Communicated: TefillaChillul Tefila Bifarhesia, as well as halachicly challenged verbiage and dress, are external manifestations of a critical lack of personal yiras shomayim which has lethal consequences.

Students and staff gather outside Miami Country Day School’s first-ever sukkah. Left to right: Tenth-grader Nicole Farchi-Segal; humanities teacher and club sponsor Allison Schwartzbaum; tenth-graders Simon Hoffman and Justin Golden; headmaster Dr. John Davies; tenth-grader Jordan Karp and world religion teacher Daniel Penengo.
Usually, the building and use of a sukkah in a school during the Sukkot holiday is a project undertaken by a Jewish day school, yeshiva or Jewish organization on a college campus. This year, a dedicated group of high school students changed the status quo in their nonsectarian private school in Miami Shores, Florida.
High school sophomores at the Miami Country Day School created the Jewish Student Association to explore and participate in Jewish cultural activities and events. Ignacio Aiza-Bigio, Nicole Farchi-Segal, Justin Golden, Simon Hoffman and Jordan Karp were instrumental in launching the club.
This Sukkot, the JSA built a sukkah on the MCDS campus for all to enjoy. Club members gathered in the sukkah with students in the lower school and head of school Dr. John Davies, religion teacher Daniel Penego, and humanities teacher and sponsor Alison Schwartzbaum. Youngsters enjoyed snacks and spoke about the meaning of the holiday. Dr. Davies expressed his hope for the establishment of a yearly sukkah building tradition.
All week long, students were invited to “dwell” in the sukkah during their free periods, at lunch and during breaks. Some teachers even held classes in the sukkah.
JSA members of are excited about spending their first year as a recognized club. Many programs are planned including service projects, support for Israel, holiday celebrations, Shabbatons, a Chanukah party and toy drive and a monthly mitzvah day.
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It’s all over.
The orchestra is still, the lights are dimmed. Your simcha outfits hang in your closet, silent witnesses to a time you will treasure in your mind and heart forever.

Scene One:
After noticing that you can’t log into your computer, your pulse quickens as you are called into your supervisor’s office. S/he has some bad news. You are being laid off. You have 15 minutes to clean out your desk and surrender your cell phone before security escorts you out of the building. Job termination, especially in the corporate world, can be heartless.

I have always had a problem with the Omer. Doing the mitzvah of counting the Omer was of course pretty easy. Remembering to start the second evening of Passover and remembering to stop the day before Shavous took a little concentration but somehow I always managed. No, for me the nagging problem was always why was I doing this in the first place, other than the fact it was a biblical (according to the Rambam) commandment.

With the semi-mourning period of Sefira behind us, and the festival of Shavuot as well (as evidenced by the tightness of our clothing due to over-indulging in irresistible versions of cheesecake that is an integral component of celebrating our receipt of the Torah), our community can look forward to participating in joyous engagement parties and weddings.
Dear Dr. Yael:
Do you really believe that the Internet is the reason why the divorce rate is so high among young couples? This may be so in some cases, but what about the fact that many singles are pressured to get married at a young age despite not having any idea what they are looking for in a mate? And add to that the fact that many are pressured to make a decision about marriage after dating for a very short period of time.
From the moment they stand under the chuppah, newlyweds have two years to enjoy the special bliss that new love brings. This new finding, reported by the New York Times, is based on a study undertaken by American and European researchers. 1,761 people who got married and stayed married over 15 years were followed. The research shows that after two years the couples moved into a more companionable state in their relationships.
Shel Silverstein’s 1974 poem “Where The Sidewalk Ends” is intended to paint a magical picture of a world of peace and serenity far away from the “black and dark streets.” At the time, perhaps the end of the sidewalk was a place that was “measured and slow.” Today, however, for many parents, where the sidewalk ends can feel like a scary place.
The next chapter of the award-winning novel.
Florida is famous for sparkling water. We have the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico surrounding our coast. We have bays, lakes, canals and, of course, an incredible abundance of swimming pools in homes, resorts, apartment complexes and city parks.
The buzz is back as Camp Gan Israel Florida Overnight gears up for another fantastic summer, CGI Florida style. What makes CGI Florida so different from all the other overnight camps? It’s all in the details.
Leah Katz, a TeenZone camper at Oorah’s TheZone summer camp and an 11th grader at Midwood High School, read her winning essay about how TheZone changed her views on Judaism at the Jewish Heritage Awards Ceremony held at Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’s office in April. The purpose of the Jewish Heritage Essay Contest is to acquaint public school students with Jewish history and customs and to help foster a deeper understanding of Jewish culture. The contest is open to students of all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Leah’s essay is reproduced in full below.
Moshe Sharett, the head of the Jewish Agency’s Political Department, visited Egypt in 1945. In Cairo he met a most remarkable young woman, a beautiful journalist who was the darling of Egyptian high society – from high-ranking military brass, to culture icons and Muslim sheikhs, to the court of King Faruk.
The two proceeded to talk about everyday things and surprisingly her mother-in-law did not find anything else to criticize. This occurred a few more times, with my client changing the topic every time by complimenting her mother-in-law or mentioning something positive about her.
There is always a lot of confusion surrounding sensory processing disorder – mainly because there are many different diagnoses that fall under the catch-all phrase sensory processing disorder (SPD). Among them are three specific subcategories:

Florida is famous for sparkling water. We have the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico surrounding our coast. We have bays, lakes, canals and, of course, an incredible abundance of swimming pools in homes, resorts, apartment complexes and city parks.

The buzz is back as Camp Gan Israel Florida Overnight gears up for another fantastic summer, CGI Florida style. What makes CGI Florida so different from all the other overnight camps? It’s all in the details.
South Floridians held their breaths last week waiting the outcome of a frightening situation. Three children were abducted in front of a Miami grocery store. Two of the little ones were 6 years old. The other was 5.
One of the biggest Lag B’Omer celebrations in the country took place this year in Hallandale Beach, where more than 10,000 people showed up at Gulfstream Park.
The Orthodox Union Karasick Department of Synagogue Services and OU president Martin Nachimson announced that Delray Orthodox Synagogue has become an official OU member congregation.
Boynton Beach has the fastest growing Jewish population in America. Currently, several hundred traditional families call Boynton Beach home.
Yes, it is true. Man, alone in all of creation, is aware that he will die. The recognition of this certainty is quite sobering. Integrating a happy life with the knowledge that our existence is, in fact, a terminal condition, can be daunting.
Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/community/south-florida/first-ever-sukkah-at-miami-country-day-school/2011/11/02/
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