NU, May 2014 by New Jersey Jewish News

FRESH IDEAS FROM GARDEN STATE TEENS

INSIDE Jewish teens serving the world Bridges & Gates Let it out

Nu is made possible in part by a grant from The Herb Iris Youth and Family Philanthropy Endowment of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest

May 29, 2014

MAY 29, 2014 JOANNE BLOOMSTEIN Special Projects Editor

DAYNA NADEL Graphic Designer

RICK KESTENBAUM COO/General Manager

ABBY METH KANTER Managing Editor

ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL Editor-in-Chief

PATRICIA R. ROGERS Publication Operations Director

INSIDE 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The cardboard bike A night of remembrance Never again? One giant bridge Let it out The new SAT From apathy to activism

10 11 12 13 14 15 15 15

An aha moment What day is today? Jewish teens serving the world J-Serve 2014 Diller teens experience Tikun Olam at J-Serve I am here now The things I carry Imagine

CONTRIBUTORS Phoebe Brenner, 15, attends Randolph High School. She enjoys competitive cheerleading, dancing, and tumbling. She also likes to travel to new places.

Justin Fiszer, 16, attends Randolph High School. He goes to Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, and loves his friends there. He also loves Israel, Friends re-runs, and cars.

Kineret Brokman, 17, attends Golda Och Academy. Her passion for writing began with poetry and now wants to expand to other forms of writing. She is very excited to be a part of Nu and connecting writing to Judaism. Besides writing, Kineret likes to sing/dance/act, run cross country, and bake. She loves eating pretzels with nutella, and hates horror movies.

Amanda Glatt, 17, attends Livingston High School. She has a passion for writing. She loves reading and has a special affinity for espionage thrillers. She enjoys hanging out at the mall, catching a movie with friends, and shows such as Glee and House.

Desi Brower, 14, attends Livingston High School. She loves soccer, basketball, school, and spending time with her friends. Mack Brower, 16, attends Livingston High School. He loves to play basketball, and his favorite team is the New Jersey Nets. He enjoys cooking, playing the baritone saxophone, and hanging out with friends. Blake Chernin, 16, is a junior at West Morris Mendham High School. Blake enjoys writing and spending time with friends.

Abby Ingber, 15, attends Watchung Hills Regional High School. She is the youngest of three sisters and wants to follow in her sister Stephanie’s footsteps by writing for Nu. She enjoys soccer, the outdoors, and her friends. Emma Kane, 17, attends Livingston High School. She enjoys poetry, writing, and spending time with friends.

Jacob Nelson, 15, attends the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School. He loves playing football, soccer, and other sports, and also really enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Allie Ramsfelder, 14, is in the eighth grade at the Hebrew Academy of Morris County. She enjoys photography, and spending time with friends. Sam Russo, 14, attends eighth grade at the Hebrew Academy of Morris County. He enjoys reading, cooking, hanging out with friends, visiting Israel. He will attend high school next year at Golda Och Academy. Georgia Slater, 16, attends Westfield High School. She is the Editor-in Chief of her school newspaper, loves to spend time with friends, writing, playing the guitar. She is a part of the “Gesher” program at her temple, and has been going to URJ Camp Harlam for the past several summers. Alexa smith, 17, attends Livingston High School. She is a Diller Teen fellow and Iris Teen Tzedukah alumn. She enjoys creating digital images Her favorite color is purple. Hazel Solender, 15, is a sophomore at Millburn High School. She plays field hockey and softball, enjoys writing and hanging with friends and family. She is excited to be writing for Nu!

Cover illustration by Alexa Smith • Cover and interior design by Dayna Nadel, Graphic Designer

2 nu may 2014

An incredible

TEAM

‘I’ve got a great idea.’ When you hear

that reassuring statement from Milly Iris, you know something wonderful is on its way. A peerless planner and first-class visionary, Milly Iris was, and is, a creative force behind the abundant generosity of her husband, Herb Iris. Together, the two role models not only made a difference, but inspired those around them just by example. Milly Iris continues to honor Herb Iris’ memory by continuing the important work that he was passionate about. Herb Iris was a builder — and by that we don’t mean just his day job as a real estate developer. Mr. Iris was a builder of Jewish community, whether as a legendary fund-raiser for United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ; as a devoted supporter of his family’s congregation, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel; or a tireless worker behind his family’s many philanthropic endeavors. Those who know Milly Iris always come away feeling amazed by her rare blend of big-picture vision and magnifying-glass attention to detail. Simply put, Milly knows how to get things done. Milly and Herb Iris, in short, were an incredible team. They knew that to build Jewish community, you had to begin with its youngest members, giving them the solid foundation from which Jewish commitment and responsibility will grow. The Iris family’s legacy lives on in The Herb Iris Youth and Family Philanthropy Endowment of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest. The fund’s mission is to focus on programs, like the Iris Teen Tzedakah Program, that invite young people as partners in building Jewish community. Nu is a recipient of the endowment’s generosity, but more importantly the magazine is a beneficiary of Milly and Herb Iris’ dream for the future. It is a fitting legacy that the Iris Endowment supports passionate Jewish teen writers, who dedicate their time and considerable talent to sharing their thoughts and ideas for their generation and our community. Instead of retiring from the scene, Milly Iris knew her husband would want her to keep going, keep doing good, keep giving, keep making a difference. Little wonder that Milly Iris and her family continue to memorialize Herb Iris by investing in the future of young people so that they learn the responsibility, and the art, of giving back. For Milly and Herb Iris, giving back will always be nu a way of life.

