D'var Chizuk Parshas Lech Lecha This week's parsha begins relating the first verbal encounter between Hashem and Avrohom Avinu. Remarkably, this was the first such encounter in his seventy five years. TO SIGN UP FOR TALMUDICAL ACADEMY'S *NEW* TEXT MESSAGE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM TEXT "@talmudic" TO (832) 460 - 5943 *Please Note: Even if you've received text messages from TA in the past, you must sign up again. Standard text message rates apply. To opt out, text "unsubscribe @talmudic" to (832) 460 - 5943. Please email yberkowitz@talmudicalacademy.org with any questions. October 26, 2012 Vol. 5 Issue 2 Avrohom had served his Creator faithfully his entire life, but was never yet zoche to experience prophecy until this point. Chazal teach us an interesting insight into how Avrohom related to Hashem. Avrohom had spent his whole life seeing the chesed that lies within nature itself. Every part of this Continued on page 4 Talmudical Academy of Baltimore Page 1 www.talmudicalacademy.org

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Continued from page 1 magnificent world has the signature of Hashem on it. Even the seemingly deadly encounter between a predator and its victim is all part of a larger picture that always winds up being a chesed in one form or another. Avrohom has taught us to view nisyonos in this way. When we keep in mind that Hashem is eternally kind and his every action is to bestow chesed, nisyonos are now viewed as gifts that ultimately make us stronger and better people. Avrohom had to undergo ten different tests at various stages of his life. So too, we will be tested at various stages of our lives. Each nisoyon is unique and trying; however, keeping in mind that they are ultimately gifts from Hashem allows one to view them in a positive light and to summon the strength to persevere. They are Hashem's way of communicating with us, as well. One just needs to look back at a trying time in their life and they will surely see the strength they have gained by going through the trial. It is precisely because of our nisyonos that we are who we are. Have a wonderful Shabbos. Rabbi Yisrael Fuchs Mesivta Menahel Page 4 ךל־ךל תשרפ Morah Twersky and Morah Honick's class received the first "Best In Line" trophy of the year! ANNOUNCEMENTS Giant Bonus Bucks Page Mazal 4 Tov Talmudical ProgramAcademy Of Baltimore THE T. T.A. Newsletter Please Note: Items s publication in the T should be submitted t noy in the business of than 11 am on Tue received after that tim cluded (pending appr next publication. It events that are not dire related must be appro tent. Priority for sp course, be given to inte Also please note tha contain a lot of blac cause the copier to must be printed on re paper (not heavy or gl keep that in mind whe flyers to accompany th

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MIDDLE SCHOOL / MESIVTA Parent Teacher Conferences Please sign up for the Middle School/Mesivta parent-teacher conferences. Parents may sign up through October 29. The conferences will be on Tuesday, October 30. Sign-up is online and parents may sign-up from school, if necessary. We look forward to meeting with the parents of our talmidim. 8th Grade Motzei Shabbos Program Beginning Motzei Shabbos on November 10, all eighth grade talmidim are invited to join the mesivta for a special seder. They will be paired with an older bochur, who will learn with him the limud of their choice. There will be Melava Malkas as well as a monthly raffle in which a talmid will win $100. This special seder was a great success last year and we can't wait to get started again. Please be in contact with either Rabbi Lipsky or Rabbi Lefkovitz to register your son. Solar Science This week Rabbi Green's 6th grade Science class has been working on their presentations. The students are working independently or in groups on all kinds of solar presentations. It is always interesting to see the beautiful work of our students. Stay tuned for information regarding the 6th grade Science trip to DC. ELEMENTARY Mrs. Brager's 1st Grade News Mrs. Brager's motto has always been "Try to do the best you can", but imagine her delight when she realized that every child in her first grade accurately and neatly completed his first spelling test! Stop by the first grade hall and see their Page 6 Talmudical Academy Of Baltimore

papers. What an accomplishment and a super way to begin the year! The children are working diligently to master addition math facts through 12 and are very interested in the upcoming presidential elections. Sentence structure, punctuation, reading, vocabulary and comprehension, reading fluency, handwriting, signs of autumn, and personal narratives are also a part of these busy boys' first grade curriculum. Everyone enthusiastically begins each day ready to learn. Keep up the good work boys! All of us are proud of your efforts! LIBRARY CORNER As the new librarian, I am impressed that this beautiful elementary school is filled with such enthusiastic readers! "Library" seems to make every boy smile. Thank you to the previous librarians for leaving a solid collection with a great computerized catalog and easy-to-use bar code system! (We discussed how to recognize our TA barcodes!) Students have library time every other week. As an introduction, we began by reviewing book care, good library habits and the location of various types of books. We also discussed the difference between "open stacks" and "closed stacks" in a library. Looking forward to a great year, b'ezras Hashem! Don't Forget: We welcome donations which can be in honor of a loved one or a special event. www.talmudicalacademy.org Page 7 Sincerely, Your Librarian, Mrs. First

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THE T.A. TIMES www.talmudicalacademy.org/Hotline 410-484-0636 Page 3 Hascholos Chumash On Sunday, October 21, the first graders celebrated receiving their Chumashim in grand style. The boys wore gold crowns to emphasize the chashivus of the occasion. Rabbi Kahana welcomed family members of the each class of first graders, including parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. Rabbi Y. Zvi Weiss, Rav of Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim, addressed Rabbi Pollock's and Rabbi Moskowitz's classes. He related to the boys that when he got his first Chumash, his rebbi told him that he should kiss it because this was the very same Torah that his father, grandfather, and previous generations received. He wanted the boys to take with them the same message of the continuity of our mesorah that created such a strong impression on him from his own childhood. Rabbi Zvi Teichman, Rav of Congregation Ohel Moshe and a proud grandfather of a first grader, addressed both of Rabbi Brecher's classes. Rabbi Teichman described how the Belzer Rebbe would visit the cheders of Yerushalayim because the presence of the shechinah is so strong where young children are learning Torah. Rabbi Teichman also noted that the chumash that they learning was the same Torah that was handed down to Moshe Rabbeinu. He continued that each person is represented by a letter in a Sefer Torah. The letters in a Sefer Torah must we written with extreme care and must not be touching one another; they must be clear, individual letters. Just as each letter in a Sefer Torah is a special, treasured, individual letter, so are the talmidim unique and special individuals. Rabbi Weiss and Rabbi Teichman presented the boys with a Chumash of their own and had their photograph taken with each boy. Finally, each boy had a turn to read the first possuk of Bereishis from a real sefer Torah. We thank our very own Mrs. Miriam Gittel Rosenblat for arranging the event, including helping set up the special "kiddush" party that followed. Mr. Larry Carpenter also worked on setting up the party. Each talmid also received his very own nosh bag. Thank you to the Rosenblat girls, Nechuma, Chavi and Luba for putting together the nosh bags. Thank you to Rabbi Yosef Brecher, Rabbi Doniel Moskowitz, and Rabbi Yitzchok Pollock for all of their efforts in bringing their talmidim to this important milestone. Thank you, too, to Mrs. Berzon, Mrs. Brager, and Mrs. Lenet, the boys' general studies teachers, and Morah Mindy Cynamon for attending the event. We are sure that the boys will remember this momentous occasion forever. The boys are SO happy with their Chumashim! We hope that they will always be so excited about their learning and grow up to be talmidei chachamim. Page 10 Talmudical Academy Of Baltimore