February 15, 2013 / 5 Adar 5773
CJHS Debate Second Place in Nation In This Issue YU Debate Tournament The Puppy Project Curriculum and Beyond National Merit Finalists Tigers Press On Bowling Banquet Shmuel Aleph Siyum Fond Farewell
Debate Takes New York City by Storm!
Todah Rabbah The Prints Presents Cell Phones for Shalva Jazz Band Concert Pet Supplies Drive STAND UPdate Save the Date Alumni Trivia A Taste of Torah
Save the Date Monday, Feb. 18 No School Monday, Feb. 25 Shushan Purim Tuesday, March 5 Sunday, March 10 Model U.N. Trip Thursday, March. 14 Pi Day Friday, March 15 Friday 2:45 Dismissal Begins Monday, March 25 Pesach Break Begins
P. O. Corner Gelt Program The P.O. is pleased to once again introduce the gift card "Gelt program" to our families and we have made it much easier (look for upcoming email with details on how to register). Faculty and staff can also buy Gelt that will help to support programs provided for the school by the P.O. This program is designed to help families earn money toward their children's junior year
The beginning of the 24th Annual Marsha Stein Talmudical Academy Great Debate Tournament at New York's Yeshiva University could hardly have been more ominous: as blizzard conditions raged across Manhattan, many wondered whether the seventeen Jewish high schools from across the country would actually make it to the Upper West Side at all! But after a series of happy chances, an eventful Shabbat spent with Elli Cohn ('09), Josh Warshawsky ('08), and Lilli Flink ('08) at JTS, a quick jaunt to Central Park and a dash around Times Square, the CJHS debate team arrived at YU Sunday morning ready to have it out with the best of them. (See a working link to the ABC television news interview here.)
Panim program and/or the Senior Israel Experience. The program is a passive earning system, in which you buy the things you ordinarily purchase anyway, and earn money which will be credited to your family for designated school trips. If you have any questions, contact Sheri Sandrof at ssandrof@cjhs.org or call her at 847.324.3723.
Community News and Events Limmud Chicago! Saturday, February 16 6:45 p.m.
The indefatigable Mr. Marchenko, our stalwart and hero- worshipped coach, Join us for laughter, beats, and reports, "We were newcomers to this dancing at the UIC Student tournament and almost from the get-go, Center East to celebrate the opening of Limmud Chicago the rumors began to flow: 2013. * 'Did you see the Chicago team?' * 'I heard they're incredible .' * 'That Midwestern style of debate is tough to beat." It was a testament to our school and our students that our reputation was so Joel Chasnoff will perform his instantaneously positive and prestigious. The debate team new piece, G.I. Joel: A 24hopes this will be the first of many such trips and thanks year-old Stand-up Comic from the community for the positive response we have received." Chicago Gets Drafted into the Israeli Army. Watch "A Life in Stills" sponsored by the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema. And afterwards, dance the night away with Biblegum pop stars Stereo Sinai. Sunday, February 17 9:00 a.m.
As partner teams fanned out across the building arguing over the fate of the illegal immigrant population in the United States, the excitement and tension built steadily throughout the day. Each team argued either for or against a pathway to citizenship, and after three intense rounds, we reconvened in the main hall to sum up, reflect, and await the results. However, even without the scores, each debater was supremely proud of his or her own individual effort as
well as the remarkable performance of the team as a whole. A glitch in the scoring meant we headed back to Chicago without knowing the outcome of the competition: after two fearful days, the good word came through: the newly-deployed CJHS team took second place! Junior/sophomore superstars Maya Behn and Elan You'll be able to choose from over 80 sessions throughout Karoll (left) took 4th prize for Best the day. Limmud Chicago 2013 Pair Team in the tournament, while is centered around two seniors Michael Jacobson and themes: Jewish Love and Jews Benji Noy also maintained a 3-0 who made Chicago; there are plenty of sessions beyond record. Senior Daniel Fishbaum these themes, too. See the had the most speaking points for lineup here! the team. Many congratulations to winners Eli Krule, Isaac Johnston, Alex Cope, Ceren Maeir, Nate Lunch is included along with snacks; dietary laws observed. Swetlitz, Elan Sykes, Alana Spellman, and Jonathan Check out Schrag. We are so proud of you all! limmudchicago.org to register, and remember to use your CJHS Family Member discount of 5%!
Please note: all rumors that the Debate Team and the Model U.N. team (also 2nd place in the nation) will be enacting West Side Story and staging an impromptu "rumble" to determine once and for all which gang is cooler are entirely unfounded. It is the faculty that will be doing a musical Purim shpiel, not the students. Cutthroat rivalry between the two nationally famous teams is restricted to the faculty sponsors only.
