The Rampage
Volume XXXXVI Number 1
The Ramaz Upper School
September 2012/Tishrei 5773
Subdued Commemoration of 9/11 Sydney Sarachek ’14 As students arrived at school on Tuesday, September 11, a table was set up out front, honoring the nine men who lost their lives on 9/11 from the firehouse which serves our neighborhood, company twenty-two, ladder thirteen. Ramaz feels a great connection to company twenty-two, ladder thirteen, as these firemen responded to the fire at KJ last summer. The firehouse is situated just a block away from both the Lower School and the Middle School. Usually, on the anniversaries of the September 11 attacks, Ramaz brings in a speaker who was at the World Trade Center and was a first hand witness. These speakers relay their stories to the students in order to help the students connect more to the tragic events of 9/11. However, this year, due to the extended davening for Slichot, and the recent start of the school year, the administration decided not to have an assembly and bring in speakers to talk to students. On the first day of school, Rabbi Lookstein addressed the entire school, but on 9/11, the students did not gather in the auditorium like they had done the previous week. Some students, such as Sara Amsalem ’14, found this surprising. “I was surprised that the school didn’t have
an assembly for 9/11,” she said. However, Ms. Benel, in charge of student activities, explained the lack of an assembly, saying that the school had put together other events dedicated to the memory of the attacks. In lieu of an assembly, every minyan leader addressed his or her minyan after shacharit. Students were also given profile cards of a person who was murdered on the tragic day. The idea behind these cards was that at the beginning of each period, a student would read his or hers out loud to the class. Ms. Benel walked around school on Tuesday reminding teachers to allow time in their classes for students to read their cards. Some, such as Jonathan Karten ’14, said that they thought that the administration should have made sure that the cards were read in every class during the day. Another way in which the school honored the memory
of people who died was through chessed. A group of students and Ms. Benel had been working on different chessed projects since August. These service projects, which took place Sunday, September
the school’s commeoration for 9/11, the events turned out to be very successful; over 55 students gave up their Sundays to volunteer. There were also chessed projects organized in school,
9, were done in honor of 9/11, with the idea that “if people fell in service to our country, we should also do service” shared Ms. Benel. Visiting a cemetery, delivering packages to Dorot, participating in a walk for breast cancer in memory of Esther Trencher z”l and taking part in Friendship Circle were the chessed projects in which students took part in on Sunday. Despite the fact that students were not aware that these chessed activites were part of
which took place on Monday, September 10, where students packed backpacks with school supplies and food bags for the homeless. Considerable effort went into planning the commemoration of 9/11. Some students did feel that an anchoring assembly would have focused the day more, but others felt that the quiet acknowledgement of the day was appropriate.
So Fresh Class of 2016 Begins Its Journey at Ramaz Jonathan Kopytev ’13 On September 5 at promptly 7:30 am, the Ramaz freshmen entered the lobby. Unease filled the air as the incoming upper schoolers awaited their orientation. The day was essentially geared toward creating a socially friendly environment, one in which the new underclassmen could acquaint themselves with their fellow peers through icebreaker activities and team building games. The program began with davening followed by a story; Thalia Sharon ’13 read a children’s book called Butterflies in my Stomach and Other School Hazards. The book was about a child’s tough first day of school, and was meant to ease the freshmen’s nerves. Following story time, the Ramaz Chamber Choir performed “Mah Yonah”, an upbeat Hebrew song meant to raise the spirits of the freshmen. For a first performance the Chamber Choir really seemed to give its all, and it really gave the freshmen a good impression. “I thought we sounded awesome,” said Aaron Kohl ’13. “It was just a great first performance, and a Continued on page 3
Reborn From the Ashes: KJ One Year Later
Esti Flamenbaum ’14
A year ago this summer, on July 11, 2011, a terrible fire broke out in KJ, greatly damaging the Synagogue and the lower floors of the Ramaz Lower School building. This past summer, the Ramaz/KJ community came together to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the fire. Rabbi Lookstein, Ms. Fagin, Mr. Shaviv, Mr. Rochlin and other community leaders attended the gathering. Following tefillah and tehillim, Rabbi Lookstein spoke about the fire and the rebuilding efforts. In his speech, Rabbi
