February 8, 2013 / 28 Shevat 5773
Debate Takes Off In This Issue Debate Trip The Clothesline Project Cell Phones for Shalva Smashing Victories in Sports Athletes in the News Hebrew Class Advertising Project Curriculum and Beyond
DEBATE: New York City or Bust!
Pet Supplies Drive MLK Day Video Students in the News STAND UPdate Alumni Trivia A Taste of Torah
Save the Date Sunday, Feb. 10 ACT Wednesday, Feb. 13 Curriculum and Beyond
Tuesday, March 5 Sunday, March 10 Model U.N. Trip
We are supremely proud to announce that for the first time ever in its history, the Debate Team is attending the 24th Annual Marsha Stein Talmudical Academy Great Debate Tournament at Yeshiva University this weekend. Our team has been training and prepping for this moment for a long time. The resolution is over the question of whether the United States should revise its immigration laws to provide inexpensive and rapid avenues of citizenship for the majority of our undocumented aliens. Stay tuned for an update after the tournament!
Thursday, March. 14 Pi Day
Breaking News-Literally!
Monday, Feb. 18 No School Monday, Feb. 25 Shushan Purim
Neither rain nor snow nor frozen slush nor airport P. O. Corner shutdowns nor the blizzard scheduled to Gelt Program hammer Manhattan this afternoon have deterred The P.O. is pleased to once these brave debaters again introduce the gift card "Gelt program" to our families from their appointed and we have made it much meet! ABC news easier (look for upcoming interviewed our determined team at O'Hare airport this email with details on how to morning, defying the weather with frozen noses pressed to register). Faculty and staff can also buy Gelt that will window panes, hoping against hope to make NYC before help to support programs Shabbos. In fact, their plane was one of the only planes to provided for the school by the P.O. This program is designed successfully depart from Chicago to New York. Watch the big story here! to help families earn money toward their children's junior year 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. Join us for laughter, beats, and dancing at the UIC Student Center East to celebrate the opening of Limmud Chicago 2013.
Joel Chasnoff will perform his new piece, G.I. Joel: A 24year-old Stand-up Comic from 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.
You'll be able to choose from over 80 sessions throughout the day. Limmud Chicago 2013 is centered around two
The Clothesline Project This Wednesday, the whole school had the opportunity to participate in a special program called the Clothesline Project. This interactive art exhibit--run through the Response center-- uses personal anecdotes to educate and inform about domestic abuse. Juniors Dana Levin and Shira Harris reported the program hit close to home and opened their eyes to the horrors and frequency of domestic abuse in teenagers. This year, YPI is fundraising for Shalva, an organization that provides services for Jewish domestic abuse victims.
YPI would like to thank Response for putting on this program and senior Rachel Rubinstein for making it happen; Thank you to Mr. Scher, to Rabbi Belgrad, Dr. Miller, and Ms. Karasov, and to the English and social studies teachers who chaperoned classes at the exhibit.
themes: Jewish Love and Jews who made Chicago; there are plenty of sessions beyond these themes, too. See the lineup here!
Cell Phones for Shalva
If you are looking for a way to help, bring your old cell phones to the office and put them in the Cell Phone Drop Box. By doing Lunch is included along with so, you will be supporting Shalva and providing critical snacks; dietary laws observed. Check out support to Jewish survivors of abuse. Recycle that old phone limmudchicago.org to register, and do a mitzvah! and remember to use your CJHS Family Member discount of 5%!
