With Rosh HaShanah only a few days away, I drove to Hevron yesterday with my wife and two of our children to visit Avraham, Yitzhak, Yaacov, Sarah, Rivkah, and Leah (and Rachel on the way back to Yerushalayim). It’s hard for me to understand how people fly to Uman for Rosh HaShanah when they could far more easily be in Hevron. I mean, when you are sick, do you go to the doctor, or the student of the doctor?

For all of Rebbe Nachman’s genuine greatness, his teachers are buried here in theLandofIsrael– the Arizal, and his teacher, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and his teacher, Rabbi Akiva, and the teachers of all the teachers, Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov. It is in the merit of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs that all of our prayers are accepted on Rosh HaShanah – so why go to Uman?

No matter how fervently you pray in Uman, or anywhere else in the world, before ascending to Heaven, all prayers are routed to Hevron for Avraham’s stamp of approval before being passed on to Yerushalayim, where they finally ascend. So why leave the Land of Israel, give hundreds of thousands of dollars to goyim who hate Jews, leave your wife and children at home, and fly off to Uman when your prayers are just going to end up coming back to the Land of Israel to first get the impurity of the Diaspora brushed off by our Forefathers before being rocketed off to G-d?

Also, everything that happens on Rosh HaShanah is a symbol for what will be in the year to come. That’s why we eat the symbolic foods on Rosh HaShanah night. So if you’re not at home on Rosh HaShanah with the family, chances are your relationship with your wife and your children for the rest of the year will be distant too. If Rebbe Nachman were alive today, I’m quite sure he’d spend Rosh Hashanah in Hevron, or Yerushalayim, or Tzfat, or Meron. He himself teaches that all of our of our prayers on Rosh HaShanah are accepted in the merit of the Land of Israel, the Land of our Forefathers, where “the eyes of the Lord look upon from the beginning of the year (Rosh HaShanah) till the end.”

If you want to journey to Uman during the rest of the year, have a nice visit, but on Rosh HaShanah, gevalt!

In a creative initiative, Touro College Los Angeles’s new education concentration for working teachers is designed to meet the professional development needs of teachers in the Greater Los Angeles area by providing education courses each semester.

This fall TCLA will offer EDU 311: Principles of Early Childhood, beginning September 12 at Ohr Hachaim Academy, and PSY 203: Child Growth and Development, starting September 2 at the Cheder of Los Angeles. Students can earn three credits per course while learning from an experienced instructor.

According to Tamar Andrews, Ed.D., education instructor at TCLA and preschool director at Temple Isaiah, “The field of early childhood education is quickly moving up the ranks as a legitimate profession. Teachers, as the professional practitioners, must welcome this opportunity for recognition and rise to the challenge by educating themselves, as do practitioners in other fields. We will only become equals to lawyers, doctors and others when we, ourselves, are willing to go beyond the minimal requirements of licensing and towards ‘professional.’ ”

To reduce educators’ financial burdens, TCLA is offering a 50 percent tuition discount to teachers. For more information about this program, call Samira Miller at 323-822-9700 x 85155, or e-mail samira.miller@gmail.com.

Tuesday afternoon, 1:30 p.m.

Pinny is a fourth grader in Mrs. Spitzer’s classroom. The class is doing a math lesson – its long division. Pinny loves math, so he’s giving Mrs. Spitzer his full attention.

“Now class,” Mrs. Spitzer intones, “what do we do after we subtract 7 from 9?” “Bring down the 4,” answers the entire class in unison.

O.K. I know subtract and bring down, but haw does it start again? Oy, I’m never gonna be able to do this. We have a social studies test on Thursday on 40 pages in the book. 40 pages!!! How am I gonna study 4O pages?

“On to more examples. 653 divided by 9.”

Pinny glances down at his math workbook, and is surprised to discover that he has written nothing in the spaces for the answers to numbers 1,2,3, and 4. As he glances around the classroom, he sees that everyone’s workbook is filled except his. As he quickly glances at Chaim’s workbook, which is on the desk next to his and fills in the answers, he feels so frustrated.

“What s wrong with me,” he wonders.

Test Taking Anxiety

Thursday Afternoon, 2:30 p.m.

Pinny feels nervous. He studied the material a few times with his mother the night before, but he is not sure he knows it well. He couldn’t eat breakfast or lunch properly so his stomach is rumbling and his mouth feels dry.

“Keep your eyes on your own paper” says Mrs. Spitzer firmly. “Turn your papers over and you may begin.”

Pinny turns his paper over and looks at it again and again. None of it, nothing seems familiar. “Maybe I got the wrong test, “Pinny thinks to himself. “Let me take a look at Chaim’s paper. I hope Mrs. Spitzer doesn’t notice. Nope. It’s the exact same test. I don’t get it I studied hard last night? What happened?”

And as he watches everybody else busily filling in answers on their test paper, he frantically tries to recall something, ANYTHING, from last night’s study session. Pinny sits there feeling truly helpless and wondering “what’s wrong with me?”

Following Instructions/Comprehension

Friday Morning, 11:45 a.m.

Pinny is exhausted. He barely slept the night before worrying about taking the bus to go to his grandmother’s house for Shabbos. This would be the first time he would be going there straight from school.

The Rebbe is speaking to the boys, something about bus changes.

“O.K. boys, listen up. We have new drivers on the buses, and the routes have changed slightly. I’m going to read your name and bus number. After that, I want you to pack up, and wait on line until I dismiss you.

“Berkowitz, Benoliel, Cahan, and Davis, bus number 41. Ettinger, Friedman, Ganzweig, and Gewirtz, bus number 42.”