J2J Networking Wednesday, February 20 7:45 p.m. We hope you can join us at our next J2J Networking Group meeting at Beth Hillel Congregation Bnai Emunah (3220 Big Tree Ln, Wilmette IL 60091) on February 20. We will have the following panel speaking on "Staying Afloat While Unemployed:" David Fain, Fain Financial Services Ira Piltz, Attorney, Law Offices of Ira Piltz in Skokie Fred H. Rothschild, CLU RHU, Rothschild Insurance Group
American Friends of Israeli War Disabled Presents... "Everything Is Illuminated"
The Puppy Project This past Friday we were fortunate to have a very special freshman advisory activity. Julia Havey, a representative from Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit organization that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities, came to CJHS with two service puppies in training. Our own
Sunday, March 17 2:00 p.m. Noyes Cultural Center 927 Noyes Street, Evanston
freshman Rebecca Abrams, an assistant volunteer puppy raiser, brought this wonderful program to our school. Rebecca showed The Next Theater Company's each group of upcoming production is freshmen a Jonathan Safran Foer's Powerpoint Everything is Illuminated, adapted for the stage by Simon presentation Block. It chronicles a young outlining what this Jewish man's journey as he wonderful program struggles to unlock the secrets does for those in of his past. It follows the quirky journey of Jonathan need, providing scouring the rural Ukraine free trained dogs landscape in the search of a for support, assistance, and companionship to those who woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis, could benefit from a canine companion and thus lead a accompanied by an old man fuller and more productive life. Each freshman had an haunted by memories of the opportunity to practice some commands with the dogs and war, an amorous and excitable to play with them as well. Charles Schultz said, "Happiness dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr., and an irreverent translator is a warm puppy." Guidance counselor Nancy Steinberg with a unique grasp of the insists, "No, happiness is watching our wonderful young English language freshmen playing with a warm puppy!" Join us at 1:00 p.m. before the show for an hour of light refreshment and camaraderie at the Noyes Cultural Center in the studio right next door to the theater entrance. The play begins at 2:00 p.m. Advance copies of the script will be available and we are invited to a special post-show discussion with members of the cast and artistic team. The cost for this wonderful afternoon is only $36.00 per person. Make your checks out to AFIWDF.
Sponsor Breakfast What's better than a birthday celebration with friends? Celebrate your student's birthday or other milestone with a special breakfast at CJHS. For a donation of $180 (10x chai), bagels, cream cheese,
Thanks so much to Julia for all of the work she does on behalf of those in need. And a special thank you to Rebecca for volunteering her time with this wonderful organization and for making us all aware of this unique and special organization.
Curriculum and Beyond
and orange juice will be served to everyone. An announcement will be made in Tefillah and in the dining hall, and the occasion will also be listed in our weekly E-News. If you have any questions, please call 847.324.3713 or email idrazin@cjhs.org. Order forms are available online here.
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Many thanks to everyone who came together to make Wednesday's Curriculum and Beyond Night a success! Over 30 families piled into CJHS on Wednesday night to experience the best of what we have to offer, and they professed themselves mightily impressed.
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An extra special thank you goes out to the teachers and students who helped with the logistics, ran model classrooms, staffed activity booths, and led tours of our institution. Yasher koach, everyone!
National Merit Finalists Congratulations to seniors Nate Swetlitz and Elan Sykes on being named a National Merit Finalists! We are all proud of everything these young men have achieved in science, politics, oratory, religious studies, mathematics, writing, devotion to the community, and a commitment to social justice. We look forward to following their future careers with pride.
Alumni Trivia
Which former CJHS figure of note can you find peacefully praising her Creator in this picture before she was pulled aside and detained by the police for "engaging in behavior likely to cause a breach of the peace"?
JV Tigers Say 'W'!
The sophomore basketball team ended their season with a tough loss to CICS Ellison in the Chicago Prep Conference Tournament, while the freshmen lost to Lake Forest Academy on Monday and played North Shore Country Day on Thursday. The freshmen will play in the Chicago Prep Conference Tournament, Sunday at 9 a.m., right here at the Caplan gym. The amazing JV Tigers did their best last night to avenge the Lady Tigers' defeat at the hands of North Shore Country Day; junior Hillel Schwartz had an amazing game with 22 points, with further great plays delivered by seniors Rami Eilian and Josh Flink and juniosr Evan Gorstein and Josh "Gingi" Aaronson. Go Tigers!
CJHS defeats Lake Forest Academy! Many thanks to the inexhaustible Coach Newlander for the video production.
