The Bulletin from Temple Beth Sholom, February 2001

Temple Beth Sholom HIGHUGHTS IN THIS ISSUE: ? READ ABOUT OUR FABULOUS GALA FUNDRAISER! ? FIND OUT HOW TO MAKE A "TREE OF LIFE"! ? CHECK OUT OUR NEW CALENDAR OF EVENTS! ? SEE WHO IS CELEBRATING A MITZVAH! VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 A Gala Event From the moment we entered the impressive, tented entrance, we knew we were in for a most special evening. The food displays, silent auction and festivities were unparalleled. Our synagogue shined on the evening of February 7. Stan and I wish to thank all those who supported the Temple's Gala fundraiser in our honor. The dinner chairs, Arlene Blut, Mona Silverman and Marcy Saxe, and their hardworking committees de-serve much credit for the stellar event. The evening was fabu-lous! Not only was it beautiful and entertaining, it was a financial success as well. This was the first of many special events to be held at Temple Beth Sholom. And it is our prediction that each one will be better than the preceding one. We look forward to the art auction in April, the Dorothy Rice Book Signing, also in April, and our "Cinco de Mayo" dinner, honoring Rabbi and Liz Goodman on May 5th. Please call Mona Silverman to volunteer for any of these events. Sandy Mallin TBS President Gala Pictures continued on page 2... TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM IS A CONSERVATIVE CONGREGATION AFFILIATED WITH THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE OF CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM Inside T^is Issue: COVER STORY: A GALA EVENT - 3 A MESSAGE FROM RABBI FELIPE GOODMAN A A MESSAGE FROM CANTOR DANIEL FRIEDMAN > EDUCATION. YOUTH AND PROGRAMMING 8 EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER 1 3 A MESSAGE FROM OPERATIONS T 4 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 1 6 A MESSAGE FROM THE WOMEN'S LEAGUE SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM Gala Event Pictures, Continued.... ? ? ? ? ? ? ? M M M M i i i t v i a w i M a M Welcome to all the new members who have joined Temple Beth Sholom since October 10,2000! Jerry & Louise Appenzeller Gary & Traci Baker Roberta Baiter Benny & Staci Coppotelli Steven & Barbara Davis Laurie Engel David & Sharon Hjerpe Henry & Jennifer Israel Herbert & Francine Jaffe Howard & Barbara Kenig Dr. David & Shelley Lanzkowsky Jeffery & Elvira Michelxnan Marlowe & Barbara Mogill Robert & Regina Raphaelson Jurij & Oksana Rosental Jason & Whitney Sadow Glenn & Lainie Schepps Lori Tefft Dale & Ellen Turner George & Shelli Wara Todd & Beth Weinstein Cheryl Leamon PAGE 2 VOL. 1 No. 2 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 A Message From Rabbi Felipe Goodman. WHAT EXACTLY IS HUMILITY? Parashat Bo describes the confrontation of two individu-als with two very different value systems. One is the leader of the Egyptian people, Pharaoh, while the other is the leader of the Jewish people, Moshe. The rabbis de-scribe Pharaoh as the man of arrogance, par excellence. He was a self-styled God who built monuments to honor himself. He condemned his own people to the suffering of the plagues as he refused to recognize the presence of a God other than himself. He couldn't conceive of a God he did not know, let alone one he could not bait or con-nive against. He feared no one; his self pride consumed him. He considered no one as important as himself. Phar-aoh's primary task in life was the imposition of his will and his value system on the lives of others. An individual with a very different value system is sum-moned to confront this arrogant man. Moshe is called upon to represent the Jewish people before Pharaoh. We know Moshe as the leader who directs the Jewish people out of Egypt, receives the revelation on Mount Sinai, and leads them for forty years in the wilderness. And yet the only direct compliment Moshe receives in the entire To-rah is a short statement in Bamidbar: "Ha-ish Moshe anav meod... Now Moshe was a very humble man, more so than any other man on earth." This is the individual God had chosen to lead the Jewish people, to confront the ar-rogant Pharaoh, and to receive the revelation on Sinai: the very humble man Moshe. As this humble individual proceeds to face the arrogant Pharaoh, what type of confrontation do we envision? Is Moshe's humble character the opposite of Pharaoh's arro-gance? Do we perceive Moshe to be consumed with meekness and abaseness while Pharaoh demonstrates haughtiness? Where Pharaoh expresses pride does Moshe prefer to be trod upon?...I think not. Our tradition values humility highly. The Rabbis de-scribe the process whereby Mount Sinai