Carly`s Bat Mitzvah - Rochelle Zell Jewish High School

May 23, 2013 / 15 Sivan, 5773
Carly's Bat Mitzvah
In This Issue
Junior Bat Mitzvah
Grandparents and
Special Friends Day
Senior Car Wash
Sports Recognition
Night
Primrose Farm and
CJHS
Lishma
CJHS on Facebook
Bike the Drive
Open Mic Night
Mazal Tov to Carly Rubin and
her Talmud class
Sunkist Fruit Gems were flying,
simcha dancing was happening, and a
whole new class of CJHS students
stepped up to the pulpit for the first time
this Thursday morning as junior Carly
Rubin celebrated her bat mitzvah with
all her friends at CJHS. "As my teachers would
undoubtedly tell you, I've never been one to get things
done on time!" Carly joked, as she proudly began her dvar
Torah for her assembled friends and relatives. "I want to
thank my family for all their support and CJHS for helping
me really discover and develop my Jewish identity."
Students in the News
YPI for Shalva
Alumni Association
Mazal Tov
QuarkNet
Summertime Torah
Study
STAND UPdate
Sponsored Breakfast
Alumni Trivia
A Taste of Torah
Save the Date
Carly's journey towards celebrating her Jewish womanhood
was enabled by the rich spiritual life and Thursday morning
minyanim delivered by the indefatigable Ms. Ilana
Gleicher-Bloom in her junior Talmud class. Several of the
Monday, May 27
students have newly come into Jewish observance and are
Memorial Day - No School (as we all should be!) exploring the nuances of their beliefs
and practice. Carly's wish to formally celebrate her coming
Wednesday, May 29
of age as a Jewish woman provided an opportunity for
Siyyum and Graduation
everyone in the class to get a little more involved. Every
single person in the class
Thursday, May 30
came up to participate in
Physics Expo
the service in a way
they'd never before done
Monday, June 3 at CJHS, from arkFriday, June 7
openings to Torah
Exams
wrappings to leading
shacharit and reading
Torah. Working as a
P. O. Corner
team, they delivered a
beautiful and inspiring
Gelt Program
service, in the midst of which Carly herself read a full
The P.O. is pleased to once again aliyah of Torah and expressed her gratitude with a dvar
introduce the gift card "Gelt
Torah.
Sunday, May 26
Prom
program" to our families and we
have made it much easier (look
for upcoming email with details
on how to register). Faculty and
staff can also buy Gelt that will
help to support programs
provided for the school by the
P.O. This program is designed to
help families earn money toward
their children's junior year Panim
program and/or the Senior Israel
Experience. The program is a
passive earning system, in which
you buy the things you ordinarily
purchase anyway, and earn
money which will be credited to
your family for designated school
trips. If you have any questions,
contact Sheri Sandrof at
ssandrof@cjhs.org or call her at
847.324.3723.
Community News
and Events
Libenu Beauty Night for
Women
Look and feel your
best! Join us for
the Libenu Evening
of Beauty and
Wellness for
Women.
Tuesday, June 4
6:30-9:30 PM
Women's LifeCenter
118 Skokie Blvd., Wilmette
Support this wonderful Jewish
organization with a wine and
cheese reception, expert
consultations with health and
beauty experts, and free beauty
products!
Chazak u'varuch (strength and blessing) to Carly for an
outstanding job; to the inspiring Ms. G-B and the tireless
master gabbai Shira Harris for round-the-clock tutelage;
to brand-new ba'alat shacharit Arielle Kaye and ba'alat
psukei Talia Canter. Yasher koach also to Alena Burda,
Elizabeth Barras, and Fede Romano for running the
Torah service and aliyot, to Maddy Mynatt, Nicole
Kovalevsky, Talia Horwich, and Alon Spevak for the
ark openings and Torah choreography, and to new Torah
readers Jackie Geraty and Orly Schlessinger. Mazal tov
and well done to Carly's mother Ms. Stacey Rubin for her
aliyah and her father Mr. David Rubin for lifting the
Torah. This celebration was truly a communal triumph!
For tickets, click here or call
847.982.0340 ext. 227. Libenu is
a 501(c)3 organization that
fosters independence and
inclusion by providing supervised
group homes and vocational
training for Jewish adults with
special needs.
.
