April 7 2017

11 Nisan, 5777

This Week at Rochelle Zell

April 7, 2017

Feed Me!

Liĥle Shop of Horrors Premiers

Spring Musical All‐School Shabbaton This Week in Sports Math Team Wins Human Rights Week Students in the News Pesach Kippot Save the Date Sponsored Breakfast Alumni Trivia Student Dvar Torah Community News

Get your skids on, put on some Motown, and whatever you do, don't feed the plant! Hundreds packed the school last night for our annual spring musical to watch the weirdest liĥle florists on Skid Row sing, dance, doo‐wop, and iniĕate man‐eaĕng destrucĕon. The hilarious dark comedy featured freshman

Koby Rosen as the adorkable Seymour, senior Eliana Kaufman as the lovely Audrey, and sophomore Noah Magill channeling some Evil Elvis swing as Dr. Orin Scrivello. The talented Shoshana Frank, Emma Canter, and Arielle Bledsoe troĥed out their sequins as the backup singers, while Aitan Maeir brought down the house as the crotchety old Jewish florist Mr. Mushnik. From the outside world came the glamorous Samantha Brody, who narrowly escaped being eaten over the course of the show, and comedy secret weapon Marc Luban as Skip Snip and that nameless homeless guy on Skid Row‐‐don't forget he's there, and never underesĕmate the power of a baritone! The dastardly charismaĕc plant Audrey II was animated by master puppeteers S. Goldsmith and Marc Luban and voiced by senior Sam Shoshani.

Class Schedule

Monday, April 17 No School

Who knew we had a florist shop in the Caplan gym? Yasher koach and thank you to stage managers S. Goldsmith and Isaac Margulies, director Ms. Rebecca Nadis and music director Ms. Ellen Singer, to Mr. Bruce Scher for all his producĕon assistance, and to all the stagehands, volunteers, and staff who came from all corners of the school and the community to make the 2017 Liĥle Shop revival such a rip‐roaring success!

Tuesday, April 18

No School

Check out more pictures on Facebook!

Wednesday, April 19 No School

Thursday, April 20

B

Friday, April 21 CC

Quick Links

RZJHS.org Calendars Lunch Menu Edline

Give Now

Save The Date

Alumni Trivia

Who were our original Audrey, Seymour, and plant in the 2006 CJHS Liĥle Shop of Horrors and where are they now?

April 9 ACT at RZJHS

All­School Shabbaton

April 10‐19 Pesach Break

Students and Staff Kick Back at the Embassy Suites

April 20 School Resumes

This past Shabbat, over 90 students and ten faculty members

April 23 Wagner Insĕtute

May 1‐12 AP Exams

May 17 Physics Expo

joined together for a Shabbaton centered around the theme of, "We are a family." Upperclassmen led the way throughout the programming, working over several weeks to plan the weekend and execuĕng it over the two days. We began the weekend by watching Rabbi D'ror Chankin‐Gould's Eli talk about the theology of God loving each human and discussing it as a group. The Va'ad ran a Roses/Thorns game guiding us through our school community: where we thrive and where we would like to grow — and how we might get to those places.

May 18 Grandparents Day Open Mic Night Athleĕc Night

May 19 Last Day of Classes All‐School BBQ

May 22 No School

May 24 Senior Siyyum Graduaĕon

Without quesĕon, the highlight of the weekend was the joyous ruach of the mulĕple song sessions. Students joined together in dancing throughout Kabbalat Shabbat and conĕnued that energy into the ĕsch a├er dinner on Friday night. Following dinner, Josh Levitas and Lucy Braverman led the group with Shabbat walks by families of five people and Talia Gorstein, Dafna Stofenmacher, and Livi Moses then hosted an RZJHS game of jeopardy.

Seniors led the way with sĕmulaĕng Torah, including divrei Torah from Yoni Maltsman and Jonah Karoll, and a learning session on Shabbat a├ernoon co‐led by ten seniors. We transiĕoned on Shabbat a├ernoon to an entertaining Iron Chef session, with leaders of Va'ad Shabbatonim serving as the judges. Thank you to Va'ad Shabbatonim for sĕmulaĕng programming and to our wonderful faculty for being there for our students.

May 23‐26 Final Exams

Baseball Visits Gidwitz Spring Sports Break for Passover

The baseball team has been hard at work preparing for the season since starĕng pracĕce on February 27. The team has been spliħng ĕme between work in the gym, at the baħng cages, and outdoors when weather permits. Although the rain has forced a few game cancellaĕons, the team is upbeat and posiĕve about their upcoming schedule. Following a rainout on April 5, the team decided to travel to Gidwitz to chat with the residents there. They spoke about baseball, school, and other important topics, and really made a nice connecĕon with the

wonderful people who reside there. The team is looking forward to geħng outside and playing compeĕĕvely following their break!

Math Team Triumphs

RZJHS Sweeps Pairs Compeĕĕon

The math team had a thrilling win Wednesday night against Ida Crown! Rochelle Zell took first place in the freshman/sophomore team compeĕĕon and the junior/senior team compeĕĕon. Junior/senior champions were Gaby Ecanow and Hadar Halivni coming in second, and senior David Weisskopf, who took first place in the pairs compeĕĕon working alone! Alex Bernat and Josh Winick took first in freshman/sophomore pairs compeĕĕon, while Adam Budin and Jason Ross came in a close second and Joshua Weisskopf and Sammy Korol made a sweet third. Well done, mathletes!