The

Cardboard Jacob Nelson Isra T o d a a e centra s t h e s t a r t l I s k n o y , dur ab u l hub w and i for ne p N a t i o n n and le, cheap, nven Isr c a n d i ael is know t i o n s . T h w compan , a 48 an hold i s a b s n n o v a t i n for cre i s i s b e c ies th 5 pounds. about ve pr e bi ating olute ause M inve o m poundke weighs o eanwhile, and s ntor Izha l y t r u e , a nd u c t s . T h any new s . inven overall, nly around the ca cientific r Gafni m d r e c e n i s n o t i o n tion it is an 2 break rdboa t l a y d ea Is throu astoun0 rd G since . gh. H n e n g i n e e r a e l i ding i a b o u t afni’s pass bike. t w o ne as r e has f r o m a m a n w ion was inven ing a bi of the best created, the s c t in ted k b want a r d b o a h o c r e a imulate once e costs betwventions by ike was vot G to the e d t o t a k e r d . a s a n t e d a s t a b d a f t e r h e ed Popul e e a n f n n bike w i’ a d e p t biking w t h i s c a r d a v i d b i k e l e c a n o e c h e a r d ill cos s new comine and 14 ar Science. b b o r r e t arou ike co dollar pany impo n g i n e e rld. afte oard co , h e d e c e a t e d n st s, i The i s around $ d $20. Unt s fully fun and encou ssible. Thi r s , G a f n i w r consulti ncept and i d e d h e 1 i ded, a n s l n 3 r a v t g d c a 5 a p h e r ,d pl nt en wi ea time w gement id not d s t o l d t h a t i t th many y it near tes many bion is an eue to a lack , a cardboa eter h from orkin rd im, a his w spec was ridg of fu futu g on He shape experime the projec ife, he spe nd with which re bikes wi es through ially great nding. n d l n t o l be one is es ut t his s t u d y it into m t e d w i t h . count pecially ess available a the world. , as it i t a ver He sa ng the con any differe cardboard, ries, w ential y cheaIn the for pe ho ca Bikes he reaid that whi cept of Japnt shapes, a and o pc p n l w n e l those ill soon b ot afford in third w ost, crafti lized that e working anese origa fter e o a i c n t n o as oth ethiopia ome read regular b rld way t g with car here was n n the proj mi. e i ike. , l r y o find ect, o prec K dboar c av en have a ountrie with i d e out a s. The y a , s o m a l a i l a b l e t o conve t. b o u t , and that dent in ia, as se pe nien Br it was th afte c o m mi d g e s w i t way to ge ople will fi well t o e x p e only Gafni r multiple l t erime peopl u n i t i e s , l b e c r e around. nally w nt proto as finally afailed attem a l s o b e together w h i c h w i a t e d b e ty b twee ll hel . The ecom and a pe. He fou le to create pts at mak t h n e p e n tt in n t t o r e world. Ga a b r i d g e e w t e c h n o t o b o n d aroun ach pedals d a way to he first car g the bike v b f n l o e o db , o i to d s f t h e s t i s s u c c e l u t i o n i z e i’s new pro t w e e n I s r a g y w i l l foldin . He stiffe make the tiffen the c oard bike d s c e s a ned i g and h u s f r b t c e u d i t i t a f r k b l p tra anspo , man is pre e l a n d es. Bi t with f cardbo oard, bendi itself. n dicte r k y t s n a e p ard H a tio pe g of s o to the e attached a the cardboacombinati spin ab the transp n world toa r e a s i g n o p l e w i l l r t a t i o n . I d ifica f on of le to rd ov ort whee ow thin day them see how t ation extre , and by mn t p i e c e o n o n e T h e p l in order t strip of old er and into h m i f e a n o e t kin the sm ly th lead t bike a r o t o t y p e add fricti ire rubber o peo eir everyd all country low, peopl g the cost on. t all, s did n s p e a i o g l y f w e n o o Isr liv ifi il b t look m Gafni the cantly c iking mo es. Thi ael is he l be str l o o k l i or thereb e like a reg ove to ma k e a thi near futureut down on re often, ws might evlping ngs ke it .G y pe ular en h g he is t to happen afni is veryreenhouse gich would create rfect it. ev bike, and , h a e a entua s d a wo e x n s c e d i i n s t techn ology. ventor of t he is also pr ed for these in a card rking modlly he he am oud th board el of azing a b Jacob new t bike i ike. The s stron nu Rae K Nelson, 15 , atte g, H ushne nd r igh Sc

