Nov 02 2016

3 Cheshvan, 5777

November 4, 2016

This Week at Rochelle Zell

This Week in Sports

This Week in Sports This Week in Poli cs Alumni Night Coming P.O. Chanukah Fund Honoring Bruce Scher Rochelle Zell Kippot Community News Alumni Trivia Student Dvar Torah

Class Schedule

onday, November 7 M BB

Tuesday, November 8 C

Wednesday, November 9 A

#FlyTheW

Twi er feeds were a'twee ng and the big screen in the Beit Knesset was booming as Addison Russell smashed his grand slam smack in the middle of Tuesday night's parent‐teacher conferences! And the en re school waited breathlessly as Wednesday night's nail‐biter of a game fulfilled our hopes of 108 years! This one is for all the papas and nanas who raised us

proud, all the Uncle Skippers of North Side past, all the White Sox fans who stood up and cheered, all the faculty members who think that business casual now means their finest Cubby blues, and all the students staggering around in sleepless happiness. Come on Tigers, let's keep the W flying over Chicagoland!

Thursday, November 10 B ‐ 2:00 Dismissal

Friday, November 11 No School

Quick Links

RZJHS.org Calendars Lunch Menu Edline Give Now

Save The Date

November 1‐6 Memphis Basketball Shabbaton

November 7 FermiLab Field Trip

Alumni Trivia

Which loyal CJHS Cubby Bear of long past is now reunited with her new husband, a (gasp!) Cleveland Indians fan?

November 8 Pre‐ACT

November 10 Parent Teacher Conferences

This Week in Politics

November 11 No School ‐ Professional Day

November 18 1:15 Dismissal Begins

November 23 8:00 a.m. Start, 1:15 Dismissal

November 24‐25 No School ‐ Thanksgiving

November 26 Alumni Reunion

On Monday, Ms. Kramer's sophomore history class reenacted the 1814 Congress of Vienna, where, following the defeat of

College Visits

Rochelle Zell is pleased to welcome admission representa ves from over forty colleges and Israel programs this autumn!

VIEW FULL SCHEDULE >>

Napoleon, virtually all of European royalty met in Vienna to re‐ establish borders, reinstall legi mate monarchies, and curb the spread of democracy. The congress was scheduled to last four weeks, but turned into an eight month‐long party where diplomacy primarily took place at balls, hunts, and fabulous feasts. The crowned heads of the sophomore class came to a successful resolu on, resul ng in the longest period of peace Europe has ever known. "In real life," remarks Ms. Kramer, "Bonaparte was not there, but we let Noah Magill skulk about as Napoleon, making snide remarks. Joshua Weisskopf was Prince Me ernich, who masterminded the plan for peace, and Sammy Vayngart was the infamously handsome Tsar Alexander, but in truth, everyone there was influen al, good‐looking, or both."

Save the Date: Alumni Reunion

Saturday, November 26, 7:00 p.m. ‐ 9:00 p.m. | Rochelle Zell Jewish High School

Featuring our annual Alumni Basketball Game!

Recognizing the 10 Year Reunion of the Class of 2007!

Mingle with old friends and teachers and cheer on the alumni! Don't miss the annual interac ve ac vi es and goofy photo booth! There will be a suggested $10 dona on at the door. Each entrance dona on will include a Rochelle Zell tote bag. Are you interested in par cipa ng in the Alumni Basketball Game? Please click here to sign up. For ques ons, please contact Michelle Friedman at 847.324.3720.

P.O. Chanukah Fund

Contribute to the Annual PO Teacher/Staff Chanukah Gi Fund

The suggested contribu on is $18 per student, but any amount is greatly appreciated! Checks must be received by Thursday, December 15, but welcome sooner! Please send cash or check made out to Rochelle Zell P.O. to the school main office in an envelope labeled Rochelle Zell P.O. Chanukah Fund with your student'(s) name(s). You may also contribute online by clicking here. Ques ons? Contact Mar ne Gorstein at 847.791.0223.

Looking forward to a Happy Chanukah for all our teachers/staff and the en re school community.

Thank you so much!

Kippah Your Shirt On...

Rochelle Zell Kippot Now Available

Handwoven kippot from Jerusalem are available for $20 from the development office. Contact Michelle Friedman at mfriedman@rzjhs.org to get yours today.

Sponsored Breakfast

Many thanks to Camp Ramah for sponsoring breakfast this week. To sponsor bagels in honor of your favorite Tiger, please contact Diane Zidman in the front office.

Community News and Events

Rochelle Zell in the (Rock) House

If you were at the Rock House last Thursday, you undoubtedly saw more than a few familiar faces! Thanks to all the student lounge Tigers who came out to listen and boogie with Ms. Nancy Steinberg at the rock concert given by her son Ben. A good me was had by all!

Upcoming Films

Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew November 13, 3:00 p.m. | Deerfield High School, 1959 Waukegan Rd., Deerfield Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew follows the backstory and personal journey of Mekonen Abebe, once a young shepherd in Africa and now a commander in the IDF. Mekonen was a 12‐year‐ old shepherd when his father died suddenly, less than a day before his family was about to move to Israel. The film accompanies Mekonen back to Africa on an emo onal journey. He explores his roots, makes peace with his past and embraces his future in Israel.

