Bnot Torah Blog
Meet the Adar S.T.A.H.R. Award Winners!
April 22, 2012
While we are formally no longer in the month of Adar anymore, and have just come back from a meaningful and refreshing Pesach vacation everyone is still very much abuzz and happy for all of the Adar S.T.A.H.R. Award winners! There were girls hailing from Los Angeles and San Diego, to New York to Chicago, and even some five time S.T.A.H.R. Award Winners!! The entire school was gathered for a mid-morning S.T.A.H.R. Award Presentation that also featured yummy Rosh Chodesh treats as we all celebrated Rosh Chodesh Iyar. We got to taste Rabbi Sharfman’s famous Hot Cocoa and also…
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2 Day Eilat Tiyul: Sun & Fun…Sharfman’s Style!
March 14, 2012
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 (for many of us) 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 the truly marvelous vistas.
We were accompanied by our Madricha, Yehudis Jacobowitz!! We experienced the Timna Valley Sand Slide, a breathtaking hike through Solomon’s Pillars, and then we got to take a break for lunch…
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Purimtastic Experience!
March 12, 2012
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 our Mechanchot to yes a surprise appearance by Mrs. Gofman who appeared in the skit!! She was soo soo amazing you just had to be there to see it. The pictures below just don’t do it any justice!! 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 actually hosted a Night and Day Megillah Reading for us and even a school-wide 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…
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Purim Fun at our Chonechet’s House!
February 28, 2012
This past Bayit cham we wanted to get into the adar spirit…So, what could be better than making hamantashen?!?! Each of us got our own piece of dough so we could make our very own hamantashen. There were so many different kinds to choose from…cherry, blueberry, apricot and of course chocolate!! Some of us even got-creative and decorated our hamantashen with colored and chocolate sprinkles. We all enjoyed rolling out the dough and shaping our creations!! While the hamantashen were baking, Devorah announced that we were having a beauty pageant!!
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Make Your Own Homemade Hamentashen Night!
February 27, 2012
Nosh nosh nosh. Nosh a Hamentash! Rosh Chodesh Adar began in style with a much anticipated Bayit Cham at the home of our Chonechet! We dined on an exquisite vegetable soup and Mexican salad, garnished with taco chips. This was complimented perfectly by breadsticks and crackers. The atmosphere was completed by the funky and creative setup and design in honor of the coming of Purim…now how’s that for some true Adar spirit?
The evening was devoted to the festivities of the month, getting us in the true spirit of Purim. Our Chonechet revealed to us her secret, age-old family recipe for hamentashen, which we obviously can’t reveal outside her home. We got to work, eagerly combining the ingredients, and formed delicious, professional looking hamentashen. We chose from a variety of fillings including strawberry jelly, white and brown chocolate, and peanut butter. We meant to save them for Shabbos at the least, but we couldn’t help ourselves, as the super enticing scent wafting out of the kitchen, got the better of us. Our favorite was of course the “Reese’s” flavored hamentashen (a perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter)-they were out of this world!!!
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Meet the Shevat S.T.A.H.R. Award Winners!
February 23, 2012
While we are formally no longer in the month of Shevat anymore, and are celebrating Rosh Chodesh Adar (more on that later …), everyone is still very much abuzz and happy for all of the Shevat S.T.A.H.R. Award winners! There were an amazing amount of girls from both Shana Aleph and Shana Bet who hail from all across North America, and even some four time S.T.A.H.R. Award Winners. The entire school was gathered for a mid-morning S.T.A.H.R. Award Presentation. Rabbi Sharfman presented certificates to every S.T.A.H.R. Award winner! All of the Shevat S.T.A.H.R. Award winners will be treated to an exclusive award! We can’t wait to share with you more of our Adar and Purim plans but in the meantime, it’s time for us to celebrate…
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Mission Accomplished: The Chumash Paper!
February 21, 2012
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…
To start off, each of us met with our Chumash teacher (who BTW she’s really warm and awesome and really gave us sooo much this year I can’t even tell you) to choose a Mitzvah or topic from Chumash that really moved us, and that we wanted to understand better.
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Sharfman’s Game Night with our Rakezet
February 13, 2012
During these cold winter days, we at Sharfman’s were in need of some good indoor entertainment The Beit Midrash was packed for the first ever “Bnot Torah Game Night!!” From Taboo, Rummikub, Monopoly, Set, Bananagrams, to Boggle, we had no shortage of games to choose from. Some girls had friendly yet fiery competitions, while others enjoyed playing more leisurely.
Everyone had their opinion on what their favorite part of the night was. Some girls favorite part of the night was the upbeat music, and instead of sitting and playing games, they danced the night away! Other girls said their favorite part of the night was the “Mexican Style” chips, dips, and more !
All in all, it was a great opportunity for all of us to bond together with all of the great girls in our school…and even in with many of our Shana Bet girls! Plus, we got to hang out with Esther Benayon, our wonderful Rakezet, who really helped make the Game Night Evening a special event that we are all still raving about My personal favorite part of the night was that many girls found themselves with..NEW FOUND FRIENDSHIPS!
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Tu B’Shevat: A Time of Learning & Celebration!
February 8, 2012
When the typical person would speak or learn about the day we know as Tu B’Shevat, playful and joyous tunes from ones childhood may run through their head. Likewise, many of us have memories of tree planting ceremonies and the consumption of delicious dried fruit! However, in Israel, this day isn’t just simply glossed over. The streets of Yerushalayim, and all over the country for that matter, are filled with people wishing one another a “Happy Tu B’Shevat!” Indeed, from Rabbi Green’s enlightening class on Tu B’Shevat called, Shevat Secrets: You are Like a Tree, we got to discover the inner meaning of the day, as well as the entire month of Shevat. And so, as we are in a middle of yet another memorable week of learning and inspiration here at Sharfman’s, it’s fitting that Rabbi Sharfman himself surprised every class with beautiful trays of fresh dried fruit for all of us to eat and enjoy!
Not only did this Tu B’Shevat treat add meaning to what would have been simply “Thursday,” but it gave us another opportunity to see how much Rabbi Sharfman cares about allowing us to taste every aspect of our Year in Israel! Happy Tu B’Shevat
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Warm & Tasty Supper at our Chonechet’s House!
February 5, 2012
This past Bayit Cham, at the home of our Chonechet, Ricki Leybovich, proved to be a combination of the wacky and the serious, the calm and the crazy, the light and the deep! You see, in our group, we can plan events, but things don’t always go as planned. It all started calm and normal enough. We were greeted with the wonderful aroma of hearty tomato soup (with rice of course) and fresh, home baked bread. As we all settled down and enjoyed our “family” meal, there was light chatter, some laughter and comfortable shmooze (with consistent refilling of the bread basket). After we were all warmed up from the soup and pleasantly satiated, Ricki brought out a beautifully sculptured bundt cake– Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake (whole wheat of course!!) YUM!!! After we had worked our way through our cake and tea/coffee, we said goodbye to those who had to leave for Chumash project tutoring. So sad to see you go! Those who stayed decided that instead of playing our planned game…
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