Sponsor Breakfast
What's better than a birthday
celebration with
friends? Celebrate your
In honor of Carly's simcha, Mr. and Mrs. Rubin kindly
donated celebratory siddurim to every member of Carly's
class, decorated with special plaques to commemorate this
momentous occasion. We also thank the Rubins for the
delicious kiddush they sponsored for the school at
breakfast. Mazal tov to Carly, her family, and her entire
student's birthday or other
milestone with a special
breakfast at CJHS.
For a donation of
$180 (10x chai),
bagels, cream
cheese, and orange
juice will be served
to everyone. An announcement
will be made in Tefillah and
in the dining hall, and the
occasion will also be listed in our
weekly E-News and on the school
announcement board.
If you have any questions,
please call 847.324.3713 or
email idrazin@cjhs.org. Order
forms are available online here.
Quick Links
Our
Website
Online Calendar
Trumba
Calendar Tips
2012-2013 Year
Calendar
Lunch Menu
Join the Tiger
Club
class on a beautiful celebration.
Special Friends Day
Grandparents' Day: it's not just for
grandparents anymore! More than a hundred
and fifty grandparents, parents, older siblings,
younger siblings, baby cousins, non-genetic
relations, and cheering alumni joined the
students and faculty this Thursday for our
annual Special Friends Day. A delicious
lunch was provided to the entire school
through the generosity of Angie and Larry
Adler. Senior
Jessie
Lankford
spoke about the unique opportunities
invented for her by the caring and creative
staff at CJHS and Nate Swetlitz explained
how his refusal to choose between
academic opportunities, debate, sports, and
observant Judaism led him through the
doors of CJHS and wowed him by what he found inside.
Next, our guests were treated to our annual Arts Alive
performances by the various
Fine Arts classes. The vocal
ensemble presented a
musical suite from
Wicked. Next came a
reprise from The CJ Factor
with musicians Arielle Kaye
and Alana Spellman. To round
off the afternoon, the jazz band
took the stage with a rousing
selection of jazz, Beatles, and
our signature "Proud
Mary!" Congratulations to all our performers, to Ms.
Danielle Brothers, Mr. Rich Green, Mr. Peter Roothaan, and
to guest trombonist and rich bass vocalist Mr. Jim
Baumstark, who can be found teaching precalculus at CJHS
the rest of the week. Congratulations also to Alana
Stoehr, Miranda Smerling, Ceren Maeir, Gvt.
Wasserman, and Mr. Marchenko for kicking off the disco
line when the band started up!
A photographer snapped portraits of many of the students with their
guests, and the day culminated with our guests accompanying their
grandchildren to their classes, where they experienced a glimpse of what
happens here at CJHS. Many grandparents were active participants in the
classes, helping in the laboratory and asking pertinent questions!
Congratulations to Ms. Katz and the rest of the
yearbook staff on the publication of "The
Roar," this year's yearbook, and to Ms.
Seymour and Ms. Snyder's classes for the
wonderful graphic arts projects displayed in the
Shapiro Dining Hall.
Senior Car Wash
Come one, come all! Next Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., the senior class will be
hosting a car wash at CJHS to raise funds for the senior class gift. The cost
is $10 for students, alumni, and faculty vehicles, and $15 for others
cars. Ceren Maeir ballyhoos, "Come help us support the institution that
has supported us for the past four years!"
Sports Recognition Night at CJHS
A hundred people packed the
Caplan gym Wednesday night
for a retrospective of the 20122013 CJHS
Tigers. This
was the
women's
volleyball
team that brought the IHSA regional
banner home, the men's cross country
squad that did us proud for the third
year in a row, our Cooper Invitational
champion men's basketball team--proud
winners of our second IHSA title and
number one Jewish basketball team in
the nation--and the women's soccer
team that scored our first post-season win!
Head of School Tony Frank welcomed everyone and Coach
Gleicher M.C.'d the event. Mr. Larry Goodman presented
the awards to our athletes:
 Rabbi Akiva Diligence Award
in Academic and Athletic
Excellence:
Daniel Fishbaum and Rachel
Rubinstein
 Ben Zoma Best Attitude
Award in Sportsmanship:
Rami Eilian and Shelly
Dekalo
 Miriam Leadership Award in
Leadership:
Jake Newlander and Annie
Schrayer
 Lady Tigers MVP:
Caroline Dreifuss
Thanks to all of our coaches: Michael Wenzel, Barb Finfer,
Greg Shannon, Chris Hambach, Bob Cogan, Marty Dello,
Benny Figueroa, Tom Kalleses, Mike Newlander, Lee Cohn,
Julia Klein, Rick Wissig, Gary Auslander, and Jerry Drazin
for three phenomenal seasons!
