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Dear Talmidot, Parents and Friends –

1)       This week at Midreshet Moriah

2)       Alumnae News

3)       Faculty Devar Torah – Rav Zvi Ron

4)       Mi She-Berach List

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This Week at Midreshet

This week at Midreshet the good times got started from the first minute. In fact, it got going before the week even started. Motzei Shabbat the girls, together with the madrichot, had an amazing Lag Ba’Omer bonfire. There was so much fun, ruach, singing and of course roasted marshmallows. Many of the girls also commented how cool it was to join with the rest of the Israel making bonfire in honor of the chag. Some girls went to Meron and had a phenomenal time!

But that was just the beginning of the Lag Ba’Omer festivities. Sunday morning the girls got ready in their sportiest outfits and headed across the street for a morning of sports and fun. There were games of spud, dodge ball and relay races organized by Bracha. There was even a big soccer (football) game that gave some of our non North American girls a chance to show how the game should really be played. 

After a few hours everyone returned to Midreshet hot and tired but those were no reasons to let the fun stop. Instead of regular lunch in the chadar ochel, it was time for our second annual 'Iron Chef' Midreshet cooking competition. The girls were divided into three teams and then given a supply of ingredients with which to prepare lunch. The girls got working and the food was absolutely delicious (and creative - see our pics…)! There were pasta dishes, fresh pita, salad and sliced fruit. By the time it was all prepared, we were starving and we finally sat down together for a great lunch.

After all the excitement of Lag Ba'Omer it was time to settle in for some regular days at Midreshet but that was short lived because by Wednesday morning the girls were on their way out the door for an amazing trip to the Galil, Golan and a spiritual Shabbaton in Tzfat. 

More on that next week…..

Pictures from our year can be seen at http://midreshetmoriah.com/pictures/

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Alumnae News

This week there were Alumnae Reunions with Michal Porath Zibman!

Follow this link for a great pic:  http://midreshetmoriah.com/pictures/picture.asp?id=4185

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What Really Counts

Rav Zvi Ron

In this Parsha we have two ways to count Bnei Yisrael. One way is to count every person by his name, B'mispar shemot (1:2(. The other way is to count each person as part of the shevet that they belong to symbolized by their flag, Ish al diglo (2:2). Why do we need two ways of counting the Jewish People? Once we count them by names, there doesn't seem to be a reason to count by flag groupings.

The Midrash teaches us that each tribe had a flag, and that each flag had a special color and symbol. For example, Yehuda had a sky blue flag with a lion on it, and Zevulun had a white flag with a boat on it. When did the tribes get these flags? The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 2:3) explains that at the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai, Bnei Yisrael saw 22 myriads of angels coming down. These angels were arranged in groups, like soldiers, and each group had a flag. Upon seeing this, the Jewish People asked for flags of their own and Hashem granted this request.

What is so special about a flag? Why did Bnei Yisrael want flags so much? The idea of the angels' flags is that angels have a specific mission to do, a role to fulfill in the plan of Hashem. The flag shows that they are part of a team with a goal and a destiny. That is why angels are referred to as being part of an army (tzava). Rav Hirsch explains that the term tzava is also used in a non-military context, like for the Leviim. The term means "a group with a mission", a troop that has orders and will carry them out. It is this aspect of being part of a group that the Jewish People wanted to emulate. The angels knew what they had to do and were dedicated to reaching that goal; Bnei Yisrael wanted to feel that way too. That is the concept of a flag.

When we read of counting people "according to their flags" we are saying that an important part of being a Jew is feeling that you belong to a group, having clear goals in mind and a feeling of a shared destiny. In bygone times, every troop marching off to war had a standard bearer whose job it was to hold the flag up high. That way during the chaos of battle a soldier would always know where his group is and where he could return to. In our chaotic lives, being part of a group provides a haven and sense of direction when everything seems confusing.

But there is also another way of counting Bnei Yisrael, according to names. A name represents a person's individuality, his unique nature. Being part of a group is not the sum total of a person's persona. For this reason the Torah indicates that there are two ways to count, two aspects to a person, the communal aspect and the individual aspect. We need both to be able to fulfill our destiny.

Shabbat Shalom

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Mi SheBerach List

Please email midmoriah@gmail.com if there is a name you would like to add or remove!  

Karen bat Lena - undergoing chemotherapy (5/4/11)

Faiga Leah bas Henya (5/3/11)

Yaakov Meir ben Golda (3/4/11)

Chaim ben Chashka (3/3/2011) – diabetes complications 

Matityahu Yaakov ben Gittel Rivka (3/5/2011)

Tziporah Feiga Bat Sima Sheindel (2/26/2011)

Shira bat Deena Miriam – premature baby on a ventilator (2/19/2011)

Noa Batya bat Daniella Rut – 7 month old with leukemia (2/5/2011)

Leah Alona Bat Tziporah (2/5/2011)

Leora bat Sarah (2/5/2011)

Frimit bat Devorah (2/5/2011)

Rivah bat Jane (1/29/2011)

Amitai Yaakov ben Bracha - a 16 yr. old just diagnosed with leukemia (1/29/2011)

Dina Eta bat Chaya Tzippora Sheva (1/22/2011)

Aharon Yitzchak ben Deena Yehudis (1/6/2011)

Adi bat Zahavit (twin baby who is sick)

Reut bat Zahavit (twin baby who is sick)

Chaim Yissachar ben Chaya Mushkit (26 year old with 2 children, leukemia)

Shraga Feivel ben Sasha

Ari ben Rivka (young husband with brain tumor)

Inbal bat Nelya

Zacharia Kalman HaCohen ben Yael Margalit

Shai Ben Meital - 4 yr old with brain damage and seizures

Aviva Miriam bat Esther - 9 month old baby with cancer going through chemo

Tzipora Fayga Bat Sima Shaindel- 33 year old mother of 3 with Leukemia(9/19/2010)

Tzvi Ilan ben Gita (8/12/2010)

Chaya Tziporah Sheva bat Faiga (8/12/2010)

Chisha Bayla bat Miriam

Chaya Meira Mindel bat Chava Golda - Midreshet alumna with cancer

Refael ben Nomi- 10 month old baby who has meningitis

Avraham ben Elka (5/21/10)

Rivka Bracha bat Yehudit - mother of 6 with cancer, doing better BH

Rivka Margalit bat Ita - 12 year old girl with a brain tumor (5/27/2010)

Rachel bat Re-ayah - mother of 7 with cancer that has spread

Batya Leah bat Sara - cancer

Noa Chaya bat Nava Yehudit - baby

Yehuda Moshe Yosef ben Miriam

Rayzel bat Rifka

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Midreshet Moriah

The Educational Wing

Shaare Zedek Medical Center

P.O. Box 3235, Jerusalem, Israel

tel: 972-2-652-7449 fax: 972-2-651-1524

www.midreshetmoriah.com

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