Lookstein commended the resilience of the Ramaz/KJ community. He also spoke about the kindness and help extended to our institution by the New York community, from the firefighters who extinguished the fire and contained the damage and the policemen who protected us, to the New York City building department which rendered its assistance, and the multiple city officials and religious leaders that offered their support. Rabbi Lookstein also gave thanks to the institutions
which let KJ and Ramaz use their premises: the Met, which hosted KJ’s main high holiday services last year and this year, and has offered to host next year’s services as well, the 92nd Street Y, where the congregation spent several shabbatot and holidays, Temple Emmanuel, which accommodated the Lower School for two weeks of classes and hosted both the Ramaz 75th anniversary celebration and last year’s Upper School graduation, and, lastly, Park Avenue Synagogue, where Early Childhood Cen-
ter classes were at the start of last year and the location of the Zimriah and the eighth grade graduation. The catastrophic fire, which ravaged KJ’s Sanctuary and several floors of the Ramaz Lower School last summer, shocked the community. However, instead of being discouraged by the tragedy, the KJ community
became motivated to improve. The morning after the fire, the building committee and other building professionals met. Together with the community lay leadership, they planned the restoration effort and have been working hard all year. The afternoon after the fire, Rabbi Lookstein said to the congregation: “We had two choices: we could be Continued on page 3
Page 2
The RamPage News
September 2012/Tishrei 5773
GO Kicks off a Sweet New Year Skyler Levine ‘15 Excitement has been brewing during GO Week in the Ramaz Upper School. Every day at lunch from
September 10th-13th the GO set up a special treat to help the Ramaz students ease their way back into
school. “Some GOs have taken a grace period over the first weeks of school,” said Andrew Bergman ’13, “but this year they got to work immediately.” GO Week began with Milkshake Monday, in which GO members stationed outside the lunchroom happily handed out delicious vanilla and chocolate milkshakes. Students loved the milkshakes so much, that some even came back for seconds. The excitement continued on Terrace Tuesday as the GO hosted a BBQ on the terrace. The students loved eating outside in the beautiful weather. Rebecca Silverman
‘16 said, “It was so nice to eat lunch outside after being inside for the whole morning.” On Wednesday, the school enjoyed ice cream sundaes. There were many flavors and toppings so each student could make their perfect sundae of vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry ice cream. A variety of toppings were offered, spanning everything from Oreos to sprinkles. The ice cream sundaes were fun to make and delicious to eat. As if the GO had not already outdone itself, it ended off the week on Thursday by selling new Ramaz apparel that it
designed. Ramaz couture, the GO believes, will enhance school spirit, one of the GO’s goals for this year. Overall GO week was a success. After seeing all the efforts of the GO, Emily Sinensky ’16 said, “The GO was very welcoming and it is made up of people who I feel comfortable going to for anything that I need help with.” President Nina Rohr ensures the school that “The GO will get a lot done this year!” If GO week is any indication of what is in store, it seems like this year will be fun, exciting and quite delicious!
Can You Feel the Love Tonight?: Chessed Day Alex Weinberg ’14 On a cloudless Sunday morning in Manhattan, some Ramaz students delivered Rosh Hashanah packages to seniors. At the same time back at Ramaz, Upper Schoolers played and bonded with special-needs friends. Meanwhile, in Central Park, other students engaged in an annual race to raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer. Even more kids helped to restore an abandoned cemetery. This was all part of the Ramaz Chessed Day, an event that “allowed Ramaz students to give back to the community in the month of Elul. I was so proud of my kids who were able to step up and just run those events that I needed them to,” said Ms. Benel. Fourteen freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors chose to spend their Sunday working with Friendship Circle. Friendship Circle is an organization that pairs Jewish teenagers with special-needs children, and gives them a friend who will always
be there for them. Friendship Circle also has holiday programs for these specialneeds kids. Ramaz has hosted some of these programs, including the Rosh Hashanah program at the Upper School. Ramaz students spent their Sunday playing games with the kids in the gym and running around with them. That same day, all the students and Friendship Circle kids went up to the kitchen to have lunch and make rice-krispietreats for Rosh Hashanah. Stephanie Felder ’14, who ran the event, had a great time and saw growth in her classmates as they interacted with the friendship circle kids, saying, “It was amazing to see how some people came in apprehensive but opened up and ended up really enjoying the event and benefiting from the experience of working with special-needs kids.” While some chessed-doers helped run the Friendship Circle event, others were walking in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The Susan G.