Eat Healthy and
Support CJHS
We come together at our school
to nourish our minds and
souls. Now we can come
together to nourish our bodies
as well! Primrose Valley Farm
produces certified organic produce in tune with the seasons
and Jewish values. Produce is delivered weekly for pickup
by its members at CJHS or other locations throughout the
Jewish communities in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Now, Primrose Valley Farm and CJHS have an exciting
partnership in which the Farm will contribute a percentage
of its produce subscription fees to help support our school!
To sign up for a CSA box filled with fresh, seasonal produce
or to find out more about this wonderful organization, visit
the website at primrosevalleyfarm.com.
Lishma
Yasher koach to Dr. Rebecca Schorsch on concluding a
wonderful year of Lishma, our faculty teaching and
learning series. Dr. Schorsch delivered the last lecture of
the year, sharing some of the insightful commentaries on
the akedah, the Binding of Isaac--an experience neither
punitive nor theatrical, but a transformative moment
whereby the last vestiges of pagan Mesopotamia were
vaporized out of Avram's soul. According to Dr. Schorsch,
revelation is the antithesis of certainty, and this was not
merely a test of Avram's obedience, but of his active
listening skills--to truly understand what God desires and
not let his own painful experience with organized religion
stymie his potential for greatness. As one teacher
exclaimed, "Where were you when I was six years old?"
Facebook Ice Cream
Party
Thank you to everyone who helped us
reach our goal of 500 Facebook fans this
week! In honor of this accomplishment,
CJHS students enjoyed a celebratory ice
cream party on Tuesday during lunch.
Make sure not to miss the Reasons Why
CJHS is the #1 Choice every Tuesday
and Thursday on Facebook. Haven't
"liked" our Facebook page yet? Become
a fan today and click here!
Bike the Drive
Critical minyanocity has been achieved! Newcomer
Zahava Vales and veteran Yoni Gabel join Eli Schrayer,
David Steinberg, Michael Weldler, Ranan Vales, Seth
Wein, Alex Cope, and Ruli Warner-Rosen and Dr. Gary
Auslander to complete the CJHS Chai Lifeline team for the
annual 30-mile bike down Lake Shore Drive this Memorial
Day weekend! To date, our stalwart bikers have raised
over $3,000 to make life more cheerful for children with
long-term illnesses and their families. Yasher koach, guys,
and have fun! Click here to sponsor our team.
Open Mic Night
The Prints, CJHS's signature
literary magazine, celebrated
its best edition to date with the
annual Open Mic Night release
party. Nate Swetlitz and
Baye Miller performed original
poetry; Aaron Zell brought out
his drums and Alana
Spellman her ukelele. Aitan
Licht pulled a fast one on us
with some "King Without a
Crown," and Hannah Given
roused some rabble with an acid challenge to the American
Dream. Shira Harris and Maya Behn did a joint act with
the alternative song/dialogue "Freedom," and Elan Sykes
read what will happen If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, deftly
parodied by Alana Stoehr with If You Give a CJHS
Student a C+. Even Arthur Sredni got into the standup
comedy limelight with his parody, "Anything Sounds Like
Poetry When You Say It With Enough Drama!"
Freshman Celia Pivo reports, "Open Mic
Night was a huge success. As a
freshman, I'd been hearing lots of hype
leading up to it, but I have to say it
exceeded all of my expectations. The
atmosphere was totally accepting and
laid back, where everyone felt
comfortable showcasing their talents.
There was moving poetry, excellent
musicians, and delicious food. The
faculty even had some hilarious
performances that left everyone wanting
more!"
Students in the News
Junior Alana Spellman received a grant for $2,500 from
ANNPower, the philanthropy wing of Ann Taylor Loft, to
start her own program working with the Keshet Sunday
school. She wrote a play spinning off the Adam and Eve
story called "In the Beginning." For four weeks, Alana's
pupils rehearsed feverishly, culminating in a wonderful
performance this past Sunday. "It was so touching to see
people dedicating their time to ensure that our special
needs members of the community are supported and
welcomed and valued," the proud writer/director was
told. Yasher koach, Alana!
