CJHS E-news October 23, 2015

October 23, 2015

10 Cheshvan, 5776 This Week at CJHS

All School Shabbaton

DEAP Shabbaton

DEAP Highlights Justice in Education

Musical Cast Announced MJT and AP English Classical Chamber Concert From the P.O.

Mazal Tov Community Events 窶帰lumni Trivia A Taste of Torah

Quick Links CJHS.org Calendars Lunch Menu

Last weekend, fifty students and five faculty members gathered

Edline

in Skokie to celebrate Shabbat and learn about educational justice

Give Now

in the Chicago area. In addition to the camaraderie, tasty treats, and raucous singing of every CJHS Shabbaton, we were honored to

host two speakers who discussed education in the Chicago Public

Save The Date

Schools. On Friday evening, Phil Cantor spoke about his experiences as the science chair of North-Grand High School: the structural and systemic setbacks for his school and many other

October 27

schools in the CPS system. On Shabbat afternoon, Sandra Sosa of

Early Dismissal - Conferences

Alternatives, Inc. spoke about training teachers to enact restorative justice work in schools. Punitive measures such as suspensions

November 11

for misbehavior take kids out of classes , causing students to fall

No School - Professional Day

behind and yielding further academic problems to everyone concerned. The Shabbaton gave students the opportunity both to

November 18-20

learn from experts and also process how they would bring this

Junior Social Justice Seminar

information back to our CJ community. Thank you to the DEAP and

November 21 Homecoming

Shabbaton boards for their hard work planning the program and to Rabbi Silver, Ms. Frankel, Ms. Steinberg, Ms. Dauber, and Mr. Martinez for staffing.

November 25 Erev Thanksgiving - 8:00 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

November 25-26 No School - Thanksgiving Break December 6 Studio Art Show

College Season CJHS is pleased to welcome admission representatives from over fifty colleges and Israel programs this autumn!

VIEW SCHEDULE >>

Cast List Posted Rehearsals Begin for CJHS Musical We are excited to announce the return of the CJHS musical! This year's musical, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee", will take place this spring at CJHS. The talented cast includes: Rebecca Abrams, Samantha Brody, Emma Canter, Sarah Comar, Meira Groth, Henry Hoffman, Sadie Hulkower, Eli Johnson, Hana Lieber, Maya Lifchitz, Noah Magill, Aitan Maier, Dina Matkowsky, Maya Michalewicz, Gabrielle Pretekin, Emma Siegel, Arthur Sredni, and Sarah Tenner. The show is directed by Rebecca Nadis, vocal direction by Ellen Singer and instrumental​ direction by Peter Roothan.​

Faith and Neo-Darwinism AP English and Modern Jewish Thought Tackle the Tough Questions Seniors in Mr. Griffith's AP English class are reading Marilynne Robinson's groundbreaking article on social Darwinism and how insidiously it permeates every facet of modern culture. The neo-Darwinist mentality highlights human nature as supreme: in every area of society, the strongest and most gifted must perforce dominate, both with their ideas and with their individual success stories. Mr. Griffith and Dr. Schorsch are urging the class to take a more critical view of this philosophy, contrasting it with the faith-based approach of individuals made in a divine image, such that might does not always make right. Ask your favorite senior for their thoughts!

Tikkun Trio to Perform at CJHS November 10, 2015 | 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

The CJHS Performing Arts Departments proudly welcomes TIKKUN, a Quad City trio whose mission is to heal the world through music. They seek to present to their audiences programs that comfort the soul and challenge the mind. This incredible program will include two Chassidic dances (arranged by Zikmund Schul), Rondo (Arranged by Jean Sibelius), Song Without Words, Op. 109 (arranged by Felix Mendelssohn), and Trio in A minor, Op 114, III Allegro (arranged by Johannes Brahms). The program is open to CJHS staff and CJHS parents. For additional information about the program or to make a reservation, please contact Bruce Scher, Department Chair at bscher@cjhs.org.

窶帰lumni

Trivia

Which of our recent graduates is now on the street in Israel as a first responder for Magen David Adom?

From the P.O. CJHS PO Book Club - Fall Book Club Meeting: The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard Monday, November 9 7:00 p.m. at CJHS Join us as Edie Salzman leads us in what is sure to be an engaging discussion about The Book of Aron, "a novel that will join the short list of classics about children caught up in the Holocaust." For more information about the book, click here.

Please RSVP at PO@cjhs.org. Feel free to contact us with questions.

Karen Ecanow & Debbie Copley CJHS PO Presidents

Sponsored Breakfast Happy birthday to Hannah Kelly. Many thanks to her family for sponsoring bagels. To sponsor breakfast in honor of your favorite Tiger, contact Diane Zidman, dzidman@cjhs.org.

Community News and Events

Mazal Tov Babies, Engagements, and Weddings!

