September 25, 2015
12 Tishrei, 5776 This Week at CJHS
Freshman Shabbaton
Freshman Shabbaton
At Embassy Suites and CJHS
Cross Country Wins ARK Food Drive Community Events Science Contests 窶帰lumni Trivia A Taste of Torah
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Last weekend, 38 freshmen, ten seniors, and five faculty members joined together for the annual freshmen Shabbaton. The weekend gave seniors the chance to take the helm of school culture, to plan a program that makes our newest students feel welcome and allows
Save The Date
the seniors to bond with the freshmen. Sarah Comar's inspiring kavana kicked off a spirited and spiritual Shabbat; the freshmen
September 28-29 No School - Sukkot
​October 1 Sukkah Hop
class highlighted their zest for celebration in two enthusiastic song sessions, after Shabbat dinner and Saturday night for a karaoke fest. Thank you to our phenomenal seniors who helped staff the program: Sarah Gilman, Jorie Dayan, Jordan Krauss, Bessie Cohen, Maya Michaelewicz, Sarah Comar, Dylan Janczak, Ari Rosenthal, Coby Drexler, and Ranan Vales. Thank you to Mr. Eskin, Ms. Galante, Ms. Nadis, Ms. Steinberg, and Rabbi Silver, for
October 5
staffing from the faculty.
No School - Shemini Atzeret October 6 No School - Simchat Torah October 13
Tigers Bring Home Trophies CJHS Takes 1st Place in Ida Crown Meet
Grandparent Meet & Greet October 14 PSAT October 15 Financial Aid Night October 16-17 All School Shabbaton October 20 Early Dismissal - Conferences October 27 Early Dismissal - Conferences
On Sunday, CJHS triumphed over archrival Ida Crown Jewish Academy in their annual Cross Country duel. CJ won both of the boys' races, and split the girls' races. Record team times were broken in all four races for the Tigers! Bringing home the gold
November 11
were JV runners Talia Gorstein and Liam Lynch, with Meira
No School
Levin and Brian Silverstein also earning silver medals! Congratulations too to varsity runners Yoni Maltsman, Gaby
November 18-20
Ecanow, and Felix Rosen for their silver and bronze medals! Our
Junior Social Justice Seminar
Tigers followed up their golden victory with another triumph in Thursday's meet against Westminster Christian. We're still #1!
College Season CJHS is pleased to welcome admission representatives from over fifty colleges and Israel programs this autumn!
VIEW SCHEDULE >>
Women's Tennis Dodges Thunderbolts Although last Thursday's tennis match against Highland Park started off slowly, CJHS soon came on strong. Coach Finfer reported from under her umbrella, "We were just starting to dominate on many courts when the weather took a turn for the worse, and we had to stop short due to lightning! It was a great step up for CJHS, and it's too bad we couldn't finish it out on the court!" But this week started off with a bang: CJHS beat Lake Forest Academy 4-2! Of the many heated battles fought on that court, the most notable was definitely Emma Mati and Bella Lavarre's 15-13 conquest. Women's tennis finished the week with a match against Evanston High School, which we won 3-2. Hannah Kelly, our number one singles player, came up wining 8-3. New faces Eliana Kaufman and Mollie Kramer played their first match. Kudos to them!
Women's Volleyball Carries On Women's volleyball played its hardest against Our Lady of Tepeyac, Beacon Academy, and Lake Forest Academy. Leading the JV and varsity teams in saves and kills are Elliana Brody, Sam Wolf, and Jordan Krauss, with Erin Miller, Lucy Cohen, Hannah Taussig,
and Jorie Dayan at the top of the stats for aces and assists.
Men's Soccer Scores Monday's match against Holy Trinity was one of our better games this season; Coach Greg Shannon reports, "The guys are really coming together nicely, connecting more passes and playing some nice soccer. Gabe Chasin continues to play fantastic in goal with at least a dozen saves in the match. Gabe punted the ball to Ben Saxton right at midfield; Ben trapped the ball like a professional, maintaining control of the ball, turned and headed down field. When a Trinity defender came up to challenge him, he dumped the ball down into the right corner, where Jason Taitz took over, racing into the corner and crossing the ball right back to him! Ben got his own rebound and put it in the back of the net-- an amazing goal that singlehandedly made a loss feel like a win!"
We had Senior Night on Thursday vs. Lake Forest Academy: it was a wonderful day to celebrate our senior soccer players and team captains, Jason Taitz and Danny Silver! Henry Hoffman, Josh Levitas, and Danny Gabel played especially well. Henry, our backup keeper, notched his second goal on the season, a great play started by Jason Taitz, who hit David Levin with another pass, which Henry, flying out of nowhere, stepped in to redirect into the goal! "This was a fantastic play by Henry, our leading scorer, who just keeps energizing the team with his play." A special thanks to the CJ women's soccer team and Coach Weber for coming out to support the boys: thanks for making it a truly special day!
ARK Food Drive Bring by Friday, October 2
For too many in the Chicagoland area, fasting is not a religious choice but a matter of necessity--and it occurs on many days other than Yom Kippur. Please join CJHS in contributing to the ARK High Holiday Food Drive! We are collecting food and other household items to help support our neighbors in need. Each student received a donation bag in his or her box, and more are available in Mr. Eskin's office on the first floor. Let's see how much we can give together!
Save the Date Parent Teacher Conferences This year Parent-Teacher conferences will be held on Tuesday, October 20 and on Tuesday, October 27 from 4:30-9:00 p.m. Stay tuned for more information!