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3 nu may 2014

Yeshi

A Night of Remembrance

Georgia Slater

YEAR AFTER YEAR, the Yom Hashoah committee, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, has both planned and produced the annual Yom Hashoah Holocaust memorial in an effort to bridge the past by remembering the tragedies of those who cannot any longer. On Monday, April 28, some 800 people gathered in the Kean University Wilkins Theater with electronic candles in hand, waiting for the service to begin and to light their candles together as a community. This year’s event, “A Moral Mandate — Memories of the Unimaginable,” focused on commemorating Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass, the SS St. Louis, Kindertransport, and the 20th anniversary of the New Jersey mandate to teach the Holocaust in schools. To honor these events, survivors from the Holocaust spoke to the audience about their personal experiences. Additionally, Dr. Paul B. Winkler, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, who was instrumental in creating the New Jersey mandate, was honored for his incredible strides in teaching about the Holocaust. The Knesset enacted Yom Hashoah in 1953, recognizing that many people were murdered without record of their date of death and/or place of burial. Their surviving family members didn’t know when they should say Kaddish or where they might leave a stone, something often done when one visits a grave. By creating Yom Hashoah, this problem was partially solved by selecting a date that would be observed internationally and the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey followed the directive. According to Marcy Lazar, president of the Yom Hashoah committee, the annual memorial has been in existence since it was created by a group of local survivors, mostly from Elizabeth and Hillside, who had lost friends and family in the Holocaust. She added: “Though I have no direct personal connection to the Holocaust, I heard a survivor tell his story when I was about 12 and have never been able to leave it behind... I think I became the organizational leader when the survivor leaders became unable to do it themselves. My passion became a stand in for their personal experiences.” Teen member of the committee Lea Andriola decided to join because she felt that it was important, as members of the last generation to be able to hear the stories of survivors, to tell them to others in the future. In hopes of sharing her grandfather’s story from when he was in Holocaust, Andriola wants to continue in passing down the torch from those who cannot share their stories anymore, and ensure that something as horrific as this never happens again. The memorial service consisting of children’s choirs, survivors, and trailblazers of hope and education for the future made this year’s event an empowering success. For many who attended the service, the most impactful part was “the candle lighting because [they] felt like it brought everybody together as [they] were all able to stand as one in memory for the millions who couldn’t be there to stand today,” said Andriola. To make for an even better event next year, both Lazar and Andriola hope to expand the size and scope of the audience. “In years past,” explained Lazar, “we included readings from a portion of a play written about a young survivor’s experiences. It was perfect for any age. I wish we could find something like that to do again.” Reaching out to the younger community is a major goal of both the committee and the event, in order to begin passing down stories and experiences from the Holocaust to those who will need to teach it in the upcoming years. It is up to both the previous and current generations to never forget what happened years ago, and with annual memorials such as this, the world is taking a step in the right direction by building this bridge from past nu generations through the present and into the future. Georgia Slater, 16, attends Westfield High School.

4 nu may 2014

Never Again Never Again Never Again

‘Never Again?’

Will we let history keep repeating itself? Justin Fiszer

s Jews, we often like to tag the phrase “never again” when remembering the Holocaust. It is a special burden we Jews place on ourselves, and rightfully so; as victims of centuries of persecution and genocide, we feel that it is our place to be the guardians against such acts from ever happening again. As Ignacy Schipper, who perished at Majdanek, once said: “Nobody will want to believe us, because our disaster is the disaster of the entire civilized world.…we will have the thankless job of proving to a reluctant world that we are Abel, the murdered brother.” But what is this thankless job that Schipper talks about; is it merely recounting our own woes? Is it only we that are Abel? This is the very moral dilemma that we Jews have failed at today. The phrase “never again” which we like to repeat over and over probably will never happen again to us. However if we designate the duty to remember the Holocaust and say the words never again, don’t we also have the same obligation to stop current genocides that are not perpetrated against us? Around the same time that Auschwitz fell, North Korea was simultaneously setting up a complex system of