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
JCC Musical Auditions "Once Upon a Mattress" In this hilarious tweaking of the fairy tale, "The Princess and the Pea", Queen Aggravain has ruled that no one may marry until her son, Prince Dauntless does. However, she has managed to sabotage every princess that comes along. A member of the court, Prince Harry, wants to marry his love, Lady Larken, so he finds Princess Winnifred ("Fred" to her friends) to wed the Queen's son. The queen is horrified and immediately begins to scheme, but Winnifred, with some help from Sir Harry, the
This Week in Sports The IHSA Regionals for girls' basketball took place this week at Chicagoland Jewish High School. In a hard-fought semifinal match, the Lady Tigers lost 33-30 in the final seconds to North Shore Country Day. Congratulations girls, on a great season, and thanks to Coaches Tom Kalleses and George Keehn for all of their hard work this season. Also, a resounding cheer for Caroline Dreifuss for winning the Regional Championship in the Country Financial Three Point Showdown with 10/15 shots! Fearsome Lady Tigers Alana Stoehr (7/15) and Alana Spellman (8/15) will join Caroline at the Sectional Championship Three Point Showdown on Thursday, February 14, at 6:00 p.m. over at Westminster Christian School in Elgin. Let's be clear, you big, bad Tigers: this means that 3 out of the 4 top shooters in the region are CJ girls! GO LADY TIGERS!!!
King, and the Jester, isn't going to be quite so easy to get rid of. Audition Dates and Times: Feb 11, 12 | 4:30-7:00 p.m. To reserve your audition time, contact rbouwman@gojcc.org or call 847.763.3514. For audition details, click here.
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, 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.
On the boys' side, the freshman basketball team traveled to Northtown. The sophomore team lost to a very strong Vernon Hills team on Tuesday night, then traveled to Chicago to play Chicago Hope Academy. In one of the most exciting basketball games of the season, it took three overtimes before the Tigers were defeated 73-70. The Tigers will kick off the Chicago Prep Conference Basketball tournament next week.
If you have any questions, please call 847.324.3713 or email idrazin@cjhs.org. Order forms are available online here.
Quick Links Our Website CJHS defeats Vernon Hills! (Thanks to Coach Newlander for the video footage.)
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After being knocked out of the #1 ranking on Jewish Hoops America, the Tigers took comfort in soundly thumping their opponents in the western suburbs. For the first time in school history, the Tigers defeated class 3A school Vernon Hills 74-66 behind Josh Newlander's 30 points and Jake Newlander's 18 points, then won the following night at Chicago Hope Academy 75-66. With the victory at Hope Academy, the Tigers have clinched second place in the Chicago Prep Conference and have secured their 20th WIN of the season. The 20th victory is the most of any athletic team in Chicagoland Jewish History! Athletes in the News Many congratulations to the Newlander brothers for being profiled in a wonderful Pioneer Press article in the Highland Park and Deerfield papers. Jon Kerr interviews Jake and Josh about their basketball style as brothers, Jake's trip to Israel, his connection to Judaism, and how both have affected the team. "Newlander Connection Drives CJ" read this week's headlines: read all about it here! Refuah shleimah to Lena Rabinowitz who is recuperating from a torn ACL; she is interviewed about her injury and the end of the Lady Tigers' season in the local Sun-Times here.
Alumni Trivia Congratulations to all the actors, singers, and dancer just cast in this year's fantastic Off-Broadway revue! Which multitalented singer, dancer, and actress played the villain (?) in the CJHS production of Into the Woods and has subsequently
been seen around Chicagoland as a professional partystartin' dancer? Hebrew IV Advertises Success Gvt. Cohen's Hebrew IV class is learning all about marketing! Having studied various Israeli commercials and advertisements, teams of students held a contest to design a new slogan for CJHS. Think any of them will catch on?
Curriculum and Beyond - Prospective Students and Parents
Wednesday, February 13 6:15 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. 6:15 p.m. - Mini Activities Fair with a
light pizza dinner Learn all about the different extracurricular activities available to you while meeting with current students who play a part in our athletic program, fine & performing arts program and social action groups. Get information on our college counseling office while learning about the exceptional college placement of our graduates. 7 p.m. - Classroom presentations Wonder what life is like as a CJHS student? If so, this is your opportunity to experience high school during interactive classroom presentations. Choose from thre e mod el less ons to attend. For more information, please contact admissions officers Ms. Zoberman or Ms. Karasov.
