27 Elul, 5776 This Week at Rochelle Zell
September 30, 2016
Teatime for APUSH Juniors Learn About Federalism
Teatime for APUSH Talmud for Rosh Hashannah Volley for the Cure Remembering Mr. Peres Grandparents' Night USPC Policy Forum Spring Musical Revival This Week in Sports From the Tisch Club From the P.O. Lulav and Etrog Alumni Trivia A Taste of Torah
This week, AP U.S. History students assumed the roles of historical figures from the earliest days of our nation. In the simulation, students attended a breakfast hosted by George and Martha Washington. Around the table Alexander
Class Schedule Monday, October 3 No School Tuesday, October 4 No School Wednesday, October 5 A - Special Schedule Thursday, October 6 C
Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John and Abigail Adams, wealthy land owners, merchants and the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury discussed issues vital to the creation of our government. Even Frank O’Hara, the Washingtons’ Irish servant, had a few things to say about the policies the new government should adopt. George Washington graciously listened to both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, while Martha Washington gently engaged all of her guests in a lively conversation. The tea and scones were delicious. The government turned out pretty well, too!
Friday, October 7 BB
Judge or Be Judged? Ninth Graders Learn Tractate Rosh Hashannah
Quick Links RZJHS.org Calendars Lunch Menu Edline Give Now
Save The Date October 3-4 No School - Rosh Hashannah October 11-12 No School - Yom Kippur October 13 9:45 Late Start October 17-18 No School - Sukkot October 19 PSAT October 20 Sukkah Hop October 24-25
In ninth grade Talmud, Rabbi Greenberg's students are trying to figure out what is supposed to happen when we're off for the holiday. Some say the whole world gets judged (Mishnah RH 1:2). Some say everything gets judged on Rosh Hashannah and the decree is sealed on Yom Kippur (Rabbi Meir). Some say humans are judged on Rosh Hashannah and the decree is sealed on Yom Kippur, but how much rain, produce, and fruit we'll get won't be decided until the other holidays roll around (Rabbi Yehuda). All well and good, the freshmen conclude, but maybe we're actually judged every day (Rabbi Yosi) or judged every moment (Rabbi Natan). "We've made a big chart," Rabbi Greenberg reports, "but it turns out that these opinions (RH 16a) are only about what God may or may not be doing on these days. The real question that we need to address now is how do we spend
No School - Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
these days? And when do we examine ourselves?"
November 1-6 Memphis Basketball Shabbaton
Volley For the Cure Women's Volleyball Raises Money for Komen Foundation
College Visits Rochelle Zell is pleased to welcome admission representatives from over forty colleges and Israel programs this autumn! VIEW FULL SCHEDULE >>
What a great senior night for women's volleyball! The stands were packed in pink last night, and the team raised $133 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The team played hard but lost to Northtown. Our leaders were Ma'ayan Noy with three kills, Erin Miller with three aces, and Dafna Stofenmacher with nine digs, while Rikki Drexler was perfect on her serves. Congratulations to our valiant seniors Tallulah Bark-Huss, Molly Copley, Erin Miller, Arielle Small, Dafna Stofenmacher, and Sam Wolf.
Rochelle Zell Remembers On Thursday during Tefillot, our school gathered to honor the life and legacy of Shimon Peres, z"l. All the way back to his friend and colleague, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres participated for over 60 years in building the Jewish State. He served as Prime Minister, President, and Foreign Minister of Israel, and his legacy stretches well beyond those bounds. Peres was a dreamer with zest for life, as this entertaining video shows so humorously. In a world with so much cynicism, Peres was simultaneously a pragmatist and a visionary. In the words of Israeli MK Tzipi Livni, "Mr. Peres proved that while politicians think about tomorrow’s newspaper headlines, real leaders think about the history books. We need more like him, more who are willing to leave the noise at the door, sit down and — for the sake of our people, for the sake of our future — make the right decisions." May the memory of Shimon Peres be for a blessing.
Grandparents Meet and Greet On Tuesday night, over 30 Rochelle Zell grandparents came together for our annual Fall Meet and Greet. The group was treated to learning sessions by math teacher and department co-chair, Ms. Becky Charous, and Jewish Studies teacher, Ms. Rebecca Nadis. Grandparents were thrilled to get a small taste of what their grandchildren experience on a daily basis here at our school. Special thanks to Becky Charous, Rebecca Nadis, Bruce Scher, Tammy Brody, Michelle Friedman, Sheldon Moss, Inez Drazin, and Igor Burda for making the evening such a great success! Please save the date for our spring Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Thursday, May 18, 2017.