Alumni Trivia CJHS students have made mishkan models, rocket models, math models, mole models, and Harlem Renaissance models: now under the lights walks our first runway model! Who is tikkuning the 'lam with her current modeling gig, and where is she now? Hint-- she was Junior Miss Vernon Hills before coming to CJHS, where her Judaic Studies binder is part of Ms. Snyder's art display!
Community News and Events
Khan Academy Breakthrough Contest Video Contest in Science and Math | October 7, 2015 The Breakthrough Junior Challenge invites students ages 13-18 to create original videos that bring to life a concept or theory in the life sciences, physics or mathematics. The submissions will be judged on the student’s ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in the most engaging, illuminating, and imaginative ways. One winner will be recognized and will be awarded a $250,000 educational prize. The science teacher who inspired the winning student will win $50,000, and the winner’s school will receive a state-of-the art science lab valued at $100,000, designed in partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory! More information is available at www.breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org. Note that the deadline is pretty tight with the yamim tovim, so start scripting today!
Jerusalem Science Contest Six Month Study Contest in Light and Optics | October 16, 2015 The JSC is an extracurricular science study competition sponsored by the Walder Science Center in partnership with the Lev Academic Center, Jerusalem Israel. The winner earns $1,000 plus a four year tuition scholarship to Lev. Second prize is $700. The top five scorers including the prizewinners win an educational Israel experience. All other participants who achieve scores over the baseline earn cash prizes commensurate with their scores. The focus is on science with applications in Jewish life. In conjunction with the UNESCO International Year of Light, the topic for the 2015-2016 school year will be the science and technology of Light, Optics and the Human Eye. For more information and to register by October 16: READ MORE>>
Alumni Trivia Alena Burda ('14) hopes one day to build a career as a registered nurse, but in the meantime, she regularly models for Tiara Magazine's charity fundraisers. Alena's seasonal walks down the runway raise funds and awareness for Live Out Loud, an anti-bullying suicide prevention organization. Alena is starting her sophomore year at Illinois State University, where she is well on her way to earning a bachelor of science in nursing. She works as a tour guide in the admissions office and is active in the ISU Hillel.
BRCA: The Center for Jewish Genetics October 14, 2015 On Wednesday, October 14, the Center for Jewish Genetics and the Basser Center will present “What’s Jewish About BRCA?”, a community education event at the Chicago Botanic Garden, featuring national speaker Dr. Susan Domchek of the Basser Center for BRCA, a panel of cancer experts, and moderator Bonnie Miller Rubin of the Chicago Tribune. This is an opportunity to learn about your risk for hereditary cancers and what you can do about it. The program fee is $18 and includes a pre-program reception, the program, and kosher dessert. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the program will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. For more information call 312.357.4988 or register here. READ MORE>>
Maccabi Tel Aviv Plays Chicago October 1, 2015 | 7:00 p.m. Get your CJHS discounted student group tickets by calling Rabbi Barry Axler at 312.524.2193 (BarryAxler@aol.com) for the first International Israel-Italy Friendship Games. Half the proceeds from this program will go towards Breakthrough’s Coaches United Against Violence Program. Coaches United Against Violence has 18 public league coaches that work with students in the community and in schools to learn how to resolve conflicts peacefully. READ MORE >>
A Taste of Torah: Ha'azinu The words of Ha’azinu are the words that Moshe wants B’nei Yisrael to take with them when they enter the land. They are not just part of the story: they are the story – they are the very life of B’nei Yisrael. These troubling, haunting words are, to hear Moshe tell it, the difference between life and death, and therefore his critical parting message to his flock. Keeping in mind Moshe’s experience leading the people through the desert, this makes sense. He has seen firsthand their faithlessness, their tendency to turn away from God. And he has seen God’s wrath more closely than any other human being before or since. Ha’azinu seems to be one last attempt by an exasperated camp counselor or parent to scare the people straight. If positive reinforcement hasn’t worked, go negative. And yet, as we know, this is not how the Torah ends – and in my opinion, that’s a lucky thing. Because the final parashah is Ve’zot Ha’bracha – “this is the blessing.” Instead of leaving the people with a message of anger and shaming, he bids them farewell with ahavat chinam, pure and unending love in the form of blessings for each tribe. How did he move so quickly from exasperation to warmth? The answer is the intervening scene, in which God directs Moshe up to Mount Nebo and tells him that he will die there, punished for betraying God, never able to enter the land of Canaan. In this moment, Moshe is not alone, sitting solitarily as he watches the people prepare to cross over the Jordan. At this peak moment of tension and anxiety for Moshe, God reminds him of his relationship with his brother, Aaron, and makes clear to him that they will soon both be together among their kin in the world to come. Many of us have experienced the joy and contentment of doing important work with cherished colleagues. Many of us as well treasure the love of siblings with whom we have shared so much. Aaron was both of these things for Moshe in the desert. When they failed, they did so together. And what they achieved – ultimately, sustaining the people and
preparing them for freedom in their homeland – they achieved together. It is Moshe’s love for his brother which pulls him out of his exasperated anger and reminds him of his love for all of B’nei Yisrael. We have just started a new year with hours and hours of blessings. By next Elul, though, it may be difficult to escape from feelings of failure and missed opportunities. But like Moshe, hopefully we can find ways to remember the good, and always to end on a note of love and blessing. Shabbat Shalom! READ FULL DRASHA>>
Mr. Joseph Eskin
Moadim L'Simchah From E-News We wish a happy, warm, and dry Sukkot to all our readers! E-News feedback can be sent to Tara Seymour, tseymour@cjhs.org or Shira Eliaser, seliaser@cjhs.org as we continue to roll out a new look for the new year!
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