Dec 09 2016

9 Kislev, 5777

This Week at Rochelle Zell

December 9, 2016

Illinois State Scholars

Sixteen Rochelle Zell Seniors Named

llinois State Scholars This Week in Sports This Week in Global Studies STAND Speaker Math Team Meets Honoring Bruce Scher Community News Alumni Trivia A Taste of Torah

Class Schedule

onday, December 12 M A

Tuesday, December 13 C

Wednesday, December 14 BB

Thursday, December 15 C

Rochelle Zell Jewish High School is proud to announce our sixteen seniors named Illinois State Scholars for outstanding academic achievement by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Illinois State Scholars represent approximately the top ten percent of high school seniors from 765 high schools across the state.

Kol hakavod to Tallulah Bark Huss, Sara Behn, Jacob Dayan, Natalie Ecanow, Adam Gilman, Sammy Hoffman, Lexi Levin, Jonathan Maltsman, Zev Mishell, Felix Rosen, Emma Siegel, Akiva Stein, David Vayngart,

David Weisskopf, Samantha Wolf, and Henry Wolle for their four years of hard work!

Friday, December 16 A

Quick Links

This Week In Sports

Basketball, Wrestling, and Swimming

RZJHS.org

Calendars Lunch Menu Edline Give Now

Exam Schedule

January 13 Talumd Exam ‐ 9:30

January 16 MLK Day ‐ No School

January 17 English Exam ‐ 9:30 Spanish Exam ‐ 12:30

January 18 Math Exam ‐ 9:30 Social Studies Exam ‐ 12:30

January 19 Science Exam ‐ 9:30 Bible Exam ‐ 12:30

The varsity girls con炅nued their great season and avenged our defeat with a 38‐20 victory over Northtown. Jenna Miller had 18 points along with 12 rebounds, and Ariel Saxton had 10 points and 5 steals. Everybody contributed solid defense in a terrific team effort. Our season's record is now 5‐2.

January 20 Hebrew Exam ‐ 9:30

Save The Date December 11 ACT

December 25 ‐ January 8 Winter Break

The boys' varsity basketball team has been playing very good basketball and has a busy schedule during the month of December. The Tigers lost to Northtown 64‐61, aꡱer having led most of the game. The Tigers were led in scoring by Eli Nasa炅r who had 30 points, and Felix Rosen chipped in 16 points. In the second game, the Tigers beat North Shore Country Day 70‐ 57! The Tigers played an aggressive game using their full court pressure. Sammy Vayngart led the Tigers with 20 points and Eli Nasa炅r contributed with 17 points. Dave Vayngart also contributed with 12 points, making 10 out of 10 free throws.

Way to go, Tigers!

January 8 ‐ January 27 Senior Israel Experience

January 9 Classes Resume

January 16 MLK Day ‐ No School

January 23 Second Semester Begins

January 30 Classes Resume for Seniors

From the P.O

The wrestling team is on the floor! Yesterday's meet at Niles North enabled our new team to show its mele. Well done to Joey Zilber, Josh Levitas, Eli Ecanow, Isaac Margulies, Ethan Laney, and Ben Lesch. Further north, the Tiger Sharks swim club is lapping it up! Leora Karoll is rocking it in the fast lane with her breaststroke. Meanwhile, the Bubble Level is a 炅ght squad with Arielle Small, Lexi Levin, Joey Rosenblum, Sean Dreifuss, and Molly Hart merrily splashing around together.

Keep it up, swimmers!

Big Three Carve Up World

Global Studies Sophomores Colonize Africa

Please contribute to the P.O. Teacher/Staff Chanukah Giꡱ Fund! The suggested contribu炅on is $18 per student, but any amount is greatly appreciated!

Checks must be received

by Thursday, December 15, but are welcome sooner!

Please send cash or check made out to Rochelle Zell P.O. to the school main office in an envelope with your student'(s) name(s) labeled Rochelle Zell P.O. Chanukah Fund. You may also contribute online by clicking here.

Ms. June Kramer's CP sophomore global studies class recreated the conference of Berlin, where the superpowers of Europe agreed upon colonial boundaries in Africa. Needless to say, they did not invite any African leaders to the conference.

