Bnot Torah Blog
Purimtastic Experience!
March 3, 2010
Wow! We just celebrated such an amazing Purim! Our Annual Purim Chagiga was sooo amazing that it featured Shana Aleph and Shana Bet as well as many of our faculty ranging from our Chonchot to or Mechanchot to Rabbi Green and yes a surprise appearance by Rabbi Sharfman!! I can’t go into all of the details of this special and exciting Purim that we all shared together in Sharfman’s…it was one of those things that you just had to be there for 
Best of all, our school hosts a Purim Seudah, led by Rabbi Sharfman himself so that we didn’t have to worry about finding a place. Still, what was fantastic about this Purim, wasn’t just getting to be in Eretz Yisrael, but it was also the Sharfman’s Purim Chagigah. Our Chagigah began with a Masquerade Ball and plenty of music and lively dancing. Each apartment had chosen their own theme for their costumes. Following the dancing, every apartment made a presentation – many together with little skits – explaining their costumes and the reason they chose that theme.
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Make Your Own Homemade Hamentashen Night!
February 27, 2010
Nosh nosh nosh. Nosh a Hamentash! All of our respective Bayit Cham’s at the local home of our Chonechet was a blast. We all felt the Purim spirit in the air! Before we began our Purim adventures we had to make sure we were all full. We had a delicious Lasagna and healthy and fresh salad. When we finished enjoying our meal the fun began. We began by making our very own Hamentashen dough. The dough looked soooo delicious. We then rolled out the dough and cut out circle shaped pieces. We filled the dough with Jelly and delicious chocolate spread and many other condiments (check out all the pictures!). The Chocolate Hamentashen were our favorite. Many of the Hamentashen looked like they came out of a professional bakery. As we waited for the Hamentashen to bake we blasted some music and danced into the night and talked about all that we had learned from Rabbi Kahane and Rabbi Green about the happy holiday of Purim. Anyways, gotta run because we are planning an awesome and hilarious Bnot Torah Purim Chagigah…stay tuned for more details
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2 Day Eilat Tiyul: Sun & Fun…Sharfman’s Style!
February 24, 2010
In Sharfman’s, some of the greatest Adar happenings are not simply our Annual Purim Chagigah or inspirational activites and classes. It is also the time in which, after completing our Chumash Paper we go down to Eilat for not 1 day but 2 days to enjoy the peaceful ocean breeze as well as truly marvelous vistas. We experienced the Timna Valley Sand Slide, a breathtaking hike through Solomon’s Pillars, and then we got to take a break for lunch while overlooking the glorious Timna Lake. Plus, we ALL got to board a private yacht chartered just for all of us Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s students What’s more, we were able to choose various water sports, including Parasailing and Banana Boating as well as relax by going swimming and sunbathing at the separate beach! Arguably most fascinating was being able to hang out with all of our friends and observe the magnificent sea life and corals at the Underwater Observatory and Oceanarium. Anyways, we are really in Purim Mode here so…
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Welcome to Happyville: Adar in Sharfman’s !
February 22, 2010
Adar is a happy month anywhere, but at Sharfman’s it’s really HAPPY! We kicked off Adar with a real surprise! Just as we finished our first class of the morning, Rabbi Sharfman came in and told us that a bus was waiting for us downstairs. We got on the bus without any idea of where we were headed or why. We just knew that it was Adar and this was Sharfman’s. Soon the bus dropped us off at the Malcha Mall. There, our Mechanchot divided us up into small teams, each led by a Teacher or Chonechet. We were told that we were on a Treasure Hunt and the objects of our search were our Shana Betters. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
Well, it’s amazing what a change of outfit, a borrowed sheitel or hat and a pair of sunglasses can do to change a person’s appearance. Of course, there are always some people who nobody notices! In fact, can you tell which Shana Bet girl this is in the picture below? She disguised herself soo well that she just shopped around this store in the mall forever
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Mission Accomplished: The Chumash Paper!
February 17, 2010
After 6 weeks of effort and research, I now look back and feel accomplishment and success like never before! This Chumash Paper was not just any report that was due. Instead, It is something that I will always have and forever keep It’s not just what we learned, it’s how we’ve learned to learn and even more than that. It’s how we’ve learned how enjoyable learning really is…Plus, Sharfman’s brought in plenty of extra tutors to help us find and work through all kind of sources. They were there during Beit Midrash time, during the breaks, and at night. Best of all, the tutor’s were really cute and I felt that they really wanted to help me with all of my questions! I think that what I got most out of doing the Chumash Paper was a real appreciation of how relevant the Torah is to us personally and how it really shows us how to live a meaningful life. Special thanks to our fantastic Chumash teachers, Mrs. Ariella Gofman and Mrs. Chaya Ochs, who were there for us before and after classes, in the Beit Midrash, at night and whenever we needed them!
