The SAR Buzz, June 2015 by The Buzz

Official Newspaper of SAR High School

The Buzz

June 2015 — Vol. 10, No. 5

If You Can’t Read This, It’s Too Late Jewish Literacy at SAR

by Toba Stern It’s a weird time for seniors: school is wrapping up, and their time at SAR is almost over (sorry, Deena). For some, it’s been four years here; for others, it’s been fourteen. We’ve been told over and over (and over and over) that “It’s not just what you learn, it’s who you become,” and now is the time to reflect on that. SAR seeks to measure what we’ve learned through tests, quizzes, finals, etc., because it is far harder to quantify “what we’ve become.” But this year, two seniors have attempted to quantify at least a small part of that. They sought to answer the question: are we leaving high school as Jewishly literate individuals? Shalhevet Schwartz (‘15) and Solomon Friedman (‘15) created a Jewish literacy survey, or quiz, to be distributed to the senior grade during an advisory period in March. They decided that advisory would be the best platform for conducting the survey, because it would ensure that students actually take it (as opposed to an online poll, which, even we know, no one takes). They involved Ms. Taubes and Ms. Germano, as they are the point-people for senior advisory, and Ms. Taubes provided consultation on the content of the quiz. The survey was Friedman’s idea, and he pursued this project in order to “gauge where everyone was, in order to find out how well they would actually function in this world as Jews.” Schwartz

explained that she sensed a lack of basic Jewish literacy in her grade, as well as among SAR High School students in general. “We talk a lot about ideas here, and I think that’s great,” she said. In contrast, she experienced a lack of emphasis on basic facts, which, she argued, are critical to lead-

What’s Inside

Teachers Leaving Page 10

ing a Jewish life. “It’s not okay for students to leave SAR and not know how to say ‘asher yatzar’ [the blessing one says after leaving the bathroom]. And how can we study halakha properly when so many of us don’t know that the Shulchan Aruch was written after the Mishneh Torah?” She thought that the survey, which would bring the issue to light, would play an important role in prompting the

Page 12

Continued on page 8

IDF Soldier Benjamin Anthony Gets Mixed Reviews By Yael Marans

No More Israeli Fellows

administration to address them. “I’d like to think something could be done about those gaps. And in general, it’s always important to identify a problem before you try to solve it.” The quiz contained basic questions about Judaism, ranging from “Who compiled the Mishna?” to “Who is the current prime minister of Israel?” Although the questions were not separated into categories, Schwartz said that “for the most part, they tested either historical/textual background knowledge or practical knowledge.” Questions like, “Put the following people in chronological order” fell into the former category, while questions such as, “What bracha does one make on lightning?” fall into the latter. On average, students answered about half of the total questions (7/14) correctly. But this came as no surprise to many students. “The gist of the results didn’t surprise me,” elaborated Schwartz. “I was pretty certain that we were going to find a serious lack of knowledge in our grade.” However, she said, there were specific questions which yielded surprising responses. “When we asked why God postponed Bnei Yisrael’s entry into Israel, nearly half of our grade said it was because of the sin of the golden calf--bear in mind, we learned the story

Perched at the podium, Sergeant Benjamin Anthony asked several times for someone to turn on all of the lights in the auditorium. It would be a great help to him in his presentation, he said. Soon, it became apparent why this was important to him, as Anthony forcefully involved the audience in forms of oral surveys, asking from where our families hailed and how willing we were to defend Israel. Anthony, a former sergeant of the IDF and founder of Our Soldiers Speak, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about IDF policies and military

campaigns, addressed SAR High School on Yom Haatzmaut following the Cochav Nolad competition. His booming British accent and powerful rhetoric permeated the auditorium, and the student body was captivated by his message. Sgt. Anthony began by explicating his bona fides. Having grown up in England, he claimed the authority to accurately describe the anti-Semitism in Europe. Having served in both combat roles and official roles in the IDF, he discussed both the moral ideals that the IDF holds and practical considerations that the IDF deals with on a day-to-day basis. And having spoken at several American college campuses, he felt it was his duty to

report the anti-Israel sentiment on campus. After citing his credentials, Sgt. Anthony recounted an incident of anti-Semitism from his childhood in London. On one regular commute to his Jewish school, Anthony and his brothers were attacked by a gang of violent anti-Semites. The pack, he explained, beat him up and nearly murdered his older brother, whose health has been affected since then. He used this story to stress the importance of standing up against antiSemitism, to warn students not to stand by while Israel, and thereby the Jewish people, are in grave danger. As Jews, he said, we have to remember that there are people in Continued on page 9

The Buzz, June 2015

Editorial Title

It’s Not About the Price Tag

Creating a Culture of Financial Sensitivity by Shalhevet Schwartz About two weeks ago, I, along with the rest of the girls in my grade, was added to a new Facebook group. The group, entitled “Senior Girls’ Dresses,” is a forum for the girls in our grade to post pictures of what they plan to wear to both Senior Dinner and graduation. Something about the group has been bothering me. It’s not the fact that people are spending hundreds of dollars on dresses for graduation--people like getting dressed up, and we all spend money on luxuries-it’s the implicit assumption that everybody in that group can afford a $200 dress that they’ll wear once. We’ve created a culture of wealth, a culture in which students who can’t go to Anthropologie feel excluded, in which students who can’t buy a new dress for Senior Dinner feel ashamed. This isn’t intended to be a tirade against the girls in my grade--an almost identical Facebook group existed last year, and I’m sure future classes will create similar ones. The problem with this group is that it’s indicative of a larger insensitivity to wealth.

STAFF

The insensitivity creeps into the assumptions we make about how we spend time with our friends. It creeps into the way we talk to each other, the way we think about each other. I’m just as much of an offender as anybody else. I’m thinking back to an incident a few months ago, when I was talking to two friends about college (because what else do you talk about during October of senior year?). For one of my friends, paying for a private college wasn’t an option--my other friend and I were able to grasp that much. So we were suggesting possible public universities, without giving any thought to the fact that public education, too, costs money, and that Hunter College’s $6,000 a year isn’t affordable for everyone. My friend didn’t say anything at the time--she just let us go on and on about how cheap it was. In retrospect, I know I was incredibly insensitive. I’d like to think that next time, I’ll be more thoughtful. But if I’m being realistic, I probably won’t. So--where are we going wrong? It’s not that we don’t talk enough about socioeconomic privilege. Especially this year, with Tzedek framing our Yemei Iyun and dictating the conversations we’ve had on

Deena Nerwen Shalhevet Schwartz Toba Stern

Layout Editor Rose Frankel

News Editors Emma Cantor Matt Jelen Yael Marans

Features Editor

Temima Grossman Photography Editors Jordana Kosowsky Miriam Stern Business Manager Sarah Rebarber Website Manager Jacob Aaronson Faculty Advisor Dr. Judith Ballan

charity. It doesn’t really challenge us to to reflect on our behavior, or to think about the people around us. Which means that from a pedagogical standpoint, SAR is in a bind. On the one hand, we want to have meaningful conversations about privilege, and we want students to be aware of--and sensitive to --the socio-economic gaps among the student body. On the other hand, we don’t want to start a conversation that makes anyone feel like the token poor kid. I’m not sure whether it’s acceptable for a school to knowingly make specific students uncomfortable-those same students whose peers make them uncomfortable so frequently--in the hope that it will encourage more sensitive behavior in the future. It’s a question that SAR needs to grapple with; there’s a balance we should strive to strike. But I know what we can do as students. We can think twice before we ever assume that our friends can split an Uber. We can stop deeming items “cheap”--cheap is relative. And, when we’re posting pictures of our dresses, the least we can do is crop out the brand name and price tag.

Goodbye From Your Editors

Editors in Chief

Associate Editor

shabbatonim, we’ve talked about privilege quite a bit. But we’ve focused on disability, on race, on education, and on the privileges that come with being born in the United States. We’ve focused on the areas in which each and every one of us has an advantage over those people out there who are less fortunate. In talking about privilege, we are united: we are the privileged, and the underprivileged are Other. I understand why, as an institution, we gravitate toward those conversations. They’re easier (granted, race isn’t so easy, but that’s for different reasons), because they don’t mean singling out those students with fewer means. A conversation about a privilege which we all share doesn’t divide us. Talking about how lucky we are to attend a great private school doesn’t make me shift uncomfortably in my seat when I realize who’s sitting next to me. Yet that comes with a price. When the only privilege we talk about is the fact that we’re not from a slum in Mumbai, we distance ourselves from our privilege. There’s nothing we can do about it, really, other than “being appreciative” (whatever that means) or having some vague desire to give more

We would like to take this half a page to thank those people have made it possible for The Buzz to be the amazing paper that it was this year. First, we want to extend a thank you to all of our writers. We couldn’t have a newspaper if we didn’t have articles; you’re the backbone of The Buzz. We want to thank you for all of the hard work that you put into writing your articles, which we know includes everything from nagging teachers for interviews to staying up late typing, even when you might have a Chem test the next day. To Yael Marans (‘16), Matt Jelen (‘16), Toba Stern (‘15) and Emma Cantor (‘15), our News Editors: thank you for the countless hours you’ve spent combing through articles and guiding writers through the process of shaping their articles. Our writers have grown tremendously this year, and that is largely due to the work that the four of you put in. We also want to thank our INCREDIBLE Layout Editor Rose Frankel (‘15), the member of the Buzz’s staff who is probably both the least appreciated and most deserving of appreciation. The frantic, last-minute

work that we expect from you takes tremendous dedication, and we couldn’t have asked for anyone better for the job. We’re excited to welcome a new editorial staff for next year. Yael Marans (‘16) and Matt Jelen (‘16) will be taking over as Co-Editors-in-Chief. Yael and Matt have written outstanding and hard-hitting articles, and have proved to be terrific editors as well. We have no doubt that they’ll take on their new title with seriousness and vision and produce a fantastic paper. We’re also looking forward to our new team of News Editors: Ayelet Rubenstein (‘17), Gabi Cantor (‘17), and Shira Silver (‘16). You three have demonstrated both commitment and talent over the past two years and they’re sure to be phenomenal editors. Temima Grossman (‘17), whose hysterically funny articles have often brought us to tears (the good kind), will continue on in her role as Features Editor, bringing us meh lists and more. We’d like to thank Ms. Schlaff and Rabbi Frank for reading every single Buzz article this year and helping us to create a paper that SAR can be proud of. We know that it’s never fun to be the bad cop, but their “censorship” was always well intentioned

and extremely supportive, and we couldn’t appreciate their tireless work more. We also must thank the one and only Dr. Ballan. She approached her role as Buzz advisor with the utmost seriousness, and was always looking to be involved in any way she could. Her wisdom, advice, and support were essential to our success this year. We couldn’t have operated without her. And so, another year of The Buzz comes to a close. A big thank you to our devoted readers (and even to those of who have only picked up the paper once or twice). At the end of the day, The Buzz is for the benefit of the SAR student body and community at large, and we are honored to have been a part of it. To say that we’ll miss working on the Buzz is an understatement. It’s been such a huge part of our lives for the past two years. It’s taught us about responsibility, leadership, journalism, and so much more. Thank you, SAR, for this opportunity. We love this place, this paper, and all of you. Sincerely, Shalhevet Schwartz and Deena Nerwen, Co-Editors-in-Chief

Staff Writers Alexandra Berger Gabi Cantor Laurel Dobkin Rafi Fischer

Alon Futter Ariella Gentin Rebecca Harris Matthew Heisler

Liat Katz Jenny Kleiman Emily Knopf Yaira Kobrin

Bobby Miller Noa Mintz Marianna Najman-Franks Leah Nerenberg

Rachel Ordan Ayelet Rubenstein Lilly Scherban Shira Silver

Jackie Tokayer Nomi Weinberger Atira Zeichik

The Buzz, June 2015

School TitleLife

So, Where Does All the Money Go? Investigating SAR’s Budget

by Matt Jelen Last year, The Buzz ran a piece by Gabi Cantor (‘17) on SAR’s budget (see “Ohh, So This Is Where All the Money Goes: Budget Management at SAR High School,” Vol. 9, No. 4). It reflected on quite a vast amount of information that the school has, for five years now, divulged to the public in Windows, SAR’s Annual Report. Through lucid pie charts, SAR Academy and SAR High School (which share a joint budget) release the breakup of their revenue and expenses, including the sum of tuition scholarships and their progress on loan repayments. Cantor gave an overview of the annual report’s consequences and implications, while delving a little deeper into the technology segment of the budget. I’ve decided to take quite a different route in analyzing the report. While the report includes a wide array of information, the detail doesn’t go very far, since all that’s really given is percentage values of a colossal budget, organized by vague subcategory. So I sat down with Rabbi Harcsztark to break down the sections that I thought affect us most as students and occupy us most on a day-to-day basis. First on the agenda: the 1.3% of a $32.1 million budget devoted to “Student Activities, Trips and Teams”--which comes out to a little over $400,000 (remember, for both the Academy and the High School). The

larger expenses, like teams and significant trips, are allotted portions of this amount in the beginning of the year. A significant percentage of it, however, is left to be doled out throughout the school year towards anything from refreshments for an extracurricular club to funding for Student Government initiatives. Usually, apportionment of these funds is reviewed and approved by Rabbi Houben (who works with the business office on behalf of the Student Activities Team), and Rabbi Harcsztark oversees and gives the final stamp of approval. The Student Activities budget covers a whole host of different events and activities, most of which cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. For example, the recent U.N. trip that the school sponsored cost SAR $20 per person, with a delegation of 40 students -- a total cost of $800, as well as a full-size bus on top of that. But expenses like this don’t really bother Rabbi Harcsztark, because he believes they’re for a worthy cause. “We made a decision [early on] that the experience at SAR allows you to be exposed to a range of things,” he said. “This is what makes it meaningful for a lot of kids. We could totally run a school where we could just have sports and that’s it... [but] we’ve made a decision where the high school experience is one in which kids can develop passions for life and make big decisions. I’m certain that we’d be a very different school if

we didn’t do that.” And anyway, Rabbi Harcsztark said the school is looking at possibly making some changes to the way extracurriculars are financed. “We’ve been spending a lot of time expanding the co-curricular program,” he explained, “and I think now we’re in a different mode, looking at everything we’ve done and reflecting on how we can improve and make changes.” Over the next few years, he said, the school will look to streamline its extracurricular programming in order to make it more efficient. Some students, however, are upset with the school’s allotment of its Student Activities budget (which also covers Student Government), including Kira Cohen (’16), one of the junior Class Presidents. “Class Presidents are elected each year with the expectation of planning and executing fun activities for the grade,” she said. “Yet the school provides zero dollars to accomplish that goal. We are responsible for fundraising all of the money that we need to spend.” And, obviously, this can make things a lot more difficult for Cohen and her coPresident, especially given the fact that they ran for the office promising innovative and exciting programming. “I think it’s very difficult to expect us to do something without giving us the tools... I understand that the school can’t give us boatloads of money to spend, but something would be greatly ap-

preciated,” explained Cohen. I asked Rabbi Harcsztark about funding for Student Council, which apparently is also severely lacking. He explained that the infrastructure needed in order for Council to do something with funds has yet to be set up. “Student Council has been changing, and it just hasn’t been set in a way [where funding is really feasible],” he said. “We have no opposition to giving them money, it just hasn’t happened because it’s a moving target at this point.” Cohen has her own ideas for improving the system. “Everyone is so focused on making Student Council better,” she said. “I think there should be a Treasurer, to distribute money to both Class Presidents and Student Council, and [to] oversee their budgets.” But while this irks those involved with Student Government, it seems many students are more concerned with a far more palpable issue, and one that has almost become part of the SAR culture by now -- leaks in the building whenever it rains. Many have wondered why the school has invested in improvements in areas such as the gym, while seemingly neglecting to make necessary repairs to the building structure. In response to this, Rabbi Harcsztark explained that many people are slightly misguided on this. First of all, some context: over the Continued on page 18

Odds are You Won’t Read This, But It’s Important Gambling at SAR

by Gabi Cantor Studies conducted regarding gambling amongst American teenagers vary broadly-they indicate that somewhere between 2 and 17% of teenagers gamble on a regular basis. Unbeknownst to many, SAR students contribute to this statistic as well. This past January, two SAR sophomores began playing World Series of Poker online with their classmates. The two students, Josh* (‘17) and Ethan* (`17), had begun playing over the summer at camp. After playing for several weeks, the online game, which involved fake money, escalated to poker hands starting with an entry price of a dollar. Although the price of a game seemed low, the cumulative impact of frequent playing proved significant. “We gambled after davening every day, every lunch period, every free, and even tried to leave class for a few minutes at a time to play in the bathroom,” said Jonah* (`17), who joined the group this year.