I hope Bobby prepared my favorite chocolate cake. I hope she remembered that the cover that she usually keeps on the bed is very scratchy and itchy. I hope she changed it to the green and blue one.

Mommy thinks I’m big enough to take the bus all by myself. I hope she’s right and I don’t get…

“Pinny,” a deep voice interrupts “Everyone else is packed up, on line, and ready to go.”

“Right Rebbe, I’ll be really quick .Which bus am I going on again?” Pinny hears the rebbe audibly sigh, as he repeats the instructions for the bus.

Memory

Friday afternoon 12:10 p.m.

Pinny gets on the bus headed to Flatbush. He feels a bit queasy, but he has reviewed the route so many times with his mother that he’s pretty sure he’ll know where to go. After frantically searching through his knapsack, he realizes that he has misplaced the address.

O.K., so I’ve been to Bobby’s house before, I’ll just wing the address from memory. Is it 1427 East 37th street, or 1437 East 27th street. Which one is it? I can’t remember. Which one is it? Let me think…Let me think…. O.K. I know my friend Simcha lives around the corner from Bobby, and he lives on East 28th street, so its gotta be…Whewl Here’s the paper with the address stuck in the pocket of my folder. East 27th street here we come!

End-of-the-year activities have been a happy, busy time for Neytz HaChochma students. The excitement began on the last week of school with a motorboat ride and cookout picnic on an island off the 79th Street causeway.

The next day, the older boys who had finished Florida virtual school classes and completed their textbooks took part in a cake party. SAT scores were back and the results were spectacular. Most students jumped one grade and some even two grades for the year. Yosef S. achieved the highest SAT scores and made his teachers very proud.

Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Goldenberg was so delighted that he took the boys fishing. They went to nearby Oleta State Park with their poles. For all their efforts, only one fish was caught. Then their lessons were put to practical use: the fish was released and thrown back into the water because the boys determined it was not kosher.

The grand finale for the week was graduation day. Maimon B. gave the commencement speech. He expressed his appreciation to the school, his teachers, and all the staff by elaborating on the theme from the Torah: “A person cannot bring his friend’s Thanksgiving offering.” He graduated from AACE middle school and was accepted into a prestigious yeshiva high school by passing a vigorous examination.

Other students received certificates of achievement for their accomplishments not only in academics but also in notable social skills.

The day after graduation was full of fun and activity. Rabbi Hirsh, head of counseling, took the whole school on a nature walk. Then the children’s Judaic teacher, Rabbi Bukspan, strategically commandeered water wars on the schoolyard. Rabbi Goldenberg presided over a hot dog barbeque. Another cake was brought in. This time it was a birthday cake for Rabbi Bukspan. The children celebrated with their rebbe.

A martial arts tournament was held on the final day of the school year. Students received their certificates plus the appropriate color belt they earned

Camp Neytz got under way on July 2. The students are anticipating a great summer.

Neytz HaChochma, a nonprofit Jewish/orthodox exceptional student education school (ESE), is located at 901 NE 167th Street. The school’s curriculum includes a gifted program. For further information call 305-945-7483 or e-mail: info@aace.org.

The Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy held its high school graduation on May 22. The lights were dimmed as the class of 2012 walked down the center aisle to the stage. The ceremony began with a blessing given to the parents and teachers of the 40 graduates.

The audience was then treated to a delightful video. Each student was featured as a baby and then as a high school graduate in cap and gown.

Inspiring speeches were given by Hebrew Academy board president Leah Klein and head of school Dr. Roni Raab. Graduating seniors Brianna Cohen (Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Congressional Award winner), Rebecca Masin (salutatorian), and Ron Lipkin (valedictorian) each spoke. They shared their thoughts about reaching the milestone of high school graduation.

One by one, graduates were called to center stage to receive their diplomas. Finally, there was one more “graduate” to address: English department chairperson Mrs. Ellen Averbook, who was retiring after 26 years of dedication to the RASG Hebrew Academy.

The entire graduating class has been accepted by prestigious universities, yeshivot and seminaries in the United States and worldwide. Many of the graduates were recipients of academic and athletic awards.

RASG Hebrew Academy is an Orthodox college and yeshiva preparatory day school serving children through grade 12. The school inspires and equips students to reach their fullest potential by focusing on their individual attributes and instilling eternal Torah values in a changing world.

For more information about the Hebrew Academy, contact Ami Eskanos at 305-532-6421, ext. 105, or aeskanos@rasg.org.

The Pittsburgher Rebbe dancing at a Lag B’Omer bonfire at a Los Angeles cheder. (Photo credit: Rabbi Arye D. Gordon)

With bows and arrows, and around a bonfire, parents and children joined the Pittsburgher Rebbe on Lag B’Omer in joyously singing “Bar Yochai,” “V’amartem” and “Amar Rabbi Akiva.” Rabbis, teachers and members of the Los Angeles Jewish community – with their spouses – joined the celebration.

Like most chassidic rebbes, the Pittsburgher Rebbe conducted a tisch following the dancing to mark the day. Tisch attendees received shirayim and berachos, heard a d’var Torah and, as is the custom, observed the upsherin of three-year-old children. The rebbe cut the first lock of hair.

The Pittsburgher Rebbe plans to return to L.A. for next year’s Lag B’Omer celebration.

The Palestinian news agency Ma’an reports that around 38,000 people in the Palestinian Authority on Saturday took exams to become public school teachers.

The exams are highly competitive, and the Palestinian Authority ministry of education will select only 1,400 candidates to fill vacant teaching positions in its schools.

The exams started at 10 a.m. in 150 halls across Judea and Samaria, PA ministry of education official Mustafa al-Audah told Ma’an.

The highly competitive selection process means many applicants may sit the exam six or seven times for a chance at a teaching position.