was chosen for the revelation. All the mountains presented their distin-guishing qualities; Mount Sinai had little to offer and yet God chose it. Why? Because humility is needed to experi-ence God's presence and Mount Sinai was said to have been replete with this quality. When Moshe stands before Pharaoh and asks: "How long will you refuse to humble yourself?" Targum Onkelos states that the meaning of to humble is "to lower oneself'. Moshe is pleading with Pharaoh to lower himself a little, not to abase himself or to submit himself to the authority of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. He is only being asked to lower himself, to recognize the authority of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Targum Onkolos intimates here that humility begins with the recognition of a Supreme Ruler and Creator. Humility is described as a strength, not as a weakness, by Jewish tradition. It gives us the strength to confront hu-man arrogance. We acquire a sense of humbleness when we begin to es-tablish a relationship with our Eternal Creator. We begin to recognize our personal limitations and the infinite ex-tension of God's abilities. We begin to understand that whereas arrogance is the subjugation of one's self to an-other person or country's value system, humility is the subjugation of one's self to a higher value system - God's. It is the commitment to a life of Torah, the highest calibre of morality, independent of conflicting human whims. It cultivates an attitude toward others that each of us is cre-ated in the image of God. The humble individual lowers himself, not because of weakness, but because of strength, because of the clear view he has of man's rela-tionship to his Creator. He becomes committed to a life-time of respect and honor for his fellow human beings. A story is told about Rabbi Akiba. He took a trip to the market one day to sell a pearl which he had saved. As he arrived he was greeted by a very wealthy man who chose to appear as a pauper in public, one who wore degrading clothing and chose to sit with the poor in the synagogue. When this disguised wealthy man saw the pearl which Rabbi Akiba held he wanted to buy it. He persuaded Rabbi Akiba to accompany him to his home where he would pay its value. Continued on page 4... VOL. 1 NO. 2 PAGE 3 SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 A Message From Cantor Daniel Friedman js I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM CANTORS CORNER Halleluyah. Praise God in His sanctuary, In His heaven; for His power praise Him. Praise Him for His mighty deeds, For His infinite greatness praise Him. Praise Him with trumpet calls, With harp and lyre praise Him. Praise Him with drum and dance, With flute and strings praise Him. Praise Him with clashing cymbals, With resounding cymbals praise Him. Let every breath of life praise the Lord. Halleluyah PSALM 150 I NEED YOU !! Do you play an instrument? Do you like to sing? Let me know who you are. I am putting together some wonderful musical groups to help enhance our lives as Jews and would love to include you. Please don't be shy. Come up and say, "Hello." Better yet, call me at 804-1333 ext.107 and say, "Hello." We have all levels of participation, so come and join the fun. I look forward to getting to know all of you whether or not you play an in-strument or sing, so, please stop by and say, "Hello." 77/rcoMUH^. w f i t l i e n / c v u n i . ! . . M Makelat Kol Ha'Yeladim (Voices of the Children's Choir) Friday Night Alive Band Yom Hashoa Memorial Citywide Observance A Message From Rabbi Felipe Goodman continued from page 3.. When the two reached the home of the wealthy man, Rabbi Akiba was surprised to be greeted by the servants of this poorly dressed man. They tended to all the needs of the two men and placed their master on his golden chair. The wealthy man then ordered his servants to bring him money to pay Rabbi Akiba for the pearl. Fol-lowing this exchange Rabbi Akiba was invited to dinner. After finishing the meal Rabbi Akiba asked, "After the Lord has granted you all this great wealth why do you degrade yourself so much and sit with the unfortunate poor?" The wealthy man answered, "Rabbi, the Psalm says, 'Man is like vapor; his days are like a passing shadow.' Money doesn't last forever. Therefore I think it does me a lot of good to sit with the poor. My spirit will not become arrogant and I will not become haughty be-cause of my great wealth." Money can be very deceiving at times. It can blur our vi-sion with little difficulty. This man knew that in spite of his great wealth he was no equal to his Creator. His un-derstanding