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Inspiration & Growth Through the Chumash Paper
February 11, 2010
Every year around this time, we are all in full swing working towards the final steps of the Chumash Paper. And so, our Beit Midrash is full of vibrant life and really one of a kind! There are so many of us who are researching our own personal topic. By now we have spent countless hours pouring over various sources and texts ranging from a Ramban to a Rav Dessler. In fact, many of us have stayed late into the night or researched on Motzei Shabbat various Seforim that we have available in the comfortable confines of our Bnot Torah Beit Midrash. Plus, we have had many weeks to work on it and tons of help from the many knowledgeable Chonechet’s and Beit Midrash Tutors who are ready to assist you to help you understand the depth of of our heritage. These amazing women are provided by the School to help us complete the most hardest of sources, or to decipher a particular Kli Yakar, and so on and so forth.
Honestly, when we started the Chumash Report, l was afraid of getting just a little bit overwhelmed.
Instead, the opposite has happened!
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3 Day Kiruv Seminar: An Annual Sharfman’s Event
February 9, 2010
Last week, as soon as we awoke, you could just feel that there was going to be something special and really inspirational here in Sharfman’s. You see, last week we had our Annual Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s Kiruv Seminar…and this year the inspiration was absolutely amazing. We were uplifted by Rabbi Dan Roth who talked to us using a great audio and visual presentation, about 3 methods we could use to live a life of true meaning and both physical and spiritual happiness. Following this speech we were treated to hear the personal life story of our very own, Rabbi Mordechai Greenfeld, who despite his own physical limitations, always seems to have a smile on his face The Annual Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s Kiruv Seminar Morning Session ended with Mrs. Esti Baron, who spoke to us about our own personal battlefields, and how we can be victorious, in any situation we may face in our life…
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Kedma: An Evening of Tzedakah and Song!
February 2, 2010
You’d think that when a school choir is rehearsing for a competition, it would only be the performers who are getting ready. But, when the school is like a family, EVERYBODY gets into the act. So we held a Pre-Kedma Choir Competition Rally for the Sharfman’s Choir. In the pictures below you can see us preparing signs and banners to cheer on our choir. After all, it’s our school, our friends and our choir! At Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s our main goal for participating was not to merely sing! Rather it was to help contribute to the needy Kallah’s who would benefit from the funds raised that evening. All of us are very proud of the beautiful choreography and song and dance that each and every member of our Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s Choir displayed on stage. Below are just some of the pictures throughout the various weeks of preparation and then from the Motzei Shabbat event itself…Enjoy
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Ben Adam L’Chaveiro Week
January 27, 2010
If I had to make the difficult choice of choosing which week has been the most exciting week in school until now, I would probably vote for Bein Adam L’Chaveiro Week somewhere in My Personal Top 5! For 7 days we celebrated Bein Adam L’Chaveiro Week in unique Sharfman’s style. It started when the school assigned each girl in the school a “Nutty Buddy.” In order to show the girls how much there is to gain from an unexpected friendship, Sharfman’s matched up girls who really didn’t know each other well. Each “Nutty Buddy” was to shower her “Buddy” with small daily presents during the course of the week.
The results far exceeded the expectations
Girls spent a lot of time finding out about their Buddies so they could find cute inexpesnive gifts which suited the recipient. In the process, they discovered how distinctive each individual girl is.
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The Circular Sharfman’s Classroom
January 22, 2010
With the seminary year well under way, I just wanted to share with you a unique aspect that I feel really enhances the overall academic experience here at Bnot Torah/Sharfman’s and makes it truly one of a kind! You see, whenever you walk into a Sharfman’s Classroom, regardless of what level you are on (we have 4 different tracks in our school to cater to ones scholastic abilities) as opposed to sitting in the conventional desks that we are all familiar with after twelve years of going through and finally graduating high school, I was expecting the same desk to greet me in seminary. Much to my surprise, when you walk into a Sharfman’s Classroom it doesn’t look like a classroom at all. Rather, each room feels regal! Each room feels like a Conference Room with a circular table that each and every girl sits around.
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