Message by Rabbi Yamin Levy, LIHA Rabbi
Parashat Shemini
For the Kohanim among us this is week’s Perasha is filled with history, images of the service the
Kohanim performed in the Mikdash, as well as tragedy and laws specifically designed for the Kohen.
One such Halakha is directly revealed to Aharon the Kohen Gadol. The Torah writes that it is forbidden
for any Kohen to enter the sanctuary after drinking any sort of wine or liquor. This is why we do not do
Birkat Kohanim at Minha. There is a concern that one of the Kohanim might have had a bit to drink in
the afternoon and he would perform his service while intoxicated.
This Halakha has important ramifications for all of us in the way we serve Hashem. We are
commanded to serve Hashem with joy as the verse states: “Serve G-d with gladness.” The Kohanim
were also commanded to do their service with joy and happiness. So why not have a couple of drinks
before hand: that would certainly make us happy?
The answer lies in the kind of joy that is sought after here from the Kohen and from us when serving
Hashem. Hashem does not care for the happiness of the body Hashem only cares for the happiness of
the soul. Spiritual happiness is a state of being not an artificially induced reality. Wine or liquor could
easily induce a state of being “high” but this is not the kind of “high” Hashem wants from us. Hashem
wants a “high” that truly reflects our inner state of being. Religious expression needs to emanate from
the human expression of being and this is a function of a sober excitement with life.
The Talmud asserts that “one who says his prayers while drunk is as one who serves idols” (Berakhot
31b). Indeed when one loses touch with his or her inner state of being and needs to artificially induce
happiness – this person is worshipping external G-ds. In this form of worship the means has become
the ends in itself.
Like the Kohanim we too are asked to serve Hashem with joy and with happiness. It is a joy that take a
conscious effort to achieve.
Sharyn Blaustein Volume 21
Principal Issue 24
April 17, 2015
Nisan 28, 5775
Rabbi Yamin Levy
LIHA Rabbi
THE VOICE OF OUR CHILDREN A WEEKLY PUBLICATION
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Parashat Shemini
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Take A Look At LIHA
Toddler
We welcome everyone back Sent from my iPhone Shabbat Ima was Eliana and Shabbat Aba was Ariel.
Shabbat Shalom :)
Nursery I Welcome back! It was so nice to see everyone after our long Pesach vacation. It’s springtime in our class and the children’s artwork reflects the new season. The
children painted blooming flowers, colorful butterflies, green grass, yellow sun and blue skies.
Some of our books of the week were; “There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed a Frog”, “Fancy Nancy”, “Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm” and “In the Tall, Tall Grass”
Our Shabbat Ima & Abba were Tamar & Ayden Shabbat Shalom
Nursery II Spring is in full bloom in our class. We have been learning about how flowers and plants grow. We are also learning all the different parts of flowers and plants. We’ve painted some flowers, cut some grass and painted and glued ladybugs. Some of the new books we read for spring were “Planting a Rainbow”, by Lois Ehlert and “The Grouchy Ladybug”, by Eric Carle. We had so much fun playing outside in the playground. FINALLY! This week we welcomed a new child to our class. Welcome Daniella!
This weeks Ima & Abba were Daniella & Yosef. Shabbat Sahlom!
Pre K
This week we did the English letter “W” and the Hebrew let
“ ” (tzadik). We read cliffords “Leap Frog” and they made
flags for Yom Haatzmaut.
Our Shabbat was Brandon & our Ima was Rina
The following
parents have
donated a book
to the LIHA
Library in honor
of their
children’s
birthday…
Mr. & Mrs.
Marc Dorwitt
for Noach’s
birthday
Mr. & Mrs.
Ashir Pirouzian
for Yael’s
birthday
Mr. David
Soleimani & Ms.
Shula Ograd for
Jordana’s birthday
Kindergarten English
"Trucks Roll" was our main book this week. Our amazing words were cabs, trailers, headlights, steering wheel, haul and
truckers. We also sang two songs regarding the book and the letter/letters of the week. This is done weekly. This week
it was Trucks are Rolling and What Luck! Here Comes the Bus! (short sound of letter u). The "K" class for social studies
discussed people and the jobs they do and the equipment they need to do their job. We are working on the number 20
this week. Observation, comparing, measuring and sorting are all skills we use for science.
Kindergarten Hebrew
I hope you had a great Pesach even after all the hard work! We have been busy learning about “The Omer”.
Every day we say the bracha and count the Omer. Parashat Shemini” this week taught us about “kosher Animals” and being careful when we eat vegetables and fruit so that they are free of insects. We learned
the vowel of “ which makes the “OO” sound as in
“cook”. So throughout the week we have been practicing reading words with all the letters and vowels
that we have learned so far. We spoke about “Yom Hashoaa” (Remembrance Day), and we are getting
ready for Yom Ha-Atz-ma-oot! Shabbat Ima & Abba were Adiella & Ariel H
Shabbat Shalom
1st Grade Hebrew – ‘
It was nice to see all the children after vacation. This week we
learned and practiced singular
(one boy) one girl) and plural
in Hebrew (many for male) (many for female). We learned
about the new season (spring) and many words related to this
season. We end the week learning
.
1st Grade English
This week the first grade took the chapter 8 math test. They are very excited to begin chapter nine. We also began our unit on poetry. April 30 is national poem in your pocket day. We will celebrate by writing our own poems as well as reading poems written by many different authors.
2nd
Grade English
This week 2nd graders learned how to count coins. We continue to work on using more details in their
writing and exploring story elements. Please make sure your children are reading every night.
Shabbat Shalom!
2nd
Grade Hebrew
Welcome back everyone. I hope that you enjoyed this little break with your loved ones. We continued to work on our reading comprehension. And we have finished studying the first Perek of Parashat Bereshit. Finally, we prepared the kids for the Parasha of the week, Parashat Shemini.
3rd
Grade English
This week the third grade took their first ELA. I am proud to see that they all really tried their best. Next week they will take the New York State
Math test. The test will be administered on
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
3rd
Grade Hebrew
Welcome back! I hope that you enjoyed this wonderful holiday with your loved ones. We went back to our limoudim. We continued to study houmash through Parashat Haye Sarah. We also talked about “Yom Hashoah”. The children were very interested and sad to learn about it. We finished with Parashat of the week: Parashat Shemini.
4th
Grade English
The 4th grade has been working very hard taking the ELA tests
this week. They were also working hard practicing for the
math section which will take place next week. They are well
prepared and will do great.
4th
Grade Hebrew
I’m so happy having my class back after Pesach vacation. We learned about the Holocaust and the day of the Omer and Yom Haatzmaut of Israel.
5th
Grade English
5th graders took the ELA exams this week. They were rewarded for all of their hard work with extra time outside in this beautiful weather. Next week the NYS Math tests will be given on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Have a great weekend!
5th
Grade Hebrew
This week we learned about the “Holocaust” and watched a movie about it. We also learned about
“Omer” and Lag Baomer.