Baking at BYQ

By Chanita Teitz

The “great debate” is over, and the way I see it, Donald Trump was on the defensive most of the time. Although not his usual obnoxious self, he just kept saying empty, general criticisms like the fact that Hillary doesn’t have the stamina, without giving substantial examples. Hillary’s facial expressions showed her to be condescending and humoring Donald.

Most of the commentators gave it a draw–both candidates did well at different times in the debate. One mistake on Donald’s part was that he didn’t take advantage of certain opportunities to ask her specific questions and take her to task on these issues.

The moderator, Lester Holt, favored Hillary, omitting the most important questions about her e-mails, Benghazi, and the Clinton Foundation. He questioned Donald on his tax returns and allowed Hillary to go at him, but Donald answered well, saying that when she releases her e-mails, he will release his tax returns.

Donald still talks too much about himself, his success, and how smart he is. But in my opinion, he is still a better choice than Hillary and her liberal agenda. I’m realistic though, and it scares me that Donald may encounter total chaos if he is elected. If he wins, will we have chaos in objection to his victory, with an increase in crime and terror, as we have been seeing? What will the transitional period look like while Obama is still in office if riots escalate and terror increases in response to Donald’s victory?

In comparison, Binyamin Netanyahu spoke strongly last week at the UN about the “excessive bias against Israel,” telling the General Assembly to “lay down your arms, the war against Israel at the UN is over.” He called UNESCO a circus and the UN a farce.

As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we need to daven well for strength and emunah to be able to weather the storms ahead. I wish all of you, my readers, a good year filled with berachah, hatzlachah, and health.

 

School News

Baking at BYQ
Baking at BYQ

Shevach Enjoys Smooth Sailing. Shevach High School faculty and students “cruised” into the new school year with an inspiring and invigorating event on Thursday, September 25. In line with the G.O. theme of “The Great Outdoors,” Shevach High School sailed on the Skyline Princess, a three-level luxury liner docked at the World’s Fair Marina in Flushing.

Upon boarding the boat, everyone was treated to snacks and drinks in the elegant dining room of the cruise ship. Following the muffins and cookies, the girls were divided into nine workshops led by Shevach’s outstanding faculty. The topic of these thought-provoking sessions was Yonah HaNavi’s self-description of “Ivri Anochi.” An analysis of the word “Ivri,” as in the Torah’s portrayal of Avraham Avinu and his descendants, focused on setting standards for oneself, even if those standards are not the most popular ones at the time.

The teachers and students discussed tactics and shared personal stories of standing up for what they know to be right, even when it means not following the “herd mentality” and succumbing to peer pressure in life. That kind of strength of character develops a feeling of pride in oneself and overall Jewish pride.

One mechaneches shared a story describing her experience of standing up for her beliefs. She was in a college class with many Jewish students, and the professor mentioned something that denied Hashem. The Shevach teacher (then a student) looked around the room to see if anyone would say something, but no one did. She then took it upon herself to raise her hand and say she does not believe in what the professor said. After standing up for her beliefs, she recalled how she felt proud that she had done something to honor Hashem, even though it was hard for her and made her feel different.

After the uplifting workshops, the girls split into groups to play water-themed Pictionary and take full advantage of the dance floor on the third level of the ship. Following the fun and games, the girls had a chance to eat lunch and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Long Island Sound from the various decks and windows of the cruise ship.

The students and faculty all enjoyed a beautiful day which was the perfect combination of inspiration and fun. Kudos to Mrs. Devorah Kovitz, Shevach’s educational administrator, whose untiring efforts always produce innovative ideas that are both fun and inspiring. She was assisted by her capable G.O. heads: Elky Kasirer, Atara Nat, Ahuva Portnoy, and Tikveh Ney.

BYQ Early Childhood Center: Learning to Bake and Baking to Learn. Walk into the halls of Bais Yaakov of Queens and you will smell delectable aromas of yom tov wafting out of the classrooms of BYQ’s Early Childhood Center. Baking is an important part of the curriculum since it encompasses so many important content areas.

This time of the year finds the young bakers shaping round challahs and baking moist honey cupcakes and apple crumble. Although school has just begun, the children enthusiastically roll up their sleeves, wash up, and get to work. They work in small groups with a teacher who guides them and asks questions to promote higher-level thinking.

The first step is learning to follow a recipe. The Pre-K bakers are each given a card with a single step of the recipe to follow. This helps the children focus on the print. The pre-1A children work to follow a complete recipe written in large primary print along with pictures of each ingredient. Children are excited to use their math and literacy skills to read the recipe and figure out the ingredients and quantities.

As children bake, they experience, firsthand, important scientific principles that they will learn more formally as they get older. They learn to distinguish between wet and dry ingredients as well as similar-looking ingredients with different textures. As they mix and knead, they see how ingredients combine when mixed together and watch them transform throughout the cooking process.

Baking not only exercises children’s minds but it also gives children’s fine and gross muscles a real workout. Measuring ingredients, cracking eggs, stirring batter, and kneading dough are activities that use important muscles and develop hand-eye coordination.

Children also learn that working together can produce something wonderful. Everyone is an important part of the group and every child’s contribution is vital, whether it’s cracking an egg or adding a teaspoon of vanilla. The real message of baking together is that just as in a recipe, different and unique ingredients come together to make something delicious, so too, they are the special and unique ingredients that make up a wonderful group of children.

BYQ First Grade: Shofros and Kolos. In preparation of Rosh Hashanah, the first-graders at BYQ are learning about the shofar. The girls learned why we use the horn of a ram, Akeidas Yitzchak, the different sounds, and the 100 kolos we will hear each day. To help them understand about the types and sounds of shofros, Rabbi Gewirtz visited each classroom, bringing shofar-blowing right next to all the talmidos. The girls were awestruck to observe Rabbi Gewirtz blow the shofar with such feeling. The moros are helping them integrate the sounds they heard from Rabbi Gewirtz’s demonstration with the meaning of the shofar in shul.

 

Upcoming Events

26th Annual Shiur in Memory of Mrs. Sora Gold, a’h, by noted mechaneches Rebbetzin Ruthy Assaf. Sunday, October 9, 8:00 p.m. at Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, 76-01 147th Street in Kew Gardens Hills. For women only. Suggested donations to Bikur Cholim of Queens. v

Chanita Teitz is a real-estate broker at Astor Brokerage in Kew Gardens Hills, serving the entire Queens vicinity. For all your real-estate needs, call her at 718-263-4500 or e-mail chanita@astorbrokerage.com.

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