I hope everyone had a meaningful fast and an inspirational and powerful Yom Kippur.

Before we break for Sukkot, I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate our many juniors and seniors who were selected to be Chesed Heads and will be running over 20 Chesed initiatives at SKA that will service the larger community. Mazel Tov to more than 100 students who will be part of this year's Production Choir, Drama Cast and Dance Troupe. Students can still sign up for backstage crew and production positions!

We were thrilled to officially launch our first monthly assembly on Israel, a project of our new Irving and Toni Rosen Israel Studies and Programs. This first program focused on the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and sensitized students to the "matzvav" at that time and the ongoing sacrifices made by Israeli soldiers. Students will be receiving individual looseleafs to store supporting material and many interdisciplinary handouts which they will receive on an ongoing basis from various departments, including Ivrit, Jewish History, Social Studies, Tanach and Torah sheBeal Peh. Many thanks to Phil and Malki Rosen and family for their generous sponsorship of this new initiative. Hakarat hatov to Mrs. Leah Feinberg, coordinator of our new program.

I can't wait to attend our first reunion for the Class of 2005 to be held in Yerushalayim, next Motzai Shabbat. We are proud that 97% of the graduating class is studying Torah in Eretz Yisrael. Kol Hakavod! I look forward to welcoming other SKA staff members who will be in Eretz Yisrael for the Chag.

Kudos to Judge Dan Butler for his inspiring presentation at our first Community Lecture Series for Women! It was gratifying to see almost 300 mothers, students and graduates attend. We anxiously anticipate hearing Rebbetzin Meisels, daughter of the late Bobover Rebbe, zt"l, address our audience at our next lecture on November 1st on "Amen and Lessons of Emunah".

We daven that the rains will abate and this Sukkot will be drier than Yom Kippur. May Hashem bless you and your families and all of Klal Yisrael so that we can experience a true Zman Simchateinu!

Chag Sameach!

We at SKA are pleased and proud to announce the inauguration of the Irving and Toni Rosen Israel Studies and Programs as a new and exciting part of the SKA experience. The goal of the program is to enhance our students’ intellectual, emotional and spiritual connection to the State of Israel. As a religious Zionist institution we are thrilled to have this opportunity to augment our curriculum and programming and help develop our students’ understanding of the history and meaning of our State. We are grateful to the Rosen family for the impetus and funding for this venture.

Each month of the school year will be devoted to the study of a different event or aspect of the history of the State of Israel. The month of October has been dedicated to the study of the Yom Kippur War. We began with a film educating the girls about the war itself, and highlighting the bravery and effectiveness of the Israeli army, consisting of many of its citizens. The film was followed up in Jewish History, Ivrit and Torah SheBeal Peh classes with historical, literary and halachic material relating to the war. Each student has received a beautiful binder in which to collect this material each month, so that by the end of the year, each girl will have a treasure trove of information and literature relating to Medinat Yisrael.

Parents or grandparents who wish to share personal recollections of events in Israel’s history, or with suggestions for future programs, are encouraged to contact Mrs. Leah Feinberg, coordinator of the program. Stay tuned for future events!

At the continuation of T'Shuvathon 5766, SKA students and faculty, together with HALB's eighth grade class, had the honor of hearing from Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser on Tuesday, October 11th, before Yom Kippur. Rabbi Goldwasser is the Mora D'Asra of Kahal Bais Yitzchok in Brooklyn and a noted lecturer throughout the New York area. Rabbi Goldwasser spoke about our responsibilities during the Aseret Yemai Teshuva and how our teshuva and tefila could have power beyond our imaginations. He put everyone in the mindset of teshuva by illustrating its importance and teaching us that it is an immense gift from Hashem. He said that every minute, every opportunity that we have to follow Torah and Mitzvot is so great, that we should not wait until we lose those opportunities before we appreciate them. Rabbi Goldwasser’s inspiring speech left us with a desire for teshuva and a real sense of hope for many yeshuot in the coming year in the zechut of our tefilot this Yom Kippur.

Following Rabbi Goldwasser's address, we recited Tehilim in memory, in honor, and in the zechut for loved ones. Over $5,000 of Tzedakah was raised for former residents of Gush Katif.

"If you are ever on Interstate 80, you can catch a fleeting glimpse of something so beautiful..a cleft in a rock with some trees and a brook...it is magnificent. but if you are not paying attention,...you will miss it." And so began Judge Dan Butler’s presentation to over 250 mothers and daughters at the first SKA Rosh Chodesh Lecture Series on October 10, 2005.

Interspersing divrei Torah and humor into his very poignant and at times terribly sad story, Judge Butler recounted the life of his son, Mikey Butler a”h , who passed away due to complications of cystic fibrosis a year ago . The room was incredibly quiet as he spoke with passion and tears of Mikey’s trials and tribulations. People were mesmerized by the account and by the end of the evening left, not with a feeling of depression, but rather with a sense of wonderment at the courage of this very inspirational family, with thoughts of introspection as to what is important in life, and with a commitment of hakarat haTov to haShem for every moment we have in this life.

This was a story of a father who watched his eldest son cope with a debilitating illness, watched his other disabled children cope with life and helped his family remain whole through the years. In the end, Judge Butler felt that he had seen miracle after miracle, chesed after chesed, which have not stopped even though Mikey is no longer here. It was not a story of tragedy although the events were tragic. It was a story of the goodness of G-d and His people, a story of light in the darkness. When Moshe beseeched G-d to allow him to understand His ways, hareini na es k’vodecha, Hashem put Moshe in that cleft in the rock and showed him G-d’s back. “But, pay attention,” said Judge Butler “ so that you will see it...” and every once in a while we get a glimpse of the back of HazKadosh baruch Hu.

The audience was deeply moved by Judge Butler's openness and the power of his words helped set the tone for Yom Kippur.

The lecture was sponsored by the Zehnwirth family in loving memory of Frank Ptashkin a"h and Stanley Ptashkin a"h.

On Tuesday, October 11th, the SKA Sophomores set off on their Pre-Yom Kippur chesed trip. Half the grade went to help at Bobby's Place, a store that sells clothing to those in need. It is set up as a regular store with racks of clothing and a cash register, when in fact there is no charge for any of the merchandise. In this way, children who go shopping need not realize that they are different. The rest of the 10th grade spent their day at Otzar enjoying time with children who have special needs. They sang, made Sukkot projects and even danced! Who knew the Hokey-Pokey could be so much fun?!

The girls had a wonderful day and can't wait to continue "spreading the chesed."
Thanks, Mrs. Storch!

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