Students were prepared with "wish lists" of desirable resources and territories, and then the bargaining began. The results of

Ques炅ons? Contact Mar炅ne Gorstein at 847.791.0223.

their nego炅a炅ons were remarkably similar to the actual outcomes! The nego炅a炅ons were at 炅mes tense, with Great Britain insinua炅ng that their military might be a factor, but other na炅ons were quick to form alliances to keep Great Britain in check. Ms. Kramer reports, "It was prey realis炅c!"

Happy holidays from all of us at the Rochelle Zell parent organiza炅on!

Alumni Trivia

December workload ge긮ng you down? Which of our hardworking alumni is taking a load and a half as he crams his undergraduate law and business requirements at IU?

STAND Speaker

Grace Payne on Human Trafficking

On Thursday, Grace Payne spoke to STAND over Skype. She discussed how A21, the organiza炅on where she volunteers, combats human trafficking through the 4 P's model of preven炅on, protec炅on, prosecu炅on, and partnership. She also shared incredible stories from survivors of sex trafficking, and answered the students' many ques炅ons. Grace's inspira炅onal and educa炅onal talk mo炅vated the community to fight modern day slavery.

Mathletes Scramble

"Seniors" Take Honors at Lake Forest

Everything turned out for the best when cold, snow, sniffles, and changed schedules leꡱ our math team a lile shorthanded at yesterday's meet. Two freshmen stepped up to the plate to fill empty spots at the senior level, and some truly spectacular math by perfect‐score Josh Winick clinched our team first place in the senior division!

Bruce Scher Tribute Book

Deadline Friday, December 16!

Students, alumni, parents, parents of alumni, grandparents, faculty and staff, and all other community members are invited to pay tribute to our favorite mul炅‐talented musical dean by submi긮ng anecdotes, memories, words of gra炅tude, poems, songs or other “verbal hugs.” Send in your words of praise, celebra炅on and even humor! The tribute squares have space for 75

words, but alas, no pictures. Please e‐mail your submission by Friday, December 16, 2016, to Michele Agbodza. Unfortunately we cannot accept any late entries to be included in the tribute book.

Any submissions received aꡱer December 16 will be given to Mr. Scher, but will not be included in the completed book. Please contact Michele Agbodza, Marke炅ng and Communica炅ons Coordinator, with any ques炅ons at magbodza@rzjhs.org.

Click the image above to RSVP

Sponsored Breakfast

Happy birthday to Rikki Drexler, Coby Resnick, and Ariel Saxton. Many thanks to their families for

sponsoring breakfast. (And mazal tov to Rabbi Silver and Ms. Frankel for shtellen a chuppah this weekend!) To sponsor bagels in honor of your favorite Tiger, please contact Diane Zidman in the front office.

Community News and Events

Rochelle Zell Hosts the Shabbatones

Monday, January 9, 7:00 p.m. | Rochelle Zell Jewish High School

Rochelle Zell Jewish High School is proud to host the Penn Shabbatones on our campus on Monday, January 9, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. featuring alumnus Aaron Zell (CJHS '13) and the Rochelle Zell Vocal Ensemble. The concert is open to the en炅re Rochelle Zell community and the greater community at no cost. We hope that you will join us for this fabulous musical program to start the new year.

Founded in 2001, the Shabbatones are the student‐ run Jewish a cappella group at the University of Pennsylvania. The group tours California, Florida, London, Houston, and New Orleans. Some highlights included singing at the White House Chanukah Party, the na炅onal anthem at an NHL game in Los Angeles, and opening winners of NBC's "The Sing Off." If you have any ques炅ons, please contact Bruce Scher.

All Star Abilities

JCC Seeks Teen Volunteers

Aen炅on Rochelle Zell Jewish High School Students: The JCC of Chicago is looking for teen volunteers to work alongside special needs teens in the pilot of a new fitness literacy and wellness instruc炅on program called All Star Abili炅es (ASA). During ASA, teen volunteers will be partnered with special needs teens as they learn to navigate and u炅lize a fitness center. ASA will meet on four Sunday aꡱernoons, star炅ng in late January and all sessions will take place at the Marvin Lustbader Center, Bernard Weinger JCC (300 Revere Drive, Northbrook, IL 60062). For more informa炅on, including 炅ming, specific dates, and a volunteer applica炅on, please click here.

