News from the Shtender - Rochelle Zell Jewish High School

3 Adar, 5776
This Week at
Rochelle Zell
Jewish Studies News
Photography in Hebrew
AP Psychology
Spring Shabbaton
This Week in Sports
Save the Date
Community Events
Alumni Trivia
A Taste of Torah
Class Schedule
​Monday, February 15
No School
Tuesday, February 16
C Wednesday, February 17
February 12, 2016
News from the Shtender
Israel Seminars and Midrash, Inside Out BB
Thursday, February 18
C
Friday, February 19
A
Quick Links
RZJHS.org
Calendars
Lunch Menu
Edline
Give Now
Save The Date
​February 15
No School -­‐ President's Day
February 17-­‐21
Girls' Basketball in Miami
February 28
Musical Showcase
March 2-­‐6
Model UN Conference
March 11
No School
March 18-­‐19
All School Shabbaton
This week we concluded our Senior Israel Seminar, a three-­‐
week experience to explore the Israel climate on college
campuses. At the center of this seminar, we are working with
students to arLculate how they will tell their narraLve about
Israel when they reach campus. On Tuesday we welcomed
Emily Briskman, the ExecuLve Director of the Israel EducaLon
Center of the Jewish FederaLon. Emily ran an interacLve
program about the five most common aSacks on Israel that
students hear: apartheid, colonialism, ethnic cleansing,
genocide, and crimes against humanity. On Thursday, we
welcomed Emma Pasternack and Isaac Johnston ('15) of the
University of Chicago and J Street U to run a program about
how students can tell their Israel narraLves. On Friday we
concluded the three-­‐week seminar by holding a conversaLon
among our own students around the central topic “What is
your Israel? How do you tell your narraLve to others?” March 24
Purim
New Electives Begin
March 25
2:15 Dismissal Begins
April 10
With the unit on Israel concluded, seniors will now be starLng
new elecLves! Students can study Talmudic issues of body,
gender, and sexuality in the Talmud with Ms. Tamara Frankel,
who will be exploring such diverse quesLons as taSoos
ACT at Rochelle Zell
April 14
Spring Musical: The 25th
Annual Putnam County
Spelling Bee
and body art, gender expression and idenLty, and the human
body in the image of God. Rabbi Allan Kensky will be leading a
seminar on biomedical ethics: issues of birth, life, and death,
human choices and the divine imperaLve of dignity. Rabbi Judy
Greenberg will be teaching midrash as an art form, exploring
philosophical quesLons of life well lived and death well earned,
the power of love and sacrifice, and conflicLng direcLves to be
right and to be kind. Ask your favorite senior what they are
learning! STEM Corner
Scholarship and standard
applicaLons are now open for
Camp Cardiac 2016! Run by
medical students in 29 ciLes
naLonwide including 2
locaLons in Chicago
(Downtown and North
Suburbs), Camp Cardiac is a
1-­‐week summer day camp
open to high school students
interested in exploring
careers in medicine. Click
here to learn more and apply
by visiLng the website.
Theodicy in MJT
Rabbi Belgrad’s senior “Religious Quest for Meaning in Modern
Jewish Thought” is reading Rabbi Harold Kushner’s When Bad
Things Happen to Good People as part of their unit on theodicy.
In one secLon of the book, Rabbi Kushner explores the
strengths and weaknesses of 6 different theodicies – i.e.,
defenses of God in the face of evil and suffering – and
individual students were responsible for teaching them to their
classmates. In the following chapters of the book Rabbi
Kushner establishes his own beliefs and, again, students
prepared those chapters in order to teach their classmates.
The last part of this unit features the film “ The Quarrel,” based
on a novella by Chaim Grade, in which two survivors of the
Holocaust argue about God’s existence and mercy.
Sophomore Talmud Adventures
Rabbi Greenberg's tenth graders are watching clips from
Disney's Inside Out as a midrash on the principles of gilu
bira'ada—how Joy is not the only necessary component either
in emoLonal life or spiritual life. The students are branching out
from Brachot 30b-­‐31a, wherein Rav Ashi, concerned with the
riotous revelry at his son's wedding, smashes a crystal goblet to
restore the spirit of solemnity to his guests. Personifying the
emoLons of a troubled child, the movie shows the journey on
which Joy embarks, with Sadness as her companion, to
discovery the value of other emoLons as a person navigates
this tough world in which we live; Joy must come to
a more mature understanding of herself not as the best and
most important emoLon in the mind, but balanced with
consideraLon, understanding, and fear of God.