Komen is an annual race to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. Ramaz walked for the Esther Trencher (z”l) team in order to honor her memory, strength, sense of pride and to raise over $300 for breast cancer. The team met up at 77th and Central Park West and everyone received a hot pink t-shirt and a runner’s number from Zimi Sloyer ’14 who organized Ramaz’s participation in the event. The walkers made their way from the starting point, up the West Side, and then through Central Park all the way to the East Side where the tired racers found themselves drifting from booth to booth, and scouting out for breast cancer water bottles. Flora Lipsky ’15 said, "I enjoyed walking for Breast Cancer and definitely support Ramaz's involvement with the Susan G. Komen race.” While Lipsky walked through Central Park, other Ramaz kids partciaipted in the Dorot program for seniors. These Ramaz students started their Chessed Day at 10 am at Brandeis High School for orientation. They learned all about Dorot programing and activities as well as how to go out there and help out
the seniors. The plan was to bring packages to seniors in the community and stay and spend time with them. After the orientation, the students walked down the block to the Dorot building to pick up Rosh Hashanah packages that they would be delivering to their elderly hosts. The visitors called their hosts before leaving to check if they were still willing to have guests. Once confirmed, they then took a cab to spend some time with their elderly hosts. They went and had a great time bonding with their new friends. Sam Haber ’14 had an especially great time. “I couldn’t believe how amazing it was to hear their stories and to realize how such a small action on our part could mean so much to them,” he said. The last Chessed project of the day was the cemetery clean up. Tucked away in Staten Island is the Baron
Hirsh cemetery. It used to be a well-known cemetery but as time went on the funds stopped flowing and the cemetery was no longer able to maintain the plots. About 25 Ramaz families, under Ms. Benel’s direction, cleaned up garbage, trimmed back hedges and thoroughly cleaned the cemetery. This type of Chessed work meant a lot to some Ramaz students because they were unable to be repaid in any way by those who benefited. As Brad Waldstreicher’14 said, “It felt really good to know that we aren’t getting repaid for our actions and that all of my friends are out here just to make the world a better place.”
September 2012/Tishrei 5773
Getting to Know You... Ramaz Welcomes New Teachers
Sam Feldstein ’14
The RamPage Features
Page 3
Opinion: Ms. Sheinbein Advises from the Holy Land Zachary Klein ’14
Ms. Nicole Abrahamson Teaches: Math Coming From: Public School and tutoring Favorite TV Show: So You Think You Can Dance Fun Fact: Was born in South Africa
Rabbi Effie Kleinberg Teaches: Tanach and Talmud Coming From: SAR Favorite Thing about Ramaz: Winter Friday Cookies Favorite TV Show: CSI Fun Fact: Likes Indian tribal music
Ms. Julie Goodman-Aharoni Teaches: Hebrew Coming From: Mai Boyer High School in Israel Favorite thing about Ramaz: SmartBoards in every classroom Favorite TV Show: Serugim Fun Fact: Has a daughter in the Israeli army
Ms. Gavriella Lerner Teaches: Tanach Coming From: Public School Weirdest thing about being an alumna: Calling teachers by their first names Favorite TV Show: Downtown Abbey Fun Fact: Went to law school for a year
Ms. Clara Gorman Teaches: Spanish Coming From: Dalton Favorite thing about Ramaz: The people Favorite TV show: Mad Men Fun Fact: Father was one of 14 children and has 40 first cousins
Dr. Ethan Rotenberg Teaches: Chemistry Coming From: Nowhere— First teaching job Favorite TV show: Arrested Development Fun Fact: Used to study meteorites
Ms. Yael Harari Teaches: English Coming From: Manhattan High School for Girls Favorite TV Show: The Wire Fun Fact: Was mistaken for a student in the teachers’ lounge
Rabbi Ira Wallach Teaches: Tanach Coming From: Ida Crowne Favorite thing about Ramaz: The Salmon Favorite TV Show: The West Wing Fun Fact: Used to collect comic books
At the end of last year, Ms. Sheinbein, a Biblical Studies teacher, moved to Israel. She was also a member of the Israel Advisory staff, which helps students find places to continue their religious life after Ramaz, both in Israel and in college. Ms. Sheinbein is still the seniors’ Israel advisor, and she communicates with her students through video chat, despite the seven hour time difference between Israel and the United States. Obviously this is not the most ideal situation for Ms. Sheinbein’s advisory group. But keeping Ms. Sheinbein as an Israel advisor is actually a better solution than finding a new Israel advisor. Yes, communication will be annoying, but it is not much different than scheduling a meeting
with a normal advisor. Students can simply set up phone or skype meetings, as opposed to meetings in Ms. Sheinbein’s office. The two are not really that different. Even from Israel, Ms. Sheinbein is in constant contact with her fellow Israel office department staff members, which means she is still involved with everyone. Experience is also a factor in her staying on as an advisor. This will be Ms. Sheinbein’s sixth year in the Israel office; she knows the ins and outs as well as anyone. By replacing Ms. Sheinbein, the new advisor would have to learn all about being an Israel advisor at Ramaz. Ms. Sheinbein, on the other hand, already knows exactly what to do, and is more capable of