The group grew rapidly in numbers. “We played for the thrill, but truthfully, everyone thinks they are going to make money,” explained Jeremy* (`17). While money was certainly an incentive for some, others claimed that there was social pressure to participate. “Once you have played, people constantly ask you if you want to play again, making it very hard to stop,” claimed Matt* (`17). Others were captivated by the competitive nature of the activity. “Most played because it was fun, but others played to become the best. People were very competitive for their money and wins,” stated Michael* (`17). He elaborated further that this determination to win led gamblers to play compulsively and bet more money to make up for losses, often to no avail. Some of the gamblers were aware that their activity would be frowned upon by the administration; however, they did not think that there would be serious repercussions, mainly because there is no school policy on the matter. This made the gamblers dis-

regard the fact that they were playing poker

“Studies conducted regarding gambling amongst American teenagers vary broadly--they indicate that somewhere between 2 and 17% of teenagers gamble on a regular basis.” in school. “I knew we were going to get a warning and if we kept playing we would get in serious trouble,” commented Jeremy*.

Some students felt that it was only a matter of time before the gamblers were reprimanded and thus, decided not to play in school. This decision was partly based on what had occurred in Frisch’s sophomore grade earlier this year. Students who went to the same camp as Ethan* and Josh* brought gambling to Frisch; however, the gambling problem there was on a larger scale. Jeremy* speculated that “Frisch had 80% of the [boys in their] grade playing.” When Frisch’s administration became aware that there was a gambling problem in the tenth grade, it asserted that there would be serious repercussions if the gambling continued. “I never gambled in school because I saw what happened in Frisch. They threatened to suspend kids,” explained Benjamin* (`17). The risk of getting caught aside, some of the gamblers’ peers disapproved of the activity and its consequences. The potential Continued on page 12

The Buzz, June 2015

School TitleLife

Banning the Band

Chagiga Band Replaced During Yom Haatzmaut Celebrations By Ayelet Rubenstein Drums pounding. Guitars and bases astrum. Rabbi Block singing. The entire school dancing. Everyone stuffed with donuts. It is the SAR High School chagiga experience. At the heart of which, of course, is the chagiga band. The chagiga band has become as distinctly a part of the SAR chagiga experience as Elisha Block is to Riverdale food options (as weird weather is to the annex). The band has become such a Chagiga given that when Shim Craimer and his professional band jammed for Yom Haatzmaut, students were astonished. Many students did not think that the professional band made an especially positive impact on the chagiga atmosphere. In fact, some were of the opinion that the replacement band could not even compare to SAR’s typical chagiga band. “The chagiga band makes chagigas what they are,” Sarah Bolnick (‘18) argued. “They have ruach that I personally think no one else can match.” Rabbi Birnbaum, however, believed that there was something to be gained by having a professional band play. “Each Continued on page 13

Ulpan

Conversational Hebrew Course is Now Mandatory for Seniors by Shira Silver This fall, SAR will be modifying the Judaic Studies curriculum to require all seniors to take three periods a week of “Ulpan,” or conversational Hebrew, for the duration of first semester. A number of factors have contributed to this change. First, as Ms. Naftalovich explained, it is unnatural to spend eleven years studying Hebrew and then to stop abruptly right before many take a gap year in Israel, when fluency in Hebrew is most valuable. In addition, under the current system, it is impossible for seniors to enroll in Hebrew along with Honors Tanakh and TSBP. Thus, many students who want to take Hebrew are simply unable to fit it into their schedules and have pushed for change (this year, three seniors took both Honors TSBP and Hebrew, a special arrangement which meant missing three periods of TSBP each week for first semester. This system, needless to say, was less than ideal). Finally, Ms. Schlaff added that the current senior elective program is already about five years old, so “it’s about time to tinker with it again.” After some careful reflection, the administration has decided that this is an important change to make.

Several other changes are being made to the Judaic Studies curriculum in order to accommodate the required Hebrew classes. Put simply, Ulpan is taking the slot of a 3-period per week elective. So, while most seniors this year could choose two electives, next year’s seniors can only choose one. In addition, the Beit Midrash curriculum for senior year, which has in the past been a year-long, once a week class, has become a more unified and intense unit during second semester, which gives the administration an extra period to work with in making the schedules run smoothly. This change, while made to make the learning more productive and not specifically to enable the new Hebrew program, allowed for more flexibility in scheduling and makes it possible for all seniors who are not enrolled in Honors Tanakh to take an elective. Seniors will also be able to take different levels of Tanakh and TSBP with relative ease. The Ulpan curriculum is different from the normal Hebrew curriculum in that it places the focus on conversational skills. As Ms. Naftalovich put it, “After years of studying vocabulary, grammar, Israeli history, and literature, the time has come to use this knowledge to speak in everyday language.”

The goal of the class is to create opportunities for students to speak in Hebrew about various subjects so that they will become more confident in their ability to speak Hebrew intelligently. Hopefully, they will be able to use what they learn in these classes if they choose to take a gap year in Israel. The classes will be conversationbased, and will have a different focus every week. Topics of focus will range from the economy to the judicial system. While there will still be vocabulary quizzes, assessments will include more creative projects that will allow students to showcase their communication skills. So far, the administration has been very pleased with students’ responses. Across the board, students seem excited about and supportive of the program. As Zoë May (’16) explained, “After being in yeshiva for so many years, it’s nice to have an opportunity to learn how to really speak the language.” While the majority of students agree that conversational Hebrew is an important skill, particularly when one is already learning to write in Hebrew, there is still some debate as to whether the class should be mandatory. Many students think it is important that

Ulpan be required senior year so that students can build the Hebrew skills necessary to spend a year in Israel. Alana Woloshin (’16) noted that, while she has learned from her past three years of Hebrew classes, she does not yet feel prepared to interact with fluent Hebrew speakers. Still, a number of students feel uncomfortable with the requirement that all students take the class. Laurel Dobkin (’16) was “very excited for senior year Judaic Studies, because seniors got to choose what they were passionate about learning.” While she feels that learning conversational Hebrew can be beneficial to many students, especially those who will be taking a gap year in Israel, she highlights that some students are not interested in going to Israel or in studying Hebrew for another year. Their time, she believes, “would be better spent in a Judaic Studies class that they are more interested in.” Ms. Naftalovich will be spending her summer working out the details of the program and she and the rest of the faculty involved are excited to see how the program will turn out next fall.

The Buzz, June 2015

Title Op-Ed Debate

Should SAR Shut Down a Student-Run Senior Prom? AFFIRMATIVE by Eliana Rohrig I think the administration should intervene in a student run prom at SAR for the following reasons, but before I begin, I’d like to give a special shoutout to senior dinner (which is basically prom, just at a nicer place and with better food). Something that is underrated and very important to consider is MONEY. Frisch’s senior prom is $100 a person, Ramaz’s is $220, Solomon Schechter’s is $95. Your average tuxedo rental: $140. The rest of the numbers differ, but the above ain’t it folks. Think… limo, dress, corsage, after prom, etc. Since it is not a school run event, they’re not offering financial aid on anything, and there is a serious ritziness to the event that is not something SAR is about. This problem has nothing to do with Jewish high schools specifically, of course, because it exists all over the country, but prom causes those who cannot afford it to feel insecure and excluded. SAR does its very best to not turn their backs on a student seeking a Jewish education because of money, and therefore it feels sour to then exclude the kids who cannot afford tuition to an overpriced elitist dance. Prom isn’t one of the “safe” spaces to have fun that PACT discusses and therefore it is logically something SAR would get involved in stopping. One hundred and twenty students dancing, drinking, and possibly doing more raises a red flag for adults who commit their lives to empowering and educating Modern Orthodox teenagers. And as for the argument that because it would be student-run, it’s none of the administration’s business: prom is supposed to be for the whole grade, which means that like it or not, no matter who is running it, it is a school event. If life was full of APUSH terms I guess you could say I’m a Federalist. I believe in a strong administration that takes themselves seriously when they say no to a senior prom. SAR expects its students to make their own mature decisions. But, at the same time, SAR encourages us to do that on our own in our respective communities, at home, in Israel, and in college. The reality is that at

Response by Jessica Kane First, while I understand that fasting is a personal decision, I also think that it is one in which the school has every right to be involved. I think your argument can be easily applied to Shabbat observance on shabbatonim: while what is done in our hotel rooms is “beyond the school’s control”, I think we can all agree that the expectation that every student adhere to the strictest standard of shabbat observance

the same time SAR has a set of values as a Modern Orthodox institution that are made explicitly clear, and those values run contradictory to what a prom is. At all school run events there are serious repercussions for doing things that go against these values, and no matter who is paying for it, a prom, as a school event, should be held to those same standards. PACT addresses events that involve even 1/10 of the grade--so of course prom, to which every student in the grade is invited, is something the administration would get

“The administration has made it crystal clear that they do not want a senior prom a SAR; without getting into their reasoning, respecting the institution you’re a part of a worthy value.” involved in. Rules are rules, and sometimes, rules are meant to be broken. Young people have a long history of fighting the good fight on many worthy causes and sticking it to the man; however, if the man is Rabbi Harcsztark, and the cause is spiked fruit punch, dressy selfies, and an overpriced limo, I think you’re better off sticking to the rules. The administration has made it crystal clear that they do not want a senior prom a SAR; without getting into their reasoning, respecting the institution you’re a part of a worthy value. The administration adamantly does not want a student-run prom, so why go against them?

on a shabbaton has a lot of legitimacy. It helps create a respectful atmosphere, and I don’t think anyone would argue otherwise. Finally, as you mentioned, “we are teenagers,” and are old enough to have a grasp on our eating habits. Anyone who knows they cannot make it through the day without something to eat is more than welcome to pack leftovers from home and eat them in private, where they don’t have a negative impact on the school’s atmosphere.

NEGATIVE by Jessica Kane

During senior year at SAR, for five periods a week during the second semester, students are prompted to ask themselves, “Who am I as a Jew?” Titled Jewish Identity, this class pushes students to consider how their four years at SAR High School have benefited them and defined their personal and communal religious values. These five periods a week are a manifestation of the many principles that make our high school unique: open discussion, emphasis on individuality and assumed levels of trust and maturity. With regard to those ideas, what is a senior prom, and how does it inspire or contradict those values? In which cases should the administration set boundaries for the student body, and in which should it educate students so they can set their own? SAR has always encouraged students to implement the Jewish values taught and enforced inside the school building in their home lives as well. However, those values are not a black and white set of rules independent of the individual. SAR encourages a dialogue between Jewish values and identity. It would seem from this dialogue that SAR’s ideal is not a senior grade that does not host a prom, but a senior student with the distinctive confidence to say, “As an adult who is secure in my Jewish values, I am comfortable with this,” or, “As an adult who is secure in my Jewish values, I am not.” The apparent counterargument here is that students who are personally or religiously uncomfortable attending senior prom may either sit home and feel that they are missing out or succumb to social pressure and attend. But social pressure is an undeniable aspect of life, and learning to consider or not consider that pressure in making a decision is a necessary piece of

Response by Eliana Rohrig: In response to the issue of social pressure: it is unfair to the students and their families that make the decision not to attend prom to even be put in the position of having to say no. These families subscribe to Modern Orthodox values and make the decision to send their students to a school that does as well. They have every right, therefore, to expect that the school would not let an event happen--an event involving the whole grade--that goes against these religious values. If you feel that the SAR administration should not be, and does not have a right to be involved with an entirely student-run event, which is not affiliated with the school

maturation. In secular colleges, which we are encouraged to attend, students will find themselves faced with alcohol, drugs and other possibly uncomfortable behaviors, all presented under indisputable social pressures. In secular colleges, students will not have an administration deciding which parties they should or should not attend. That being said, it is in that sense of the word that high school prom is not a party. What is discouraged in the SAR community is unsupervised social gatherings, during which parents and administrators are aware students sometimes drink alcohol or behave immaturely. Senior prom is a celebration of adulthood, and one students around the world share with their parents. A student run prom in the Yeshiva league is an event girls shop for with their mothers. An SAR student-run prom would be held, like most others, in a club in Manhattan. Unlike an unsupervised open house, the event is booked as underage, therefore alcohol is not served and students who appear to have drunk alcohol on their own are asked to leave. A common case for the legalization of marijuana is that this would reduce the level of crime associated with it. The same is true here. It’s understandable to assume in an entirely student organized senior prom issues of what is or is not appropriate may arise, but were students to sit down and discuss these challenges with the administration, as we have always been encouraged with all other challenges, these issues could be minimized. Contrary to common misconceptions, prom is not an excuse for high school kids to party--if that were the case, students every year would stop attempting to organize a prom and simply throw more parties. Prom is a demonstration of maturity and independence, and a celebration of senior students’ identities. In SAR, those identities have been fostered, so why are they not trusted? in any official way, I don’t buy it--prom is a school event no matter who’s paying for it. However, even if I conceded that point, the most sensitive issue I listed is the one of finances. The only solution as an equalizer is to have SAR chip in--but then you find yourself involving the school, and we’re back at square one. Making students pay so much is unfair to those who can’t afford it, and the only way to make it cheaper is to get rid of the DJ, the after-prom, and the bouncer. But then all you really have is Senior Dinner. It’s a zero sum game, and that is why I think it is in everyone’s best interest to adhere to the rules and just enjoy the end of senior year with ease, taking part in the usual festivities and graduating with a great legacy.