of his position in the cosmos was so secure that even great wealth couldn't corrupt him. This man's concept of humility was one of strength and sureness. Superficially he wore degrading clothes. But internally he was far from meek because he had faith in his Creator. He knew his place in the world and felt comfortable with it The contrast between arrogance and humility can be very deceiving. Let us not be fooled by it The arrogance of world leaders appears, superficially, to be a source of strength. Yet every man of arrogance has destroyed him-self. Continued on page 11... PAGE 4 VOL. 1 No. 2 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 Education, Youtl^ and Programming WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE TEMPLE TODAY? Jacob Raijman ?Director of Education "What did you do in the temple today?" is a question often asked by our parents of their children. Very often the reply is, "Oh, nothing", as they are anxious to begin activities with their families, especially on the weekends. To answer that question, the temple has been very busy the last few months and the following is a brief sample of ac-tivities that took place here. On December 17,15 cars drove from the temple to the Sun-coast Hotel Bowling Lanes; to Hillel at UNLV; to Desert Breeze Park and then back to the temple during the 2nd an-nual Cha-nukah Treasure Hunt. Can you imag-ine fami-lies sing-ing Cha-nukah songs, dressing in cos-tumes and traveling all over the city asking questions such as: Who was the shortest president? When is Patrick's birthday? What are the names of the five Maccabee brothers? We had fun and we learned a lot. The families that attended were full of enthusiasm and worked very hard to win one of the top prizes; PlayStation II, The Sega Dream Cast; or a Nin-tendo 64. The first place prize went to the Tredup family, the second to the Steve Saxe family and the third to the Lei-bowitz family. Thank you to all the families that partici-pated in this event and I encourage you to start studying for the 3rd annual treasure hunt to be held in December. On Monday night, December 18th our USY kids were the biggest fans and cheerleaders at the UNLV Running Rebels basketball game, especially when the Rebels beat Alaska- 101-71. V The Family Tot Shabbat will be an ongoing event the 3rd Friday of each month in the small sanctuary beginning at 6:30 p.m. January 14th, our Emshech class (the post Bar/Bat Mitzvah class) had the great opportunity to participate at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in a special service honoring the late Martin Luther King, Jr. If you ask your children in two months what did they do in the temple today the answer will probably still be "Oh, nothing, we only returned to classes in the religious school". But some of the activities they should be talking about are the Family Tot Shabbat that was held on January 19 and will be taking place again on February 16. Also the Havdala Family Services that was held on January 27 with the next one on February 24 at 7:00 p.m. The next date for Talmud and Friends is February 22. You should have received the catalog of Spring Adult Edu-cation classes/programs with more information on: Prayer 101 Ancient Jewish Art Lunch and Learn with the Rabbi Introduction to Judaism Esther Understanding Israel Adult Bat Mitzvah class Rikkudim Hebrew L'mazl (Lamaze) Other upcoming activities include: February 4,h all the Jewish Day Schools and Reli-gious Schools will have activities in support of Is-rael. February 11th the first Temple Beth Sholom Tu B'Shevat picnic will be held for our entire congre-gation. March 8th, the reading of the Megillah for Purim March 11th, a wine tasting and costume contest for adults Friday evening, December 22nd was the return of Family Tot Shabbat. We lit the second candle of Chanukah, sang and danced, listened to a story and did handicraft in a very spiritual environment. Instead of asking your children or your parents or your friends, "What did you do in the Temple?" be a part of all the activities. Come and learn, do good deeds, enjoy friendships and share with the incredible family of Temple Beth Sholom. VOL. 1 NO. 2 PAGE 5 Before we were able to say the words "How Time Flies," the first semester in our new home of the Religious School has passed and another is about to begin. As the Assis-tant Director of the school, I have witnessed the fabulous growth of our school. As everything else in our congregation, our Judi and Ronald Mack School of Religious Studies is ex-panding. From 85 students last year, we now have 140 stu-dents, and it is a sheer joy to see all of our students, from