helping out her students. If I had to pick between having to communicate with an advisor that I liked a lot through video chat and having an advisor who I did not have a great relationship with, I would pick the former. I would definitely miss being able to simply stop by and chat with my advisor, but the most important thing to have between an advisor and advisee is a great relationship, something that Ms. Sheinbein has been able to build with her advisees. “Most of the people in Ms. Sheinbein’s advisory love her,” said Lauren Krauss ’13. “I don’t really mind that she’s in Israel much. I don’t think people really care.”
Further measures are being taken to protect the sanctuary against possible future fires. Because the Synagogue was under renovation at the time of the fire, no Torahs were damaged, nor were any pews. As Rabbi Lookstein said in his speech, “In retrospect, we were blessed. The disaster could have been greater than it was.” The Lower School’s changes will include a new gym, no longer in the basement, an expanded play-roof,
new classrooms, a bigger lobby, an updated library, and a new and improved Social Hall, which will feature a kitchen and will also serve as the lunchroom. The school is hoping the renovations will allow for more students. The commemoration, while solemn, was not depressing. KJ is rebuilding, and looking towards the future. To quote Rabbi Lookstein, “We are not mourning a disaster. We didn’t do that a year ago, and we are not about to do it now.”
KJ Fire
Continued from page 1 depressed, or we could be determined. We could be resigned, or we could be resolute. We all choose the second of those alternatives.” After Rabbi Lookstein spoke, he gave the floor to Mr. Kenny Rochlin, Director of Institutional Advancement, who spoke about the upcoming changes to the synagogue. The changes to the sanctuary include steel framing and concrete flooring as well as a roomier women’s balcony, and better exits.
Freshman Orientation Continued from page 1 warm welcome to the freshmen, I thought.” Following a quick breakfast, the freshmen boarded the buses with their respective senior advisors. They were headed toward Asphalt Green, a turf field where they would participate in social activities. Representatives from Terrapin Adventures conducted these activities; some were very physically engaging while others were merely mental games that took a whole team’s collaboration. The freshmen really seemed to benefit from the social aspects of the team building games. As Sy Elyakim ’16 said, “It was pretty cool to meet kids just by working together with them in the different games.” Judah Kishk
’16 agreed, noting, “I didn’t know many of the kids on my team, but it was just easy for me to get to know them.” Despite the fact that the day was geared towards the freshmen, the senior advisors had their share of the fun as well. “It was great to get to know my advisees,” said Ronee Saad ’13. “We had so much fun!” Other seniors enjoyed the ‘older sibling’ aspect of it. James Goldberg ’13 spoke for many when he said, “The orientation was a great experience for both the senior advisors and the freshmen. I truly enjoyed meeting the new class and taking them under my wing.” When the freshmen returned to school after Ashpalt Green, they returned to the
auditorium to say mincha and hear from two of their senior advisers. Rachel Huebner ’13 spoke about the challenges that arise when entering high school and told her own personal story about a challenge that she faced this summer. G.O. President Nina Rohr ’13 spoke a little about the G.O. and the role that the students could play in helping the student government organization this year. After these speeches, the freshmen met with their advisers and received their schedules and locker combinations. Because of the confusing X-Y-A-B-C-D rotation day and the eight different kinds of schedules that exist, the seniors kept on assuring the freshmen that it
really was not as complicated as it looked. Next, the boys and girls split up into two different rooms. The freshman boys participated in slideshow sessions conducted by the senior advisors. The slideshows broached everyday school-related matters like time management and opened them up for discussion. It appeared to be a good way to inform the students of the way Ramaz generally runs as an institution. The senior advisers put on a fashion show for the freshman girls. Through this show, they showed the freshmen how to dress in an appropriate and cool way for all different types of days of the year: school days by the season, spirit day, color war,
shabbatonim, gym class, etc. After the short sessions, the freshmen joined together once again to enjoy a BBQ on the 3rd floor terrace. The delicious hamburgers and hotdogs ended the day off on a satisfying note. Freshman Orientation is always a very amiable way to help incoming 9th graders make themselves at home. It provided the freshmen with some confidence for the otherwise dreaded first day of school. Coming into school without apprehension is very important for entering high schoolers, especially before they realize that a ton of work awaits them.