The Ethiopian‐Israeli Band, Café Shahor Hazak is flying in from Israel to perform and hip hop concert in conjunc on with the film.

Both the film and concert are free, but registra on is required! To register, click here.

On the Map

November 5, 7:00 p.m. | ArcLight Cinemas of the Glen, 1850 Tower Rd., Glenview

S ll on a Cubs rush? On the Map tells the story of the 1977 Israeli‐ Soviet basketball game for the European Championship that made sports history by pu迀�ng Israel "on the map!" The film takes its name from the unforge able a er‐game quote by team captain Tal Brody, “We are on the map!” With archival footage, interviews with the players and observers like Bill Walton and former NBA Commissioner David Stern, this powerful documentary gives you a courtside seat to a watershed moment in Israeli history. The film is showing Saturday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m. with guests Israeli basketball legend Tal Brody and director Dani Menkin. For more informa on and to order ckets, click here. Any ques ons? Please contact Diane Halivni, dianehalivni@gmail.com, 847.254.2024.

Live and Become

November 5, 7:00 p.m. | Niles North High School, 9800 Lawler Ave, Skokie, IL

The Hebrew Na onal Honor Society at Niles North High School presents its fourth annual Israeli Movie Night this Saturday night.

Live and Become is about a Chris an Sudanese boy who is sent to Israel on "Opera on Moses," a mission which brought thousands of from Sudanese and Ethiopian refugees to Israel. This amazing film sheds light on racism, iden ty, and matura on. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more informa on, contact Lexi Levin.

Mazal Tov and Alumni Trivia

Mazal to to Shayna Flink (CJHS '06) on her marriage to Brandon DeShields last weekend. Shayna and Brandon reside near Philadelphia, where Shayna is a learning specialist at the Perelman Jewish Day School. Shayna earned her master's from the Bank Street College of Educa on and has previously been a head teacher at the Shefa School in New York.

Mazal tov also to Lisa Banoff Rothenberg (CJHS '05) on her recent marriage to Cleveland Indians fan Ma Rothenberg.

(The newlyweds enjoyed a very intense world series and peace on the couch now reigns.) Lisa also works in special educa on in Chicago and suburban schools; she received her degree from Na onal Louis University.

Mazal tov to English teacher Mrs. Vanessa Averbach and her husband Rabbi Ari Averbach on the brit milah for their new

son, Shai Haskel Averbach!

Baruch Dayan Emet

We are saddened to announce the passing of Debby Cortes, grandmother of freshmen Eli and Rachel Gurin. Visita on details are forthcoming. May God's presence comfort the Cortes and Gurin family among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

A Taste of Torah: Babel, Speech and Silence

The story of the Tower of Babel, read this week in parashat Noach, deals with speech and the ‫שָׂ ָ ֣פ‬ ‫כָל־הָ ָ ֖א ֶרץ‬ ‫—”וי ִ ְ֥הי‬ nature of language. The narra ve opens with the words, “‫אֲחָ ִדֽים‬ ‫וּדְ ב ִ ָ֖רים‬ ‫אֶחת‬ ‫ה‬ ָ֑ The en re earth was of one language and uniform words. With their singular language, the people come together with the inten on of building a tower to reach the heavens—a biblical skyscraper, ַ ‫ו ְֶז‬ ‫ ְל ֻכ ֔ ָלּם‬ ֙‫אַחַ ת‬ ‫ו ְשָׂ ָ ֤פה‬ ֙‫אֶחָ ד‬ ‫עם‬ ‫ן‬ if you will. When God sees the finished product, he declares, “‫ֽחִלּם‬ ֣ ָ ‫ה‬ ‫֖ה‬ ֤ ַ ‫ֵ ֣ה‬ ַ ‫—”לֽעֲ ֑שׂוֹת‬They are one people with one language and this is what they have commenced to do.

Vexed by the uniformity of their communica on, God descends to confound the people’s language.

When I read these psukim last year in Tanach class, I struggled with the essence of God’s rage. I could not reconcile what was fundamentally wrong with common language. Why would God jumble speech, cut the es of communica on, and thus sever the bonds of unity? Why would he sentence the people to a life me of alphabet soup? It was not un l a few weeks ago, reading Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik’s The Lonely Man of Faith, that I came to understand God’s mo ve.

Soloveitchik understands man to be dual, his experience a project of straddling two domains that arise from the two images of man depicted in Bereshit. The inner life of a human being, hidden beneath the surface of his unique persona, is unable to be relayed in full, through words.

Soloveitchik reaches the conclusion that language is a surface‐level means of communica on, that words erase uniqueness.

Herein lies the vital flaw in the people of ‫בבל‬ ‫מגדל‬. By embracing their shared vocabulary, the people abandoned their uniqueness—the very uniqueness divinely granted to them by virtue of being human. True expression is unable to be delivered through words. We cannot limit all modes of communica on to speech. Language erases human singularity. And so, the Tower of Babel came crumbling down.

Certainly, there is a me for speech and a value to language. However, in my own experience, there have been mes when I have been le speechless, when words have been unable to express what I truly want to convey. Yes, it can be frustra ng. Yet to be speechless is OK. To be speechless is to express. To be speechless is to be human. In Teaching A Stone To Talk Annie Dillard writes, “Wherever there is s llness there is a s ll small voice, God’s speaking from the whirlwind.”

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Natalie Ecanow ('17)

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