The Newsletter is Here! Check Your Mailbox Today! The Rochelle Zell Fall Newsletter arrived in homes earlier this week, and it's a beauty! Click here to view it. Please also note a correction on page 6: current junior Livia Moses ('18) was also named First Team All-Conference for girls soccer. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please email us with the request, and we will gladly add you.
USPC Staffs Policy Forum Local Candidates Address North Shore Jewish Community On Sunday, September 25, our United States Politics Club continued its tradition of sponsorship of and involvement in the North Shore Jewish Community Candidate Forum, which was held to discuss Jewish and general issues in the 2016 election. Candidates for Illinois Senate and House, as well as both candidates for the 9th and 10th District Congressional races, addressed a large crowd to discuss their ideas and goals. The candidates were encouraged to speak only of their background, beliefs, and plans, without denigrating other candidates. Zev Mishell, Brian Silverstein, Jonathan Taitz, Emma Mati, Joey Rosenblum, and Jonah Karoll took charge of the logistics, managing everything from signs to speeches to water bottles. Debate coach and USPC advisor Ms. Melissa Feinstein said, "It is clear to me that they came away with a much stronger understanding of the local races for 2016, as well as a variety of issues, from the Iran nuclear agreement to education to gun control. It is true that "all politics is local," and this was a great opportunity for Rochelle Zell students to be involved with and learn more about their community!"
Musical Cast Announced! Little Shop of Horrors Begins Rehearsals Rochelle Zell is thrilled to unveil the 2016-17 School Musical: a tenth-anniversary revival of Ashman and Menken's Little Shop of Horrors! Newly minted cast members gathered on Wednesday for a read-through of the sweet, absurd, sassy, dark, and (arguably) timeless story of two star-crossed floral employees and their infamous man-eating plant. Hearing students' voices give life to the characters, we got a first glimpse into what is certain to be a terrific revival production of this off-beat classic musical.
This year's production, directed by Ms. Rebecca Nadis, will feature Eliana Kaufman as ingenue Audrey and Koby Rosen as hapless Seymour, Arielle Bledsoe, Emma Canter, and Shoshana Frank as jean jacket girls Chiffon, Crystal, and Ronnette, Aitan Maeir as the owner Mr. Mushnik, Noah Magill as the evil dentist Orin, Marc Luban, Samantha Brody, and Meira Groth as Mr. Bernstein, Mrs. Luce, and the customers, and Sam Shoshani as the plant! The curtain goes up on April 6, so save the date! Our school's original 2006 production of Little Shop of Horrors starred Shayna Flink (CJHS '06), Matthew Silverman (CJHS '07), Lilli Flink (CJHS '08), Vicky Neiman (CJHS '06), Avra Shapiro (CJHS '09), Yael Kiken (CJHS '06), Seth Berkman (CJHS '08), and Yoni Solomon (CJHS '07) correspondingly, and was directed by Ron Ben-Joseph. (This information may yet be the source of much alumni trivia!)
Alumni Trivia Home for the holidays? Buying a home for the holidays? Which of our financially minded alumni is designing a property assessment program that might help you out?
This Week In Sports Girls Volleyball On a Winning Streak! The cross country team ran in the Lake Forest 5K Invitation this past Tuesday; the boys team took 4th place, and the girls team placed in 7th. Congratulations to Yoni Maltsman for finishing in 6th with
a time of 18:47. The next meet is the Latin Invitational on October 6. See you there! Coach Shannon reports from soggy Goodman soccer field, "We had a solid week: the guys are really stepping up their game! We have been playing much better against Northtown and Chicago Hope: once we improve at and start shielding and playing more physical, we will absolutely challenge for the conference championship! We are the youngest team in our conference and we have a bunch of incredible guys. The future is very bright! We have two more games remaining this season, and I'm sure we're going to finish strong!" Spike! The varsity volleyball girls have carried on their winning ways! Last Thursday, they defeated Chicago Hope with an incredible comeback late in the game, 21-25 25-23 28-26. On Monday at Tepeyac, after a discouraging start, they were able to recoup magnificently, winning 25-23 25-15. The team followed that up Tuesday at Ellison with a dominating performance, winning 25-4 25-18. The team now has a 4-2 record in conference. Erin Miller led the way with 14 aces, 20 assists, 19 digs and four kills over the three matches, while Lucy Cohen added 13 aces, 16 kills, and 16 digs. After two tough games at Chicago Hope and at Tepeyac, JV girls volleyball was able to get their second win of the year and second win in the conference at Ellison on Tuesday (25-9 25-12). Rikki Drexler led the way with eleven aces and Ari Handleman added five aces over the three matches. Ma'ayan Noy also had four assists and two digs. Way to go, Tigers!