Alumni Trivia

Shai Alima (CJHS '15) is a sophomore at Indiana University, majoring in Law and Public Policy through the School of Public and Environmental affairs, as well as minoring in entrepreneurship through the Kelley School of Business. Shai reports, "I am a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, and I live in the house with 46 of my pledge brothers. Other than that, however, I am not very involved in any school clubs or organiza炅ons, as I am busy taking 18 credit hours a semester, trying to earn my degree as fast as possible!" Wow! Keep at it, Shai!

A Taste of Torah: Vayetze

You could hardly ask for a less roman炅c wedding story than this week's parsha. Ya'akov falls in love with the beau炅ful Rachel, woos her, wins her, is hoodwinked by her en炅re family, marries her regardless, and spends the rest of her short life dealing with complica炅ons resul炅ng from polygamous mores, infer炅lity, and jealousy. What happened to the love story?

The book of Bereshit is remarkably short on true love. The shoresh ahava appears for the first 炅me in the Akedah: "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, and sacrifice him...!" It appears later in a less provoca炅ve context, describing Yitzchak's falling in love with Rivka in the same breath as his resigna炅on to his mother death‐‐and well aꡱer the wedding! Love plays a bigger role when the couple has twins and the parents problema炅cally take sides, each loving one twin. The phrase "loving one twin more than the other" is notably absent: Yitzchak loves Esav and Rivka loves Ya'akov. Lest we in our outrage take things too seriously, however, the same verb is used a fourth 炅me for Yiztchak's gourmet passion for good food: he loves the succulent kebabs the same way he loves his son‐‐indeed, the text says he loves his son because of the fine venison he brings home! So perhaps this great word "love" is not the all‐encompassing Western ideal of Agape (αγάπη), the stuff of which pop songs and Disney movies are made, but a milder statement of factual preference. Ya'akov is one of very, very few characters in the Torah to be described as falling in love with a poten炅al mate; he shares this dis炅nc炅on with two profligate monarchs, two rapists, Elkanah and Hannah's childless marriage, and the star‐crossed princess Michal bat Shaul.

We are leꡱ to inquire, in the words of the pop singer, "What is love? Baby don't hurt me," or perhaps, "Some炅mes, just love ain't enough."

A less roman炅c examina炅on of the root ahava provides insight into the Torah's view of what true love really is. God loves and is loved more than any other character in the Torah, and this descrip炅on always comes in a descrip炅on of the way God protects and provides for the inspiring human being whom God has found. Shaul loves David and gives him a job; the people love David and give him a crown. Most oꡱen of all, the people love God by keeping God's covenant, by behaving with loyalty and forbearance to respect what God has asked them to do with their lives.

Love, according to the Torah, is neither a fancy nor a feeling, nor is it, as Hartley Coleridge con炅nues in the famous sonnet, an immortal and immaculate Truth. Love is ac炅on, defined by ini炅a炅ve, characterized by immediate results. To love is not to feel, but to do. And true love only

endures when it appears in the company of chesed, the loyalty and selflessness that inspires people to abnegate their own needs in the name of doing kindness for those they love.

The legendary affec炅on of David and Yonatan endures because of this chesed, this mutual bond of loyalty and self‐sacrifice in the face of danger and trial. Ya'akov and Rachel's marriage becomes a successful one when frank and open communica炅on between all par炅es allows them to air their grievances and resolve on a mutually beneficial course of ac炅on (Genesis 31:4‐16). Their affec炅on is not an ending, but a beginning, a parchment on which the real story of faith, trust, fidelity, and mutual care may yet be wrien.

‐‐Mrs. Shira Eliaser

1095 Lake Cook Road • Deerfield, IL 60015 • 炅gers@rzjhs.org • 847.470.6700