Who knew? Silly puSy seems to really help some students focus on tefillah! Ms. Frankel's
sophomore Talmud students have been experimenLng with ritual objects in prayer as part of
a deeper study of tefillin. Aler a panel on the content and meaning of the tefillin, students
reflected on the meaning of the mitzvah in their own lives. Tefillin-­‐wearing students
brought family heirlooms, scarves, fidgets, and blankies to incorporate into their davening last
week, while a few who had not considered themselves historically obligated tried the mitzvah for
the first Lme. Hebrew Class Studies Photography
Hebrew Photo Contest Announces Winner
Gvt. Cohen and Mrs. Snyder have been team teaching about photography in Hebrew! Gvt. Michal
Cohen's class is learning about Dina Bova, first-­‐place winner from over a hundred thousand entries
in the worldwide Nikon photography contest. Aler Mrs. Synder's formal lesson in professional
photography techniques, the Hebrew students had to talk about their picture and explain its
composiLon, Ltle, and subject maSer. Gvt. Cohen reports, "The classes performed very well and
truly rose to the challenge." CongratulaLons to Liam Lynch for his winning photograph of the stall
pass-­‐through!
Fun in Neuroscience
AP Psychology Maps the Human Brain
Rub-­‐a-­‐dub-­‐dub, it's fun in neuroscience! Students in Mrs. Murphy's AP Psychology class used their
knowledge and arLsLc skills to map out the four lobes of the brain, including the sensory and
motor corLces, Broca's area, and Wernicke's area. The arLsLc medium of choice? The common
shower cap! Ask your favorite senior for a biomedical tour-­‐-­‐but wait unLl they're out
of the shower!
Spring Shabbaton Approaching
Come Be a Part of It!
For the spring Shabbaton on March 18-­‐19, in keeping with the spring theme and our new name,
we will focus on the idea of New Beginnings. As we move into the home stretch of the school
calendar, we will celebrate where we've been and look forward to where we're going. For the first
Lme in many years, the Shabbaton will take place at the Perlstein Resort at Camp Chi. Want to
help plan the Shabbaton? Come to meeLngs on Thursdays! This Week in Basketball
Tigers Persevere
The men's basketball team has had a busy week, taking on Ida Crown, Holy Trinity, and Vernon
Hills! Monday night in the city, Felix Rosen scored 21 points and Dave Vayngart added 11 for the
Tigers against Holy Trinity. The men's varsity basketball team has a rematch against Ida Crown this
Saturday at 8 p.m. The women's basketball team leaves for Miami this upcoming Wednesday!
They will be parLcipaLng in the 11th Annual RASGHA Girls’ Basketball Shabbaton. Nine teams
from across the country are compeLng in this year’s tournament. And last night, Emily
Reisler, Elliana Faletsky, Hadar Halivni, and Gabi Ecanow hit the court in the IHSA Three-­‐Point
Shootout at North Shore Country Day. Kol hakavod to Elliana Faletsky, decorated winner of the
evening, and her teammate Emily Reisler, who also qualified for regionals! Go Tigers!
Alumni Trivia
Gung hei phat choi! Heritage week conLnues in the Alumni Trivia! Which of our alumni is
celebraLng her Asian heritage with the lunar new year this week?
Think Summer
Summer Programs on College Campuses
Summer will be here before you know it. Check out the programs posted on the bulleLn board
across from room 215. Please see Mrs. Spielman in College Counseling for more informaLon.
Save the Date!
Save the Date
P.O. Movie Night May 5
Join us for the Rochelle Zell Parent OrganizaLon movie night on May 5, when we will present the
movie Nicky's Family. This docudrama tells the story of Nicholas
Winton, an Englishman who organized the rescue of 669 Czech and
Slovak children just before the outbreak of World War II. Winton,
who died last year at 106 years old, did not speak about these
events with anyone for more than half a century. His exploits would
have probably been forgoSen if his wife, fily years later, hadn't
found a suitcase in the aqc, full of documents and transport plans.