From the Tisch Rochelle Zell Remembers Dr. Theodore C. Karp Zemirot were a-thundering and tables were abanging when the Rochelle Zell Tisch Club convened at Mrs. Shira Eliaser's request for a Vort in memory of her father, Theodore Karp z�l, as she concluded her eleven months of saying kaddish. Students, faculty, and staff, gathered around a tisch (read: table) to sing, eat, and share words of Torah. Mrs. Eliaser taught four passages from Tanach and Pirkei Avot modeled on her father's enduring legacy: you're never too old to learn (or to teach!) and no matter how much you've learned, you're never big enough to lord it over others. Though the esteemed Prof. Karp only learned to read Hebrew in his forties, he believed it was never to late to acquire new skills: in a story reminiscent of Rabbi Akiva, he went from Judaic illiteracy in his youth to being a Torah reader and darshan of no small regard in his later years. In her father's memory, Mrs. Eliaser charged everyone to examine our words and elevate our actions: to use every piece of learning not only to be a better person, but to enable others to achieve their full potential, as he always strove to do. Mrs. Eliaser writes from her editorial desk, "I gratefully thank all the students and staff who came to make music and study in my father's memory, to those mensches who brought snacks--and more importantly, tech support!-- and acharon acharon chaviv, to those students whom I do not know and have never taught, who never planned to swing by our tisch and were simply lunching in the Shapiro Dining Hall, who nevertheless pulled up chairs and came to listen. May all your disciples be like you!"
From the P.O. This Wednesday, the Parent Organization gathered to make and distribute Rosh Hashannah gift bags for the faculty and staff at Rochelle Zell. Thank you to Karen Budin for organizing everything and Cindy Taitz, Jody Weisskopf, Naomi Korol, Elise Mlotek and Liz Geifman for all of your hard work. The Parent Organization wishes the entire Rochelle Zell community a Shanah Tovah Umetukah!
Sponsored Breakfast
Happy birthday to Aitan Maeir, Betsy Winick, Max Lava, and Ethan Laney! Many thanks to their families 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 Arba'at HaMinim Deadline: Monday, October 10 Purchase Lulav and Etrog sets for your family's use on Sukkot! We will purchase sets for our school tefillot and welcome and encourage students to bring their own to fulfill the mitzvah here in school. Family sets will be passed out at the end of school on Friday, October 14. To order, please fill out this Google form and bring a check to the office by Monday, October 10. Basic Kosher Set: $50 Standard Set: $65 Deluxe Mehudar Set: $75
Alumni Trivia David Kosman (CJHS '14) is currently a junior at the University of Tampa majoring in finance and minoring in marketing. David explains, "This summer I worked as an intern at Global Financial Private Capital as an financial planning intern. I examined retirement plans for clients, did strategy consulting, and financial advisory. I also play tennis for my school and am treasurer of my fraternity, AEPi. I am also working on creating a program for doing detailed property assessments for single family homes that investors, buyers, and sellers can use when they are purchasing a home." Good for you, David!
A Taste of Torah: Creation and the New Year Why, not how, was the world created? There are many theories on how the world came to be. The Biblical creation story is among them, but so are countless of other scientific theories. One concept is for sure: human life can only exist in a miniscule range of data points that Earth remarkably sustains. In Dr. Alan Lightman’s The Accidental Universe, humans are sustained on Earth because Earth “is only one of an enormous number of
universes” (Lightman). In other words, the fact that we are here is mere probability. Of the thousands of universes around, one of them was bound to sustain life. Moreover, the multiverse theory is not unique to the scientists of the twenty-first century. According to one Rabbinic Midrashic tradition, “the Blessed Holy one went on creating worlds and destroying them until He created this one” (Talmud Hag. 13b). Interestingly, cosmology is the scientific study of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe and is the area of study by which Lightman’s The Accidental Universe is founded upon. It seems to be natural in the scientific world that the study of the origin of the universe begins with the creation of the world. But in Judaism, beginning the Torah at the creation of the world is questioned. Rashi asks, “what is the reason that [God] began with ‘In the beginning’?” Should it not seem natural in the religious domain to also start the Torah at the creation of the world, the origin of the universe? Let us start with the literal definition of creation. Creation, defined by the dashboard dictionary, is “the action or process of bringing something to [a state of living].” What is life? That is perhaps the most essential question, coupling all the major philosophical inquiries. What is our purpose, why are we here, what does it all mean: What is life? Unlike science, the Torah seems to not be concerned with the literal upbringing of the world and humanity, but rather of it’s meaning; forget how the world was created, the Torah wants to know why. Judaism questions starting the Torah at creation because the Torah is not a history book and must, therefore, teach some lesson other than chronology. READ MORE>> Gaby Ecanow ('18)
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