Dear Parent

Shining Stars

As we approach the Yom Tov of Shavuos and once again celebrate the precious gift of Torah, it is a fitting time to pay tribute to my wonderful colleagues who dedicate their lives to educate and inspire your children.

Rather than share a dvar Torah with you, I instead present a link to a 90 second thought from Dayan Posen of the Federation Beis Din.

Dayan Posen pays tribute to all kodesh teachers and the impact they make. I echo his comments and see first-hand, day in day out, the outstanding efforts and passion of all my colleagues at the boys’ school and girls’ school.

https://www.federation.org.uk/90-seconds-on-the-parsha-bamidbar/

A slightly fuller version, lasting 7 minutes is on the link below:

https://www.torahanytime.com/#/lectures?v=239217

Wishing everyone a wonderful Yom Tov and much nachas from their children and families.

Rabbi Golker
Menahel

 

Do You Count?

There seems to be a contradiction at the beginning of this week’s parsha.

On one hand, the very first Rashi in Sefer Bamidbar says that acts of counting are expressions of love on the part of Hashem.

מתוך חיבתן לפניו מונה אותם כל שעה
Because they were dear to Him, He counted them often.

It seems that when Hashem initiates a census of His people at the beginning of this this week’s parsha, it is to show that He loves them.

On the other hand, the Torah is explicit in saying that taking a census of the nation is fraught with risk.

The beginning of parshas Ki Sisa (Shemos 30,12) says:

כִּי תִשָּׂא אֶת רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם … וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בָהֶם נֶגֶף בִּפְקֹד אֹתָם.
When you count the heads of the children of Israel according to their numbers (let each one give to Hashem an atonement for his soul), then there will be no plague among them when they are counted.

Centuries later, when Dovid Hamelech counted the people, it ended in tragedy, and seventy thousand people died. (Shmuel Beis, perek 24). How can this be if counting is a gesture of love?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Lessons in Leadership p189) suggests the following answer. The key lies in the phrase the Torah uses to describe the act of counting.

שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
Count the heads of the congregation of the children of Israel.

Literally, the phrase used is “lift the head”. As Rabbi Sacks notes, this is strange given the many more common words used to mean count – למנות, לפקוד, לספור, לחשוב.

The point is that in any census or roll call, there is a tendency to focus on the total. This is a nation of seventy million people, a sports crowd of eighty thousand people, a company with fifteen thousand employees.

The number itself tends to value the group. The larger the total, the stronger the army, the more popular the team, the more successful the company.

The trouble is that the counting devalues the individual. They become just a number and replaceable. If a soldier dies, someone else will take his place. If someone leaves the organisation, someone else can be hired to do his or her job.

Hashem specifically uses the expression שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ (lift the head) to convey the idea that each individual is significant. Everyone counts. A census must be done in a way that signals we are valued as individuals.

This is an important message to anyone in leadership. At Hasmonean, we try to respect our students and “lift their heads”. This is true not just in relation to our students but for our colleagues too.

Counting is only fitting if people’s heads are lifted, and that is achieved by showing that they count.

Good Shabbos

Rabbi Golker
Menahel

 

Dear Parent

There is much to celebrate this week. First, of course, there is the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III which we will be marking in both schools this week. I hope you are able to take advantage of the long weekend to do something special.

Secondly, we are enormously grateful for, and humbled by, the response to the fundraising campaign last weekend. We raised over £1,523,000 which was a tremendous effort on the part of all the team leaders. What was particularly heartening was the sheer number of those who were willing to support the school – 335 teams and 3798 donors. We are truly grateful to every single person who supported the campaign.

Finally, we want to celebrate the fantastic success of Avigail Rowe who not only made it to the final of the Chidon Hatanach but came 6^th overall. She was competing against students from all over the world, many of whom are not simultaneously studying for secular exams (A levels). This was a phenomenal achievement and we are enormously proud of Avigail and her hard work over several years. Avigail is also a role model in the way she has shared her knowledge with younger students.

We have a thriving Chidon Hatanach programme at the Girls’ School, led by other finalists – Leah Kalmus, Sara Solomon and Orly Maerovits and we look forward to continued success in the competition in years to come.

Wishing you all a good Shabbos and an enjoyable bank holiday.

Yours sincerely

Mrs K Brice
Headteacher – Girls’

Dear Parent

We are pleased to announce that Hasmonean will be running a matched funding campaign from 10am on Sunday 30th April until 10pm on Monday 1st May.

Our campaign theme is “Be The Difference,” which embodies the daily efforts we make to better the lives of our students.

Hasmonean is more than just a school; it is a close-knit community where students, parents, and staff work collaboratively to create a welcoming and supportive atmosphere. We are proud of our accomplishments and look forward to continuing to make a positive difference in the lives of our students and the wider community.

To that end, we kindly ask that each Hasmonean family consider becoming a team leader by hosting a team page and requesting donations from friends, family, colleagues, and associates to support Hasmonean. By doing so, you can help us reach new donors and raise much-needed funds, however large or small.

Please sign up today using this link:
https://www.charityextra.com/bethedifference/signup

It will take less than a minute.

We hope you enjoy our video which captures the essence of the campaign:

https://hasmoneanmat.org.uk/donate/

Your support is hugely appreciated and essential to the success of the campaign.

Thank you for being the difference.

Yours sincerely

Ben Shooter, Trustee – Hasmonean MAT and Chair of Hasmonean’s Fundraising Committee
Andrew McClusky, CEO – Hasmonean MAT
Gary Swabel, Chair of Trustees – Hasmonean MAT

Dear Parent

Over Pesach we are enjoined “to see ourselves as if we came out of Egypt”.

Made especially for Pesach, family Golker has an enormous wall piece which takes up most of the dining room and overlooks our seder table. It has an Egyptian backdrop with photos of family members super imposed on Ancient Egyptian characters. Apart from keeping the kids busy and involved in the build up to Pesach, it helped us fulfil the dictum of Chazal and contemporise our feelings of freedom.

As we approach the Festival of Freedom, an article by journalist Eytan Kobre caught my attention. He was writing about the addictive nature of technology and quoted Adam Alter, a professor at New York University, who argues that “many of us – youngsters, teenagers and adults – are addicted to modern digital products. Not figuratively, but literally addicted.”

If proof were even needed, he suggested we ask ourselves the following questions:

Do I sleep with my phone near my bed? Do I ever go for a walk without it? Do I keep it on the table during meals? How about during meetings? When I’m speaking to someone face to face and I receive a text message, who comes first? What is my reaction to being separated from my phone: Anxiety? Heart palpitations? Loss of identity? Do I feel bereft, disoriented?

Perhaps another way to contemporise זמן חירותינו is to think seriously about the above questions and our relationship with technology. Kobre defines addiction as “something you enjoy doing in the short term, that undermines your well-being in the long term – but that you do compulsively anyway”. Are we modelling responsible behaviour to our children? Are we setting up good practice in our own homes? Important questions for an important time of the year.

It has been a long and busy term and we are all very proud to have a part in overseeing numerous events and encouraging the fantastic achievements of our students. Please help us, help them achieve even more. A healthy relationship with technology is an important start and can be very liberating.

Wishing you all a חג כשר ושמח, a kosher, happy and enjoyable Pesach.

Rabbi J Golker
Menahel