labor camps as part of their new government. Decades later, these camps still exist; in fact, North Korean camps have lasted 12 times longer than Auschwitz, and reports and findings about them are just as grisly. Only a few handfuls of prisoners have been able to escape and tell their stories over the past decades. Reports of murder, torture, rape, starvation, and other gruesome crimes against humanity were described in recent UN reports, and rumors of putting Kim Jong Un on trial have surfaced for some time. It is no fallacy or perversion to liken North Korean camps such as Camp 22 to any of the concentration camps that Jews have perished in during the Holocaust. So have we failed at our mission? Have we truly forgotten what it’s like to be the victim? With the thriving State of Israel and one of the greatest narratives of success in modern history, Jews today enjoy some of the most powerful, wealthy, and important positions in the world. We as a people have come a long way since the Holocaust. Israel has one of the world’s strongest militaries, and is the safe haven for Jews who suffered persecution in the Holocaust and around the world. However, we must not forget our place 5 nu may 2014

and our duty, for we know what genocide is. There is no safe haven for these North Koreans; many who manage to escape to China are captured and sent right back to the same prisons which they escaped. These North Koreans will enjoy no such success as modern Jews, not as long as we truly forget the meaning of “never again.” In the Rwandan Genocide in 1991, the result was 1,000,000 dead within the span of only a couple months. If we continue to be angry at the Germans who remained silent during the Holocaust, how can we refuse to stop genocides like in Rwanda? Have we become those silent Germans if we do not stop other genocides? Overall I propose that Israel and the Jewish people keep true to our promise of “never again” and bridge our past with the world’s present. This slogan shouldn’t be just for the Jews’ sake; it should pertain to humanity as a whole. Surely there is some effort that Israel and the Jewish community can make to alert the world to ongoing genocide, and do what they can to stop it. In the meantime, we as individuals should be trying to raise awareness of the atrocities and even urging leaders to think of ways to stop the North Korean atrocities, for we know what it’s like to be the victim, and we owe it to humanity and the world to fulfill our burden of “never nu again.” Justin Fiszer, 16, attends Randolph High School.

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Hazel Solender

he population of Jewish people in the world is small. Jews need to keep in touch with their heritage, and others like them. The Holocaust Museum in Washington is a special place where Jews can come together and connect. My congregation does a program with its older children that allows them to go as group and experience their history together. Some of my closest friends and I went, and it is a great way to keep in touch with who my ancestors are. This program has the teens take a bus from their synagogue to Washington, and has two Holocaust survivors traveling with them to tell their stories. Once there, they are split into groups and go around with their friends. It is a meaningful trip that teaches children to be proud of who they are and those before them. This trip makes me feel connected to other Jewish people. I am always proud to be Jewish, and this museum makes me feel even better. Building bridges is an important part of being Jewish. Our community needs all the bridges that it can get. This experience is a bridge for younger Jews, because it makes them conscious of what their history is. Keeping every single member of the Jewish community proud to be who they are creates a giant bridge that connects everyone together, making a smaller group of people nu seem bigger from the heart that they all share. Hazel Solender, 15, attends Millburn High School.

T BE A PART OF THE

NEXT ISSUE OF NU

CONTACT JOANNE BLOOMSTEIN

JBLOOMSTEIN@NJJEWISHNEWS.COM

6 nu may 2014

t i o t u e t L Abby Ingber

s the world is rapidly evolving and technology is advancing, tremendous change has occurred in society. Today’s average high school student compared to years ago appears to be very different. With escalating social and academic pressures, students are left with high expectations that once never existed. Although change can act as a positive thing, in this situation it is clear that is not the case. With the excessive amounts of pressure and close attention, students face difficulties pleasing society’s high standards. While balancing school, friends, family, and sports, a teenager is left with a heavy plate that can’t seem to ever be clear. Socially, teenagers are expected to thrive and experiment with different crowds while struggling to “fit in”. Now, being accepted in high school is a constant battle in today’s harsh and critical world. Academically, each student is looked at with a critical eye from his or her parents and teachers. Each student’s workload has increased as teachers are assigning more and more work, raising the already impossible expectations. As teachers become more demanding, parents are as well exerting stress onto their child through SAT and ACT work, in hopes of getting into the “perfect” college. Suddenly it is not about what the child wants for himself/herself, but it is what the parents want for the already strained child. Even though most teenagers find themselves working efficiently to the best of their ability, the pressure never stops. While finding time for friends, keeping up with what’s cool, upholding good grades, and applying for colleges, catching a break does not seem likely for a teenager. In addition, within the last few years, college has become a popular topic to discuss at the start of their freshman year of high school. Conversely, it was previously originally discussed during the child’s junior year. This amplifies the magnitude of getting prepared for college, before a child is physically, emotionally, or mentally ready. With all of this on a teenager’s still developing mind, anxiety is a subsequent result. This anxiety is a direct outcome of an unwarranted amount of stress and pressure that can lead to severe damages in teenagers’ lives. Despite the fact that stress is usually thought as a temporary feeling, an extreme amount can have an everlasting and unavoidable effect. Therefore, teachers and parents should reevaluate their goals and motives for their students or children, and modify their true intentions. nu

TE E

P RE

Abby Ingber, 15, attends Watchung Hills Regional High School.