The Buzz, June 2015

TheTitle Ethicist

A Convenient Excuse by Avi Siegal Dear Ethicist, In my first year on a secular college campus, I’ve noticed a troubling occurrence within the religious Jewish community. Unlike SAR, secular colleges have school during the Jewish holidays, which forces Orthodox Jews to miss entire days of school. The professors are aware of the Jewish holidays and are required by university policy to accommodate the students’ religious needs. However, the professors often don’t understand the specifics of these holidays, which make it easy for students to take advantage of their teachers. For example, a fellow Jew in my writing class told the professor that she could not be in class for all of Chol HaMoed Pesach because of a Jewish holiday. The professor turned to me on one of the days of Chol HaMoed and said, “Why are you here? Isn’t it a Jewish holiday?” As I explained the intricacies of the holiday, I realized how easy it is to take advantage of an unaware professor and use the holidays as a way to game the system. With that said, I’d love to know when accommodation turns into taking advantage of someone in a situation like this. Thank you,

A former SAR student now at NYU Dear Thoughtful Alum, There is a lot to unpack here. We will use the example you’ve provided as a case study in an attempt to identify the line between accommodation and exploitation. Spoiler alert: we will not entirely succeed, but we will come close. My instinct is to immediately conclude that your fellow student–let’s call her Faye Sach, for simplicity’s sake–is unethically taking advantage of the professor, since Chol HaMoed does not, on the religious plane, render Faye incapable of attending class. I think that this inclination is unwise, and probably results from observing the contrast between you, who did not make such an excuse, and Faye, who did. You clearly decided to attend class since work is permitted on Chol HaMoed–but were you obligated to do so? If we view them alone, we may find that Faye’s actions have ethical merit. Our first task consequently becomes locating the letter of the moral law, so to speak, in this case. Faye’s reason for pulling the religion card is significant. If the class conflicts with her practice of Pesach, which could include tefillah, a family holiday vacation, or a belief that attending class on Chol HaMoed is inappropriate, then she passes my ethical test

(this is similarly but more broadly applied to Yom Tov). If she is privately uninterested in the religious aspect of Chol HaMoed and simply wants to be exempt from class, then she fails my ethical test. The middle ground, however, is much more difficult to judge. Perhaps Faye planned an outing with friends to an exotic destination like the Bronx Zoo, and this tiyul coincided with her class. The key to unlocking the ethicality of such conduct is motivation. If Faye’s motivation has religious roots, if she would consider this a “Chol HaMoed trip” and not just a trip, then I am morally comfortable with her explaining her absence to her professor on religious grounds. Such an activity, I think, marks the boundary to which “the students’ religious needs” extends; this is what I would deem the letter of the moral law. Yes, the superethical approach would be for Faye to attend the class or to explain her absence differently, but nevertheless, her behavior in such a scenario would be ethical. The core issue that must be evaluated in such cases is whether or not the Jewish student is just utilizing Chol HaMoed as a convenient excuse. Certainly, Faye would not be lying were she to tell the professor that the class was on the same day as a Jewish holiday, but she would also be allowing

the professor to assume that the holiday in some way prevented her from coming to class. If this attendant assumption is in fact false, then Faye’s conduct is unethical. To ethically use the excuse of Chol HaMoed, Faye must not be misleading the professor; in other words, she must legitimately have a religious reason. Your question is a question of honesty and trust, a question of what happens when an elastic loophole is created. Chol HaMoed is one way of many to take advantage of a professor’s sensitivity. Telling a professor that you cannot attend class for fraudulent religious reasons is ethically identical to telling a professor that you cannot attend class because of an invented family illness. Unless Faye was away for Pesach with her family, or there’s some other lurking ethical conflict of which neither of us is aware, I can’t possibly judge her choice in your situation to be ethical. Come visit SAR and we’ll chat more!

ON A LIGHTER NOTE . . .

Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

The Buzz, June 2015

Title News Community

The Trial of Former Nazi Oskar Groening

A Personal Account from the Granddaughter of a Survivor by Emma Cantor The court adjourns. Across the room, I watch as the stooped 93-year-old man removes his homemade cheese sandwich from a ziploc bag and with trembling hands slowly brings it to his mouth. How ordinary. I try to refocus my attention, imagining him eating his sandwich while he is watching a crying Jewish baby being picked up by his legs and being violently slammed across a truck–-until the baby “no longer cried.” This is the image the man had just moments ago described in vivid detail to the courtroom judge. Two images, one man. Two images that I struggled to separate throughout my entire trip to Germany. Nothing was black and white. There were no answers to be found. At least no answers that would satisfy me. I had come to Germany to bear witness at the trial of Oskar Groening, an S.S. officer formerly known as the bookkeeper of Auschwitz. He is currently being prosecuted by the German court as an accessory to the murder of 300,000 Hungarian Jews. Groening’s responsibilities included collecting the personal belonging of Jews when they first arrived at Auschwitz and sorting through the various currencies they had brought with them. My grandfather, along with over 60 other Holocaust survivors, is serving as a co-plaintiff in this case. He had arrived at Auschwitz during the period when Groening served as a guard on the train station ramp. This man may have watched my grandfather, his father, sister, and newborn nephew stumble out of the cattle cars in which they had been locked for days. This man may have supervised as guards took all of their belongings and sorted them. He may have taken some items for himself, as he did occasionally, before handing the rest over to the Nazi regime. My grandfather, Gabor Altmann, an 89-year-old man who came to Canada after the war without a penny in his pocket, successfully established a life for himself--after his entire family was slaughtered in the Holocaust. He had absolutely no interest in going to Germany to testify at Groening’s trial. It is likely that I wouldn’t have attended the trial if not for chance; my mother walked into my grandfather’s home when he was sitting down for tea with Thomas Walter, the German prosecutor for the trial. My grandfather has coped with his great loss in silence. The horrors he witnessed and endured have only been spoken of on rare occasions with little detail. I asked my mom if we could go in his place, and I soon found myself in the small charming town of Luneberg, Germany, among a group of survivors and their relatives swarmed by press. TV news reporters from across Europe were thrusting microphones at us and filming our every step as

we entered the German courthouse. Reporters asked my sister and me questions such as, Why had we come? What did our grandfather think? What was it like to see Oskar Groening in court? What do wish to see happen to him? Questions we, ourselves, had just begun to think about and seek answers to. In preparation for my trip, I had read articles about Groening and had tried to decide to what extent he was morally culpable in contributing to the atrocities of the Holocaust. Learning that he had spoken publicly against Holocaust denial made me more willing to accept his defense, that he considered himself just a “cog on the machine.” The media tried to sum up hours of testimony into the one sentence--the final sentence of his opening statement, “I share

“I had come to Germany to bear witness at the trial of Oskar Groening, an S.S. officer formerly known as the bookkeeper of Auschwitz. He is currently being prosecuted by the German court as an accessory to the murder of 300,000 Hungarian Jews.” morally in the guilt, but whether I am guilty under criminal law is for you to decide.” Beyond that, Groening, in fact, did little to advocate for himself. Although his two lawyers were present, Groening chose to speak on his own behalf, and when he did, he often used stereotypical propaganda-like Nazi language that brought gasps to the German anti-fascists who sat as spectators to the trial. He explained that the gas chamber was “limited” in its capacity to “processing” 5,000 people in 24 hours and testified that his job was to maintain “order” on the ramp so this “processing” would proceed efficiently. Foolishly and on multiple occasions, he laughed when he shouldn’t have and recounted that he enjoyed the vodka and prostitutes supplied to him by the S.S. He claimed

that he had requested to be transferred out of Auschwitz on three occasions after he witnessed the “disorderly” murder of the baby. But his personal file which could verify this account was lost, which now seems all a bit too convenient. Life was otherwise pretty good for Groening in Auschwitz. When the judge interrogated Groening about his daily schedule as an S.S. guard, Groening said, “I went to my desk at nine, got lunch at twelve, then went back to my desk, got dinner at six.” Groening was simply eating his lunchtime sandwiches during Operation Hungary, in which over 300,000 Hungarian Jews arrived at Auschwitz and were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Over 200 people were killed during his lunchtime alone. But it was not my thoughts about Groening’s character and the many detailed horror stories of daily life in concentration camps that kept me up at night days after I had returned from Germany. Rather, Groening became only one of many characters. Only one of many people who were sources of confusion, of distress, of loss. There was the Holocaust denier who silently graced the trial with his presence, there were the neo-Nazis who protested outside the courthouse the first day, and the widow of a major Nazi who sat only a couple of seats away from me. All of these figures serving as a constant reminder to the ever present anti-Semitism that continues to have a strong platform in 2015. If you have seen anything about the trial, it’s likely the picture trending on Facebook of Holocaust survivor and co-plaintiff, Eva Mozes Kor, hugging Groening in court. Korr, along with her twin sister, were survivors of the Nazi doctor Joseph Mengela’s inhuman experimentation. Eva had coped with the trauma she experienced as a young girl by publicly declaring that she forgives all Nazis. She has even created a documentary film in which she expressed forgiveness to Dr. Mengela. As she explained to me, by forgiving him, she feels empowered, freeing herself from the status of a victim. She stressed, however, that her forgiveness in no way obliterated the Nazis’ responsibility; instead, it was an act of self-healing. Although there was some controversy around this message, I felt I was in no place to judge the appropriate way one should heal after enduring unimaginable torture. Eva called upon Groening to use his status as a former S.S officer to speak out to the world against Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism--this felt very much in line with what I believed to be the greater meaning and importance of this trial. However, this image too, quickly unraveled. When Eva testified in front of court, she told the emotional story of her experience. However, she then spent a significant amount of time talking about the Holocaust Museum and Education Center organization,

CANDLES, which she founded. Many at the trial felt this part of the testimony inappropriate for the court and it seemed like an act of self-promotion. At first, I hadn’t been focusing on that portion of her testimony and didn’t think much about it. However, upon speaking about it later with survivor Max Eisen, who also testified, he told me, “I felt like she had pulled the rug right out under all of us.” It wasn’t until later that I fully understood the magnitude of Max’s words. Shortly after her testimony, I watched as the media immediately flocked toward Eva when she chose to go up and speak to Groening directly. Everything she did had to be done in the public eye, and in return, she shifted the attention of the entire world. The first thing that now pops up when you Google the trial is Eva. Not to say that she didn’t have an important message, but the attention she attracted in return silenced the voices of the other survivors. I had been home for over a week, and yet still distracted by my trip, and I found myself on Eva Korr’s Twitter profile and was shocked to find that she had tweeted out that those who donated to her organization would receive a signed copy of her testimony. Is this woman using her Holocaust story to get donations? Why is she making herself out to be some type of celebrity (not many women in their 80s have an active Twitter account)? On the other hand, who am I to judge? People cope in different ways. Eva tweets pictures of her and a former Nazi hugging. My grandfather still hasn’t said a word to me about my trip. And, still I was at a loss. A month later, I’m sitting in a restaurant filled with my extended family, which includes my cousins Rebecca (‘17) and Benjamin Perla ‘(15), to celebrate my grandfather’s ninetieth birthday. He’s quiet and reserved as always. I sit with him for an hour and a half while he eats his dinner. In his thick Hungarian accent, he tells me how proud he is that Ben and I are graduating and going to university. He doesn’t speak to me about the three Jewish women whom, I now know, he was forced to watch lined up and hanged at Auschwitz. We don’t speak about the files we found from Melc, the Nazi work camp where he spent much of his interment-- his identification information. We don’t speak about Germany at all. Not even for a passing moment. In fact, we spent most of our time in silence. As I imagine a part of my grandfather has been for the last seventy years. My grandfather, the man who takes such pride in the accomplishments of his grandchildren and eats radishes with every breakfast. My grandfather, the man who at 18 saw his entire family killed. Two images, one man. Two images I think my grandfather spent his entire life trying to separate.

The Buzz, June 2015

School TitleLife Jewish Literacy Continued from front page

of the spies in Tanakh class.” Jacob Shteingart (‘15) also expressed a lack of surprise with regards to the survey results. He said he expected the average to be around 50-60% of questions answered correctly. But the success rate for some individual questions was surprising. Six out of the ninety members of the Class of 2015 who responded to the survey did not correctly answer what “Tanach” is an acronym for,

“The results of this survey may speak to a greater issue within our SAR community: a lack of commitment to Judaic Studies.” and five of them could not correctly identify Binyamin Netanyahu from his picture. Schwartz and Friedman were not content with simply exposing this problem; they began to look for a solution. They met with Rabbi Harcsztark and Ms. Schlaff to reveal the findings from their survey and to discuss how to remedy this gap in knowledge. They showed the administrators the results of the survey, and brought their own ideas of how to combat this issue. They discussed possibilities such as implementing a “Yididot Klaliyot” (“general knowledge”) curriculum, the likes of which exist at many further right wing yeshiva day schools schools. But this suggestion came with its own set of concerns, Schwartz explained. It is difficult to engage students without external motivators, which would make it difficult to implement without class periods and grades. In addition, such a curriculum would ask students to memorize facts without context or comprehension. Ms. Schlaff remarked that “we don’t have a Yedidot Klaliyot curriculum, and I think that’s something we need to do more,” but that the fact that this approach would involve more tests and less contextual learning was very problematic. “You have to be careful with your time, which is important,” she continued. “Because you’re probably taking away from other things of import.” For this reason, while the administration has discussed it, they have never come up with any concrete Yedidot Klaliyot curriculum. Not everyone thinks that SAR’s curriculum is to blame. Rebecca Packer (‘15) blamed her lack of basic Jewish knowledge on her lower school. She explained that she thought this information was not SAR High School’s responsibility. Friedman did not

feel that the school was entirely at fault either. He believes that the resources are there, and that “if you are motivated, you can learn.” Yet Ms. Schlaff felt that neither of those arguments completely absolved SAR of responsibility. Facts which should have been taught in elementary school still need to be reinforced in high school, she said, and SAR should do its best to make sure that students leave with a certain body of knowledge no matter what elementary school they attended. She also believes that it is SAR’s responsibility to teach students whether or not they are naturally motivated--this is school, after all. Chanan Heisler (‘13), who is spending the end of the year back at SAR after two years of studying in Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa, thought SAR had served him well, and felt that his Jewish knowledge was on par with those of the other Yeshiva League boys studying with him. Yaela Halper (‘14) echoed his sentiments, and thought “SAR prepared [her] really well” for the learning at Midreshet Lindenbaum. The results of this survey may speak to a greater issue within our SAR community: a lack of commitment to Judaic Studies. The resources are there, perhaps, but not everyone takes advantage of them. Unlike in our secular classes, where many students are driven by a desire to get into college, Judaic Studies classes are not bridled with the same expectations. We’ll see whether things change next year, when Judaic Studies classes become part of each student’s single GPA. While this problem is not one that can be easily solved, Schwartz and Friedman are pushing the administration to make some strides in terms of tackling this issue. They

“‘We don’t have a Yedidot Klaliyot curriculum, and I think that’s something we need to do more.’” are currently working on coming up with a list of 100 pieces of information we should all know before we graduate to give to the administration. “Rabbi Harcsztark and Ms. Schlaff said that once we had that list, they’d take a look at it and see where we could implement what,” explained Schwartz, “which facts they could build into the Gemara or Halakha curriculum, insert into davening, etc.,... and which gaps in knowledge would need to be tackled on their own.” The administration will decide what to do with their Hot 100 list and the results of this survey, and hopefully make some changes to help bridge the gaps in our Jewish knowledge. But there is only so much they can do, and the rest is really up to us.

Jewish Literacy Survey The following survey, produced by Solomon Friedman (‘15) and Shalhevet Schwartz (‘15), was administered during Senior Advisory on March 10, 2015. Ninety students were surveyed. QUESTION

RIGHT

WRONG

List the Jewish/Hebrew months in order: Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shvat, Adar, Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul

ANSWER

What is ‫ תנ”ך‬an acronym for (what do the letters stand for)?

Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim

On a page of Gemara, wheres specifically can you find Rashi and Tosfot’s commentaries? (left side of page, middle of page, bottom of page, inside of page, top of page, etc.)

Rashi inside, Tosfot outside

Why were ‫ י”נב‬not allowed to go into the Land of Israel (what sin did they commit that led to 40 years of wandering)?

Spies

Who compiled the Mishna?

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi

What are the six orders, or books, that make up the Mishna?

Zeraim, Moed, Nashim, Nezikin, Kodshim, Taharot

Put the following people in chronological order: Rambam, Rav Yosef Karo, Rabbi Akiva, Rashi, Rav Soloveitchik

R. Akiva, Rashi, Rambam, RYK, Rav Soloveitchik

What blessing does one make before one eats rice crackers?

Mezonot

What blessing does one make when one Oseh Ma’aseh sees a flash of lightning? Bereishit Who was the first Prime Minister of Israel? Name this person:

David Ben-Gurion

Rabbi Soloveitchik

25 44

65 46

Name this person:

Binyamin Netanyahu

What is the name of this week’s parasha?

