13 Iyar, 5776 This Week at Rochelle Zell
May 20, 2016
Congratulations, Seniors! College Acceptances 2016
College Acceptance Day Freshmen R & J Party Math Team Puzzle Party IFYC News Senior Night Graduation Final Exams Community Events Alumni Trivia A Taste of Torah
Class Schedule ​Monday, May 23 A
Tuesday, May 24 B Wednesday, May 25 A Thursday, May 26 C - Special Schedule Friday, May 27 BB
Quick Links RZJHS.org Calendars Lunch Menu - NEW! Edline
Congratulations to our graduating seniors! Admitted to over 50 colleges and universities, our 41 seniors will be attending these schools: American University Beloit College* Binghamton University Brandeis University (2) University of California at Santa Cruz* University of Chicago University of Colorado at Boulder* Dartmouth College University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign (8) Indiana University (3) Iowa State University*
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Lehigh University* Marquette University* Michigan State University Midreshet HaRova* University of Miami University of Michigan (3) Muhlenberg College Northeastern Illinois U. Northeastern University (2) Purdue University Southern Illinois U. (2) Tulane University (2) Washington University in St. Louis (3)
* indicates first Rochelle Zell student to attend
Save The Date May 23-24 Physics Expo
R & J Banquet Yon Freshmen Keep the Time-Honoured Feast
May 25 Athletic Banquet and Awards Night May 26 Grandparents and Special Friends Day Open Mic Night May 27 Last Day of Classes All-School BBQ May 29 Rochelle Zell Community Naming Dedication
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?� It is the glow of Shakespeare study, radiantly streaming into the
Prom Night May 31 - June 7 Final Exams June 1 Siyum and Graduation No Classes June 19 ACT
minds and hearts of the members of the Rochelle Zell freshman class! Late last Saturday night, nearly every member of the freshman class gathered at the home of classmate Sophie Kaufman to celebrate the culmination of this year’s study of Romeo and Juliet. Expertly reciting the lines from Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, the students reveled in watching Shakespeare in Love and in spending a wonderful evening together as a class. Delicious treats and wonderful hospitality were provided by the Kaufman family. We all join in thanking them for making this fun-filled and illuminating experience possible, and to Ms. Friedman who organizes the annual event! Shakespeare lives – for the students of Rochelle Zell!
IFYC News Islamic Foundation School Joins the Initiative On Tuesday, we welcomed a new partner for IFYC, the Islamic Foundation School in Villa Park. Students from both schools immediately connected with one another, both on social levels and exploring the central questions about how religion is a part of the everyday lives of students. Students reflected on their schoolwork, prayer lives, eating habits, and beyond, and noted many significant familiarities among how both Jewish and Muslim teens live. We concluded by showing the Muslim students our Beit Knesset and the Sefer Torah, which entranced the students from IFS. We are thrilled about this interaction and look forward to a meaningful partnership next year.
Clubs Celebrate End of Year Math Team Year-End Puzzle Party On Monday, the math team met at lunch to celebrate a year of victories, challenging problems, and fun times. They served ice cream, played games, solved puzzles, and debuted the Rochelle Zell Mathletics video highlighting the team's many accomplishments this year! Check out what our mathletes can do! SEE MORE>>
DEAP Delivers Year-End Results
Congratulations to our social service team on a year of educational and informative fundraising and awareness of educational injustice. The year's efforts raised a total of $7,000 for the Chicago Foundation for Education, which our student leaders delivered to CFE leaders this morning after tefillah. Well done, DEAP!
The Prints Hits the Stands Congratulations to Celia Pivo, Aviva Hirsch, and the entire staff of out literary magazine on another beautiful, eerie, and thought-provoking issue of The Prints! Last spring's edition earned a Certificate of Excellence from the National Council of Teachers of English, and this spring's volume looks even better. Peek over your student's shoulder at a year's worth of art, photography, prose, and poetry!
Senior Night Men's Baseball and Volleyball
Congratulations to the men's volleyball and baseball teams on another impressive run!
Volleyball took on Christian Heritage on Tuesday to send off our graduating seniors with a win; congratulations to volleyball veterans Benjy Salzman and Daniel Silver. Out on the baseball diamond, the Tigers finished their season with a senior night win against Northtown. Congratulations to Michael Weldler, Zach Becker, Seth Wein, and two-year starting pitcher Coby Drexler on ending their high school baseball careers with a final score of 8-4. Go Tigers!
Alumni Trivia Israel on campus is a tough subject even in the most hospitable of climates. Which of our alumni on campus is president of the friendliest, most open, most diverse Israel club in the city?
Commencement 2016 RSVP For Graduation Breakfast and Evening Commencement Exercises
Join us for tefillah at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday June 1 for the Senior Siyum and the graduation breakfast thereafter for seniors, their families, faculty, and staff. The morning celebrations will be
held in the Caplan gym and should end around 11:30 a.m. Reservations are required for breakfast and the ceremony. Please click here to RSVP. There will be a mandatory meeting and graduation rehearsal for all seniors immediately following the Siyum, which may last until 1:30 p.m. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. Commencement begins promptly at 5:30 p.m. Please allow extra travel time as the ceremony will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m. The ceremony will be approximately one hour, and a reception with light refreshments will follow. Click here to RSVP!