Today the story of this rescue is known all over the world. Dozens of
Winton's "children" have been found and to this day his family has
grown to almost 6,000 people, many of whom have gone on to
achieve great things themselves. Following the movie, we will hear from Renata Laxova, one of the
children saved by Sir Nicolas Winton.
Sponsored Breakfast
Happy birthday, Owen Stern and happy half birthday to Maya
Resnick! Thank you to their families for sponsoring breakfast
this week, and thank you to Ms. Vanessa Averbach for
sponsoring breakfast in honor of her father, Paul Anik. If you
would like to sponsor bagels in honor of your favorite Tiger,
contact Diane Zidman at dzidman@rzjhs.org.
Community News and Events
Presidents' Day Program
Turn Your Day Off Into a Day On!
Moriah Congregation Art Fair and Fashion Event
Sunday, Feb 28 11:00 a.m. | Moriah Congregation, 200 Taub Dr., Deerfield
Please join us for an exclusive meet and greet with Sharon Tal, lead designer from Maskit, Israel's
premier fashion house -­‐ and get an insider’s view of the fashion industry. Before joining Maskit,
Sharon was head of embroidery for Alexander McQueen in Paris. $10 Admission -­‐ Free Raffle
Ticket with RSVP! Please respond to arvair@moriahcong.org. Parking and free shuSle bus service
from Northbrook Court’s Lower Level, east of Neiman Marcus. Alumni Trivia
Aliza Hua Spicehandler ('10) is proud of her Chinese roots that
have provided her with a rich legacy alongside her American
Jewish family. Aler doing incredible work with her family, Aliza
earned a bachelor’s in apparel and fashion design at Hampshire
College and spent a year and a half studying design and markeLng
at London’s University of the Arts. Lizzie is now a research assistant
at the American Jewish Archives in CincinnaL, working with
researchers’ queries as a document specialist, designing a virtual
catalog of the ExecuLve Director's library, and coordinaLng public and arLsLc endeavors for the
AJA. The most recent community art project Lizzie designed was, “Food for the Body, Food for the
Soul,” highlighLng The Bake Shop, a liSle-­‐known treasure of CincinnaL. Aliza reports, “ The Bake
Shop served unemployed, disabled Jewish women by providing them with gainful employment
baking for the shop. Run enLrely by female volunteers, it exemplified the highest order of
Tzedakah: teaching skills towards self-­‐sufficiency.” A Taste of Torah: Rosh Chodesh Adar
This Tuesday, we celebrated Rosh Chodesh Adar Aleph by liling each other up — literally! People
were swaying arm in arm to the songs of Hallel, and in the midst of the niggunim, students liled
each other in chairs. The Talmud (Ta’anit 29a) explains that “Mishe nichnas Adar, marbin
b’simcha,” whoever enters Adar increases in joy. This year is a leap year, so we get two months of
joy. How thoughvul of the Rabbis to double this parLcular month, one of celebraLon and
happiness!
In his commentary to the Talmud, Rashi explains that we celebrate parLcularly during Adar
because of the miracles of Purim and Pesach, this month’s holiday and the one that will occur
exactly one month aler Purim. During Adar, we become parLcularly aSuned to God’s presence in
history. On Purim, we celebrate God’s hidden presence in our lives and on Pesach we celebrate the
magisterial presence of God in history, represented most clearly by the spliqng of the sea. Only
once we take stock of hidden, daily miracles, can we take note of our collecLve redempLon.
SomeLmes it is difficult to turn the switch to the happiness of Adar. Each of us has our reasons for
why it would be difficult to mandate happiness at any parLcular Lme. So how can I live this reality
that the Mishnah states, that the one who enters Adar increases in joy? It might be quite true that we are not able to make ourselves happy. But each of us can point out
the small, hidden miracles in another person’s life. Each person can lil up the person siqng next
to her. Each person can make somebody else joyous. And if every person is puncLlious about
making the next person joyous, then we certainly will have a joyous community. We will sing with
gusto, Mishe nichnas Adar marbin b’simcha.
-­‐-­‐Rav Beit Sefer Zach Silver
1095 Lake Cook Road Deerfield, IL 60015 | tigers@rzjhs.org | 847.470.6700