Which of these is not said on Rosh Hallel Hashanah (circle one): Shacharit, Musaf, Hallel, Maftir

The Buzz, June 2015

TitleLife School Ben Anthony Continued from front page

the world who would like to destroy us, who would not hesitate to harm us in the cruelest of ways. On that note, Anthony transitioned into discussing the moral policies of the IDF. He remarked that sometimes soldiers have to make difficult decisions about whether or not to harm Palestinian civilians. But he concluded that no matter what, Israel does not have to apologize for soldiers’ practices, since, in his opinion, Israel’s policies should not be dictated by a need to prove Israel’s moral status to the rest of the world. Given that so many nations would like to destroy Israel, Anthony reasoned, Israel has the right to develop strong defensive forces. In that vein, he added what he admitted was a polarizing political statement, that Israel therefore should not “bargain away land” just because the rest of the world pressures Israel to do so. The final segment of the speech emphasized our responsibility to defend Israel as American teens, students poised to take on the anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses. He noted that just as the soldiers of the IDF were on the front lines of combat, we are on the front lines, battling anti-Israel sentiment with our words. Anthony asked each member of the audience to close his or her eyes. Then he requested that all students prepared to stand up for Israel mark their commitment by physically standing up, without opening their eyes, without noting other people’s actions, simply making a statement of their personal commitment. Everyone in the auditorium rose from their seats. Then Anthony asked that we open our eyes. It might be hard to defend Israel, he remarked, but we need to remember that we stand together. Cfir Feinberg (’15) introduced Anthony and, as Anthony explained, was involved in bringing Anthony to speak at SAR. The previous shabbat, Feinberg had heard Anthony speak at Young Israel of Scarsdale and thought that he was incredible. “I believed in what he said,” stated Feinberg, so he thought that he should attempt to bring him to speak at SAR. Several SAR parents who had heard Anthony speak that Shabbat also contacted Rabbi Harcsztark, insisting that SAR must host Anthony as a speaker, since they thought he was among the greatest speakers they had ever heard. After the speech, the crowd erupted in resounding applause, indicating the widespread approval of the student body. Students raved about Anthony’s ability to command an audience, and the way he reached them on a visceral level. “I was crying,” reported Rachel Ordan (’16). “I know that I love Israel, and I want to make aliyah one day, but his speech made me want to just walk out of the auditorium and go straight to the airport.” Feinberg recounted that “a lot of students came up to me and thanked me afterward.” He concluded that a large portion of the student body must have shared his enthusiasm for Sergeant Anthony’s speech. “If so many students--people that I don’t know-just came up to me and thanked me, it means

it was good,” he reflected. Most students agreed with the basic premise of the speech, that it is our duty to advocate for Israel, but that does not mean that the SAR community reacted to the speech in a homogeneous way. A minority of students recoiled from the speech, disturbed by Anthony’s harsh tone and politically charged comments. Noam Lindenbaum (’16) considered Anthony “a very impressive speaker,” but added that “if he had sounded less angry… then I would have appreciated it a lot more.” Lindenbaum also remarked that “the best part about his speech until the end was that he really stayed on a stable line and he didn’t really get very polarizing on either side of the spectrum,” so Lindenbaum was turned off toward the end of the speech when Anthony made an admittedly charged comment that Israel should not give up any land. Shabbi Kestenbaum (’17) raised similar objections to the speech. “He was a very effective and commanding speaker,” Kestenbaum recalled, but added, “I disagreed with his political views and I thought it was wrong of him to build us up and then at the end insert political views… that’s where he lost a good chunk, including myself, of the crowd.” Some were not only troubled by the politically charged nature of Anthony’s remarks, but found his charisma and appeal to students’ emotions disturbing. “Sgt. Anthony’s presentation was heartfelt; his experiences of anti-Semitism in Europe were painful to hear and are incredibly troubling,” reflected Ms. Taubes. “I found it problematic, on the other hand, that he used the emotional power of these experiences to promote a singular view of what Israel advocacy should look like. The way in which he engaged his audience made it difficult for students who did not share his conclusions. Some students I spoke to even felt alienated.” She also thought that Anthony’s subject matter was not appropriate for the setting. “I wish that Sgt. Anthony had taken more time to celebrate Israel and her great accomplishments and wonders on Yom Haatzmaut, because revolving a speech around terrorism, war, anti-Semitism on college campuses, and fear, though they are real issues, did not feel appropriate on this particular day,” she explained. Other audience members admitted that the speech’s subject matter was charged and not particularly upbeat, but nonetheless gushed about its power and resonance. “He gave us tough love, but we needed that because it’s important,” reflected Hannah Kestenbaum (‘15). Most of the audience also thought Anthony’s political comments were reasonable and appropriate. Rachel Rabinowitz, one of the two Israeli fellows, articulated why she believes that political comments are in fact important in any discussion about the IDF’s policies. “You can avoid them and speak in an abstract way,” she explained, “but he came and he’s representing the soldiers and the State of Israel… and he wants you guys to hear it and open up your ears and eyes because you won’t be exposed to it [otherwise].”

A number of individuals were also uncomfortable with Anthony’s exercise in which he asked the audience members to rise if they were prepared to defend Israel. “What did he expect to happen?” questioned Toba Stern (‘15), referencing the obvious peer pressure of the exercise. Rabbi Harcsztark added that while “he was a very talented speaker,” the exercise made him feel “a little manipulated,” as Sgt. Anthony employed peer pressure to cause the audience to rise. Shoshana Goldman (‘16), on the other hand, explained that in her opinion, “it was so powerful when you looked around and saw how many people would be willing to defend Israel.” Given the diversity of opinion about the speech, some might question whether Sgt. Anthony’s speech was aligned with SAR’s values in Israel education. Ordan, who was moved by the speech, admitted that she was not sure whether a single-sided speech like Anthony’s was aligned with SAR’s values. But, regardless, she considered the speech a valid datum to contribute to our understanding of the topic. “There are a lot of opinions that are voiced in school, and it’s amazing that we are educated in an environment where we have open discourse about sensitive political issues,” she explained, concluding that “it is definitely aligned with the school’s philosophy to invite speakers to make sure all sides are heard.” “It is difficult to comment on whether or not Sgt. Anthony’s speech was aligned with the values of SAR’s Israel education,” expressed Ms. Taubes, “because those values are only beginning to be clearly articulated in any kind of holistic or systematic way.” While religious Zionism is clearly a tenet of SAR High School, SAR has never really articulated any sort of mission with regard to Israel education--a gap the administration is currently addressing in a learning program through the Shalom Hartman Institute (see “New Israel Education Program Put into Action,” Vol. 10, No. 3). But Ms.Taubes perceived a clear issue in the Yom Haatzmaut programming: “As a teacher it is my opinion that whenever we hear a speaker, especially on a topic on which there is a diversity of opinions, there should always be an opportunity for small group discussion and reflection,” she declared, “an opportunity for students to process and share their own intellectual and emotional reactions and to engage in healthy debate and

conversation. That to me is the ‘SAR way.’ So even if Sgt. Anthony shared SAR’s values, there was a disparity between SAR’s values and the program on Yom Haatzmaut.” The senior class has had additional Israel programming in the past few weeks, including speakers from other Jewish organizations who outlined aspects of Israel advocacy. While these speakers made some students uncomfortable, they did not have the same persuasive influence that Sgt. Anthony had. One such speaker, the speaker from StandWithUs, rose the ire of several students in his audience. According to Ilan Wolff (’15), “The StandWithUs speaker tried to boil down a wide-variety of substantive policy issues to a few talking points, leading many people to disagree, or at least think that the issues hadn’t been adequately addressed.” Dalia Gatoff (’15) added that the StandWithUs speaker’s presentation was of a different nature than Sgt. Anthony’s and was, while helpful and informative, not intended to evoke the same heart-wrenching response. “Anthony talked a lot about the anti-Semitism he suffered. And that is why it’s so important to support Israel. StandWithUs was just saying these are some Palestinian groups you might encounter on campus... these are the claims they are going to make and this is how you’re going to fight them,” differentiated Gatoff. “It was less emotional,” she continued, “there wasn’t a personal aspect and that might have been what really moved people about Sgt. Anthony.” Wolff corroborated Gatoff’s claim that Anthony discussed fewer politics and appealed more to pathos, or emotion, leaving his speech more untouchable than that of the speaker from StandWithUs. “I think Sgt. Anthony was more convincing because he did not actually try to address any real issues, leaving little room for controversy,” Wolff reasoned, “We all love Israel already, so nobody is going to disagree with a speaker who stands up there and shouts about how incredible Israel is.” Wolff raises an interesting point, since several of the people who objected to Anthony’s speech objected to the few comments that were more politically charged. But perhaps, to most students, the overwhelming emotion of his speech overshadowed the bold political statements that others deemed offensive.

Dopplegangers:

Mr. Lannik

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The Buzz, June 2015

Changes to t by Yaira Kobrin

Teachers in

2015

English Department

SAR

Every year (or almost every year), SAR High high school, loses and/or gains a few teachers. Some different jobs (cough Dr. Schwartz cough), others m these teachers are replaced by new ones, although However, as a general rule, these teachers are repla to three years, which gives department heads and ad find the teachers they need. This year, however, the school is faced with of teachers. The school is losing Ms. Anstandig, Ra Ms. Hecht-Koller, and Mr. Brander, all from the Jud well as three English teachers: Ms. Pollak, Mr. Hube school is also losing an assortment of teachers from ing Dr. Rosenthal and Ms. Krieger from the science d from the Hebrew department, and more. In a very

by L

In recent months, Ms. Po announced that this year will b various English classes and hav of the school, leaving many stu For Ms. Pollak, choosing a decision with which she had bating the notion of retirement, She told him, “You know, one o gone to school in September eve gone to school in September--i “It doesn’t matter when you reti be weird. You can work for ano semester will be weird.” Ms. Pollak always knew s of teaching. When she found he realized that it was too late. “I di “I had a really great year--all fo was great, I did assignments tha sign.’” She wanted to end on a passion for teaching and enjoye Another reason behind M lot she wants to do in life that time. If you know Ms. Pollak, and would love to visit. She exp winter, and that “a week vacati you can’t go, obviously, so I th can, while I’m still, please God But there’s more. “Theor and I’d like to volunteer to wo where college counselors are o help every kid,” Ms. Pollak ad classes at Barnard, train to be around museums), and even “fi teachers.” Finding ways to do these work. She felt that she didn’t r make these plans while grading logs. Mr. Huber, another belove to leave because he and his fam beautiful place, hopefully Main Although he has loved his time

The Buzz, June 2015

the SAR Faculty for the Upcoming School Year

h School, like every other e leave because they accept make Aliyah, etc. Generally, h not always immediately. aced over the course of one dministrators some time to

an unprecedented exodus abbi BenDavid, Ms. Tesler, daic Studies department, as er, and Ms. Silverman. The other departments, includdepartment, Ms. Hochstein brief period of time, SAR

has been forced to handle this sudden wave of leaving teachers, and has had to replace them much more quickly than they ever have in the past. The administration and department heads have dealt with this issue in a variety of ways. After conducting numerous interviews both in person and over Skype, according to Ms. Schlaff, SAR is bringing in two new teachers (a married couple) who will teach both Tanakh and Hebrew, filling significant holes in both departments. Rachel Margolin, who has been a fellow at SAR for two years now, and who this past year began to work with the Israel Guidance team, will be returning next year as a full-time faculty member. In the English department, Dr. Gillian Steinberg, formerly a tenured English professor at Yeshiva University, will be teaching AP English (formerly Mr. Huber’s class), as well as a few other classes. Students have been forced to deal with the effects of these various changes. Other than receiving countless emails for various goodbye projects, students have felt the uncertainty of the past two months in various other ways: the junior grade, for example, was only introduced to the Judaic Studies course selec-

Laurel Dobkin

ollak, Ms. Silverman and Mr. Huber all be their last at SAR. They’ve each taught ve significantly contributed to the culture udents shocked at their announcements. to retire after forty years of teaching was struggled. She explained how, while deshe had a long conversation with her son. of the things I keep thinking about is, I’ve ery year since I was four. I have never not it’s going to be weird.” Her son replied, ire. That first semester is always going to other another twenty years, and that first

she wanted to retire before she grew sick erself afraid to return one September, she idn’t want that to happen,” she explained. our of my classes were great, my advisory at I really enjoyed, and I thought, ‘that’s a good year, knowing that she still had her ed everything she was doing. Ms. Pollak’s urge to retire is that there’s a simply can’t be done while working full you probably know that she loves India, plained that you have to go to India in the ion is not enough time, and on Yom Tov hought, I really want to do it while I still d, healthy and energetic enough.” retically, there’s a book I ought to write, ork with kids on college essays in places overburdened and overworked and can’t dded. She also wants to take some more e a docent (someone who shows people find an opportunity to work with novice

various activities will likely take a lot of really have the time to figure out how to g stacks of fifty-page Catcher in the Rye

ed teacher, explained that he is choosing mily “want to move to a more peaceful and ne, and grow things and raise animals.” at SAR and has been here since the start

tion process for next year in mid-May, simply because it was not yet clear who would be teaching which classes, and the Judaic Studies faculty was therefore not yet sure what the schedule would look like. Many classes across all four grades have experienced more model lessons than usual this year, and many students were requested to give honest feedback on the teachers they saw. Although the process of filling all the holes in the faculty is far from done, the administration urges all students to work with them in the coming year(s) to adjust to the new teachers and to the smaller teaching staff in some departments. They also promise that the quality of the staff--one of the things that makes the SAR faculty so unique--has not been compromised in the haste required to assemble so many teachers on such short notice. While we will have to wait and see if this proves to be true, one thing is certain: you’re going to start calling Rachel Ms. Margolin, or else.

of the school, he has decided that it is time to move on to a different place and try something new. Mr. Huber made sure to note that “the students here are very special, as I’ve come to further appreciate teaching model lessons elsewhere, and I will miss them.” Last, but certainly not least, Ms. Silverman is leaving for yet another reason. “My passion has always been making theater,” she said, “and I’m really interested in education, but education outside of the classroom. And my other true love was yoga, so I really started to think more about how to live my life in alignment with those two passions.” She was looking for new opportunities and found a theater company in India that travels all over the country and teaches theater creation to kids at schools and to adults at workplaces. The company “uses theater as a communication and problem solving tool,” and Ms. Silverman would like to learn from them “how they facilitate theater creation with the majority population in the country, because what I’d like to do in the future is have my own theater workshop curriculum and be a traveling theater facilitator.” There’s nothing else Ms. Silverman specifically plans to do next year, but she’s “always loved dance and will be doing a lot of traveling, so it’s a chance to continue to meld all of those passions together.” She’s also “always looking for more tools for theater creation, whatever that might be.” Especially for Mr. Huber and Ms. Pollak (who have been at SAR far longer than Ms. Silverman), the school has certainly grown and changed since they started teaching. But they do not feel as though this fact impacted their decisions at all. “Yes, little things have changed, but once you’re in your own room, with your own students, you’re there. Students are students, and your class is your class,” explained Ms. Pollak. One element Ms. Silverman did admit was slightly difficult for her during her time at SAR was not being a religious Jew. “I think for me, because I’m not part of the religious community in that way, that’s been a bit of a challenge,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a necessity, but there are some teachers who can just be here for all of the events, and be here for the religious community, and the school community, and I can’t always be, and that can be challenging.” However, she still “loves the students here, and I really feel really loved by the students here, and that’s very special about SAR.” When asked about her favorite book taught as SAR, Ms. Pollak answered that it’s “probably The Things They Carried, because kids write the most interesting things, and I’ve taught that book a lot of times, and I never don’t get something new.” However, she did mention that she’s really enjoying In Our Time, because “I’d forgotten how much I loved this book and how smart kids are about it. Because they really know how to do literary analysis now, and that’s really fun to watch and listen to, so this year, it might end up being my favorite book.”