Exam Schedule Shalom Bus Times For Finals May 31
Pick up at Braeside at 10:35 a.m. Leave Rochelle Zell at 2:10 and 3:10
p.m. June 2
Pick up at Braeside 8:36 a.m. Leave Rochelle Zell at 2:10 and 3:10
p.m. June 3
Pick up at Braeside 8:36 a.m. Leave Rochelle Zell at 2:10 and 3:10
p.m. June 6
Pick up at Braeside 8:36 a.m. Leave Rochelle Zell at 2:10 and 3:10 p.m.
June 7
Pick up at Braeside 8:36 a.m. Leave Rochelle Zell at 12:39 p.m.
Sponsored Breakfast Happy birthday to David Weisskopf. Many thanks to his family for sponsoring breakfast. To sponsor bagels in honor of your favorite Tiger, please contact Diane Zidman in the front office.
Community News and Events The Festival is Coming!
Israeli Jazz and World Music Festival May 26 - June 2, 2016 This year’s Israeli Jazz and World Music Festival will feature Israeli and Chicago based musicians collaborating across a multitude of genres. This year, the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest tapped into Israeli talent living in Chicago as well as what has been the
festival’s mainstay of bringing world-renowned artists directly from Israel. Lazer Lloyd, King of Israeli Blues, will show how the influence of Chicago blues has contributed to his musical identity. Guy King will move your soul with his culmination of Blues, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Marbin’s fusion of rock and jazz; Uri Gurvich’s smokin’ sweet sound on the saxophone; and Tal Gamlieli’s steamin’ style are expected to please all musical lovers. Venues will include Chicago staples such as Buddy Guy’s Legends and Andy’s Jazz Club. Other new venues introduced this year include FitzGerald’s in Berwyn and S.P.A.C.E in Evanston. The Fest returns to the Chicago Cultural Center and Old Town School of Folk. Concerts are planned for schools and houses of worship throughout Chicagoland. For updates and festival information, join us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/IsraelinChicago/
Alumni Trivia College junior Ilan Hulkower (CJHS '13) studies political science and history at Northeastern Illinois and is president of one of the more diverse Israel clubs in the North American college world! "The majority of the group is non-Jewish," Ilan reports proudly. "Both official members and those who actually show up to meetings, of which we usually have a core group of 4-6 people. This semester we had one Turkish, one Iranian, and one Palestinian member. Several of our members come from Muslim families, though this does not necessarily mean that they identify as Muslim themselves. (I definitely know that the Palestinian is an atheist!) We also have a member from China and Poland, two from Spain, one from Rwanda, and one Assyrian student from Iraq! "What the Israel Club seeks to do," explains Ilan, "is to inform its members and the general public about Israeli history, culture, and the like. In the beginning of the semester I gave everyone a choice; they chose modern Israeli history, starting with the birth of modern political Zionism and finishing with a close view of the first Lebanon War. Additionally, we had the pleasure of hosting a StandWithUs Israeli Solider Tour on campus when the local Hillel was unavailable. Everyone had a good experience; my Iranian colleague who missed the event ended up getting in touch with the soldiers to talk with them himself. Our Facebook page also lets our members look at archaeological finds, funny videos, additional documentaries, songs from different periods (like Bab al-Wad from the War of Independence
or Jerusalem of Gold for Six Day War), articles on Israeli history and economics, and holidays." Kol hakavod, Mr. Hulkower, for designing and implementing a phenomenal curriculum and taking the helm of a world-class college program! You're making a huge difference, and the ripples will spread for years to come!
A Taste of Torah: Emor Massechet Gerim (one of the minor Tractates of the Talmud, likely written toward the end of the Tannaitic period) articulates:
If someone wishes to convert…they take him down to the ritual bath...and tell him a few of the details of the mitzvot, so that he can properly give peah, leket, shichecha, and ma’aser (1:1). These Biblical agricultural laws are the cornerstones of tzedakah, a justice system that ensures that everyone in the community must open their fields to those who need food. This week’s parasha introduces these laws that mandate giving:
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely remove the corner of your field during your harvesting, and you shall not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. [Rather,] you shall leave these for the poor person and the stranger. I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 23:22). Significantly, when organizing his legal code, Maimonides places the laws of Tzedakah in the book Zeraim (seeds), an homage to the Biblical roots of these agricultural laws that sought to protect all citizens. In modern idiom, Rabbi Shai Held articulates why these laws are so fitting to be the first texts taught to anyone who wishes to enter the Jewish people:
"Judaism is at bottom, a religion of gratitude… To become a Jew in the deepest sense is to cultivate one’s innate sense of compassion and to try to strive for an Earthly reflection of God’s infinite compassion.” (Living and Dreaming with God) This ancient form of tzedakah reverberate to us now as an answer to Cain’s unanswered question in the text, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” This week’s parasha screams back to us, “YES!” This is what it means to be an heir to the covenant. --Rav Beit Sefer Zach Silver
1095 Lake Cook Road • Deerfield, IL 60015 • tigers@rzjhs.org • 847.470.6700