Page 4
The RamPage Photospread
September 2012/Tishrei 5773
Freshmen Ori
September 2012/Tishrei 5773
ientation 2012
The RamPage Photospread
Page 5
Page 6
The RamPage Summer 2012
September 2012/Tishrei 5773
Conventional Wisdom Andrew Lobel ’15 “My father stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of the room.” Marco Rubio’s words rang in my ears Thursday night at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on August 30th, 2012. He was my favorite speaker of the week because he said what I believe is special and great about America; anyone with the will, talent and drive to succeed has the opportunity to thrive in this country. I knew all along that going to the RNC would be interesting and exciting. But I did not expect that it would make me feel so incredibly proud to be an American. My dad and I arrived in Tampa Bay for the RNC late Tuesday morning after impatiently waiting out hurricane threats and rain delays. For those who are wondering who has access to the Convention, it is generally party delegates (elected party officials from each state), politicians from the Republican Party, and party supporters. In my case, my father has been friends with Mitt Romney since they worked together at Bain &
Company over 30 years ago. Immediately after our arrival in Tampa, we picked up our credentials, and quickly proceeded to the Tampa Bay Times Forum, home of the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning and venue for the RNC. Rabbi Meir Solovetchik, Associate Rabbi of KJ and former Ramaz Talmud teacher, opened the convention with an invocation. Rabbi Soloveichik quoted—in both Hebrew and English—the verse in the Torah that is inscribed on the Liberty Bell: “And you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land…” Rabbi Soloveichik related this pasuk to one of the founding principles of our nation, that freedom is a gift of God, not government’s, and America should be a beacon of faith and freedom for other nations. It was an incredible moment for me. Regardless of one’s political views, the fact that an orthodox rabbi and Ramaz teacher can give the opening invocation at a historic national event, publicly refer to God as “Ribono Shel Olam,” and base his invocation on funda-
mentally Jewish concepts that relate to the founding of our country is inspiring. During the next few days
and nights I heard from all the top Republican politicians and experienced firsthand the excitement and passion of the delegates on the convention floor. But some of the best parts of the Convention were my experiences outside the Forum. One afternoon I went to an event hosted by AIPAC at which Bob McDonnell (governor of Virginia)
and Sam Brownback (governor of Kansas) passionately expressed their support for Israel. It was very uplifting to hear non-Jewish Americans in positions of power and influence so publicly and decisively support the Jewish state, based on their values as Americans. At an event hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, I had the opportunity to meet and talk directly with Michele Bachman (R-MN), Alan West (RFL), and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor [R-VA]. As I listened to them discuss their views, I was moved by their total commitment to ensuring that America remains the leader of the free world and a positive example to other nations. At a dinner with Eric Cantor, I met Sheldon Adelson (a huge supporter of Israel as well as the Republican party) and his wife Miriam, an Israeli and the mother of a former Ramaz student. I immediately seized the opportunity to put my Ramaz education to work by speaking to her in Hebrew.
She was so impressed that after dinner she invited my father and me to ride with her in the Adelsons’ private limousine to the Forum and sit with them in their private skybox at the Convention. Thank you Ramaz! Even though I can’t vote for president until 2016, I learned important lessons at the RNC. Most politicians are not celebrities; they are regular people. I met Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, and many other elected officials. Although they seem like superstars on TV, meeting them in person made me realize they are not so different from many people I know. In America, any citizen with idealism, commitment and a will to make a change can become a politician and a leader. Also, after interacting with many of the delegates at the convention, I realize how patriotic American citizens are and how much they love our country. Regardless of one’s political views, one has to respect such people who are trying to change things for the better and who are so dedicated to our country.