Across the gym with the varsity team, the Tigers knocked off another top team, defeating Lake Forest Academy 88-80. Jake Newlander had 28 points and 5 assists to lead the way for the Tigers, whose amazing season record of 21-3 has never been topped at CJHS. Next week the men's varsity basketball team begins the IHSA Regional Tournament at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights. The semifinal game is Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $4; please see Mr. Gleicher if you would like to sign up for the bus. Lady Tigers Alana Stoehr, Caroline Dreifuss, and Alana Spellman slammed some 3-pointers last night at the Sectional Championship Three Point Showdown at Westminster Christian School. We are incredibly proud of our CJ sectionalists... Go Lady Tigers! Don't miss SENIOR NIGHT, THIS SATURDAY NIGHT VS. IDA CROWN. Come out and watch the seniors play one final time at Caplan Gym: the women's varsity Lady Tigers play at 8:00 p.m., followed by the men's varsity at 9:30 p.m. And Tuesday after school is the winter pep rally, so blue out for your team and show your CJHS colors!
Bowling Banquet
The annual bowling invitational and banquet celebrated the 39 members of the CJHS bowling team, who completed their season last week at Brunswick Zone in Deerfield. The banquet honored the three assistant coaches whose help made the three months of bowling a rousing success: Mr. Jerry Drazin, Mr. Henry Bernstein and Mr. Arnold Bender, father of sophomore Larry Bender. Aitan Licht was also honored as being the bowling with the highest overall average; team competition honors went to the team of Rachel Small, Fede Romano, and Elijah Kliot. Also saluted were our five seniors: Elan Sykes, Benjy Noy, Aitan Licht, Yoni Gabel, and Nate Swetlitz. Altogether, 34 of the 39 bowlers raised their averages during the season. In addition to being our biggest team ever, Dr. Auslander, our redoubtable coach, has also pointed out that this year's team included more girls than ever before. Go Ten-Pin Tigers!
Junior Siyum Ms. Gleicher-Bloom's Tanakh class has concluded their study of Shmuel Aleph, the First Book of Samuel! Junior Jackie Geraty reports, "After [finishing] Sefer Shmuel Aleph, we came together as a class to share snacks and individual 'Divrei Nach,' each using a pasuk of our choice from the text we spent so much time studying. We related these psukim to our personal lives and our society now-- the topics went all the way from politics to TV shows. The siyum gave us a real feeling of closure, even though we started Sefer Bet the next class!"
Fond Farewell CJHS bids a fond farewell to front desk maven Sandi Topper and her husband Jeff, who will be moving to Harrisburg, PA. We will miss them very much and we wish them every good fortune in their move and in their new home.
Todah Rabbah Many thanks to all the students and staff who came together to get everyone home safely in the wake of last week's winter storm. Special thanks from all of us at CJHS go to Mr. and Mrs. Ronald and Melissa Namberg of Deerfield, who rescued and sheltered the four last mathletes unable to make it home due to road conditions. God bless all our good neighbors!
Spoken Word Workshop: The Prints Two years ago, our literary magazine students watched Louder than a Bomb, a documentary that follows the journeys of four high school students as they write and perform poetry in the annual Louder Than a Bomb spoken word competition. This year, The Prints is proud to announce that one of the
stars of the film, Adam Gottlieb, will be leading CJHS students in a spoken word workshop on February 28, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. To hear Adam's incredible work, click here. In preparation for this event, The Prints will be screening Louder than a Bomb during FPLA on February 21. Everyone is welcome to join us for the movie--so get excited, and be inspired! Additionally, we have six spots reserved for the workshop for students who are not yet members of the Prints; if you would like to join, we would love to have you. Please contact Ada Moses or Betty Shklover.
Cell Phones for Shalva Bring your old cell phones to the Cell Phone Drop Box in the office. By doing so, you will be supporting Shalva and providing critical support to Jewish survivors of abuse. Recycle that old phone and do a mitzvah! Jazz Band Concert CJHS is proud to be part of TUNED-IN, the 6th Annual Larry Dobkin Teen Music Showcase to benefit RESPONSE. This incredible organization services over 13,000 young people and their families each year, empowering teens to make healthy life choices. This year's concert will take place at the Sheely Center for the Performing Arts at Glenbrook North High School on March 2 at 8:00 p.m. with a dessert reception at 7:30 p.m. For information about tickets, please contact Mr. Scher or RESPONSE at 224-625-2922.
