Across the North 23 Shvat, 5774
This Week at CJHS Senior Israel Experience Sacred Space Freshmen Conclude The Odyssey Tu B'Shvat Fun Fair MLK Day of Service IFYC Afield CJHS Community Film Event From the P.O. This Week in Sports A Taste of Torah Alumni Trivia Baruch Dayan Emet
January 24, 2014
Senior Israel Experience Concludes
Save the Date Saturday, Jan. 25 Community Event Night Monday, Jan. 27 Classes Resume for Seniors Sunday, Feb. 9 Wednesday, Feb. 12 ISACS Team Visit Sunday, Feb. 9 ACT Monday, Feb. 17 No School: President's Day Tuesday, Feb. 25 Curriculum and Beyond
P.O. Corner The P.O. is pleased to continue the gift card "Gelt" program. This program is designed to help families earn money toward their children's junior year Panim program and/or the Senior Israel Experience. Faculty and staff can also buy Gelt to support programs provided for the school by the P.O. By buying things you ordinarily purchase anyway, you can earn money which will be credited to your family or class for designated school trips. Contact Sheri Sandrof at ssandrof@cjhs.org or call her at 847.324.3723.
Community News and Events
"The Talmud reminds us that a place of learning must have windows so that we are aware of the life that occurs outside of its doors." Thus the moreh at Bina, the secular yeshiva of Tel Aviv, where our students joined Israeli individuals from all backgrounds to study our sacred texts. Sunday's tour of south Tel Aviv highlighted the need for justice and sensitivity regarding Israel's large population of foreign workers and asylum seekers, challenging us as Jews to examine our position in Israel and in the world. Being aware of others was also the theme for the annual excursion to Na Laga'at, the theater for the deaf and blind, and the youth village at Yemin Orde, reclaiming troubled teens with love and responsibility while affirming their cultural heritage and selffulfillment. "What's the catch? This place is just too perfect!" several students were heard to remark. Conversations about religion and pluralism, democracy and Jewish statehood, homeland and Diaspora concluded with a teen forum in Kiryat Shmoneh with other high schoolers.
JTS Presents Jewish University for a Day The Jewish Theological Seminary will host "Jewish University for a Day," a celebration of adult Jewish learning with top visiting and local scholarteachers, at the Solomon Schechter Day School in Northbrook. Join JTS scholars Eitan Fishbane, Stephen Garfinkel, David Roskies, and other visiting and local faculty for a day of study and conversation. These scholars bring their expertise, depth of knowledge, and extensive teaching experience to offer new and exciting perspectives on topics covering the breadth of Jewish history, religion, thought, and culture. Sunday, January 26, 2014 11:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. At the Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago For more information and to RSVP, click here.
After-School Job Opportunity: BAYIT Evanston Bayit, a Jewish afterschool enrichment program, seeks an
Yarden Michael reflects on the Refugee Question
Lest our seniors be brought down by the magnitude of challenges facing even the world's most optimistic Zionist, a northland hike through the beautiful Nachal Zavitan, a dip in the Hamat Gader hot springs, and CJHS' annual trip to the chocolate factory in the Golan provided welcome opportunities for everyone to kick back and enjoy themselves. Students spent yesterday volunteering in Haifa and tooling around Tel Aviv before packing their bags and hopping the red-eye back to the States.
energetic, creative, and self-motivated counselor for kids. We are looking for someone who has experience as a Jewish camp counselor, engaging elementary schoolers in a fun and creative way. Candidates must have 23 years (summers) of experience working with young children. A high level of comfort with the Hebrew language and musical abilities are a big plus. Interested candidates should contact Megan Abraham for additional details about the position; please send a resume and cover letter.
Aid, Activism and Aftershocks: The status of human rights in Haiti four years after the earthquake Wednesday, February 5 7:00 p.m. Kasbeer Hall, Loyola University
Follow the adventures, listen to the video reflections, and flip through the photo albums on the class blog at http://seniorisraelexperience. wordpress.com! Shabbat shalom, seniors, get some rest, and welcome back!
25 East Pearson St., 15th floor After a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, people around the world donated to help. But four years later, what has happened to the relief funds and how has the population recovered? Join American Jewish World Service's Haiti Country Consultant, Amber Munger-Pierre, and Vice President of International Programs, Shari Turitz, for an on-theground perspective on the crisis and its aftermath. We will learn how grassroots groups have mobilized to help their communities recover and advocate for human rights in the wake of this catastrophe-and will explore the challenges and potential solutions that lie ahead. For more information and to RSVP: http://bit.ly/1hgpUqs Questions: Contact Taal at thasaklowy@ajws.org or 847.644.0954.