Ms. Silverman, though, “really love[s] teaching the poetry unit.” She likes how the students can really pick what they’re interested in and show her more about themselves in a way they might not be able to do with a typical novel. “I feel like it’s the time when kids can show me their curiosity and their creative talent, and I just really enjoy that unit because I’m very passionate about it,” she said. One of Mr. Huber’s favorite memories from SAR is of hiking Bear Mountain, sometime around the second year of the school. He told of how “a few of us reached this beautiful vista and the kids realized it was time for mincha, so they prayed, without any adult really making them, standing on these rocks looking down on the Hudson valley, with hawks circling at eye level.” To him, that moment of quiet simplicity and the students doing what they knew to be right really captures SAR. Of her favorite memory, Ms. Pollak simply said, “I don’t know what it will be until it’s over.” She explained how “you have no idea what any of your students will remember, but most of the time, it’s not about the book. When I run into former students, inevitably they will say to me ‘Ms. Pollak, you once said to me..’ and they then say something, but it’s never about the book, it’s about something else.” Just like her students, Ms. Pollak isn’t really sure which lessons will stick with her after she finishes teaching. Ms. Silverman agrees that it’s hard to think of one particular moment. “I think that, really, my favorite moments are in the classroom with students and having meaty conversations about literature with them,” she said. “Right now, I’m teaching Romeo and Juliet to my freshmen, and I have students who come to me before class and they want to tell me ‘Oh, I just heard someone say, “do you bite your thumb at me?” in conversations!’ and it’s cool to see them being excited about it.” As for next year at SAR, the plan is to have several new teachers join the English Department. Dr. Steinberg, a former English professor at Yeshiva University, will be taking over AP English, and Ms. Fenigstein, a teacher who used to be part of SAR’s 10th grade team, is coming back from Boston. SAR will certainly miss these three teachers and treasure our memories of them--from Bollywood music playing at the table in room 501, to stories about Huckleberry, to yoga, and much more. In the words of William Shakespeare, “Parting is such sweet sorrow,” but we “wish you all the joy that you can wish.”

The Buzz, June 2015

TitleLife School

Israeli Fellow Program Is No More: Examining this Impending Change by Rebecca Harris And then there were none. The SAR Fellows program originally included a sizeable group of Israelis, both male and female, who learned and taught in the beit midrash. The Israeli contingent has dwindled over the past few years--only two female fellows per year have come from Israel since the 2012-2013 school year. And next year will see an even larger change: no Israeli fellows. The decision not to bring Israeli fellows next year came in the wake of hiring two new teachers, a married couple from Israel who intend to stay in America as shlichim for a few years before returning to Israel, according to Ms. Schlaff. Over the past few years, the Israeli fellows program has involved coordination with Bnei Akiva in Israel. Logistically, this was difficult for the SAR faculty, because the process could start as late as June. This dilemma, along with the hiring of a strong group of American fellows who’ll be coming to SAR next year, served as incentive to abandon the Israeli Fellows program for Gambling Continued from page 3

risk of losing money after many cumulative rounds was serious. At times, gamblers struggled to pay the winner, as they had bet more money than they had in their possession. In some cases, gamblers, under pressure to pay their debts, took money from other sources, such as their parents, who were unaware that they were doing so. A few students fell into a troubling cycle of losing money and gambling to earn it back, only to lose even more. After several months of gambling in school, Dr. Shinar called four of the students to the office. He had been informed about the gambling by the tenth grade GLCs, as they had observed students playing cards throughout the school day and exchanging money. “I explained to them that gambling was inherently problematic but even more so, we gave them fair warning that it had to stop in the school,” said Dr. Shinar. He explained that SAR does not consider gambling an activity of value or appropriate for school. “The loss of money or trading of money felt very uncomfortable and distasteful to the school community,” asserted Dr. Shinar. In addition to a clear warning that the gambling had to stop in school, Dr. Shinar informed the parents of the four students of what had transpired. He told the parents and students that the students were not allowed to gamble in school and were discouraged from gambling at home. Unlike with drugs and alcohol, Dr. Shinar explained that gambling at home would become a discussion only for parents to have with their children. This distinction was based on the fact that the potential danger inherent in teenage

now, at least. There will be less need for Israeli fellows next year, said Ms. Schlaff, because the new couple will occupy a role in the school similar to that of the Israeli fellows. “It’s not just that they’re coming here to be teachers; they’re coming here to enhance the Israeli environment in the school.” However, the Israeli couple will not necessarily fulfill the exact same role that the Israeli fellows did. The Israeli fellows traditionally worked with the Student Activities team on programming for days such as Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaShoah, but it is as of yet unclear whether the new couple will do the same--after all, explained Ms. Schlaff, their primary role is to teach. Yet she maintained that programming has never been the most important of the Israeli fellows’ duties. Instead, she described their role as bringing a “mindset… [and] avirah to the school by virtue of conversations you have with kids, conversations you’re interested in having.” SAR’s Student Activities team, she argued, can run a perfectly good Yom HaZikaron ceremony on its own. However, while the actual program-

ming might not necessitate involvement of Israelis, the passion that the fellows brought to each event will, perhaps, be lacking. “Particularly on days like Yom HaZikaron, or when other events occur relating to Israel, the perspectives of the Israeli fellows tremendously heighten the connection we feel to Israel,” commented Avi Siegal (‘16). The Israeli fellows have always worked to share their personal experiences, and have always had an impact on the students at such events, he claimed. And if the new couple is less involved with programming, they may not provide the same perspective. Additionally, the school’s primary window into Israeli life and culture will no longer come from young adults’ perspectives. “Fellows in general are a part of the school that connects with students and are informal… students find a stronger connection to these young people who are closer in age and connect on a different realm than teachers can, “ said Rachel Rabinowitz, one of this year’s Israeli fellows. “Teachers can be effective, they can teach things, but when they’re older, it just makes them more distant from the students, they’re on a higher rank,

they have to deal with discipline, grades.” “The fellows seem to be less focused on having authority over the students and simply focus on trying to teach the students and create relationships with them,” agreed Zoe May (‘16). The Israeli couple has a family, whereas the Israeli fellows’ sole purpose in coming to SAR has been to connect to the students and foster a love of Israel. Indeed, it seems as though students have been immensely affected by the relationships that the Israeli fellows forged. “Being so directly exposed to Israel’s has truly illustrated for me why it’s so important that we care about Israel,” added Siegal. The administration’s main concern is that there be people in the building who integrate an Israeli mentality into SAR and serve as a resource for students (helping students looking to join the IDF or make aliyah, etc.). According to Ms. Schlaff, this couple can. While the school will certainly have to adjust to this impending change, hopefully the new shlichim will be able to fulfill their role and successfully create positive and influential relationships with the students of SAR.

abuse of drugs and alcohol is far greater than that of gambling. While the administration felt that it had conveyed a serious message to the gamblers, some of them interpreted the meeting differently. “We were joking around and not taking it seriously,” said Jeremy*. The

Despite some students’ perception of leniency on the part of the administration, others thought that the message was received. “Even though they didn’t catch the people that were the most active players, the message got across to everyone,” said Ethan*. Michael* added, “[the warning] did

administration’s response was exactly what the students had anticipated, and it didn’t come across as severe. “The administration was very light with their punishment and let us get off easy,” admitted Jonah*. The four students only received a warning--and they were only four of more than ten students who participated in the gambling.

scare many of the kids to stop playing, unlike Frisch, where it all went underground after they were caught.” Michael* explained that it would have been difficult to give a harsher consequence such as suspension without a backlash from the students and their parents, especially because the administration had never stated explicitly that gambling was

against school rules. Though this incident has for the most part come to an end, it raised the question of whether SAR should have a formal policy regarding gambling. Ethan* argued that in his experience, gambling is common in high schools and should be addressed alongside other issues, similar to the way drugs and alcohol are addressed on the first day of freshman year. However, Dr. Shinar argued that although having a formal rule might discourage students from gambling, it is not an activity that is prevalent enough in SAR to warrant its own policy. What’s more, it would be difficult to write a policy that made a clear distinction between a casual bet with a friend and obsessive gambling. “I’m not going to write a policy that says no gambling because I’m not going to write a policy that doesn’t make sense,” contended Dr. Shinar. Although Dr. Shinar explained that no policy can draw the line that defines gambling, some students argue that the administration drew this line when it prohibited students from playing poker but permitted them to enter March Madness contests with money. Globally, millions of people enter a bracket of their predictions for who will win the tournament. Even teachers had their own brackets. “Both poker and March Madness contests involve taking a chance with your money, except with poker you have a better chance of winning,” said Jeremy*. When it comes to gambling, it can be difficult to determine the fine line between harmless activity and a problematic obsession. I’m not sure if I would bet on it, but after this incident at SAR, odds are that students will think twice before gambling again.

The Buzz, June 2015

School TitleLife

he t r e s id l .” n o C “ ul s e ag le i s ch e r -M

r. F

“‘But when you exchange students for professionals, there is something lost… it isn’t your friends or the students of the school taking charge of things, which I think is more important than the objective quality of the music.’” this chagiga,” Jeremy Berger (‘16), another band member, described in a letter he wrote to the administration expressing his discontentment with the situation. The conflict regarding the chagiga band actually stemmed from the beginning of the year. Although the chagiga band has generally been student-run, back in September, the band was informed that Mr. Craimer would be in charge. “While we weren’t very excited about the idea of having a leader put upon us, as we enjoyed our autonomy, we respected Mr. Craimer’s musical experience and agreed,” Berger described. Another part of Mr. Craimer’s leadership involved weekly band rehearsals. Rabbi Birnbaum explained that this level of commitment is essential. “There are certain structures I would like to see with chagiga band, like weekly rehearsal,” he said. However, when the band met with Mr. Craimer to

“Never trust someone whose smile doesn’t reach their eyes.” -Emily Knopf (‘17)

attempt to find times to practice, they were unable to do so due to their packed schedules. But this meeting was more than just unsuccessful. “After this meeting, which honestly didn’t end on great terms,” Berger shared, “Mr. Craimer did not reach out to us to plan a time to practice.” Despite Mr. Craimer’s lack of involvement, the band decided that a rehearsal was necessary before their first chagiga performance. “Before the first chagiga, we thought that we needed to practice, and invited Mr. Craimer,” Berger continued. “He was unable to attend, and was upset that we had a practice ‘behind his back.’” Shortly after, Rabbi Birnbaum emailed around a schedule of practice times. “There was a rehearsal schedule created that did not work, because it was made during times when people in the band had tests, captains of other clubs had previous engagements, and during school wide assemblies,” Levy elaborated. “We felt that it was unreasonable for us to be punished for not rehearsing when the rehearsal schedule was not made properly even after three different meetings and after three different administrators tried to fix it.” Although the band members were unable to attend many of these rehearsals because of other commitments, they continued to perform at chagigas until they were told that they would not play at Yom Haatzmaut. “When we inevitably were unable to do what they wanted, due to the unreasonable aspect of it as well as the lack of communication between the band and the administration, they dropped us,” Levy lamented. In contrast, Rabbi Birnbaum argued that it was the students were at fault here as well. “At some point it felt like the members of the chagiga band were the ones who didn’t make this a priority in their schedule,” he suggested. “They made the choice to put other things ahead-- that is their right. But it is also my responsibility to make sure that the music programming is as strong as possible.” The decision to let the professional band play on Yom Haatzmaut was partially due to the students’ unavailability, or as the administrators saw it, their lack of dedication. “I had raised the lack of rehearsals as an issue several times,” Rabbi Birnbaum affirmed. “If I was in their position and I wanted to perform, I would have proposed a working schedule and made sure to make

this a priority. They did not.” However, the musicians also felt that the administration was not invested in the band in general. “We begged for equipment such as drums, amps, and chords which are necessary for the band but were never given any,” Berger described. Rabbi Birnbaum explained that this issue was indeed addressed. “The process of researching the proper equipment as well as finding needed funds takes time and we were working on it throughout the spring.” Another problem was that the band felt that there were heightened expectations for them this year that simply were not feasible. “Part of the reason things got bad is because the expectations we agreed to last May were very different from the expectations they tried forcing onto us in the start of the year, both in terms of time commitment and performance,” Jubas explained. Levy concurred. “We have a set that works. We can rehearse that set as many times as we can, but that is our set. To go around trying to make huge changes without enough time or support is a bit unreasonable.” Many of the band members expressed that the situation took a toll on their relationship with Rabbi Birnbaum. But fortunately, not everyone felt this way. When asked to describe his relationship with Rabbi Birnbaum, Jubas simply responded, “We often get lunch on weekends.” But the story does not end here. The music department has big plans for the chagiga band next year. “Mr. Craimer and I have a vision for a band that is more inclusive, i.e. more student participation including added instruments like keyboards and student vocalists, and has a wider variety of songs to perform, and extended time to perform,” shared Rabbi Birnbaum. “We are committed to a culture where the band rehearses on a regular basis and strives for excellence in performance because the students of SAR deserve it.” The band did indeed return for our final chagiga of the year. Whatever the parameters dictated by the music department, SAR students hope and pray that the band will be a fixture at each and every chagiga in the future. While we don’t have a football team or a one-hundred piece marching band, at least we’ve got Seven Nation Army.

is s who know e n o h “O w f one good co s i wise to buy ” 7) e fee. tein (‘1 wher s

old ra G

vo - De

go “Neve r out a day w an ice ith- T sunda cream aly e.” a K os c (‘15 hitzk y )

QUOTABLES

brings something different,” he responded, comparing the student-run band to the professionals. “While our goal is to have a student led chagiga band, I think that we should also be open to the experience and ruach that can be provided by professional musicians.” Rumors about the band change quickly began to escalate. Many students were under the impression that Rabbi Birnbaum had permanently fired the chagiga band, and Mr. Craimer’s group was their replacement. However, Rabbi Birnbaum confirmed that this was not the case. He explained that hiring a band was part of a broader plan to increase chagiga participation. “I’m not saying that chagigot are not well attended because of chagiga band,” he insisted. “I’m saying that we’re looking at chagigot in general, trying to increase their attendance and involvement and participation, and I’m tasked with looking at chagiga band and seeing how we can make it better.” Rabbi Birnbaum decided to hire the band to ensure that the Yom Ha’atzmaut chagiga was truly exceptional. “I wasn’t satisfied with where the band was, and Yom Haatzmaut is our biggest chagiga of the year, and we wanted to make sure it was a really strong chagiga,” he shared. Daniel Jubas (‘15), a member of the chagiga band, recognized that Rabbi Birnbaum’s efforts to increase student participation were earnest, but felt that hiring the band was not an effective way to accomplish that objective. “Obviously if more people attend they [chagigot] will be better, and I assume a professional band is well equipped to capitalize on that,” he acknowledged. “But when you exchange students for professionals, there is something lost… it isn’t your friends or the students of the school taking charge of things, which I think is more important than the objective quality of the music. You don’t see the school commissioning paintings from professionals for the hallway downstairs.” Micah Levy (‘15), the leader of the band, also emphasized the value of having the students play. “The band did not enhance the chagiga, because the whole fun of the chagiga is that it is an ‘in-school thing,’” he argued. “It is for the students by the students. That gives it the energy and fun it deserves.

