First place winners: Natie and Maddy Shabot, PTA President Beth Dayan, her husband Joey Dayan, and Eva and David Dayan.

Magen David Yeshivah’s PTA kicked off the summer with three successful events. Summer is the perfect time for students and parents to socialize and build on the bonds built during the school year.

On June 23rd, a fun bowling tournament was held for incoming 5th and 6th graders at Bradley Bowl. Over 75 children competed for 1st place trophies. The 1st place winners were: Richie Ayal, Mal Franco, Ikey Dayan, and Moses Betesh. The second place winners were: Emma Dayan, Yola Haber, Carol Sabbagh and Lorraine Gammal. Many thanks to Lisa Elo and Jeanie Zalta for all of their hard work.

As late summer arrives and I take my children shopping for school supplies, I am brought back to my own school days. I have vivid memories of walking into Big Top (our local toy and stationary store) and slowly going up and down the aisles deciding on the perfect binder or whether to use one spiral notebook with six dividers or buy six separate ones. Big Top was one of my favorite stores as a kid; the candy section alone was enough to throw me into raptures. And my excitement did not end once I had made my purchases. It would grow incrementally as the first day of school drew near.

There is much excitement in the air when one walks into the newly renovated Deal Sephardic Youth Center. The center, which was founded over 20 years ago on the grounds of Congregation Magen David of West Deal, was built for the purpose of keeping our community youth together.

Throughout the years, many parties, game nights, barbecues and classes have been held in the facility.

In a secluded corner of my backyard, hidden in the recesses of a bush that I’d never looked twice at, sits the most beautiful robin’s nest I’ve ever seen. My 10-year-old daughter found it and was instantly entranced. We examined it together, and were amazed at how carefully it was assembled, how perfect the little blue eggs were, and how miraculous it is that a bird was able to build and nurture this intricate home within the trees.

Today’s medical environment has become highly technological in nature. Everyday we hear about new systems, scanners and other devices, often costing millions of dollars, which will diagnose everything and “solve all problems”. Unfortunately, the reality is often otherwise and we are left holding the bill of ever increasing medical care.

Congregation Magen David of West Deal shines like a precious gem amongst the synagogues of the Syrian Community.  Under the spiritual and religious guidance of Rabbi Ezra Labaton, Magen David has promoted the ideals and values of tselem eloqim and tikkun olam—respecting the inherent dignity of each and every human being and attending to the needs of those around us.  These ideals and values influence everything we do at Magen David.  If one were to refer to Pirkei Avot’s articulation of the three fundamental pillars that support the world—Torah, avodah and gemilut hasadim—one would immediately recognize the areas to which Magen David applies these ideals and values.

The 6th Grade Bat Mitzvah girls

This year Hillel Yeshiva’s Bat Mitzvah Program surpassed the goals that the 6th grade girls had set for themselves. The girls were preparing for their Bat Mitzvahs by learning the precept of olam hesed yibaneh: loving kindness will build the world. With just a single phone call from the Sephardic Bikur Holim Food Pantry, an idea germinated into a vital and rewarding hesed project. The Food Pantry was in need of kosher salt, so the girls engineered a colossal fundraising enterprise that raised $10,000.

With over 280 participants and 17 parent facilitators, Parent-Child Book Club month this May was a grand culmination of parents, students and educators working toward the leisurely pursuit of reading.

From the intensely heartbreaking to the wildly magnificent, the selected books reflected a wide range of human and superhuman experience. Imagine magical candy that could bestow the gift of flight, an accursed china rabbit dressed in fine silk suits and carrying a gold pocket watch, and a 12-year-old boy turned millionaire in one year’s time! The suspension of disbelief is the perfect antidote to our daily stresses and can be found in the award-winning book selections of May’s Parent-Child Book Club.

The 2nd Annual Entrepreneur-ship Contest took place at Magen David Yeshivah High School recently. The contest was coordinated by instructors Mr. Joseph Naftaly and Mr. Daniel Kamelhar, who conduct the entrepreneurship classes for 10th graders. This class enables students to get an early start on business careers by preparing them to take on the challenges of an ever-changing economy.

Students from the 10th grade entrepreneurship classes were divided into groups; each group was directed to use their creativity to develop a business plan that they thought would be a success. In the business plan the students were required to explain why they felt their product would sell and how they intended to contend with their competition. In addition, students had to evaluate the financial aspects of their enterprise including variable costs, fixed costs and operating costs.

Yvette Halawani in the golf cart

Last month, Hillel Yeshiva’s juniors and seniors experienced a “Rude Awakening.” Rude Awakening is a program that was started 15 years ago by a Middletown police officer, Cpl. James Roese. The program is designed to educate young adults about the dangers of drinking and driving. According to Roese, “The goal is to give students a vivid mental image of what happens when alcohol and drugs are mixed with driving a vehicle; we hope to empower every student to make safe choices this prom season.”

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, a second generation Holocaust survivor, presented awards to the top prize winners of the Ninth Annual Holocaust Memorial Art, Essay and Poetry contest during the Holocaust Memorial Committee’s annual memorial ceremony in Sheepshead Bay’s Holocaust Memorial Park, recently. The contest attracted over 600 entries from throughout southern Brooklyn and included submissions from elementary, middle and high schools. Public schools and parochial schools, as well as yeshivahs, were represented among the winners as is indicated by the diverse ethnicities of the entrants and winners.

The smell of summer is in the air, and that Barkai spirit is everywhere! It’s going to be a Barkai summer, and what better way to bask in the beautiful, salty, Jersey air than being a part of the Young Guns Tournament. Young Guns, headed by Joey Barnathan, will be the first ever elementary school tournament, featuring a special NBA guest (TBA). The games will commence on the corner of Park and Ocean Avenues on July 12th—but the hype has already started. With a list of hundreds (and counting) of children participanting, there is much to look forward to!

Magen David Yeshivah spent a beautiful spring day enjoying Lag Ba’Omer. With plenty of activities planned for every age level, the day was a huge success!