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, an animal shelter in Deerfield. Orphans of the Storm is a no-kill shelter that cares for and gives refuge to stray, abandoned, abused, or neglected dogs and cats. This Sunday from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m., a group of students will participate at the Orphans of the Storm adoption event at Nortbrook Court. Also, during the month of February, we will be collecting blankets, towels, newspapers, baking soda, toys , treats, brushes, and combs for dogs and cats. Thanks!
"Goodbye, Rosa..."
One highlight of this month's focus on the world around us was a video tribute to Rosa Parks created by CJHS junior Madeleine Mynatt. Having gained familiarity with Maddy's talents in last year's Chumash class, Rabbi Marc Belgrad asked Maddie to fashion a video around singer-songwriter Greg Greenway's, "Rosa Parks." Click here to see the powerful, four-and-a-half minute video that brought this year's commemoration of Martin Luther King Day to a dramatic close.
Students in the News Congratulations to sophomore pianist Natalie Nedvetsky on a smashingly successful Young Steinway recital at the Skokie Public Library last week. Brava!
STAND UPdate STAND secretary Yadid Licht reports from the human rights organization United to End Genocide, "For over a decade, the human rights community has been fighting to keep weapons out of the hands of dictators and warlords. More than 153 nations are on the threshold of passing the global Arms Trade Treaty - taking a major step toward stopping the weapons that fuel genocide and mass atrocities. Now the National Rifle Association has announced its opposition to the treaty and has launched a lobbying campaign to kill it. By signing this petition, you will be telling the U.S. government to support and sign this life-saving treaty." Here is this week's "I am Congo" video, which focuses on a
human rights lawyer in the Congo.
Sponsored Breakfast Happy birthday to Steven Sacks and Jonah Glick-Unterman. Many thanks to their families for sponsoring breakfast.
Alumni Trivia Arianna Rozen ('10) has been dancing for many years and numbers the witch in Into the Woods among her many star performances. Arianna is starting her second semester at the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign, having transferred last semester from Indiana University. She is a member of the 3spot Dance Company, a Pi Beta Phi sorority sister, and is otherwise devoting herself to the long hard process of becoming an occupational therapist. Good luck, Arianna!
A Taste of Torah: Mishpatim For Jews, food is a big deal. In 1825, German Jewish scholar Heinrich Heine, wrote to the Jewish intellectual journal of the time, "Kugel, this holy national dish, has done more for the preservation of Judaism than all three issues of this magazine!" Toward the end of this week's parashah, Mishpatim, we encounter the first of three times that the Torah issues its famous mandate, "Do not cook a kid in its mother's milk" (Sh'mot 23:19). The first obvious question is why? What is the reason for the system of eating laws that we call kashrut? In Jewish legal terminology, the laws of kashrut are known as chukim, laws that defy human reason. But this is not to say that our sages have not embraced trying to interpret kashrut, even if gaining knowledge about the law is, by definition, Godly. Twentieth-century Hassidic master the Netivot Shalom describes a direct relationship between cleaving to God's holiness and separating from those things, foods in this case, which are deemed to be impure. He writes, "This is the explanation of Kedoshim tehiyu ki kadosh ani--you will be holy because I am Holy (Vayikra 19:2). Because you need to cleave to God, and God in turn cannot tolerate things that cloud the soul and cause distancing from God." We sanctify ourselves as humans and seek divinity through separation. Eating is one of the most basic instincts of the human condition -- it is necessary for life and can be enjoyable, too. To think about the process of what we eat, and to live in a system of sanctifying food, provides the potential to cleave to God with each bite. Such separation acknowledges a system of hierarchy between God and man, during a process that otherwise would be considered to be mundane. In the words of modern Jewish scholar Joseph Telushkin: "By simply making us pay attention to what and how we eat, the Torah encourages us to engage that part of us that is most God-like, namely our consciousness, in every mundane detail of our lives." --Rav Beit Sefer Zach Silver
Shabbat Shalom Candlelighting this Friday night, Shabbat Shekalim, will be at 4:56 p.m. Shabbat Shalom!