RIS

ING WITH 7 nu may 2014

S ’ Y A T OD

The New SAT C andid. Unequivocal. Guileless. I cannot claim for sure, but I suspect future takers of the new SAT Reasoning Test will not have to pull out their hair learning those words. In an effort to realign the current bane of high school students’ existences to the demands of college and the workplace, College

Board has given it a makeover. Optional essay, 1600 scale, vocabulary more germane to the demands of life. Say goodbye to recondite, and say hello to empirical and synthesis. The operative word above, being, however, makeover. In case that’s a word deemed perti-

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nent on the new test, let me define it f ottr you. A makeover is the act or process of making changes to improve the appearance of someone or something. There is no doubt of course that the current SAT has an image problem; more students are taking, and more colleges are accepting, the main competition, so to speak: the ACT. Fun fact: the ACT prides itself on its optional essay component. Last year, the number of students who took the ACT surpassed the number who took the SAT for the first time ever. Furthermore, it seems like every day a new study is published refuting the popular claim that SAT scores can predict future scores and success. So clearly College Board is losing its prestige as making the only test to accurately determine your future success. And with lost prestige comes lost money, because we all know the test isn’t free, and despite being “non-profit,” College Board is still a business. At this point, I want to establish that I am firmly against the changes to the SAT, but not for the reasons others argue. I take no issue with streamlining the test to focus on vocabulary and mathematics problems that reflect the real world. I do take issue with a makeover, when to me it has been painfully obvious that the SAT needs to be turned completely inside out and reworked, and these changes are like treating a gunshot wound with a band-aid: a quick, ineffective fix. The SAT cannot predict future success not because of esoteric vocabulary, but because of the whole test itself and what it requires of students. Students do not traditionally learn…well…anything from preparing for or taking the test. The words are memorized and quickly forgotten. Less obvious, there are common grammar and math problems repeated often on the tests that can be learned without truly improving those skills. In fact, the only portion of the test that requires honing a skill is writing the essay, but that has gone the way of the wooly mammoth. One of the true problems of the SAT has been that it does not test skill, and thus it does not measure skill, and that is why it has been debunked as a predictor of any future achievements. The new SAT does not deign to address this glaring issue and several others. What about the fact that for all its advertising of standardization, students at a socioeconomic disadvantage still lag far behind those able to afford the countless books, tutors, and classes? For that matter, what about the fact that a test intended to measure solely individual aptitude is often actually measuring the aptitude of a student and his or her tutor? To be clear, I do not fault students for this practice; it is often the only way to acquire those desired scores, and for that I place all the blame on College Board. The new SAT will not be any worse than the current one, and maybe it will even be a tad better, but it will certainly not be the best it could and should be. It is no mystery why the SAT has been dethroned as the king test in favor of the ACT. Maybe the makers of the SAT realized some of this, but I doubt it, because the new test, however superficially improved, will, I am sure, still place some at an advantage over others. I do not believe that standardized includes the word advantage in its definition, but I’ll reserve judgment until College Board defines it, because the word standardized is probably in the new vocabulary. Homogenu neous? Forget about it. Amanda Glatt, 17, attends Livingston High School.

8 nu may 2014

FROM

Sam Russo

APATHY TO ACTIVISIM Wake up. Go to school. Come home. Do homework. Go to sleep. Wake up. Go to school. Come home. Do homework. Go to sleep.

y life in a nutshell. Not that my life was exactly boring, but I didn’t feel like I was doing enough that was really meaningful to make the world a better place. Sure, I was packing food monthly for the needy and I was talking to my friends about the importance of Israel, but I didn’t feel like I was really making a difference in my community… Until I went to the 2014 AIPAC Policy Conference. On March 2, I joined thousands of American Zionists at Policy Conference to hear prominent politicians speak, show our government

our support of Israel, and lastly and perhaps most importantly, lobby our members of Congress on the importance of the Israel-U.S. bond. Every year, thousands of pro-Israel activists gather in Washington D.C. at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference. The conference has three main components: general sessions, breakout sessions, and meetings with congressmen. During general sessions, the major speakers and guests address all of the over 14,000 attendees. Breakout sessions are more intimate environments which often consist of panel discussions or single speakers. For example, I attended a session in which the former head of the Shin Bet, Avi Dichter, spoke about his experiences making decisions that were vital to the safety of Israel’s population. The last aspect of policy conference is lobbying Congress, which I did on my third and final day there. After two action-filled days of policy Conference, I woke up Thursday morning the most eager that I had been since I arrived in Washington. I was going to hear Israel’s Prime Minister speak and meet the people who represent me in government. After listening to an excellent speech from Benjamin Netanyahu, I met with representatives from one of my senator’s, Robert Menendez, office. Next was the meeting that I was most looking for-