kin-dergarten to high school, learning and enjoying our new pro-gram. Our new program's main concept is that Judaism is not something you just learn in Religious School but is a way of life, and the way to acquire it is through experiences rather than lectures. Thus, we based our curriculum on learning Ju-daic themes through various kinds of activities. For example, 2nd & 3rd graders are experiencing Judaism and Bible Stories through creative dance, 4lh & 5,h graders are researching Zion-ism through a group project, 6th & 7th graders are exploring the meaning of prayers through meditation, and all grade levels are exploring Judaism through visual art. Our Hebrew pro-gram also operates within the same idea. Our students are learning Hebrew not only by reciting their books but also by different activities and games. Temple Beth Sholom kids do not only read Hebrew; they read, they understand what they read and are beginning to speak Hebrew. For them, Hebrew is not only another language, but a part of their inheritance, which they receive from our ancestors. In order to be successful in teaching such a curricu-lum, one must have a capable staff. I am proud to say that we have a most talented staff. Our teachers are trained in teaching in a cooperative learning environment and are trained in teaching themes through different teaching techniques. Our staff also works together coordinating on the same theme, so the children will experience the same Judaic concept through stories, singing, group projects, dance, art, discussions and more. We wouldn't be able to be such a successful school without our wonderful staff. Besides our regular curriculum, we also provide our students and their families with special activities throughout the year. To list a few: in December, our famous TBS Chanu-kah Treasure Hunt. In February, we are going to participate together with all Jewish day schools and Religious Schools around the valley in a project supporting Israel; a TBS Tu B'Shevat picnic. In April, a Pesach Seder for students and par-ents and Yom Hashoa Project & Activity. Our religious school's most important goal is to pro-vide our students and their families with a place where Juda-ism is everywhere and everything. Feeling the atmosphere around our school every week, I am a true believer in our suc-cess. SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM Education, Youtl^ and Programming Event Pictures! Assistant Director of Education PAGE 6 VOL. 1 No. 2 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 Education, Youtl) and Programming USY AND KADIMA EVENTS What an exciting beginning it has been for our Raijman (youth director) and Aaron Sidranski area, we now have two great youth past two months, many of the pre-events such as Kolnoa Night (movie basketball. All of these events were of the kids. Kadima and USY was opportunity to explore their Jewish with kids their age. As you can tell, are they fun? This is an easy answer, the ideas and it is Jacob and Aaron friends at USY and Kadima. Due to the hard work and dedication of Jacob (youth advisor) in bringing fun and social youth activities to the Las Vegas programs for the youngsters of TBS. In the teens and teens at TBS have participated in night), Mt. Charleston sledding, and UNLV successful due to the interest and requests brought to TBS to give your children the roots, heritage and to be able to interact the events are all fun and creative! Why the students are the ones coming up with that make these events happen. Kolnoa night was a big success I- ? among the 8-12 year olds of Kadima. The kids were given the opportunity to make their own movie and share it with their friends. Costumes and food were pro-vided for them and the rest is history. Creativity and fun was this night's theme. Two skits were made as well as multiple performances of karaoke. The kids enjoyed it as well as the counselors who video taped the unbelievable action. The Mt. Charleston event was fantastic. For a few dollars, Aaron and Jacob were able to provide transportation, food, sledding, and lots of snow. What a great time we all had in the snow. For about 4 hours, we did events such as sled jumping and football. It was great to see all the different kids interacting with each other on the slopes and in the van. Due to the high demand for this amount of fun, TBS should make this an annual trip for the USY kids! The most recent event was the UNLV basketball game versus Alaska Anchorage. Of course the mighty Rebels won and I don't mean the basketball team (they also won). The kids from Kadima and USY had a blast sitting only a few rows away from all the action. It