Mach Hach: An Experience of a Lifetime Michal Hubert ’14 This summer, I was fortunate enough to enjoy the incredible experience that Mach Hach Baaretz offers. As a former loyal camper of Moshava Indian Orchard, I looked forward to spending my summer touring Israel with many of my friends. I was antsy and ready to jump out of my seat, ready to be in Israel, even before takeoff. I spent much of the five weeks hiking. One of Mach Hach’s objectives is for its campers to get in touch with the land, through the mountains of Golan, and down the valleys of the Negev. For one week known as the Adventure Week, the four Mach Hach buses were split into groups: the Yam L’yam Easy and Yam L’yam Hard groups traversed the hiking trails between the Kineret and the Mediterranean sea, and the Negev group spent four days in the desert, doing some hiking but mostly chilling. This experience was spectacular; it was extremely unique and one of my favorite parts of the summer in that
it shifted my life completely for four days. Not only did I have a blast with my new friends from the other buses, but I also experienced living in nature, climbing to impossible heights with everything I needed on my back, sleeping under the stars, and making my own food with nothing but a gas burner. But we did not just live in the wild the whole summer. A huge part of Mach Hach was touring Israel top to bottom and exploring the diversity of Israel through visiting villages and cities. We went snorkeling in Eilat, stayed in a Beduin camp, went swimming in the Dead Sea, walked along the Artists’ quarter in Tzfat, visited fascinating museums, had a Mach Hach-wide scavenger hunt in the Old City, and of course, hung out on Ben-Yehuda Street. We visited numerous religious sites and deepened our spiritual connection with Hashem, our nation, and our holy land. Another fundamental aspect of my Mach Hach
summer was chessed. My bus visited an Ethiopian housing project where we made a carnival for newly immigrated Ethiopian children, served Israel’s less fortunate in a soup kitchen, and picked onions for the hungry with Leket Israel, a nonprofit focusing on feeding the hungry. We even visited Sderot and learned about the threat of Qassam rockets that the community faces every day, and made a goal to spread awareness of their ongoing struggle. My Rosh Bus, or head bus counselor, a leader in the elite Duv Dvan group in the IDF, and altogether an amazing human being, taught us that it wasn’t enough to tour Israel-we had to live Israel. Mach Hach helped me do so. Even though I have been to Israel before and have learned about Israel’s history, current events, and culture in school for years, I had never really experienced Israel this way, like I was personally connected to the land. I felt the weight of its history, the apprecia-
tion of the physical land with my eyes and with my feet, and the rush of its fast-paced, intense, and diverse culture. I am so happy that I have such
amazing memories of such an unforgettable summer and I recommend this program to anyone who is interested in a mind-altering experience.
The RamPage Editorial Staff Editors-in-Chief Jon Herman Jeremy Hoffman Rachel Huebner Associate Editor Darien Kauvar ONLINE Editor Raffi Snow Copy Editor Nina Rohr News Editor Jonathan Koptyev
Opinions Editor Rachel Kahtan Arts Editor Celia Eydeland Photography Editors Sarah Myers Gil Refael Faculty Advisor Dr. Steven Milowitz
September 2012/Tishrei 5773
The RamPage Summer 2012
Page 7
Seneca Takes The Far East Alex Ratzker ’14 This summer I had the opportunity to travel to China on a new program started by Camp Seneca Lake. Rabbi Jensen of Great Neck Synagogue led our group of twenty-four current juniors, fifteen of whom are Ramaz students. Over the course of our three-week stay, we travelled extensively throughout the country and experienced a foreign and exciting culture. Approximately sixteen hours after departing Newark Airport on July 4, we arrived in the smog filled city of Beijing. Our touring began at Tiananmen Square where we encountered a group of Israeli tourists and then performed an impromptu rendition of “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” with them. We continued our sightseeing in the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace and faced the challenge of navigating our way around the aggressive peddlers. Spending our first Shabbat in China at the Chabad House of Beijing with approximately one hundred Jews from all around the world was truly an amazing experience. Following Havdallah, we went to Beijing’s old city, Hutong, and walked around Ho Hai Lake where we passed countless souvenir shops and karaoke bars. Rabbi Jensen was committed to finding opportunities for us to do chessed. He took us to a government-sponsored orphanage that housed chil-
dren whose parents had been condemned to capital punishment. This visit proved to be overwhelmingly joyous as we performed Justin Bieber’s “Baby” for the residents, and joined them in their Mandarin chants. The 5,500 mile expanse of the Great Wall of China was an unforgettable sight. Following our trek up the Great Wall, we took a break to enjoy the panoramic view. After all our picture taking, we opted to ride the toboggan back down, despite the Rabbi’s repeated warnings that in doing so we were endangering our lives. Our next destination was Kaifeng, home to both the ancient Jewish community in China as well as our national guide, Shei Lei. Before hopping on the bullet train to Xi’an, we enjoyed mule rides and carnival shows at a recreation of the ancient Qingmang Festival.