Having a random band play may be nice because they are professionals, but it takes away a huge part of the essence of the chagiga.” Even though the chagiga band will indeed return, the band members were unhappy with both the decision itself and the way the faculty went about it. “Without even meeting with us or telling us, Rabbi Birnbaum, Rabbi Houben, and Mr. Craimer decided that they would hire a chagiga band for

NOTABLE

Chagiga Band Continued from page 4

The Buzz, June 2015

TitleLife School

PR at SAR: Videos, Swag, and More by Marianna Najman-Franks Have you have noticed the spirit wear next to the second floor office, the new TV in the lobby, or the Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts dedicated to sharing the Sting spirit with the world? Recently, there has been a shift in the way that SAR promotes itself. It’s no longer just cards in the mail, invites to open houses, and the annual SAR Dinner. Advertising through technology is taking off and gaining speed, and SAR is along for the ride. For example, the school has set aside money to fund a series of short films and videos for prospective students and parents, and well as for the current SAR community. SAR is reinventing its image and attempting to make itself known in new ways. But image and reality have to match. Consequently, these innovations in the use of social media are causing the administration to think long and hard about what the school stands for, and how they are going to convey their message to the world. Rabbi Harcsztark recounted how the school began to take advantage of social media for public relations purposes. “We just realized that we weren’t maximizing our full potential,” said Rabbi Harcsztark. So, in 2013, hopping on board the social media train of the 21st century, SAR joined Facebook. Currently, the page has 900 likes. This was a big step, allowing the school to promote itself beyond the Jewish community of the tri-state area. Facebook was also the perfect segué to using other forms of social

media, such as Twitter and YouTube, both of which SAR joined in early 2014. YouTube in particular was crucial to SAR’s development of what professionals in marketing call a “brand.” Forbes magazine contributor Jerry McLaughlin defines a brand as “a specific perception in the customers’ mind of the qualities and attributes of a product.” In other words, to be a brand means to separate yourself from other similar products, and to give yourself a certain image or “vibe” that makes people interested in what you are selling. “The way of the 21st century is marketing,” explained Mr. Roschwalb, SAR’s Ruach King (officially Student Activities and Chesed Coordinator. But we all know what his real job is). “Everybody markets. You see other schools like Frisch branding themselves, making a name for themselves. SAR has always relied on the product that they offer as being good enough, and has thought that it doesn’t need to market.” Of course, the product that SAR offers is a great Jewish education, a warm environment, and a commitment to Torah values. However, many other schools in the tri-state area offer a similar product, and a “brand” is necessary in order to be successful. “We now realize that it’s no longer just about what you are selling, it’s the image you make for yourself out in the world,” continued Mr. Roschwalb. “Other schools had started to do this and SAR was actually falling behind drastically. We realized last year that if we don’t start marketing ourselves, we aren’t going to be in 1st place.”

The first major video filmed and released for promotional purposes was dedicated to honoring alumni that had joined the IDF, which was shown at the annual SAR Dinner in January 2015 and then posted on YouTube. “I think nowadays everything is online, and it’s all very powerful,” said Gili Mor, the videographer and producer of the

“‘I don’t get the sense that we are just guaranteed to get kids from certain communities . . . We need to work at it, and that’s what the video and the social media is for. If we want to get those kids from Englewood and Teaneck, we need to push.’” 15-minute film. “A PR video is extremely effective, because today people don’t have so much patience to read articles. You have to get straight to the pitch and know your audience, and I think it was very successful.” Indeed, the video, entitled “Our Chayalim” on SAR’s YouTube channel, was a big hit at the event, and currently has over 3,000

likes. It documented the way that Zionism is incorporated into students’ lives and hearts at SAR. “The way that Zionism is present at SAR is so amazing,” said Mor, an Israeli who recently moved back to Israel after five years of working in SAR Academy. “I was supposed to stay for one year in New York, but the love of Israel ran so deep in the blood of everybody I was working with that it made it so hard to leave. It’s very beautiful, and I strived to capture this beauty candidly.” The success of this video led to the funding of another one, focused on the idea of “beeSAR,” which targets prospective students and parents. This video illustrates a typical day of davening, classes, and extracurricular activities. “SAR should feel like a strong, warm, supportive community,” said Rabbi Harcsztark. “A place where kids can be involved in many different things, so when you have different interests you can pursue them. People should be able to find their place within the community, and I really think that the video captured that.” In fact, Rabbi Harcsztark felt that the video so perfectly portrayed SAR’s image and brand that it now is shown on a loop on the TV in the lobby of the school. Many students support the school’s recent ventures in advertising. “I think the school hopes to gain a new, more clarified image of who we are as a school and as a community, and using social media helps to cement that image,” commented Rebecca Meller (‘17), who is featured in the video. Continued on page 16

An Update on PACT by Nomi Weinberger In expanding and enhancing SAR’s successful Parents Ask Call Talk (PACT) program, several new elements were introduced this year. These include administration meetings with parents from every grade, as well as the PACT newsletter. The program’s goals are to help ignite and guide the conversation between parents and students, and these new initiatives hope to enhance the “parent” part of the program. According to Rabbi Frank, an active member of the PACT leadership committee, the main objective is to “keep communications open between parents and students and to ensure that students make safe and wise decisions.” A major addition to the PACT program this year is the parent meeting, which will now occur once a year for each grade. Each meeting covers issues that are relevant to the given grade. They provide a forum for parents to meet and discuss issues and questions that affect their children as they move through high school. At this point in the year, all grades have had their parent meetings. The most recent meeting was that of

the junior grade. The meeting featured guest speaker Bernie Horowitz, parent of a teenager who experimented with substances, in which he discussed their experiences. The school has received a plethora of positive feedback from both parents and students regarding these meetings. Davida Krauss (’18) stated that after the meeting, her parents were able to “explain their thoughts and expectations to her.” She went as far as to say that she feels the program “helps to relieve tensions and form better relationships.” The PACT committee has welcomed many emails from parents that noted that after participating in the PACT parent night, they were able to have meaningful conversations with their children regarding drugs and alcohol. One SAR parent, who chooses to remain anonymous, emailed the PACT committee, thanking them for “all you do to help provide the students and families with these invaluable resources.” Another parent thanked the PACT committee for going above and beyond, stating “we truly appreciate all of the time and energy it takes to do what we consider over and above the formal ‘education’ of our children.”

Although the parent meetings are a new addition to the PACT program, they have already generated a substantial turnout. In fact, the PACT parent nights have become so important to many SAR families, that the school now live streams them to parents who do not want to miss out but cannot attend the meetings. The average turnout at the parent meetings was between 25-30% of the families in each grade, though in the freshman grade, there were 50 families in attendance. The other new PACT program is the PACT Newsletter, which has already been published three times this year. The first issue of the newsletter laid out the agenda for each grade: for freshmen it was an introduction to the program, for sophomores it was understanding appropriate behavior and parental supervision, for juniors it was decision-making and balancing social and academic pressure, and for seniors it was their lives beyond SAR. These topics were further discussed in the parent meetings and in student advisory sessions. As Rabbi Frank stated, the PACT program was created “in a world where teens are trying to navigate their environment,

and parents are trying to allow teens to be independent while keeping communications.” The newsletter hopes to accomplish this balance by keeping parents and students informed about what the PACT program has to offer. It includes information about other aspects of PACT programming, as well as practical tips and tools like how to plan college visits, updates on SAR’s new harassment policy, and teen terms to know. The newsletter also consists of articles and trigger questions for parents that aim to start conversations between parents and their children. The PACT program was created to keep an open conversation between parents and students and to help both parties navigate high school life in a safe and positive way. The program is constantly evolving and improving, in the hope that it will be a helpful and impactful resource. The PACT program has already made a significant impact on the SAR community. However, Rabbi Frank stated that the committee “realizes that this is a new program and it will take time to make this part of the culture.”

The Buzz, June 2015

Student TitleLife

(Completely Relaxed) Juniors Go on Annual College Trips

by Marianna Najman-Franks

On a chilly morning in March at an ungodly hour, the most tired students in the school trekked to the beit midrash for a 6:30 shacharit, while the rest of the school slept in for the 9:00 delayed opening. What could possibly be so important to drive these overworked, underslept juniors from their beds? The one thing they were so busy working towards: college. One third of the grade would travel North to Brandeis University and Boston University, while the other two thirds traveled South to University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Courtney said that SAR takes students to these colleges because they “provide juniors with a taste of two vastly different campuses so that they can get an idea of what they are looking for in their college experience.” On both trips, he described, students would see a small, private university and one large, public university. On both trips, students would see one suburban campus and one urban campus, and both trips would feature two Orthodox communities varying in size. The reason that SAR began taking the junior class on this trip is because they noticed with the first few classes that students were not taking the time to visit colleges the way that they should have. Beginning with

the Class of 2009, the College Guidance department arranged for these trips with great success, shifting the itinerary slightly over the past several years. Specifically, juniors used to visit University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University. However, the College Guidance department soon realized that it was not fair to take an entire grade to University of Pennsylvania, as it is a highly selective school to which not as many students would apply. Rutgers, Mr. Courtney explained, was not as appealing to as many students. Its proximity to SAR (it’s about an hour and a half away by car) also made it easier for students to visit on their own. Noam Lindenbaum (‘16) felt that he benefited from the trip: “Now I have a background for what I like and dislike.” He found that the contrasting sizes of the schools in general, as well as that of the Orthodox communities, gave him a better sense of what he is looking for. Boston and Baltimore, however, are about five hours away, and taking students there and back on buses in a single day was quite taxing. “I think it is ridiculous that the school kept the Maryland/Hopkins kids out past midnight and didn’t give us a delayed start time [the next day],” complained Manny Kuflik (‘16). “When we have parentteacher conferences and teachers are up until 10, we have a late start. The school doesn’t

care enough about the health of its students.” SAR also takes a day in May to visit colleges in New York City, although the list of schools has shrunk over the years. “With the New York visits, we used to see NYU, YU, and Queens College, but it became far too difficult to see all three in a single school day,” explained Mr. Courtney. “[So] last year, we only had the students see NYU and YU.” However, he said, the College Guidance department realized quickly that NYU wasn’t an entirely necessary trip, as students could easily visit on their own. The itinerary changed again, and this year, the plan was “to make this solely a YU experience with the boys going to Yeshiva College and the girls to Stern College and classes would operate the first two periods and final two periods of the day.” In the end, though, the trip was pushed off due to a conflict with Yeshiva University’s final exams and scheduling, and they requested that we come in the fall instead. Another important piece of the SAR High School college preparation season is college night, which took place on May 12th. Thirty-five schools were represented, presenting on panels and with a table set up in the gym. “College night is something that many high schools across the country hold for second semester juniors as a precursor to

the college admission process,” described Mr. Courtney. “For many of the participating college admission officers, it is a major recruitment tool. For us, it is an opportunity for juniors and their parents to learn more about the process ahead, to accumulate knowledge on colleges that may be of interest, and to network with many of the people that will be first readers of their applications in the fall and winter seasons ahead.” The schools represented at college night all had some Jewish community, although they varied in size. Most of the colleges that sent representatives are located in the northeast, with some from the Midwest, South, and even from Israel. “While we wish every institution whom we invite could attend, we recognize that travel budgets play a role and some schools that are a flight away could not make it,” said Mr. Courtney. “Sometimes,” said Mr. Courtney, “when a student steps foot onto a campus, they have that ‘aha’ moment where they feel that they belong.” And sometimes they don’t. But he believes that the trips, along with the exposure to many more campuses through college night, are helpful even if they don’t make or break a student’s decision about where to apply--after all, they are just the beginning of a process. Juniors, don’t worry, you’ve got another seven months of college application season to look forward to.

Grade Rep Elections (and the Juniors’ Lack Thereof) by Ariella Gentin Elections for Class Presidents this year were a mixture of intense, exciting, and non-existent. While the 9th and 10th grade candidates fiercely competed for the crown, the 11th graders had no new candidates to choose from. Their Class Presidents of this past year ran unopposed and thus were able to continue their reign. In the freshman grade, Naama Kobrin (‘18) and Zack Bernstein (‘18) won over the hearts of the ninth grade with clever posters and their own website. The two have already made plans for a grade wide BBQ, and hope to hold an auction at some point as well. Competition in the sophomore grade was stiff. Despite valiant efforts on the part of all candidates (one pair even wrote a song about the grade), the self-dubbed Bravid, Bracha Eisenstat (‘17) and David Charendoff (‘17), ultimately won. Eisenstat and Charendoff are in the midst of planning a boys-only grade wide game of paintball and an activity which is yet to be determined for the girls. The election in the junior grade was perhaps the most fascinating of them all, simply because there was no election. In the absence of any other candidates, the Class Presidents from this past year, Benny Weiser (‘16) and Kira Cohen (‘16), continued for a

second term. Never in the history of SAR have there been no other candidates who wanted to run and current Class Presidents who were interested in continuing their

“Never in the history of SAR have there been no other candidates who wanted to run and current Class Presidents who were interested in continuing their term.” term. Because this situation was so unusual, no rule had been established around term limits for Class Presidents. When this was brought to the attention of the administration (in the aftermath of this year’s lack of elections), Rabbi Frank and Ms. Schneider

have decided that there will, in the future, be a two term limit. Cohen addressed the issue herself, explaining, “[A two term limit] enables a President pair to continue if it is the desire of the grade. And, if for some reason, some people in the grade don’t like the Class Presidents…[a two term limit] prevents the pair from being Presidents throughout all of high school.” Rabbi Frank agreed, adding, “It gives other people a chance while allowing people to keep that continuity.” This means that a grade can have the same Presidents for up to two and a half years (which is what is happening in the junior grade now). Although most terms are one year, if the candidates are re-elected in junior year, they will serve an additional year and half, from the middle of junior year until the end of senior year. Weiser and Cohen are planning on using their extended time to the fullest. In addition to day-to-day events (like hot chocolate mornings, snacks in the GLC office, and ice cream parties), the pair is working on planning a grade wide BBQ and an amazing junior trip. For the most part, the juniors were either indifferent or excited about the pair’s extended time. The general consensus seemed to be that since the two are so well-liked, there was really no problem with them con-

tinuing on in their job. Rachel Ordan (‘16) explained, “They are already doing well and they have momentum… so there’s no point switching.” Danielle Plaue (‘16) agreed, noting: “Because of all the junior year stress, nobody else wanted to run, and Benny and Kira did a really good job last year. So why not let them reign for another year?” Of course, there were some who disagreed with this attitude. A number of juniors were critical about the re-appointment, mostly because they felt that other students were too intimidated to run against Benny and Kira, and that is why there was no election. An anonymous junior said, “It’s unfair that they [the junior grade reps] could run twice… they are not giving other kids a chance, because everybody knows they are going to win.” Another junior augmented that statement, saying: “If nobody registered [to be a candidate] because they knew they [Benny and Kira] were going to run, that’s a problem.” Regardless of the debated fairness of the two-term limit and the slight drama in the junior grade, it is clear that all of the grade reps have exciting things planned for the next school year. So get excited--no matter if you’re a faithful fan of Nack, Bravid, or if you’re still chanting “BK-- Have it your way,” you have a lot to look forward to.