Sponsor Breakfast
Sacred Space Rabbi Belgrad's Nevi'im Rishonim class and Ms. Gleicher-Bloom's advanced Chumash class have completed their joint project, designing "sacred spaces" and explaining their choices in creating them. Students presented not only artwork, but papers and presentations describing the meaning of their choices, the connection with the Beit HaMikdash or the mishkan, and how the form is to enhance the function. In addition to reading narratives about Shlomo and his establishment of the first Temple, Rabbi Belgrad's class also researched contemporary synagogue architecture.
Freshmen Conclude The Odyssey Ms. Friedman's freshmen English class held their annual feast to celebrate their conclusion of Homer's epic Odyssey. Pita chips and hummus replaced the more thematic menu of fleishigs and booze; no suitors were harmed in the course of the festivities. At the party, students also presented moments from their own lives--personal anecdotes, human connections, divrei Torah--where they felt the Great Journey or its characters resonate with them personally. Ask your favorite freshman what his or her most important part of the epic was--
the answer may surprise you! What's better than a birthday celebration with friends? Celebrate your student's birthday or other milestone with a special breakfast at CJHS.
Tu B'Shvat Forest Fair
For a donation of $180 (10x chai), bagels, cream cheese, and orange juice will be served to everyone. Announcements will be made in Tefillah and in the dining hall, and the occasion will also be listed in our weekly E-News and on the school announcement board. If you have any questions, please call 847.324.3713 or email idrazin@cjhs.org. Order forms are available online here.
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Many thanks to all the community members and staff who turned out for this past Sunday's annual Tu B'Shvat fun fair, sponsored by the JNF and the National Forest Service. Ms. Marla Snyder, CJHS art teacher, and Michelle Friedman, our director of development, did a wonderful job of running the CJHS booth, as always, and we were pleased to see a dozen future CJHS students--plus several more enthusiastic children and grandchildren from our staff-busily planting trees and making leaf art among the scores of excited attendees! Thanks to all the students, staff, and volunteers who worked together this year to turn our gym into an enchanted forest!
Martin Luther King Day at CJHS In school on Tuesday, the entire community gathered together to begin second semester with a program on Dr. King's many messages of change. Students listened to excerpts from the Reverend Dr. King's Why We Cannot Wait to highlight the need for social change and Rabbi William Frankel's famous "Dixie Sermon" about the need to ensure that change happens not just in places and times far away, but here on the North Shore in our comfortable neighborhoods and schools. Dr. King's vision of change was not just for racial equality in a vacuum, but a national system of justice that began with economic opportunity for all. Rabbi Belgrad enlightened the student body about his efforts with United Power for Action and Justice, and the modern initiatives in housing for the disabled, gun violence, and neighborhood blight caused by the mortgage crisis. "These are issues of justice. They are not glamorous. They don't grab the headlines," Rabbi Belgrad stressed. "Dr. King said, 'It's all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps... but it is a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.'" Thanks to Rabbi Belgrad, Ms. Gleicher-Bloom, and Mrs. Eliaser for coordinating the morning's program.
IFYC Day of Service
Seven IFYCers joined the Lakeview community at Anshe Emet Synagogue for a day of interfaith dialogue about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Junior Isaac Johnston reports, "We heard leaders from four different faiths--Jewish, Muslim, Unitarian-Universalist, and Lutheran--talk about their faiths' involvement with Dr. King and how we can continue his work in social justice through our faiths today. We then split into different sessions about pressing issues in our community, ranging from voter registration to juvenile incarceration." A Loyola student on the same program said, "I found the event to be an excellent catalyst towards the development of social justice projects with participants of various faith backgrounds."
Alumni Trivia
The snowy world may be iced over and 30 degrees may feel positively tropical, but this is still "Back to School" season for some of us! Which of our scholarly alumni matriculated at college this past week?
Food, Film and Friendship: Tomorrow Night Join us for our 2014 Chicagoland Jewish High School Community Event, Food, Film and Friendship. Come reconnect with old friends and meet new ones to watch the film About Face: The Story of the Jewish Refugee Soldiers of World War II. Saturday, January 25, 2014 7:15 p.m. - Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres 8:30 p.m. - Program begins Couvert: $36 per person Register here or contact Sheri Sandrof at 847.324.3723 or ssandrof@cjhs.org. See you tomorrow night!