Once in Xi’an, we visited the Terra Cotta Factory and the Terra Cotta Warrior’s Museum. For the second Shabbat we joined another American tour group led by Rabbi Tokayer, an expert in Asian Jewish history at the Chabad of Shanghai. While visiting the Happy Valley Amusement Park, the locals were intrigued by our
group, particularly those of us with light hair and blue eyes, and snapped countless pictures of us. Later that evening we went to the Shanghai Acrobatic Circus, which is very similar to Cirque de Soleil. After learning about the history of Chinese Jewry at the Center of Jewish Studies in Shanghai, we explored the Jewish ghetto, toured the
house where former U.S. Secretary of Treasury Michael Blumenthal used to live, and visited a Holocaust Memorial in a local park. The highlight of our visit to the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum was the mincha service at the old synagogue. Splitting up into three groups, we headed to the observation deck of the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Shanghai Aquarium, or to the nearby mall. Then we visited a knockoff market, where after being ripped off one or two times, most of us mastered the skill of bargaining. We then hurried to the Bund, the downtown Shanghai waterfront, for a scenic nighttime boat ride. When we arrived in Hong Kong, we were amazed to see a city that moved faster than Manhattan. We took the ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Bay to see a synchronized light show emanating from all of the modern buildings on the island. We hiked up scenic
Victoria’s Peak and spent the duration of the day at Stanley Beach. For our third and final Shabbat, we prayed at the Sephardic synagogue, Kehilat Tzion. On the final day of our trip we went to Disneyland, where inclement weather forced us to leave shortly after our arrival. As we braved the storm to return to our bus, we struggled to run against the winds of the approaching typhoon. We managed to make it back to our hotel and prepare for our last meal together which featured a day-by-day recap of the trip. Speaking on behalf of the counselors, Raquel Wildes ’11 said, “The Seneca China experience was a truly remarkable trip. Along with the campers, we created memories that will last a lifetime. We were able to fully immerse ourselves in another culture and experience our Jewish identities in a unique and fun way. Not one moment stands out above the rest.” Despite the downpours and strong winds throughout the night, our flight home miraculously took off on time. Immediately after landing, Natan Tauber ’14 said, “This was the best summer of my life. I’m going to tell my brother (Jack Tauber ‘13) and the rest of the sophomore grade that they should all sign up for Seneca China!”
We Are CVK Combats Sydney Sarachek ’14 When I first arrived at Joara army base on July 1st, I could not imagine what the next week would entail: sleeping on the ground, wearing an army uniform in the burning heat and running all day long. Chetz V'Kshet, or CVK, is a program run by the IDF that goes all around Israel. For one week of the program, I experienced Gadna, a weeklong armytraining program. While extremely challenging, the program turned out to be very rewarding. Our first task as "CVK Combatants" was to build our own tents. We were given a very short amount of time to do this—just like with everything else we would do that week. We even learned how to eat our meals quickly, which consisted of schnitzel, schnitzel and more schnitzel. I truly
appreciate the school lunches now. Besides for the lack of variety of food, we were also missing out on personal hygiene— yes, it was disgusting! After five days of crawling in the woods, shooting M-16s, navigating ourselves out of a forest, camouflaging ourselves in the
dark and sleeping in dirt, (all the while not showering!) we were all ready to jump into
worth trying to brush my hair because it was so disgusting and knotty. Our uniforms that
a warm shower. By the end of the week, it was not even
we had been wearing every day were covered in dirt and
soaked in sweat, and on the last night, we even had to sleep in them. We woke up around five a.m. every day, or maybe six on a good day. Just our luck, on the last night we had a special mission for which our commanders woke us up at three in the morning and took us to the forest where we had to use all of the skills we had learned that week. We successfully defeated the "Arabs" in our early morning mission, and finished our last task of Gadna week. When we boarded the bus to leave the base, there was a huge feeling of relief amongst the campers, but also a feeling of accomplishment, because we were much stronger than we were when we began. One last thing I learned from this experience: I will not be joining the army any time soon.