The Buzz, June 2015

Student TitleLife

SAR Robotics Team Competes in The Holy Land by Noa Mintz You’re driving down a busy Tel Aviv street during rush hour. Cars are coming at you from every direction, running red lights, going well above the speed limit. No wonder--Israel is notorious for their bad drivers. Fortunately, over the past few months, SAR High School’s robotics team ventured out to change this. Since December, the team (comprised of Joey Yudelson (‘18), Max Orman-Kollmar (‘15), Binyamin Kaplan (‘15), and Marty Rubin (‘15)) spent countless hours configuring a driverless car for the Technion’s Robot Traffic & Safety International Competition. The competition entailed designing (or improving, for the returning teams) robots that could follow Israeli traffic laws and parameters. To ensure that each team understood what these traffic laws were, they were required to train for a written driving test. The test counted as part of the competition. The Technion formally invited SAR High School to join the competition, and Mr. Goodman and Ms. Brandriss spearheaded the involvement of students, faculty, and parents. Dr. Richard Kollmar, the father of team member Max Orman-Kollmar, launched the engineering electives at SAR, and was thus a natural fit to coach the team. Mr. Tokayer, who had studied the microcontroller system Arduino in college, also helped coach the team. Before beginning, “the school approached me and asked if the competition was similar to Arduino,” Mr. Tokayer recalled. Although the competition would require a higher level of computer science, Dr. Kollmar wrote to Mr. Tokayer via email that he was confident that “this would make a non-trivial but certainly doable project.” Given that Mr. Tokayer and Dr. Kollmar were coaching a team that had never participated in this competition before (as well as the only first-time team present at the competition), “We were really shooting in the dark. It was new material for all of us,” said Mr. Tokayer. The Technion shipped SARPR Continued from page 14

However, some students felt that the beeSAR video was compromised because a lot of the scenes were staged. For example, Emily Knopf (‘17) said, “I really love this school. There are so many great opportunities, clubs, etc, here. I think that the video is the kind of thing that a school does if it doesn’t have all these great opportunities. It’s like we need to act like we have all this fun stuff--but we really do! We stage the games and situations, but it’s so unnecessary. I wish they would film things when they actually happen.” Rabbi Harcsztark addressed this concern. “Thank God we are doing really well

the team a robot with no built-in code, requiring them to start from scratch while fulfilling the necessary requirements. “Knowing what was expected for the competition would have made preparation much easier,” said Dr. Kollmar. Although the team had past experience working with Arduino in an elective at SAR, working with the microcontroller (the “brain” of the robot) was different. “The microcontroller that we were using used a very bare-bones version of C, which I had never used before,” explained Kaplan. Arduino had built-in functions, “making it difficult to transition from a much more user-friendly platform.” Through the training, the team of four came to the point where they “knew every last detail of the robotic car and the software that they had written together,” said Dr. Kollmar. Eventually, they were ready for their trip to Israel, where they would stay in the Kfar Chassidim youth village in Har Carmel along with the 20 other teams competing against them. They spent the first three days after their arrival continuing to build the car, working up to 20 hours per day. “We had one and a half hour chunks to work on it in school, but having a 16 hour block of time made it so different,” said Yudelson. These few preliminary days were crucial to the team, being that “there were a lot of details we didn’t know until we got there,” explained Mr. Tokayer. The team was unaware of how the presentation would be set up, as well as the format of the track. The night before the competition, the team was up late into the night preparing for the next day and putting the finishing touches on the car. The car was operating very well and was nearly done, but at about 4:30 a.m., they noticed a hardware issue which couldn’t be fixed. Eventually they realized that they were adding too many factors for the robot to follow. Because of this, the robot did not have adequate time to measure and display all of the information. After understanding this problem, besides for a few

minor glitches, it was smooth sailing for the robotrafficers. They competed in a series of four competitions throughout the day, improving their performance with each one. They demonstrated their hard work in a speed test, permit test (in which they finished in 4th place), a presentation of safe driving initiatives, and a Safe Driving test, in which the robot (with a picture of Rabbi Harcsztark plastered on its front, acting as the “driver”) had to autonomously follow a track. During the first round of the Safe Driving test, the car ran every single red light, earning 40 error points, as opposed to the leading teams, with just 3-4. The catastrophe of the first round prompted the team to build blinders to place on the sides of the car, realizing it was receiving signals from green traffic lights next to it, as opposed to the red light in front of it. This allowed the car to perform as hoped, “staying on the track, breaking the turns, and following all of the traffic signals correctly,” said Orman-Kollmar, allowing it to finish in 7th place in the competition. “I felt really proud the second time that our car finished the Careful Driving course,” recalled Kaplan. Members of the team felt that their countless hours of hard work and lost sleep had paid off-- especially after seeing the face of Rabbi Harcsztark zipping around the track.

right now,” he said, “and we were able to hire a professional who does amazing work. It all fit very nicely into the budget for admissions that we put aside each year. The only compromise was that he was only able to come and shoot on one day, and we had to take things we know for a fact happen at the school every day and engineer them to happen. And it worked. We got the attention and the promotion that we wanted.” There is no way out. Perhaps, when advertising through social media, there must be some loss of spontaneity and authenticity. Everything needs to be short, sweet, and straight to the pitch. Reality must be shaped and sculpted in order to fit the brand that is being promoted.

Still, some students don’t understand why SAR is focusing so much on advertising, when it is widely known how popular the school is already. The school already accepts a larger number of students per class than Rabbi Harcsztark would ideally like to accept, and promotional materials for prospective students would only serve to increase SAR’s applicant pool even further. In response to this question, Mr. Roschwalb explained that by “falling behind,” he was not referring to a drop in the number of students applying. Rather, he said, he felt that SAR was failing to reach students from communities with other popular yeshiva high schools. “I don’t get the sense that we are just guaranteed to get kids from certain

“Members of the team felt that their countless hours of hard work and lost sleep had paid off-- especially after seeing the face of Rabbi Harcsztark zipping around the track.”

Top 5 ways to spend free periods:

1. Take an Uber to Starbucks 2. Explore all the nooks and crannies of the building 3. Take a nap in the 6th floor GLC office because the seniors aren’t there to occupy it anymore 4. Buy food from every (kosher) establishment across the street and then treat yourself to a one(wo)man feast 5. Steal the keys to the piano music room and have a private jam session with your friends

Meh List Not hot, not not, just meh.

1. Lockers near the bathroom 2. Shushan Purim 3. addictinggames.com 4. Geometry proofs 5. Small coffees

communities,” he said. “We need to work at it, and that’s what the video and the social media is for. If we want to get those kids from Englewood and Teaneck, we need to push.” Now that SAR has been successful for over a decade and applications are rising, the next step is to hold onto the school’s “in-demand” status, or even to increase it. “When thousands of people see the video, or lots of people are wearing the SAR spiritwear, it’s a huge statement. It’s not that we’ve changed our image, it’s just that we have made it go viral, and that is a big change,” said Mr. Roschwalb.

The Buzz, June 2015

TitleLife Student

A New Kind of Drill: Lockdowns at SAR by Bobby Miller In a security initiative reminiscent of Cold War “duck and cover” classroom drills, SAR has commenced its newest safety procedure. After twelve years without a lockdown security plan, the school is now taking steps to ensure the safety of its students in the event of an attack by an armed assailant. In an email sent out to the entire SAR community the day before the first drill, Rabbi Harcsztark noted that it is “our [SAR’s] goal is to provide security and safety for everyone while maintaining a calm atmosphere.” With all the violence in the world today, especially in light of the extremist attack on the Hyper Cacher Kosher Supermarket in Paris in January and tens of

shootings in schools over the past several years, it seems natural that this policy is being instituted now. On March 18, with the sound of Rabbi Harcsztark’s reverberating voice over the loudspeaker, the lockdown began. All students and faculty made their way to the nearest room with a door that locks. While they waited in the least vulnerable part of the room, many were confused when Rabbi Harcsztark got on the loudspeaker again and told everyone to go to the gym. This was intended to test how many students would listen to his instructions despite previous directions, in which students were instructed to remain situated in one location until a faculty member or police officer with a key opened the door to the lockdown room. Many actu-

ally fell for the test and headed toward the gym, proving that more drills are needed. In a real emergency situation, mistakes like this could potentially cost lives. There were mixed reactions to the drill among the student body. Some people spoke very highly of the procedure. Jeremy Horwitz (‘16) said, “The lockdown drill was certainly necessary. There’s a lot of danger in this world and we need to know how to respond in case of emergency. We must continue to practice this drill until it is mastered.” Other responses were not as positive. Yael Hartmann (‘18) stated, “I felt like the lockdown drill was pointless because it didn’t actually prepare me for a real emergency situation.” Still other students were frightened by the drill. Julia Blinder (‘18)

felt that “it was scary seeing my school, that I’ve always thought of as a peaceful environment, turned into a hostile place.” Still, it is clear that, overall, the lockdown drill was a success. The majority of students remained calm during the procedure, followed the rules, and took the drill seriously with proper maturity. The school hopes to continue practicing these safety training drills either on an annual or semiannual basis. While we hope that the skills students and staff learn in these drills will never have to be put to use, the SAR community nonetheless feels obligated to take preventative measures to ensure students’ safety at all times.

Why Is this Haggadah Different From All Others? by Jacalyn Tokayer For the past four years, SAR’s Judaic Studies Department has worked together with the Artist in Residence program to help create vibrant, artistic renditions of select holiday-specific texts. In the past few years, they have produced Megillat Esther, Megillat Ruth, and Sefer Yonah, to be distributed to both the student and parent body. This year’s edition was the highly sought-after Pesach Haggadah. The Haggadah turned out to be much more than a mere link in the chain of the school’s illustrated sefarim initiative. It was a much bigger project--it included broader aspects of artistic portrayal, took years of preparation, featured artwork that was col-

lected and preserved over a three year period, and was a bigger financial success than any of the program’s projects from past years. “Because it’s a much larger book, there are more people involved, and there are more students participating,” said Mr. Friedman. The broader student involvement, including, for the first time, that of SAR Academy students, was probably a factor in the Haggadah’s huge financial success. “The idea of involving the Academy was brought up by the business office as a way of building a bridge between the two schools,” said Mr. Friedman. Students from SAR Academy, for the most part, drew pictures for Nirtzah and Hallel. Over 700 copies of the Haggadah were

printed, and very few were left in stock. Distribution was in the range of approximately 350 families. But such success didn’t happen overnight. “We started real preparation for the Haggadah in September, although it had been in the back of our minds for years,” said Mr. Wander. Since drawing Pesach art was part of the ninth grade curriculum for each of the previous three years, a number of the current sophomores’, juniors’, and seniors’ works were included. The works were photographed and archived, and were selected for the book later in the process. However, unlike the previous publications, the Haggadah does not exclusively feature drawings and paintings. Works of photography, sculptures and cartoons were also included. The Haggadah, as Ms. Schlaff notes, is

truly a “Grand Conversation piece. We felt it was really important that students don’t look at art and learning as two totally separate endeavors.” A class for seniors this year called “Drawing From the Text” aimed to develop understanding of the texts in the Haggadah using art as a medium to portray what was learned. Each student created one piece of art for the Haggadah, with a short explanatory paragraph describing the meaning of the piece. Said Ms. Schlaff, “If you’re learning something, and you then draw it, what you’re really doing is wrapping your head around what this text actually means in a different kind of way. And, for somebody who takes a look at the piece of art, it’s going to help them appreciate the texts even more, and in a deeper, and perhaps even a different way.”

Singing the Praises of Cochav Nolad by Leah Nerenberg As kids, we all had the dream of becoming a famous pop star and singing in front of an adoring audience. And annually, on Yom Haatzmaut, SAR gives us the opportunity to do so. We all have the chance to wow the students and teachers of SAR with beautiful Hebrew songs and dances. And if the fifteen seconds of fame aren’t enough for the rising celebrities, performers also get five points of extra credit added to their final Hebrew grade. With the alluring promise of paparazzi waiting outside your classroom, who could say no? However, as you may know from your friends’ complaints about yet another Cochav Nolad audition, this year saw a change in the auditions process. Groups were required to audition multiple times. According to David Charendoff (‘17), the more intense audition process felt “very long and repetitive.” Others noted that they were frustrated to be missing numerous lunch or activity periods. Even though the auditions were taxing,

Hannah Laifer (‘17) pointed out, “Each time we came back, we greatly improved. At first, it seemed tedious to keep going back and tweaking our routine, but it was only to our benefit.” Rabbi Birnbaum also supported the rounds of auditions. He said that the “acts were accepted ready to go,” meaning that the groups used the multiple auditions as their rehearsals, and did not need any more practices after the auditions. Last year’s Cochav Nolad theme revolved around Arik Einstein, an Israeli singer/songwriter, as he had just died a few months earlier. Rabbi Birnbaum said that last year’s songs were “responding to the need to educate and popularize him.” But this year, he said that the broad theme of “loving Israel” was “to allow students to express themselves more.” Students appreciated this flexibility that allowed them to pick out songs that truly represented their feelings towards the state of Israel. As Dalia Planer (‘17) noted, “We ended up choosing Kaan Noladiti, partly because they suggested it, [but] partly because we liked the message it sent about the land of Israel.”

Cochav Nolad usually leaves students with a question: Did the groups do it for the extra credit or to show their love of Israel? And unsurprisingly, the answer is usually the former. Charendoff stated, “Being completely honest, I did it mostly for the five extra points. Going up a half a grade is a big deal.” But he then elaborated on the experience of Cochav Nolad. He explained that while he originally auditioned in order to boost his final Hebrew grade, he ended up “appreciating Israeli culture more.” Other students, like Noa Mintz (‘18), who auditioned but did not end up making it to the performance on Yom Haatzmaut, weren’t simply seeking out extra credit: “My friends and I are always searching for opportunities to showcase our talents.” On Yom Haatzmaut, Cochav Nolad kicked off with a song performed by Mr. Calipha, Rabbi Harcsztark (who knew he could rap?), and several students. Out of the eleven acts performed, two were solo, featuring Jessie Gronowitz (‘18) and Aviva Michaeli (‘17). The final student act was Yona Feit (‘15) and Sofia Schreiber (‘15) singing

“La-Oof,” a throwback to their first Cochav Nolad performance in 2012. And as a closing act, Ms. Anstandig, Rabbi Emerson, Ms. Tesler, Mr. Krauss, and Rabbi Lindenbaum sang “Ani Maamin,” continuing last year’s tradition of dressing up in eccentric costumes. After the performances were over, students texted in their votes. The emcees, Miriam Stern (‘17) and Noam Lindenbaum (‘16), announced the winners: Sarah Mlotek (‘17), Jesse Blumenfeld (‘17), and Nati Ben-Meir (‘18), who won a bronze trophy for their performance of HaMasa Le’Eretz Yisrael. And as we all saw on Yom Haatzmaut, the groups succeeded in fulfilling Rabbi Birnbaum’s and the Hebrew Department’s original goal: “to bring Israeli culture to SAR on Yom Haatzmaut.” While it was a close competition, and all of the groups performed well, a big congratulations goes to Sarah, Jesse, and Nati for their well deserved win! Here’s to next year’s Cochav Nolad… auditions start tomorrow at lunch.