P.O. Corner - Save the Date "The Gospel According to Griffith and Torah Taught by Schorsch: An Interfaith Conversation" Presented by Rebecca Schorsch, PhD and Dale Griffith, M.Div. Tuesday, February 18, 2014 - 7:00 p.m. at CJHS Back by popular demand, a debate, discussion and dialogue between two esteemed members of our faculty. Thoughts, comments, questions? Drop us an email at po@cjhs.org.
This Week in Sports
Stop the presses! The Lady Tigers girls' basketball team defeated Roycemore on Tuesday night 44-24, for their first big win of the season! Fans from the stands report that the game was incredible and the whole team really played their best. High scorers for the evening were sophomore Emily Reisler with 22 points and junior Lena Rabinowitz with 17 points. You go, girls! Come on out to welcome the four-year veterans back for Senior Night, next ;Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. against CICS Ellison. With the seniors away in Israel, the freshman and sophomore boys' basketball teams have been very busy! This week, they took on Westminster Christian, Northtown Academy, and Cristo Rey. Come out to watch them in a rematch against the Skokie Yeshiva on Sunday evening! Spring training? You'd better believe it! CJHS is pleased to welcome Shaya Avner to CJHS as our first ever baseball coach. Shaya played in the collegiate division at Yeshiva University and is excited to begin working with our inaugural team. The Ten-Pin Tigers invite you to their annual Bowling Open on Tuesday, February 4, from 3:30 5:15. RSVP to Dr. Auslander, our formidable coach. Also RSVP to Dr. Auslander for the annual Student/Staff Sheshbesh (Backgammon) by Wednesday, January 29 to reserve your spot in the first round!
A Taste of Torah: Mishpatim for Dog Lovers "You shall be holy people for My sake, and you shall not eat treif--[that is,] torn [meat killed by beasts] in the field. Give it to the dog!"(Shemot 22:30) Among the many regulations given to the Jewish people to ease them away from their harrowing experience with direct revelation are the laws of kosher vs. treif. And no, real treif is not a cheeseburger, but the natural end of the predator-prey cycle. We are not to eat the leftovers of wild animals or benefit from their natural savagery. The Da'at Zkeinim (a collection of medieval commentaries by the Ba'alei Tosafot), explains that--in addition to Hashem being a dog-lover-- this gift of meat is a fitting reward for a dog commonly employed by shepherds to guard the flock against wild animals. Torah blogger Rafi Jager points out the obvious fallacy: the mutton or beef is dead and torn because the guard dog clearly failed either to alert the shepherd or to drive off the predator! Why then, should the hound benefit from its lackluster performance? Contemporary Rabbi Ozer Alport urges us to take a lesson in gratitude and humility. The dog tried its best, fought nobly, and was defeated: although its intervention did not alleviate the problem, it deserves consideration and reward for its well-intentioned efforts to help. With our colleagues as well as our doggies, we should each strive to acknowledge and reward the good intentions of those who are trying to help us, whether or not their performance is all we might desire. And if the good old dog was caught napping and never noticed the predator at all? Jager himself responds that the faithful hound deserves a good breakfast nevertheless in recognition of all of the good service that it has provided in the past, regardless of its present shortcomings. The Torah is teaching us not to start every morning anew with the question, "But what have you done for me lately?" but to acknowledge with gratitude the good gifts and good service we have received in the past, even from helpers who no longer have the capacity to be as helpful, and especially from our divine Helper who may not always behave as predictably as we would like!
--Mrs. Shira Eliaser
Alumni Trivia Miriam Maltsman ('12) has just returned from Tiferet Seminary in Ramat Beit Shemesh, learning Tanach, Talmud, mussar, and philosophy. After almost two years of advanced studies--not to mention exploring one of the most beautiful regions in Israel--Miriam is now back in the states. This week, she is starting at Touro College in New York. Good luck, Miriam, and welcome back!
Baruch Dayan Emet We announce with sadness the passing of Gene Feldman, grandfather of CJHS sophomore Aviva Hirsch this past weekend in Skokie. Hamakom Yinachem Etchem B'toch Sh'ar Avalei Tziyon V'Yerushalayim. May God's presence comfort the Feldman and Hirsch families among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Shabbat Shalom Candlelighting this week will be at 4:37 p.m. Shabbat shalom!