ward to: lobbying Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen. I had met Frelinghuysen once before at a shul event, and I was looking forward to meeting with him again. Even though the House of Representatives is the “lower” house, this was where those in my county and community and I are most strongly

of the U.S.’s connection with Israel because otherwise, the voting record of our congressmen might not have been so encouraging. Let’s take a look at a recent example of how my support for Israel and the support of thousands of other pro-Israel activists affect the world. On March 5th of this year, the House of Representatives voted 410-1 in support of declaring Israel to be the United States’ first ever “Major Strategic Ally.” If I were to look up the words “United States Israel strategic partnership act” on Google using the filter news, I would find that the first three results either have AIPAC in the title or in the text preview. For the first time, I really felt like I was “making a difference in the world.” Nevertheless, I knew I could and can do more. Attending policy conferences is a great way to get started, but the amount of time I spend there is less than 1 percent of the year. As I write this, Iran continues to work towards its goal of developing a nuclear weapon, a civil war rages in Syria, and peace talks with Palestinians break down. The Middle East is an incredibly volatile region, and Israel constantly needs our support. Now, more than ever, we must bypass the question of whether or not we should help, and skip to how nu we will help.

represented. As I walked upstairs to a meeting with my representative, I asked my dad why it was necessary to speak to him about the importance of supporting Israel, given that Frelinghuysen has an almost perfect pro-Israel voting record. To this, he replied that it was Sam Russo, 14, attends The Hebrew vital that we reinforce the importance Academy of Morris County.

9 nu may 2014

aha Phoebe Brenner WHETHER I knew it or not, my bat mitzva two years ago was the beginning of a halt in my Jewish education. What was supposed to be a ceremonial entrance into the Jewish community became the end of Hebrew school and stellar attendance at services. My friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bar and bat mitzvas began to dwindle down and the time I spent at Saturday morning services became replaced with sports, homework, and other activities. I had to find other ways to keep myself and my friends connected to our Jewish heritage. I attended temple with my family at high holidays and kept track of news happening in Israel. Additionally I also joined BBYO with some other friends from my Hebrew school class but I still felt like something was missing. It would take a major ceremonial event to make me realize what was missing in my life. The recent bar mitzva of my younger brother Ross reminded me of the fulfilling feeling one gets when they are deeply attentive in synagogue. I was overflowing with pride as I realized my little brother was becoming a man in the Jewish community community. I even participated in the service myself by reading from the Torah. The emptiness I once felt became refilled with the love and joy that came with watching someone close to you achieve a major accomplishment in his or her life. With Ross being the youngest of the Brenner crew, with two older sisters in front of him, he marked the end of our immediate familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bar and bat mitzvas. My connection to Judaism does not stop here as I continue to find other ways to stay involved. I am an active BBYO member and I have attended conventions with other Jewish teens just like me. I the trips during the also plan to attend one of their summer to Europe to visit historical Jewish points that I have never seen before. Everyday I continue to find ways to strengthen and expand my Jewish education because one is never too young, old, or busy nu to learn. Phoebe Brenner, 15, attends Randolph High School.

10 nu may 2014

Kineret Brokman What day is today?

When thousands of people flock to Har Herzel gripping flowers and memories in their hands. Where parents come to sit with the son that they lost fighting for their country. Where children are reminded of the father they spent little time with because he was off fighting so that they could play in the backyard.

You can barely move through the crowd of those who spend the day with the ones they miss. Some cry, some laugh. Some share stories, some simply sit. A hug. A sigh. A siren. Silence. Silence throughout the entire country. Silence so deafening, it cannot be ignored. Silence broken only by the chirping of birds and rustling leaves in the wind. Silence to honor the brave souls of Israel. Our silence is our way of saying “thank you”. Our silence is our way of saying “we love you”.

Today is Yom HaZikaron.

The day of remembrance. The day we join those thousands of people and listen to Bibi Netanyahu as he addresses the country. The day where we place wreaths on the graves of fathers of kids we met in Eilat at Otzmah. We support them and pay tribute to the important people that they lost, that we lost.

And we drive.

We drive to Ammunition Hill to hear the stories of the people who fought for the lives of the Israeli nation. They fought when we were under attack from our neighbors, putting their lives on the line. They fought with courage, honor, and love.

And you hear the names, one after the other at the Havdallah service at Beit T’fillah Yisraeli in Tel Aviv. They ask if people have a specific martyr to mention. What you expect to take two minutes turns into five, ten, fifteen. Everyone knows someone. Someone who knows someone. Small country, Nu?

And we sing.

We sing straight from one holiday to the next.