was great to see so many Jewish youths of all ages interacting with each other. Popcorn, soda, and a victory, what more could a kid want? Well, now that you see that TBS is dedicated to making a statement in the world of Jewish youth, we ask for your support and cooperation. What is it that we are asking for? Your kids of course! Make sure they are aware of all the upcoming activities and events that are coming up soon. It is hard for us to know all the kids but with your help, we can start send-ing out e-mails, flyers, and calling them with future activities. If you have any questions or comments, make sure to call Jacob Raijman or Aaron Sidranski at 804-1333. Aaron Sidranski Youth Advisor from the Education Department... We would like to thank all the people who supported us in our difficult time. Your love and warmth were a great comfort to us. Thank you for being our family. Maggie and Jacob Raijman. The Kraft Family for the wonderful idea of decorating the bimah for Elyse' Bat Mitzvah with baskets filled with school supplies which they then donated to the Religious School. The Zucker family for donating the first prize for the Chanukah Treasure Hunt, a Play Station 2. The Ostrow Family for donating a Scholarship for the Religious School in honor of Alexis' Bat Mitzvah. VOL. 1 NO. 2 PAGE 7 I TEMPLE BETH SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 SHOLOM Sandra and Stanley Mallin Early Childhood Center ? f FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK Deborah Jensen Thank you to everyone who returned the preschool evaluations. Your honesty and input is greatly appreciated. I was thrilled to see that you understood how important our small class size and teacher/child ratio is in creating the appropriate environment for your child. I also noted that several of you were pleased with our discipline policy of "no-time outs". This is probably one of the most important aspects of running a program that successfully teaches children. Thank you for appreciat-ing all the hard work and effort that our faculty puts into each and every day for your child. Not only are they working hard in the classrooms every day, they attend weekly staff meetings, extra classes, and are truly absorbed in building a Judaic program with solid academics for all our children. Aside from watching the children grow, their rewards are from the positive comments from you. Thanks again! Thank you to all the parents who helped make our field trip plans become a reality. We really appreciate that you took time out to drive and chaperone our kids on their first school excursions! They all had a great time! Thank you to April Hamil-ton for organizing the trip to the bookstore and park for the Turtles and Rabbits, the Bowling trip for the Lions, and the Field trip for the Tigers and Bears. FEBRUARY CALENDAR => The Bears' class will be participating during the Temple's Kabbalat Shabbat Service on Friday, February 2, at 7:30 pm. See you there! Don't forget: babysitting is available free of charge during Friday night services. => Havdalah Pajama Parties are on the first Saturday of every month. This is a fundraiser for the preschool, a break for you, and a treat for the kids. Ask any of our regular Pajama Partiers, and they will tell you that between the Havdalah prayers, ice cream, movies, and games, they have a really great time! The February party is on Febru-ary 3 from 6pm-iipm. Rabbi Goodman will lead the prayers at 7:00pm. The March Havdalah event will be on Saturday, March 4. => Our next Bagel talk will be on Wednesday, February 14, at 8:45 am. By popular demand, the Bagel Talk topic will be more on Discipline. Bagel talks are on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, and are free to members. => Registration for the 2001-2002 school year will begin in February for currently enrolled par-ents, and March 1 for outside families. Contracts, schedules, etc. will be available mid-February. => Our Tu B'Shevat seder for the children will be on Thursday, February 8 at 11:15 am. Each to bring one guest. Additional guests are $4.00 per person. Please sign up in advance. WANTED; Summer Camp Counselors and CIT'S who are energetic and motivated! program offers lots of great activities, and we need help! If you are between 13 and 18 and are to work hard this summer, give us a call at the preschool to set up an interview newt child is entitled ?ur Summer camp willing PAGE 8 VOL. 1 No. 2 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 Sandra and Stanley Mallin Early Childhood Center mm Take a Peek at A SHABBAT LUNCH! Every Friday, our children walk through the halls of the edu-cation