Human Rights Week

STAND Orchestrates Awareness

On Monday, our very own Diane Zidman spoke about her work as a human trafficking educator and a volunteer at a safe house for vicĕms in Chicago. On Tuesday, we heard from Maya Antassi from the Syrian Community Network, who spoke about the Syrian civil war and the struggles faced by Syrian refugees in Chicago. On Wednesday, we called our elected officials about legislaĕon relaĕng to foreign humanitarian aid, refugee reseĥlement, and combaĕng human trafficking. On Thursday we spoke with Mohammed Aqubaty, a college freshman who escaped the civil war in Yemen and is currently a refugee in Malaysia. Mohammed was one of the top engineering students in his class in Yemen, yet is currently struggling to finance his educaĕon. Thursday evening, our STAND members volunteered with children at the Rohingya Cultural Center. Club leader Yoni Maltsman reports, "We helped kids with homework, played games with them, and spoke with the center's founder.

We wrapped up the week with a seminar on the link between climate change, human rights, and famine on Friday a├ernoon. We hope that the school community will take an appreciaĕon for our freedom and a yearning for the freedom of others to their Seder tables this Pesach."

Students in the News Junior Takes Silver in Jiu‐Jitsu

The Ecanows are certainly making waves this month! On Sunday, Rochelle Zell wrestling captain Eli Ecanow won a silver medal in the Chicago Internaĕonal IBJJF Jiu‐Jitsu Championship. Although has has not yet turned 18, Eli was promoted to the adult division; there were eight other compeĕtors in his division, the next youngest being 25 years old. Well done, Eli!

Pesach Kippot

Get your Rochelle Zell kippot today

Get your new Rochelle Zell kippot for Pesach! Handwoven kippot from Jerusalem are available through the development office for $20 each. Contact Michelle Friedman at 847.324.3720 or mfriedman@rzjhs.org to get yours today.

Save the Date

Annual Athleĕc Recogniĕon Night

Save the date to honor our student athletes for their leadership, aħtude, camaraderie, and skill on the court. Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 18 from 7:00 p.m. ‐ 8:30 p.m. in the Caplan Gymnasium. Watch your inboxes for more informaĕon.

Sponsored Breakfast

Happy birthday to Adam Budin. Many thanks to his family for sponsoring bagels! To sponsor breakfast in honor of your favorite Tiger, please contact Diane Zidman in the front office.

Alumni Trivia

Our original showstoppers were Maĥhew Silverman (CJHS '07), Shayna Flink (CJHS '06), and Yoni Solomon (CJHS '07). Shayna Flink finished her educaĕonal degree from Bank Street and is now a learning specialist at the Perelman Jewish Day School in Philadelphia. Yoni Solomon remained in showbiz through college, where he got a degree in creaĕve adverĕsing from Drake and now works

as a digital markeĕng manager at PowerReviews. Maĥ Silverman made aliyah in 2011 and is now a captain in the IDF. Maĥ plans to aĥend graduate school in internaĕonal studies and conflict resoluĕon in Israel a├er he completes his tour of duty in 2019. Kadima, rock stars all!

A Taste of Torah: Vayikra and Freedom

The book of Vayikra is primarily a book of laws, parĕcularly laws regarding sacrifices. In the previous book of Shemot, the Israelites were taken out of slavery, received revelaĕon at Mt Sinai, and excitedly anĕcipated becoming a free naĕon. One might think that the commandments to follow laws, especially those that require literal sacrifice, invalidate this promise of freedom.

However, not having rules doesn’t make you any more free. Rather, lacking values and ethics will leave you in a perpetual state of limbo, oscillaĕng from one belief to another. Without the ability to make decisions, it is extremely hard to overcome temptaĕons and find meaning in life.

Freedom isn’t a maĥer of whether or not you have rules. It’s a maĥer of whether you’re able to guide yourself, think for yourself, and obtain purpose that is authenĕcally yours, which you can give everything you have to. As I reflect on my past four years, I think that there are two important components of this school that help us become “free” and coming into being as individuals.

I want to clarify that when I talk about “our school,” I am talking about our school as a community, rather than as an insĕtuĕon. A community of students, teachers, administrators, and families that when working together create an atmosphere that fosters growth on all fronts. The community and insĕtuĕon rely on each other, yet they are disĕnct.

The first component of this school that has helped me come into being is the educaĕon I have received. In addiĕon to being taught to think criĕcally about concepts such as morality, faith, God, and love, among other topics, I’ve gained the capacity for serious self reflecĕon. I’ve learned how to ask quesĕons such as who am I, what beliefs can I hold on to, which paths do I want to take, and what am I searching for. Yet thinking criĕcally about issues is not enough to really establish values and beliefs that become an integral part of your being. As Vayikra would say, you need to make sacrifices. You need to sacrifice the part of yourself that yearns to remain in the comfortable limbo of indecisiveness. You need to take a leap of faith.

Faith, however, is extremely hard to culĕvate. Making a decision that entails commiħng yourself to something is scary. Community, the second and most important aspect of RZJHS, can make faith easier. The community here is sustained by faith, by people buying into an energeĕc, loving group of people. It’s not held up by any mission statement, rules or dogmas. Every day the onus is on us to bring everything we have to that community. At the same ĕme, that community and the love you give and receive from it can provide significance and purpose to your faith and personal and intellectual development.

For me personally, I’m somewhat worried because I’ll be spending my college years at a much more benign Jewish community. For many of the seniors and myself, it’s going to be a challenge joining and building communiĕes, Jewish as well as others. But luckily for us, we go to a high school where we li├ our academic dean in a chair during Hallel, sing nigunim at cross country meets, and produce highly intelligent videos for our Hebrew classes. All this and more has taught us a small sliver of what it means to connect with people. That is the challenge for the seniors, yet

for everyone else, have faith in this community and give everything you have to it, because it’s totally in your hands.

Yoni Maltsman ('17)

Community News and Events

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