‫״שדוקל שדוק ןיב לידבהל״‬

“To differentiate between one holy to another holy” Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut. With Israeli pride in our song we dance to Ra’anana for late night celebrations. Music. Happiness. Spirit.

Today is Yom HaZikaron. Today is Yom Ha’atzmaut. Today is Israel. What a day today is!

Kineret Brokman, 17, attends Golda Och Academy.

11 nu may 2014

Jewish teens serving the world Photos courtesy Allie Ramsfelder

12 nu may 2014

J-Serve 2014 Blake Chernin

he sun rose bright and early on Sunday, April 6th. Over 300 teens, some of whom may have normally only just rolled out of bed at 10:30 on a Sunday morning, instead filled the conference room of the Jewish Federation of Metrowest. They filled the room with the kind of energy only a group of community-minded Jewish teenagers can, talking, getting their room assignments, and, in some cases, chanting. The reason for the excitement was J-Serve 2014, coordinated by The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life. J-Serve is an international day of Jewish teen service. All over the globe, Jewish teens gathered to spend the day performing acts of community service and service projects in the hope of creating a better world, as well as allowing Jewish teenagers to learn about the world that they live in, and about how they can change it. The event kicked off with opening remarks by Rabbi Shmuel Greene of the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life, who sponsored the event. According to Rabbi Greene, J-Serve presented an opportunity for teenagers to “apply biblical teachings to real life while also enriching their community.” After the opening

“NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL, COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD; INDEED, IT’S THE ONLY THING THAT EVER HAS.”

Illustr

remarks, the teenagers split off into several groups to begin their service projects. These projects spanned a wide range of topics and concentrations, from learning about human trafficking or collecting athletic equipment for impoverished athletic facilities in Israel to singing karaoke with senior citizens or playing games with guests from Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey, as well as many more. After the morning session and the individual group projects had ended, the teenagers once again gathered together for a pizza lunch set to music presented by the So.I.Heard. House of Music. Finally, the day ended with a whole group project. Each of the teenage volunteers attached a hand with their community service pledge to a beautiful J-Serve banner created by the visitors from Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey. As the day wound down, the volunteers spoke positively of their involvement with J-Serve. “I really feel like we made a difference today,” said Meredith Weinerman, 16, of the Diller Teen Fellows group. This statement was echoed by other teens, who were all very glad to have been a part of J-Serve 2014 — and were nu already excited for next year.

ation by Alexa Smith

Blake Chernin, 16, attends West Morris Mendham High School.

13 nu may 2014

Diller Teens Experience Tikun Olam at J-Serve

n Sunday, April 6 th, 2014, hundreds of Jewish teens experienced working on their Tikun Olam values at J-Serve. Many teens came as part of different youth groups such as BBYO, USY, and Iris Teen Tzedakah and other programs. I participated with the Diller Teen Fellows from Rishon LeZion, Israel and MetroWest. The Israelis were here as part of a 12 day foreign exchange program staying in our MetroWest homes. The MetroWest Diller Teen Fellows will be going to Israel this summer for three weeks and staying with our new Israeli friends. All the Diller Teen Fellows bonded together volunteering at J-Serve. Each teen was able to choose a specific activity that he or she wanted to do. A few of the options were “Buddy it Up,” “Gears for Good,” “Challah for Hunger,” “Holocaust Council,” and “Get Connected”. Our own Diller Fellow ran “Holocaust Council” where a Holocaust survivor told his story and teens were made witness to the testimony and committed to re-tell it. I went to “Buddy it Up” with my Israeli friend Adi. We got to make new friends with adults who have Cerebral Palsy. For those of you who do not know, Cerebral Palsy is a general term for a group of permanent, non-progressive movement disorders that cause physical disability, mainly in

the areas of body movement. Each person was unique and worth getting to know. Some were non-verbal, while others were able to hold long conversations. I chatted with a man named Carl for a while and found out that he had ancestors in the Holocaust. He told me their names and where they were from. This impressed me a lot and helped me understand that Carl was just an ordinary guy who happened to have a disability. I was happy to see the Israelis having fun with the adults because they said it was unlike any experience they have ever shared at home. After many teens played sports and interacted with the adults, we read the Declaration of Independence and concluded that all people are created equal. We discussed that this meant that each person is a natural result from God and deserves the same rights as every other human being. No matter which volunteer activity each Diller chose, all of the Dillers got together during lunch and enjoyed pizza together. As we waited to start our meeting, we took a lot of “selfies” in the meantime. The Israeli Dillers started the meeting with an excerpt from Alice in Wonderland. We talked in a circle about how words from the story related back to Tikun Olam. For the rest of the meeting, the Dillers talked about our goals for the Israeli Seminar