building, singing "Shabbat Sholom?Hey!' as they head for the Youth Lounge for their Shabbat lunch. One class is responsible each week for being the Ima and Abba, lighting the candles and saying all the blessings. On this special day we wear our dress up clothes, give Tzedakah, sing songs, eat matzo ball soup, hallah, fried chicken, and have a special dessert. Why? Because it's Shabbat, and we love to celebrate Shabbat! Special thanks to Liz Goodman for helping in the kitchen. We always appreciate your help! VOL. 1 NO. 2 PAGE 9 SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM Sandra and Stanley Mallin Early Childhood Center Kids On the Street Interview In honor ofTu B'Shevat, the children in the Lions, Tigers and Bears Classes were asked the following question: WHY ARE THERE TREES IN ISRAEL? Below is a few of their answers. Enjoy. Haley: Just to look at. Austin M: Sometimes you can pick fruit off it. Max: I think there is a forest somewhere there. Alyssa: Because of the birds. Omri: Because they DO have trees in Israel. Hunter: Because there are leaves on it. Rachel: Because they grow. Jake: Because they can grow food on it. Zachary: So the trees will grow tall. Yoshua: Because some people need it for food. Maddie: To pick apples off of. Sydnie: To sit under when it gets hot. Ron: Because they need plants in Israel. Matt: Because they grow ants and foods and branches. Sarah: I like them, The green grass grows. Missy: So we can have lemons. Isabella: Trees give wood. Cameron: So animals have a home. Juliana: Because they are pretty. From our A r t Director... Wow! It's February ALREADY and time to celebrate Tu' B'Shevat. This month, I will introduce ways to know more about nature, colors and the world in which we live. We will be making EARTH DAY puppets, paper flower gardens, and a chart showing the growth of the seed. We will also learn about mixing and blend-ing colors using paint. Your children are so curious and attentive and its truly a pleasure to work with them! PAGE 10 VOL. 1 No. 2 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 Sandra and Stanley Mallin Early Childhood Center In the Kitchen Together Tree ofi Life Salad This is a wonderfully creative recipe with veggies that you craft into a tree of life using broc-coli, cherry tomatoes or pomegranates, carrot for the trunk, slices of green pepper for the grass, and round slices of yellow pepper for the sun. Remember that Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were forbidden to eat from the tree of knowledge-but the tree of life you can eat! Serve with hummus or a yogurt dip! INGREDIENTS l bunch of broccoli l carrot l yellow pepper salt to taste l green pepper l handful cherry tomatoes Adult: Cut the broccoli into flowerets Adult: Bring a pot of water to boil. Add a little salt and the broccoli. Cook for 5 minutes. Then, remove the broccoli and place in a mixing bowl with ice and water. Child: Peel the carrot. Adult: Cut the carrot in half lengthwise, and slice the peppers. Place all the vegetables out on a plat-ter or in individual bowls so the children can work with them easily. Child: Using the ingredients, make the tree of life with the apple and the snake. A Message From Rabbi Felipe Goodman continued from page 4... The fate of arrogance is self-destruction and we need only take a cursory survey of world history to uphold the contention. Every time that a Pharaoh, or Napoleon, or Hitler, or Amin, attempted to impose his will on others he was defeated. We can be subjugated to one law only and that is God's law - His Torah and His Mitzvot Hu-mility is that trait which protects us from the fate of the arrogant. It may seem to be a fragile position but in fact it is one of strength. During the nineteenth century Yehoshua Steinberg com-piled a collection of Jewish proverbs. One adage asserted: The size of a cedar is measured by its shadow. The size of a man by his humility. Humility can be great source of sustenance. Let us ac-quire the strength to lower ourselves, to reduce some of our tensions, and bring our world a little closer to that state of ultimate perfection, yemot ha-mashiah.. VOL. 1 NO. 2 PAGE 11 SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM Sandra and Stanley Mallin Early Childhood Center PARENTING 101-TIPS AND IDEAS CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WITH HIGH SELF-ESTEEM Most of the time, children with high self-esteem will: Make friends easily. Show enthusiasm for new activities. Be cooperative and follow age-appropriate rules. Control their behavior. Play by themselves and with other children. Like to be creative and have their own ideas. Be happy, full