Dear Talmidot, Parents and Friends –

1)         This week at Midreshet Moriah -   

2)         Faculty Dvar Torah –  Mrs. Rina Zinkin

3)         Mazal Tov

4)         Mi SheBerach

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This Week at Midreshet

It was a bittersweet week here at Midreshet, as we concluded the last shiurim and had our end of the year banquet. Our year of learning ended Monday morning, after which the girls made their way up to the dorm to change for banquet. Although they were excited, it was hard to say a final good bye to the classrooms and Beit Midrash at Midreshet Moriah; the places that they had learnt and grown so much.

We then headed out to Mitzpeh Rechavam, a beautiful lookout over Yerushalayim. It was to this lookout, where a mere 10 months ago the incoming Midreshet girls came, from the airport after the group flight landed. It was there where we first greeted them in Yerushalayim , and there where we said farewell. Bracha and Vicky spoke, and the girls davened a beautiful Mincha together looking over the golden city. We then headed to Ruthie Gershinky's magnificent porch which overlooks a different angle of Jerusalem where we began our program.

The evening began with Stephanie Leichtung's siyum on Sefer Tehillim on behalf of all of the girls who had learnt Sefer Tehillim as their final learning project of the year. We then had a siyum for the 10 students who took part in Nach Yomi this year and have completed Sifrei Yehoshua, Shoftim, Shmuel Aleph and Bet, Melachim Aleph and Bet, and almost done with Yeshayahu. We look forward to their Siyum Tanach in November 2013!

We celebrated the siyum's with a delicious dinner catered by our very own Fagie (the Gush Gormet), and the night continued with heartfelt speeches from both the faculty and the students. Elianna Kaufman delivered an unbelievably creative speech on behalf of the students and we were so inspired (look for it in next week's newsletter!).

The Midreshet students presented the school with a beautiful silver tray for Hadlakat Neirot to be used for shabbatonim and the school presented the students with leather bound Kiriyat Shema's to keep by their bedsides at night (so that they can remember Midreshet every night before they go to sleep).

The night was filled with a lot of tears, laughter, and whole lot of picture taking! The highlight was definitely the incredible slideshow that the madrichot put together with pictures and video's from the day they landed in September up until this very week. The students were watching with a mix of deep emotion and pride at how far they've come.

We know their parents were happy to see them return this week, but here we already miss seeing them in our hallways, offices, Beit Midrash and classrooms...

Wishing you and your families a wonderful and healthy summer

See the latest photos on our website: http://midreshetmoriah.com/galleries/

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The Art of Appreciation

Mrs. Rina Zinkin

At the end of last week’s Parsha, Parshat Bahalotcha, we learned about the story of Miriam, and in this week’s Parsha, Parshat Shelach we learn about the episode of the Meraglim. What is the connection between these parshiyot? Rashi, in Parshat Shelach, pasuk bet, explains that Miriam spoke lashon hara against Moshe Rabeinu and was punished for it and although the meraglim saw this, they did not learn a lesson from Miriam; they went on to speak lashon hara about Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Michel Barenbaum, zt”l, in the sefer R’Michel’s Shmuessen, says that what Miriam and Aharon did wrong was that they did not appreciate the high spiritual status of Moshe Rabeinu.  He explains that the root of the sin of lashon hara is in the failure of people to appreciate the importance and true worth of others. If people would judge people’s actions favorably and appreciate others more, then people would not succumb to speaking negatively of others so easily.

This is what happened to the meraglim when they spoke negatively about Eretz Yisrael. They failed to recognize that Hashem was orchestrating events to distract the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael, so that they would not be noticed. They said, in Perek 13, pasuk 3: “We cannot ascend to that people for it is stronger than us.” Rashi explains that this can be explained as “stronger than Hashem.” The meraglim underestimated the true power of Hashem. Rav Michel, zt”l, is teaching us that if we try to perceive situations from a deeper perspective, we can be prevented from speaking negatively about others.

Rav Shimon Schwab, zt”l, in his sefer Maayan Beit Hashoeivah, quotes a Gemara that says that in the first chapter of Eichah, the letter “peh” comes before the letter “ayin.” This is because the meraglim “said,” (represented by the letter “peh” (mouth)) that which they did not “see” (represented by the letter “ayin” (eye)). Rav Schwab, zt”l, explains that the meraglim spoke without really seeing; they could have looked at Eretz Yisrael from a spiritual perspective and seen Hashem in it. They could have chosen to report about the spiritual “giants,” the Avot, who were buried there. But instead, they chose to describe the physical “giants” who lived there.

May we be zocheh to internalize the lessons of this Parsha, try to focus more on spirituality, and try to see the inner worth of those, and that which is around us. This will help us avoid speaking negatively of others or of Eretz Yisrael.

Shabbat Shalom

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Mazel Tov!               

Births

Shifra (Freedman) ('07-'08) and Moshe Hager on the birth of a baby girl, Tehilla Malka and to proud aunt, Penina Freedman ('12-'13)  Yhi ratzon shetizku lgadla lTorah lChupa ulMa'asim tovim    

Miriam (Ambinder) ('05-'06)and Daniel Tennenbaum on the birth of a baby girl 

Yhi ratzon shetizku lgadla lTorah lChupa ulMa'asim tovim  

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Mi SheBerach List

We have started a new list. Please email midmoriah@gmail.com if there is a name you would like to add.  

Names added this week:

Moshe Avraham ben Aliksandra Simone

For complete 5772 list, please go to: http://midreshetmoriah.com/alumnae/?id=464