in the summer. We decided to experience new things together, do community service together, and learn together. Although it was difficult, we were able to come up with a plan for community week. We are going to devote each day of the week to a different project so that we experience as much diversity in our sister community as possible. We are going to learn about the history of Rishon LeZion as the first Zionist settlement. Holocaust survivors who live in Rishon LeZion will share their experiences with us. We are going to learn about teenage life after high school in Israel. We are all looking forward to a free day at the beach in Rishon LeZion. Finally, we will spend a day with Ethiopian Israeli students to learn what their life is like. All this talk of Israel is getting me excited, but I don’t want the Israelis to leave here just yet! However, I am positive that they miss the food in Israel. After J-Serve, we had dinner with our Israelis and had some bonding time. My friend’s family and my family took our Israelis to eat at Jerusalem Restaurant in Livingston because it was kosher, close to home, and had a large selection of dairy and pareve food. The Israelis both chose to eat pizza, again. It was a day I will never forget. nu Alexa Smith, 17, attends Livingston High School.

If you’re interested in being a part of the J-Serve Teen Leadership Committee for J-Serve 2015, please contact Shaina Goldberg, Coordinator of Jewish Service Learning for The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life at SGoldberg@ThePartnershipNJ.org or 973-929-2966. 14 nu may 2014

I AM HEREw!

Emma Kane

Tomorrow will be today, and today will be yesterday. The same mistakes I’ve made, will be made again. And again.

e e h T h T thinggss n i h tI carrry a ry c I he things I carry are my books, my bag, money in my wallet and my permit so I can drive with my parents. I carry a black hole which is my backpack, when I put papers in my bag they can never be found. The one thing I carry is a heart, it will never be lost, it carries me from one activity to the next. The blood that pumps make me move, blood that moves makes me run. I carry a life full of joy, happiness and love. I carry the word son, on my chest. The most important thing I carry is passion. I carry passion for the actions I do, for the steps I take and for thing I change. I take my life and fill it with

rower

Mack B

passion because without passion life would be full of dark alleys. The things I do not carry are guns, what’s the need at the age of 16? There is no need for violence. I do not carry hatred, you’ve got to give people a chance to prove themselves. I don’t carry children in my hands or even on my back. One day I wish to carry my lover’s hand and one day in my heart I wish to carry children, my hope to become a loving parent. Lastly I wish to carry success in my pocket to always know I will have a nu bright future ahead. Mack Brower, 16, attends Livingston High School.

I’ve been told it’s going to be okay, because that’s how life works. But what I find funny is that nobody knows how life works, so how do they know it’s going to be okay?

Desi Brower When you see the beautiful snow start to turn black, You imagine, when will summer come back?

So I tell myself that it gets better. (By “it” I mean life.)

You imagine the beach, golden skin, warm sand at your feet. You imagine the children, skipping around not a worry in sight.

Because there is a now, not a tomorrow, and the now is life, and life is a series of moments, waiting to be remembered.

You imagine the sun, lighting up the whole world vibrantly. You imagine the warm nights, lying on the grass gazing at the twinkling stars. You imagine the vacations, escaping into a relaxing euphoria. You imagine the days that seem to last forever where the fun never stops.

I tell myself these things to get me by because everyone has a way of

You imagine the days where you can stay up late and wake up even later.

getting by…I think.

You imagine summer, could you please come faster?

Emma Kane, 17, attends Livingston High School.

Desi Brower, 14, attends Livingston High School.

15 nu may 2014

Iris Teen Tzedakah Program The

Teens Make a — Difference in

Your Community!

Become a Teen Tzedakah Advisor for The

Iris Teen Tzedakah Program What Is The Iris Teen Tzedakah Program? It is an opportunity to make a real difference in our local community and around the world through charitable giving based on what we learn together. We will explore how our Jewish community responds to Jewish and other people in need locally, globally, and in Israel. During this two-year program, you will work together with your teen peers and various organizations that can change our community and change the world.

How Does All This Happen? You, along with every Iris Teen Tzedakah Advisor will contribute $200 of your own money each year into a “pool” with all the other teen Advisors. Those funds will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Herb Iris Youth and Family Philanthropy Endowment. You and other teens will oversee this philanthropic fund and decide how to allocate the money to programs and needs that interest you. You will take part in important meetings and programs throughout these two years with Jewish community leaders, experienced philanthropists, and experts who will teach you about our community and the values and traditions of Jewish giving. This program will ultimately give you the most valuable gift—the power to make a difference!

How Do I Become A Teen Tzedakah Advisor? High school freshmen and sophomores who are interested in this program are asked to submit an application and come to a personal interview.

Who do I contact for more information? Shaina Goldberg, Coordinator of Jewish Service Learning at The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life, 973-929-2966, sgoldberg@thepartnershipnj.org.

Supported by the Herb Iris Youth and Family Philanthropy Endowment. A collaborative project of The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life and the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest.