the number 10 as they search for hidden chametz and with the number 18 as they learn how long it takes for flour and water mixed together to become chametz. Children vote, take polls and surveys related to the theme, and then tally the results. The math games that each child plays daily with her math partner are leveled to challenge but not to overwhelm. Each partnership works at their level and is presented with new games as they show proficiency and readiness to learn new skills. Some girls are so enthusiastic that they are mastering complex concepts at an unbelievable pace! A weekly session of Quick Images rounds out the program. Children are given five seconds to look at different configurations of beads on the rekenrek and then tell what they have seen. A rekenrek has two metal bars for beads. Each bar has 5 red beads and 5 white beads. The teacher will show, for example, 8 beads on top (5 red and 3 white) and 4 beads on the bottom. The children will describe what they have seen and then how many in all. They will explain how they arrived at their answer. Other children will have the opportunity to share different strategies for arriving at the answer. Some children will count on from 5 and others will use their knowledge that 5+5=10 and work from there. The children listen respectfully to their classmates’ ideas and learn from each other’s thinking.
Our young mathematicians are learning to think about numbers in a variety of ways and how to have conversations about strategies and ideas about numbers. Most importantly, they see math as meaningful and a lot of fun!
Shevach Students Headed To Yerushalayim
For Math Ulpaniada
Shevach High School has once again participated in an exciting international math competition. The Mathematics Ulpaniada is a competition for frum girls promoting problem-solving through mathematical thinking. This academically stimulating contest provides girls with an opportunity to compete on an educational level with other Bais Yaakov high-school girls worldwide. There are three rounds to the competition, with the first two taking place in the girls’ own high schools. The third and final round of the Ulpaniada is held in Yerushalayim. In the first round of the competition, about 140 educational institutions participated from Israel and abroad. Thousands of students rose to the challenge and competed. Fifteen Shevach students excelled in round one and were eligible to compete in the next round. They were: 9th grade: Chava Crystal, Batsheva Hammer, Elka Rochel Samber; 10th grade: Menucha Avruch, Sara Zinn; 11th grade: Raizy Erlich, Adina Finkel, Leah Shapiro, Nechama Slotkin, Shani Sommers, Chavi Steinberg; and 12th grade: Shana Bondi, Chani Gewanter, Yehudis Rosenwasser, and Esther Schottenfeld.
Upon completion of the second round, which required a high level of mathematics acumen, Shevach is proud to announce that Chani Gewanter, a senior, and Adina Finkel, a junior, qualified for the third and final round. Chani and Adina will be one of approximately twenty finalists from five continents who will attend the competition in Yerushalayim iy’H, June 6–8. They will then be joining the Israeli high-school finalists for the most challenging level of the competition. We wish Chani and Adina much hatzlachah as they represent Shevach in this unique and prestigious opportunity in Eretz Yisrael.
Mayor de Blasio with Yaniv Meirov
Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski at Big Event
Senator Chuck Schumer with Yaniv Meirov
The Maccabeats performing at the Chazaq Big Event IV
Chazaq Big Event Draws Big Names In Torah, Politics, Entertainment
By Daniel Perez
Photos by Aaron Katz, Gabe Solomon, Amity Studio, and Shimon Gifter
Queens College’s Colden Auditorium was filled to capacity for the second year running as local Jewish outreach organization Chazaq held its 4th annual Big Event. Everything about the event was “big,” from the size of the audience (over 2,000 in attendance), to the high-profile personalities involved, to the Torah concepts invoked by the evening’s speakers.
The borough’s leadership was well represented, with New York State Assemblymen Michael Simanowitz and David Weprin, New York State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, and City Council Members Karen Koslowitz and Rory Lancman all making personal appearances. Also in attendance were representatives of Congresswoman Grace Meng, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, and New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer. The presenters also included U.S. Senator Chuck “Shomer Yisrael” Schumer (his second consecutive appearance); even Mayor Bill de Blasio himself stopped by!
“Chazaq is such a wonderful and extraordinary organization,” declared de Blasio, “and the impact you have made… It is so important to support Chazaq because you have touched so many lives and you’ve strengthened the community in so many ways.” The mayor went on to extol the various social, cultural, and religious programs hosted by Chazaq, and to discuss, with a sense of gratitude, the contributions of the Jewish immigrant population to the greater New York community. Even as de Blasio struggled with Hebrew phrases like “chag sameach,” one couldn’t help being charmed by the earnestness of his effort.
After the mayor’s thoughtful opening address, an invocation of sorts was offered by Rav Yitzchak Yisraeli, the newly appointed head rabbi and posek of New York’s Sephardic-Bukharian community. In addition to opening the proceedings with a reading of Tehillim, the rav included the recitation of Shema, the fundamental Jewish declaration of faith, and of assorted verses declaring the sovereignty of G‑d. A sort of messianic fervor filled the room as, on the screen behind Rav Yisraeli, animations played featuring inspirational (or perhaps more accurately, aspirational) imagery of the Temple in Jerusalem. The rabbi concluded by offering words of blessing for Chazaq’s founder and director, Rabbi Ilan Meirov, as well as his brother (and Chazaq’s head of operations) Reb Yaniv Meirov—all to thunderous applause.
Anchoring the lineup of esteemed orators were Rabbi Dr. Avraham Twerski and Charlie Harary, a prominent investor-turned-motivational speaker—well known, in other words, as both a supporter of Chazaq and a giver of chizuk.
Rabbi Twerski, a noted psychologist and author, discussed the concept of freedom in the context of the approaching Passover holiday. He drew from his own experience helping addicts break free from their addictions to explain what it means to be “enslaved” in a spiritual sense. It is freedom of the spirit, explains Twerski, rather than political independence which is at the core of Pesach. This, in turn, can reconcile the seemingly conflicting notions of Pesach as “The Season of our Freedom,” and a lengthy, complicated observance preceded by weeks of preparation, often including harsh household labor.
Next, radio-show host Charlie Harary analyzed the concept of “Amalek,” whose memory Jews are religiously obligated to erase by remembering it on a designated Sabbath before Purim each year. Rather than identifying Amalek with a specific tribe, he describes this implacable enemy of the Jewish way of life as a “virus,” one that infects the mind by fostering doubt as to G‑d’s presence or love for His people.
Amid these divrei chizuk were moving musical performances by Rabbi Avi Kilimnick and Yeshiva University’s a cappella viral video sensation The Maccabeats. Prior to their concert (one of the main draws of the Big Event produced by VZ Productions) and between speeches, group member Eytan gave a brief solo performance, including a heartfelt rendition of the song No More, a heartfelt tribute to Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha’ar, and Eyal Yifrach, three teenaged Israeli yeshiva students who were abducted and murdered by terrorists in 2014. After a brief address by Senator Schumer, the entire group took the stage and offered rousing renditions of popular Jewish songs, including their own holiday-themed parodies of contemporary hits. A fitting conclusion to an evening of inspiration that was one hit after another after another.
“This year’s big Chazaq event was, baruch Hashem, a great success,” reflected operations manager Yaniv Meirov. “People were inspired and entertained. It was a big Kiddush Hashem. But now we must focus on continuing our work within the community on a smaller scale.” This, Meirov explained, means “doing more for local Jewish public-school students.”
“We attract and inspire many boys and girls throughout the year, some of whom we successfully put in yeshiva, and many that have sincerely changed their way of life in positive and spiritually uplifting ways. But there are so many more kids to work with. And to do that we need the community’s continuous support, as this is truly a matter of pikuach nefesh (saving lives).” For more information about Chazaq, visit chazaq.org or e-mail info@chazaq.org.
Upcoming Event
Chazaq and Beth Gavriel Present an Inspirational Pre-Pesach Lecture by World Renowned R’ Dovid Goldwasser. Sunday night, April 17. Sushi served at 8:00 p.m.; lecture scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Beth Gavriel Community Center, 66-35 108th Street in Forest Hills. For more information, call 718-285-9132, e-mail Info@Chazaq.org or visit www.CHAZAQ.org.
Chanita Teitz is a real-estate broker at Astor Brokerage in Kew Gardens Hills, serving the entire Queens vicinity. For all your real-estate needs, call her at 718-263-4500 or e-mail chanita@astorbrokerage.com.