Page 8
The RamPage Arts
September 2012/Tishrei 5773
Hit and Run Misses Jonathan Koptyev ’13 The late summer movie Hit and Run is an action-comedy about a young couple, Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell, that risked it all by leaving their hometown on a road trip that they hoped would lead them to the opportunity of a lifetime. Annie, played by Kristen Bell, is a young college professor who yearned for a job better than the one she had at a run-down community college. Interestingly, she did manage to find a job, only she had one problem; it was in Los Angeles. When Charlie Bronson (Dax Shepard), her boyfriend, learned this, he was willing to move to LA with her in order to maintain their relationship. However, unbeknownst to Annie, Charlie had a secret past identity in Witness Protection. His real name was actually Yul Perkins, and he changed his name to Charles Bronson, the name of a notorious prisoner. As the plot progresses, Charlie’s concealed past life causes them a slew of obstacles on their road trip, including pursuits by Charlie’s old
friend, Alexander Dimitri (Bradley Cooper) and Annie’s ex-boyfriend. Their whole trip grew awkwardly complicated, leading to relationship problems between Annie and Charlie, especially when she learned who he truly was. In the end, however, they made it to LA and Annie realized how much Charlie had changed, and accepted him as he was. Personally, I came to watch an action-comedy, not a cute movie about a couple, which is exactly what Hit and Run was. There were not many funny scenes throughout the movie, just a whole lot of lovey-dovey relationship dialogue. Some scenes that were clearly intended to be funny sparked a smirk but not many led to laughter; other than one scene of a completely un-athletic man doing an astonishing back flip. Also, Shepard played a very dry persona. Although he appeared a tall, rugged redneck with a muscle car; as a character, he didn’t have as much ‘swag’ as one would think. He spoke in a mo-
notonous tone that became irritating by the middle of the movie; one that would leave the watcher wondering whether he was being sarcastic or just plain serious. However, Bradley Cooper seemed to compensate for Shepard’s lack of selfassurance. Cooper played a thug, as his character’s dreadlocks and aviator sunglasses seemed to suggest. In one scene he choked a man with a dog leash and forced him to eat the detrimental dog food that he chose to buy for his dog. Now that’s boss. As much as it appears to be an out-of-character role for Cooper, it was an interesting one to see. All in all though, Hit and Run was a semi-enjoyable movie. One comes to take joy in the degree of awkwardness in certain scenes and simply laugh off bad, if not terrible, jokes. Seeing the movie was a descent way to spend a lazy summer day, but it definitely could have had me more entertained.
Pizza Caller Strikes Again: 80 non-kosher pizzas ordered to front desk. Look out for our October issue.
The RamPage comes out once a month. Individual opinions do not reflect the views of the paper itself. The RamPage meets in Room 604 on Thursday night at 5:00. New members are welcome and encouraged to join. RAMPAGE@RAMAZ.ORG
Holiday Season Jeremy Hoffman ’13
Across 2 ______ Schurz Park, sight of tashlikh for east enders 6 White burial shroud worn on the high holidays (by men) 8 Her story is read as the haftarah on R'H 10 Island host to end of summer EDM festival 12 Don't put this on the Challah this time of year 14 His famous song "Who By Fire" is based on one of the Rosh Hashannah prayers Down 1 Killed Sisera 3 _____ Rainey Rogers Auditorium, site of KJ daveners in the Met 4 Many seeded fruit eaten on the New Year, Heb. 5 Special prayer book 7 lasts approximately 10 seconds 8 Director of upcoming film with Emma Watson, Stephen 9 Commemorate his death on the third of tishrei 11 Plays angry scout in upcoming film 13 Stars alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in upcoming crime thriller, Michael