of energy, and talk to others without much encouragement. CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WITH LOW SELF-ESTEEM Most of the time, children with low self-esteem will say things like: "I can't do anything well." "I know I can't do it." "I know that I will fail." "I don't like me. I wish I were someone else." WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP BUILD HIGH SELF-ESTEEM => Praise your child's successes (even very small ones). Praise when your child tries hard. => Give sincere affection. Let children know that they are loved and wanted. =s> Show interest in each child's activities, projects, or problems. => Tell children what to do instead of what not to do. This prepares them for what to do. Instead of: "Don't squeeze the kitten." Say: "Hold the kitten gently." Let children know that mistakes are a natural part of growing up. Everyone (including adults) makes mistakes. Try to ignore temper tantrums and other negative behavior as much as possible. Show appreciation when children cooperate, help you, say kind things to other children, obey the rules, and do other positive things. Remember that learning new skills takes time and practice. Children do not learn new skills all at once. Respond affectionately when children behave well. Tell children what you like about their behavior. Let children know that you believe in them and ex-pect them to do well. When a child misbehaves, separate the misbehavior from the child. For example, say "I don't like it when you throw toys, but I still like you. I know you will do better tomorrow." Let the child know you believe in him or her. ACTIONS THAT MAY LOWER CHIL-DREN'S SELF-ESTEEM Try to avoid the following actions because they may lower children's self-esteem and in turn can be harmful. => Expecting too much or too little from children. => Yelling at or criticizing children, especially in front of other people. => Criticizing children more often than praising or showing appreciation. => Calling children clumsy, thoughtless, stupid, lazy, etc. => Telling children who have made mistakes that they are failures. => Overprotecting or neglecting children. Excerpt from: How to Give your Child a Great Self-image by Dr. Debora Phillips PAGE 12 VOL. 1 NO. 2 I TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM SHEVAT-ADAR 5 7 6 1 FEBRUARY 2 0 0 1 A Message From cfrarlene Herst; Operations. The Administrative and Maintenance staffs have been very busy this past month. Helene, Lorie, Patrick, David and Dunbar all went above and beyond the call of duty before, during and after the Gala and deserve kudos for a job well done. I would like to thank Jon Jensen for the fabulous riser he built. He has saved the temple money in future rental costs. It is beautiful, practical and with wheels; so easy to move. Thanks to all my staff for going beyond the call of duty every day. Now that the bulletin is produced once a month we want to help celebrate all the special simchas in your life. Bar/bat mitzvahs will be highlighted each month and will include a picture. We would also like to include other events such as weddings, anniver-saries and baby namings. If you have such an occasion coming up please contact me for deadlines or additional information. If you would like to sponsor, co-sponsor or partially sponsor an Oneg Shabbat or a Kiddush please call me. It would be a nice way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, graduation, baby naming or other simcha. The construction of the mikvah is a reality and should be completed by the next bulletin. We have put up with a lot of noise and dust, but having a mikvah in our Temple is worth the short-term inconvenience. We were so sorry to lose Louise Appenzeller, who left us after many years of loyal service. We wish her great success in her new position at Jewish Federation. Our new Administrative Assistant is Cheryl Nielsen. Many of you have met or talked with Cheryl over the last month while she was a Manpower temp. She will be a great addition because of her friendly, caring and helpful attitude. Cheryl is married and has two sons and one granddaughter. Her entire family loves the game of golf and when she isn't working you can find her on the course. Please come in and say "hello" to Cheryl. I encourage you to participate in Temple activities. We have a beautiful facility and wonderful classes and programs that the Rabbi and Jacob have worked very hard putting together. There should be something to pique everyone's interest. I look forward every Shabbat to seeing long-time Temple members and meeting new members and visitors. Our congregation is growing and it