The Buzz, June 2015

TitleLife School

Real Books vs. eBooks

The Ultimate Showdown by Atira Zeitchik In recent years, Kindles and iPads have become all the rage. All you have to do to notice this trend is stop on the 3rd floor and observe the hordes of freshmen busily swiping and clicking. SAR certainly keeps up with technological trends. It has even begun working on digitizing various texts into eBooks, in the hope that doing so will allow students easier access to their textbooks and work. While this idea might sound completely fantastic to some--one can imagine how light a textbook and binder-less backpack would be--it still comes with potential drawbacks. For example, a complete digital transition could prevent shomer Shabbat students from studying on Shabbat. Rabbi Bloom, Director of Technology Integration, addressed this issue, explaining: “I’m not so forceful about making sure that we change everything into eBooks. I’d like it, if possible, to be available.” Ultimately, he’d like for students to able to access all books on their iPad in addition to in paper form. While it may take a while to fully implement this change, the process is well on its way. Texts that have already been made Budget Continued from page 3

course of the 2013-2014 school year, 5.7%, or almost $2 million, of SAR’s budget went to “Facility Expenses,” while the $316,000 devoted to “Construction/Building Improvements” comes from the school’s Capital Campaign (and not the $32.1 million budget), which is an active fundraising campaign with the goal of allowing SAR to retire its loans and become debt-free. Apparently, money from this campaign also goes towards renovations and infrastructure improvement. So to run through the remodeling of the gym: Rabbi Harcsztark explained that this did not come from either of the above sources, and thus did not serve to draw money away from seemingly more important causes. The gym floor replacement was covered by insurance following the burst pipe fiasco last year, while the new bleachers were the result of a donation. And in fact, leak repairs are already underway. Last summer, all windows were resealed, and this summer, the school plans to work on repairing and sealing the ceilings and roof, which is another issue altogether from window leaks. Rabbi Harcsztark and I also spoke about technology, an expense that concerns many in the SAR community. According to the Annual Report, 3.1% of the school’s budget was devoted to technology last year. Rabbi Harcsztark told me that 3% of the overall budget is the recommended, “stateof-the-art” target among schools in terms of spending for technology. And he feels strongly that investing in technology should

available on iPads include the 9th grade Biology and a new French textbook. The school plans to continue digitizing textbooks in a variety of subjects. There are many different factors involved in digitizing textbooks. Part of the process involves assessing the books that the school already uses and seeing if making digitized versions is possible. Going forward, as departments look into newer versions of textbooks already used or into the possibility of changing books entirely, eBook availability should become a factor in those conversations and decisions. “But,” Rabbi Bloom adds, “the priority is always choosing the right book, and not choosing a book because it’s an eBook.” Further investigation regarding this advancement revealed that, according to Rabbi Bloom, this upgrade might only occur on tablets or iPads, and would not work well on computer screens. He feels strongly that the success of eBooks “is predicated on every student having a tablet device on which to read.” As of this year, only freshmen were given individual iPads, but the school hopes that eventually, each student will have some type of tablet device. SAR may be passionate about this

technological development, but some students do not share a similar enthusiasm. In fact, many students seem to prefer reading from paper books significantly more than reading from eBooks. Hanna Kestenbaum (‘15) shares, “I prefer to actually hold something purposeful, not just have it on something electronic.” Other students agree with Kestenbaum, for a wide range of reasons. Some students appreciate the sense of control and sensory experience that accompanies paper books. Others resent the fact that electronic books will simultaneously enable other technological distractions, and do not allow for focused, undistracted reading the way that printed books do. “I find it easier to concentrate on paper than when I’m reading it online,” Shira Schneider (‘17) affirms. Amram Zeitchik (‘17) adds, “Some people, like me, get headaches from looking at screens for too long, so putting all of our texts online would make it more difficult to study and to concentrate.” According to Rabbi Bloom, the widespread dislike of eBooks is likely a reaction to a “transitional stage.” He reasons that such resentment comes from people who have always read and studied on paper and

are now being asked to do so digitally. Down the line, when eBooks become the standard form of texts, said irritations will probably be mitigated or go away. In contrast, some students enjoy the convenience of reading on technology and support this technological advancement. After all, as Aliza Presser describes, they’re lighter than 600-page textbooks. The question remains: What does this mean for the school financially? Conveniently, the eBooks rolled out this year came at no additional cost, because the physical books purchased included a digital license. However, publishers structure eBook costs differently for every book. Sometimes, both the printed book and the eBook are listed for the price of one. Other times, each are sold separately. Occasionally, there’s simply an added cost for the eBook. While some might argue that repurchasing books that the school already owns in paper form would be a waste of money, so far, the process of digitizing textbooks has not come at a significant financial cost. Hopefully, this initiative will be prove to be beneficial for students and a positive addition to SAR’s resources.

be a priority, even if other budgetary issues have to be sorted out and moved around. “That’s the way people learn nowadays, so it should be provided,” he said. The Freshman 1:1 iPad program, for example, was funded this year through the school’s budget, and not through a grant or donation of any sort. (The iPad cart, however, was a PTC gift at graduation.) He didn’t really comment on how the 1:1 initiative has been going, but he

As it turns out, in an effort “to have consistently strong technology in the building,” the laptops were acquired through a threeyear lease, which expires at the end of this school year. The lease will be renewed with new Macbooks and PCs--another significant blow to the technology budget, but probably a yearly expense. Next, I asked about all of the money that’s being spent on prospective student videos and recruitment efforts. Rabbi Harcsztark said that the school allocates a “recruitment budget,” which includes money for the professionally produced admissions video that was recorded earlier this year. This video was part of a greater emphasis by SAR on reaching out through social media and technology. “We turn to videos, because they’re a big thing now. That’s how we can connect to people,” he said. The school budget also covers many costs that SAR would prefer be funded through other means. For example, the Schoolwide Shabbaton was subsidized by the budget this year, though the school doesn’t want it to be and was hoping it wouldn’t be. At the beginning of this year, students were asked to pay a Student Activities fee, which should have covered a portion of the Student Activities budget as well as the Schoolwide Shabbaton. However, costs this year were greater than the school had expected, and SAR ended up having to pay for the Schoolwide Shabbaton out of its own budget. Speaking of the Schoolwide Shabbaton--if you’ve been missing your P4S2X t-shirt, then you should know that forgoing

t-shirts, which began last year, was part of a sweeping effort not to raise tuition costs. (Due to several budget cuts in various areas, SAR Academy did not raise tuition for the past two years, while SAR High School had one year--this year--when tuition did not increase. The coming year, however, will see a 3% increase.) Finally, as former students seem to be roaming the building more and more these days, our conversation turned to alumni programming. Rabbi Harcsztark said that this area is given its own budget (although it’s not specified in the annual report), one that has grown in recent years as alumni programming has expanded. Alumni who join on the Schoolwide Shabbaton, he said, are subsidized not from the Shabbaton budget, but rather are classified as an alumni program and budgeted accordingly. The alumni budget also goes towards the Bogrim program, in which former students return towards the end of the school year to study and do research at SAR. Each participant receives a $500 stipend, which apparently is actually less than what many competing programs, such as Drisha, offer. For a large group, though, this can obviously form quite a sizable expense. I came back afterward to ask Rabbi Harcsztark about installing a second elevator (did you know there’s a second elevator shaft next to the current one in case the school decides to install another in the future?). He said that “never” is a strong word, but… don’t get your hopes up. Unless you’re interested in paying for it?

“I asked Rabbi Harcsztark about funding for Student Council, which apparently is also severely lacking. He explained that the infrastructure needed in order for Council to do something with funds has yet to be set up.” noted that “learning how to use technology is a long range project, and I think we have to take it on.” This took us to teachers’ laptops, which are being replaced for the next school year.

The Buzz, June 2015

LastTitle Laugh

Koncerns about Koby by Temima Grossman This summer, I will be travelling to Israel for six weeks on the Koby Mandell Program. While I am extremely excited about attending the program, I do have a few concerns. Number one: the infamous Israeli summer heat. To put it lightly, I do not like the heat. Like many others, my mood depends on the weather, which happens to link heat with crankiness. The hotter the weather, the crankier I become. According to Israel’s summer weather schedule, I will most likely be spending a good chunk of my stay in a cranky mood. In addition to affecting my attitude, heat at least triples the amount of sweat excreted from my pores. Under the Mediterranean sun, who knows what I’ll be capable of? I could probably sweat enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. (When my Snapchat weather geofilter kindly informs me that it is over ninety degrees outside-those are the times I wish my iPhone came with a built-in fan. In the meantime, while Apple works on creating that gadget, my Amazing Savings plastic hand-held fan will have to suffice.) Number two: laundry. Recently, my mother and I attended a Camp Koby information session at the home of another student attending the program. During the session, I heard horrific news: there would be no separation of lights and darks. I know what you’re thinking… this girl’s a huge racist! But that’s not it at all. Upon hearing the jaw-dropping news, I could not help but think of my new white cotton ankle socks, sitting innocently in their cardboard packaging amidst my sock drawer. My mother, in shock, turned to me and sighed, “I just don’t know what to tell you.” It truly is a crisis. When we returned from the information ses-

sion, I retreated to my room and took out my brand-new socks. I gently stroked the strikingly white cotton as tears welled up in my eyes. My socks were so young. So young. Soon their beautiful whiteness would be robbed from them, and replaced with aw-

You Change Is Not Who You’ll Be.”) I could not bear to look at my socks any longer, so I caressed the soft cotton one last time, and then put them away. Number three: the luggage limit. At the information session, I also learned that I can

ful stains from their lowly, colorful fellow socks. I told my white socks how special they were, and that a few stains would not define the rest of their lives. (As a matter of fact, I think Frank Bruni just came out with a new novel that he will also soon be speaking about at SAR High School: “The Color

only bring one fifty-pound bag for the entire summer (WHAT?!). Excuse me while I grab my inhaler--I’m feeling faint. I don’t mean to be sound like a privileged, materialistic private school girl (okay, I am a privileged, materialistic private school girl), but how am I supposed to pack six weeks worth of cloth-

Overheard in Class: *student sneezes* Other student: I don’t say “bless you” for spreading germs. Overheard in Tanach class: Student: Rabbi, what’s skila? Rabbi: Getting stoned. Student: Getting stoned?! Rabbi: ...to death! Overheard in the Annex MPR: StandWithUs Speaker: Now, can any of you think of any other country in the world whose right to exist is questioned by the international community? Students: Taiwan… North Korea… Kosovo… Overheard on the 5th floor: Student: Tbh, I totally forgot it was Yom Yerushalayim yesterday. Hashtag Diaspora problems. Overheard in an alley on 4 Lawrence Street in Yonkers: Rabbi Hain: That is stolen property! Give that back!

ing and necessities into ONE bag? Well, apparently I am not the only person who finds the weight limit to be problematic, because some ingenious person took it upon himself to invent Space Bags! While the bags themselves may seem like an everyday Ziploc, they are truly exceptional. To be honest, I’m not so familiar with the technicalities of the bag, but I do know that there is a special cap in the middle that makes all the difference. After placing your items in the bag and zipping it closed, open the cap and turn on the vacuum cleaner and place the hose over the vacuum valve. Once the bag is compressed, remove the vacuum, the one-way valve will keep the air out, and then close the cap! The less air in the bag, the more room there will be for my extra sandals! You know where I’ll be the week before my departure: raiding my local Bed Bath & Beyond for all for the Space Bags. Number four: spiders. I am, to put it mildly, terrified of the spider family. I do not like the way they crawl, nor do I like the way their webs uncomfortably tickle me when I accidentally walk into them. An elementary school teacher of mine once told me a story that has caused me to be terrified to return to Israel. She was sitting in the stall of a public bathroom in the Negev (taking a break from a hike) when she felt something tickling her leg. She looked down and was shocked to discover a tarantula crawling on her! Obviously, that story had quite an impact on me (it only kept me awake for three weeks), and I shiver every time I think about it. I have an inkling that I will spending the majority of my six weeks in Israel frantically checking myself for spiders and avoiding public bathrooms. Despite its heat, laundry, luggage limit, and spiders, Israel is the Holy Land and home of the Jewish people and I am very much looking forward to returning there-armed with my fan, of course.

Overheard on the Grade Floor: Girl: Sometimes I get in my workout clothes and watch TV sitting next to my elliptical

VERBATI

The NSA is listening . . . and so are we!

The Buzz, June 2015

Advice Column Title Dear Advice Column, You’ve been through it all, you’ve seen it all, and within two weeks you’ll be gone without a trace. Before you leave us, share some key advice from four years of experience. With great anticipation, Progressively less ignorant underclassman My dear blundering child, In my day, as I’ve travailed the especially wild course of SAR High School, I’ve seen a thing or two. I’ve seen days when “no more shots” meant no more shots-- and I’ve watched the school secretly progress into a state of constant shots fired. I saw the day when Mr. Friedlander first lost a game of pickup ball to the 6’3” 23-year-old semi-pro guy from around the corner. I’ve seen boys not wearing any tzitzit stagnate to boys continuing to not wear tzitzit. Heck, I’ve even been around long enough to see the knee be redefined to a location halfway up the thigh.

In short: you’re right, I know a thing or seven about the goings on around Salanter Akiba. To make my vast knowledge slightly easier to process, I’ll break it down into six categories, in order of importance: sports, franks, arts, Shakespeare, academics, and last but certainly not least, Judaics and davening. SAR’s athletic director Mr. Berlin is second to none, not only in city-wide girls handball league organizing, but in push-ups and the agility run as well. With trusty Giveret Gryzlo at his side, Big B’s swag walk--complete with topof-the-line Lululemon, perfectly colored and combed-over hair, and his groundpiercing downward stare--is SAR’s world-renowned menace. Most walk away starstruck; some are frozen still. It’s a wonder kids still misbehave; in my day, Buhlin ruled with an Iron Fist. Perhaps the youthful aura that once radiated from his every step has dissipated some. But needless to say, lesson learned: If you can’t #BeeB (which you can’t), fear B.

Franks, first sprouted in the waning hours of the 2012-2013 school year, soon enveloped SAR. By 2014, Josh Blustein (‘15) lost his grip on the term as it acquired a life of its own. Auxiliary Franks arrived from Baltimore, as its sheer power attempted to take control of the entire school. Although the saga has not yet come to an end, it suffices to say that, guys... guys, guys? guys… guys, guys. Everyone, please remember to accept upon yourselves the mitzvah of ve’ahavta le’reacha kamokha. Sorry for that interruption--on to arts and Shakespeare. Well, there is only one reason to get involved: that is his holiness, the one and only, the untouchable Mess of a Marsh. Other than that, the arts mean the music or art rooms, the only places in the school where blockading the door during a lockdown isn’t particularly helpful. Actually, come to think of it, at least they have doors. Academics: it’s not just what you learn, it’s who you become. ‘Nuff said. Well, we out of time. Oh? Juda-

ics and davening? It’s simple. Spend all your free time in the beis, and you’ll be set. Fellows are friends, Torah trumps all, and Rabbi Helfgot is the epitome of entertainment, to say the least. But wait… you’ve spent so long reading this column, you’re late for davening. See ya at RPT, sucker! Peace and love, GART

Jacob Shteingart, our advice specialist

To submit a question to The Buzz, email TheBuzz@SARHighSchool.org. If you want a serious answer, please make it clear so we don’t embarrass you. Emma Cantor (‘15) - News Editor

Toba Stern (‘15) - Associate Editor

Rose Frankel (‘15) Layout Editor

Shalhevet Schwartz (‘15) Editor-in-Chief

Deena Nerwen (‘15) - Editor-inChief

Dr. Schwartz (’14) – Faculty Advisor

What dairy food is your Shavuot weakness?

GoGurt

All of it

I can’t have dairy-does that make me Shavuot’s dairy weakness?

Cheesecake is my Shavuot strength

I eat everything... calories don’t even count on yuntif

Cheesecake (predictable, but it’s the truth.)

Why are all the English teachers leaving?

They won’t teach at SAR until all Yeshiva high schools legalize tefillin for women.

They caught senioritis-sorry, that one’s on us

To light out for the Territory ahead of the rest

No one knew how to use apostrophes and they could’nt take it

Is it still funny to make an Ebola joke?

Dr. Shinar announced that the Twilight series will replace Shakespeare in the curriculum.

Why are all the Judaic Studies teachers leaving?

They’re just pulling a Rabbi Friedman. They’ll be back but in a different form

They actually wanted to teach ivrit b’ivrit

They saw the results of the Jewish literacy survey

Tzaraat

They’re demonstrating yetziat mitzrayim

They wanted to work someplace with a “rebbe” culture.

Which teacher would have the best Senior prank?

Dr. Shinar graffities love the building #ironic… then cleans it up

Marty Berlin

Ms. Hoch-a single keystroke on her laptop could shut SAR down

Mr. Tokayer. Grow a beard overnight #likea70yearold

Rob. He’d just lock us all out and laugh.

Dr. Michnick. Smart, devious, and she flies under the radar. No one would see it coming until it was too late.

How is the school climate controlled?

Through Rabbi Houben’s email account.

it isn’t...

The thermostat fluctuates with Ms. Lerea’s mood, which corresponds to average skirt length in the building

God

Rabbi Kroll controls it from Florida; that’s why it’s always so off

The school is climate controlled?

Can you name all the fellows?

No.. Isn’t there an ArtScroll for that?

can I plead the fifth?

I’m a senior--I can’t even name the teachers anymore

Josh, Jana, JohnDavid, Jill, Jessa, Joseph…

Duh, I’m all about that beis

Seriously? I’m not in the school anymore, you know.

POP Culture