Mazal tov to Rabbi Sam Feinsmith and his wife Sarah Bess on the birth of a lovely baby girl this past Sunday! Mother and baby are doing fine, and the family is anticipating a baby naming on Shabbat. May their little girl grow to a life of Torah, chuppah, ma'asim tovim, beautiful middot, and yoga. And why not take them a meal?

Congratulations also to Shayna Flink ('06) on her engagement to Brandon DeShields and to Jason Wiznitzer ('06) on his marriage to Liz Grossman. Proud mama Sra. Claudia Linda and her husband Gerry also celebrated her daughter Jessica's wedding: ยกFelicidades a la familia Linda!

Limmud Chicago Coming Soon!

November 7-8, 2015 Don't miss out on Limmud Chicago 2015! Now in its 6th year, Limmud Chicago brings together Jewish learners from all over Chicagoland for an immersive experience of Jewish learning and community. Limmud is an entirely volunteer-run conference with participants on all kinds of Jewish journeys and presentations on the broadest array of Jewish topics possible. T​his year's conference is November 7 and 8 at the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie, from 6:30 p.m. on Saturday to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The exciting slate of presenters for Limmud Chicago 2015 can be found at http://www.limmudchicago.org.​ Fill in the code CJHSLC15 during registration for a discounted rate.

Empowering Our Students for Jewish Campus Life November 11, 2015 | 6:00 p.m.

An Evening for High Schoolers And Community with Hillels of Illinois North Suburban Synagogue Beth El Featuring Eric D. Fingerhut, President and CEO, Hillel International – former U.S. Congressman and Chancellor of Ohio Board of Regents 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.: Hillel Fair Representing Midwest Campuses – Meet Current Students and Staff!

7:00 p.m.: Keynote Address by Eric Fingerhut Eric Fingerhut will address Hillel’s dynamic role in developing Jewish identities and Jewish life on campus during the undergraduate years. Discussion panels to follow will highlight what’s really happening on campus, including important challenges faced by today's Jewish college students. During the panels, high school students will have the opportunity to learn from Write On for Israel fellows and current college students about engaging in Israel activism and Jewish life while on campus. Parents and community members will learn how Hillel has evolved to face the current campus environment. A light kosher dinner will be provided; event is free of charge. To RSVP please contact Suzanne Storrs at 312.673.2355 or register online.

Alumni Trivia Alex Cope ('14) works five shifts per week as an emergency responder for Magen David Adom. He is currently living in Bat Yam on Young Judaea Year Course. When his run on the ambulance is done, Alex hopes to move to Jerusalem over the winter to take college classes on the Beit Ar El campus. He's having an incredible time. Chazak u'varuch, Alex!

A Taste of Torah: Lech Lecha The story of Lech Lecha is a familiar one. It is certainly a popular one for sermons. God tells Avram: Go out on your journey. Go for yourself, go to yourself. From the land of your ancestors, to the one that I will show to you. It’s a story of journeys. But a look at the context of the story immediately complicates the way we tell the narrative. For one thing, Avram does not leave his father's house: the whole family pilgrimage is engineered by his father Terach!

As many of our juniors are learning now, we read in Genesis 11:31-32: “Then Terach took Avram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Avram's wife; they went forth with them from Ur Casdim, to go into the land of Canaan; they came unto Haran, and dwelled there. The days of Terach were two hundred and five years; and Terach died in Haran.” If Terach took Avram, his family and all of their property from Ur, then what exactly is new and unique about God’s call to Avram? After all, isn’t this his father’s journey, not his own?

Our classic commentators have many ideas. Rashi in 11th century France, suggests that God's words mean, "Go farther than where you are now." His Spanish contemporary Abraham Ibn Ezra believes that God’s request actually occurs before Terach begins taking the family, and the Torah chooses to narrate thematically rather than chronologically. Ramban (Moses ben Nahman Girondi, 13th century Spain and Israel) suggests, "Do it of your own volition, not for the sake of your father," while his contemporary Don Isaac Abravanel states it more strongly, "This time, go alone." Italian commentator Umberto Cassuto believes that God's commandment only confirmed the internal struggle Avram was already experienncnig in his desire to go his own way. HaKtav v’haKabbalah (Jacob Tzvi Macklenburg, 19th century Germany) says that the internal struggle is the only real part of the process: Avram is gaining mental distance from the old land at this point that God makes the commandment So often we get a call to change, to go on our personal journeys into the future, but we wonder how we are supposed to make a break with our past. Certainly there are times that it might be necessary to break entirely from the past. But it seems that these cases are a minority. After all, during the Torah’s paradigmatic journey story, Avram begins the travels with his father. Just like Avram, more often, we must bring our past with us. We stride forward into the future in our own new and unique ways.

How does this apply to your life? How do you journey into the year, on this new journey in a new way?

What are you taking with you and what do you know that you must change about the past? In Rashi’s terms, how will each of us “go farther?"

Rabbi Zachary Silver

1095 Lake Cook Road Deerfield, IL 60015 | cjhstigers@cjhs.org | 847.470.6700