Pet Supplies for Orphans of the Storm DRIVES has teamed up with the Chesed Club to run a great collection for Orphans of the Storm, a no-kill shelter that cares for stray, abandoned, abused, or neglected dogs and cats. Next week is the last week we will be collecting blankets, towels, newspapers, baking soda, toys, treats, brushes, and combs for dogs and cats. Thanks!
STAND UPdate
STAND secretary Yadid Licht reports, "This next edition of I Am Congo tells the story of Amani Mataboro, a community builder in the Democratic Republic of Congo." Watch this week's video here.
Save the Date: Wagner Institute Join us at
"Creating a Just Society" The Isidor and Rose Wagner Institute for Leadership Development of The Jewish Theological Seminary in partnership with Chicagoland Jewish High School Featuring JTS Chancellor Arnold M. Eisen Sunday, April 21 - Monday, April 22
Alumni Trivia Rabbi Robyn FryerBodzin was detained by the Israeli police during Rosh Chodesh services on Monday as the Women of the Wall peacefully made their way down from the Kotel to Robinson's Arch to read Torah. A full 190 other participants in the service went unmolested, including the three 1967 paratroopers and other brave men who were standing on the men's side to support their fellow Jews' right to pray with tzitzit, and--according to the major coverage in the Israeli newspaper Ha-Artez--three others who linked arms and refused to move. Rabbi Fryer-Bodzin and about ten others were taken to a police station, questioned, and released with a judicial order not to return to the Kotel for 15 days. Officer: Why were you wearing a talit? Rabbi Fryer-Bodzin: I was wearing a talit because I am a rabbi, I am Jewish, and I have chiuv (obligation). Support for Rabbi Fryer-Bodzin has poured in from all over North America; she has been interviewed in her hometown paper about her history of social activism and her ongoing battle against intolerance. Rabbi Fryer-Bodzin's own essay on her experience, "On Being Attained at the Kotel," including a beautiful Ani Ma'amin prayer composed in her honor by Cantor Shiya Ribowsky, can be found here. Chizki v'imtzi, Rabbi: CJHS is proud of you!
A Taste of Torah: Adar Is Here! On Monday we celebrated Rosh Chodesh as a school, beginning Tefillot with raucous singing of "Mi Shenichnas Adar Marbin b'Simcha," or, "He who enters Adar increases in joy." However, can we truly mandate feelings, particularly happiness? After all, there are so many reasons why someone would like to be happy but certain parts of life are holding us back - factors that we don't have control over. I think that the four mitzvot (commanmdents) of Purim give insight into how we can foster a community of happiness, if not mandate happiness outright. The four mitzvot are: reading the Megillah, having a Purim seudah (festive meal), giving Mishloach Manot (gifts to friends), and Matanot LaEvyonim (gifts to the poor). These mitzvot represent concentric circles of responsibility, each of which push us to interact with a certain set of relationships in our lives. While we might not be able to force our own emotional state, we certainly can strive to make others joyful on this day.
Megillah: It is customary to read Megillat Esther with a minyan because of the wish to publicize the miracle. The reading connects us not only to those around us through raucous joy, but also vertically in time, to the narrative of our people. The mitzvah of hearing the megillah forces us to interact with the miracles of the day, to those in our past who allowed us to celebrate on this day. Purim Seudah: Those who sit around our tables are generally those closest with us, and the table is limited to the number of chairs that can fit around it. A Purim seudah guarantees that we will break bread with those who are closest to us in our lives and make festive eating (but of course!) a part of this day. Mishloach Manot: One more step beyond the table in our concentric circles of relationships represents those who are
important in our lives and on this day in particular, we want to reach out to and say, "I care about you." These people may not have been at the table for the Purim Seudah, but giving mishloach manot says in both words and deeds that you are important to me, and I want to make your Purim joyous. Matanot LaEvyonim: The Rambam (Moses Maimonides, 1135-1204) says that giving gifts to the poor is more important than any of the other three mitzvot of Purim, and that "the one who brightens the hearts of the unfortunate is similar to the Shechinah," the Divine Presence (Yad, Hilchot Megillah v'Chanukah, 2:17). In our final circle of relationships, we recognize that there is no one who is on the outside of our community. On Purim, anyone who reaches out and asks for a gift (kol mi shepores yad), we have the obligation to give. On any other day we can think about tzedakah priorities, how much to give toward immediate need and how much toward systemic change. But on this day, we give to all who ask - because this is the essence of what it means to manifest joy on Purim.
During this Purim, take the opportunity to make all of your circles of friends and acquaintances happy. Be Happy, It's Adar! --Rav Beit Sefer Zach Silver
משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה Candlelighting will be at 5:05 p.m. shalom, and happy Adar!
Shabbat