Yavneh Academy’s 7th and 8th graders were honored to hear Mr. Norbert Strauss’ eyewitness account of Kristallnacht, 85 years ago. Mr. Strauss told of the horrors of Kristallnacht including his uncle’s restaurant business being destroyed. He recalled the burning of the shuls as the beginning of Hitler’s Final Solution unfolded. Mr. Strauss was 11 years old when Kristallnacht occurred and his memory is crystal clear regarding the events of that fateful day. 

Some of the more salient moments included:

• Mr. Strauss celebrating his Bar Mitzvah in 1940, while his father had already emigrated to America and was unable to be present.
• In 1982, at the age of 55, Mr. Strauss volunteered with the IDF and stood guard to help the country during a time of war.
• Mr. Strauss describing how in Germany anti-Semitism was instigated by the government while here in America the government works to protect us and combat anti-Semitism.

Mr. Strauss, was accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Dorothy Strauss, who is Rabbi Knapp’s

Mother. Mr. Strauss shared that his Judaism was always important to him and how his emunah kept him strong. Today, three of Mr. Strauss’ great-children are students at Yavneh Academy!

May Mr. Strauss and his family grow from strength to strength and may we be zocheh to have him visit Yavneh Academy again and again.

The Diary of Anne Frank was one of the first publications to bring a personal story of the Shoah to life. The diary has been published in over 70 languages and is taught across the world to guide young adults to understanding the atrocities that befell Eastern European Jewry.

To commemorate Kristallnacht, Living Voices’ Through the Eyes of A Friend was presented to our 6th and 7th graders. The program began with a historical perspective of how Hitler rose to power. Our children learned that Anne and her family left Germany and ran to Holland where they thought they would be safe from the Nazis The performance was interactive with one of the presenters, Rachel playing the role of Sarah, Anne’s friend. The dialogue is based on archived pictures and information from those who knew Anne in Holland and later in Auschwitz. The presentation concluded with a question and answer session. Rachel also shared how important it is to cherish our Yiddishkeit and take pride in Israel.

Yasher Koach to Living Voices for this important program which is presented in day schools and public schools throughout the United States.

We are so fortunate to have our Bnot Sherut Leumi, Maayan and Shilat with us at Yavneh this year! They are able to share with the students a unique love and passion for Eretz Yisrael. The past couple of weeks they went into classes, had an open conversation about the war and the importance of fighting for our land. It was very moving and informative for our students. Middle School students gained a sense of appreciation for Israel, the IDF and Am Yisrael. They were reminded of the importance of staying together and helping each other out.  

As we focus ourselves on how we can help others during this tragic time, we notice a need in our community, and an ability to show the families close to us that we are thinking of them. Yavneh students have been writing letters to chayalim and their families, to package together with Shabbos treats for families who have lone soldiers in the IDF. The feedback from the recipients have been extremely heartfelt and encourage our students to continue doing for others, even if it might seem small to us, it can be huge for someone else. 

This week a group of amazing 8th graders came together to launch our brand new Israel Advocacy Group! Each week the group will meet to discuss the land of Israel, the people living there and some of the controversies and conflicts that the country has faced. Our first meeting centered around the idea of the Jewish people as indigenous to the land of Israel. As we know many people claim that Israel has “colonized” the land. We aimed to uncover who really was there first and what proof exists. 

After discussing the ideas of colonization and indigenous people the students were asked what can we look for to figure out who has claim to any land. They quickly were able to answer: historical texts, language, and artifacts. Together we looked at examples of all three. 

For language, each student was given a print out of a key to help them decode Ancient Hebrew. They then looked at an artifact written with those symbols. In seconds, students were able to read the artifact. “It says King of Israel”, one student correctly surmised. We took a minute to marvel at that idea. That students living thousands of years after the stone was engraved were able to read it because they still spoke the same language and understood the meaning. 

(click HERE to continue)

Our sixth graders had a great time bonding and hiking on the Palisades overlooking the hudson River today!

Thank you to YPAA for organizing another great Book Fair. Special thanks to chairs Jen Yedlin, Jess Rosner & Rebecca Stamler and to all of our parent volunteers who helped our children shop.

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FIRST DAY

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Yavneh Academy is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.