Our vocal superstar Arielle Kaye has been accepted into
the Music Horizons program at the University of Rochester
to study world music, improvisation, and music theory.
Arielle reports, "I will also be studying with professors from
the Eastman School of Music and performing on a weekly
basis. The program is supposed to replicate what it is like
to live in a conservatory setting." Break a leg, Arielle!
YPI for Shalva
Our Youth Philanthropy Initiative led by Rachel
Rubinstein presented a $7,000 check to the board
members of Shalva, the results of a year's creative
fundraising efforts. All the cell phones we donated will be
sold to raise money for Jewish abuse victims and the
counseling efforts that will hopefully enable them to
improve their lives. Yasher koach to all the YPI members
on an incredible year of awareness raising and fundraising
to combat the problem of domestic violence.
"The first word I want to say is thank you!" the
representative from Shalva's board graciously
began. "Actually that's two words. But the second thing I
want to say is that I hope your attention to this problem
does not stop, because abuse never stops." We hope that
this year's YPI programming will inspire our students and
staff to continue addressing the problems of abuse in our
community--and to remember every time you retire
another cell phone or iPod, your old phone can raise muchneeded funds for this important cause!
Alumni Association: Shabbat in the City
Join the CJHS Alumni Association
for a casual Shabbat dinner at
Anshe Emet in the city! Reunite
with old friends and and enjoy a
special dinner from Chef Celena's
Healthy Gourmet of Lakeview. For
questions and Shabbat
accommodations, contact Tara Seymour at 847.423.5489,
or to make reservations, click here.
Mazal Tov: Alumni Trivia
Which accomplished and statuesque CJHS
graduate celebrated her wedding this past
week?
QuarkNet: Breaking News!
Muon detector 6800 is plateaued at last! Thanks to the
efforts spent by our indefatigable captains Maya Behn and
Elan Karoll, the state-of-the-art cosmic ray detector on
loan from the U.S. Department of Energy has all four
channels now primed and working on optimized
voltage. CJHS is now tracking those invisible little muons
as they rain down from the cosmos: stay tuned for
experimental results next year!
Summertime Torah Study
Best Friends Forever:
Ruth and Naomi, Jonathan and
David
Join CJHS teacher Shira Eliaser and alumni parent Dr.
Elysa Barack Fisher as they
continue the LifeCenter Torah
Network with the Summer
Series 2013. Through the lens
of Pirkei Avot, we will examine
what it means to be a true
friend in the face of hardship,
exile, and an uncertain future:
how friends shape our selfawareness and our destiny.
This summer, we will be
exploring the commentaries and hidden relationships in the
Book of Ruth and the story of King Saul's doomed son. The
first session begins on Monday, June 10! Click here for
details.
STAND UPdate
The two-year conflict in Syria has resulted in at least
70,000 deaths, wrecked cities, and evicted over a million
refugees from their homes. Various human rights
organizations are trying to aid the opposition effort, and
people from many faiths and communities have
contributed to the cause. Click here to read more about the
challenge posed to Israelis and the Jewish community with
regards to Syrian relief.
Sponsored Breakfast
Many thanks to Mr. Griffith for sponsoring bagels in
honor of the senior class.
Alumni Trivia
Mazal tov to Dafna Broekman ('08) on
her marriage to Shlomi Guttman earlier this
week near Kokhav Ya'akov in Israel. Dafna
graduated from Stern College and has since
been studying at Mechon Ma'ayan; her
chattan graduated from Yeshiva University
and has been studying at Yeshivat HaKotel.
May Dafna and Shlomi build a bayit ne'eman
b'Yisrael. Mazal tov, you two!
A Taste of Torah: Beha'alotcha
"In this week's Torah
portion, the main focus is
primarily
sacrifices. Considering we
didn't just kill a goat as part
of morning services, we
should think critically about
what we consider today as a
sacrifice. Maybe some of us
consider a real sacrifice to be going a day without Twitter,
or G-d forbid, Facebook or Tumblr! But today, we sacrifice
much more than we realize. We sacrifice our time and our
emotional life to do what we feel is right. We must put our
hearts first: to take a risk in public and stand up for what
you believe in may be the greatest sacrifice of all."
--Carly Rubin ('14), in celebration of her bat mitzvah
Shabbat Shalom
Candlelighting this Friday will be at 7:56 p.m.
Shabbat shalom!