3 Cheshvan, 5777
November 4, 2016 This Week at
Rochelle Zell
This Week in Sports
This Week in Sports
This Week in Poli cs
Alumni Night Coming
P.O. Chanukah Fund
Honoring Bruce Scher
Rochelle Zell Kippot
Community News
Alumni Trivia Student Dvar Torah
Class Schedule
onday, November 7 M
BB
Tuesday, November 8 C
Wednesday, November 9 A
#FlyTheW
Twi er feeds were a'twee ng and the big screen in the Beit
Knesset was booming as Addison Russell smashed his grand
slam smack in the middle of Tuesday night's parent‐teacher
conferences! And the en re school waited breathlessly as
Wednesday night's nail‐biter of a game fulfilled our hopes of
108 years! This one is for all the papas and nanas who raised us
proud, all the Uncle Skippers of North Side past, all the White
Sox fans who stood up and cheered, all the faculty members
who think that business casual now means their finest Cubby
blues, and all the students staggering around in sleepless
happiness. Come on Tigers, let's keep the W flying over
Chicagoland!
Thursday, November 10 B ‐ 2:00 Dismissal
Friday, November 11 No School
Quick Links
RZJHS.org Calendars Lunch Menu Edline
Give Now
Save The Date
November 1‐6
Memphis Basketball
Shabbaton
November 7
FermiLab Field Trip
Alumni Trivia
Which loyal CJHS Cubby Bear of long past is now reunited with
her new husband, a (gasp!) Cleveland Indians fan?
November 8 Pre‐ACT
November 10 Parent Teacher Conferences
This Week in Politics
November 11 No School ‐ Professional Day
November 18 1:15 Dismissal Begins
November 23 8:00 a.m. Start, 1:15 Dismissal November 24‐25 No School ‐ Thanksgiving November 26 Alumni Reunion On Monday, Ms. Kramer's sophomore history class reenacted
the 1814 Congress of Vienna, where, following the defeat of
College Visits
Rochelle Zell is pleased to
welcome admission
representa ves from over forty
colleges and Israel programs
this autumn! VIEW FULL SCHEDULE >>
Napoleon, virtually all of European royalty met in Vienna to re‐
establish borders, reinstall legi mate monarchies, and curb the
spread of democracy. The congress was scheduled to last four
weeks, but turned into an eight month‐long party where
diplomacy primarily took place at balls, hunts, and fabulous
feasts. The crowned heads of the sophomore class came to a
successful resolu on, resul ng in the longest period of peace
Europe has ever known. "In real life," remarks Ms. Kramer,
"Bonaparte was not there, but we let Noah Magill skulk about
as Napoleon, making snide remarks. Joshua Weisskopf was
Prince Me ernich, who masterminded the plan for peace, and
Sammy Vayngart was the infamously handsome Tsar Alexander,
but in truth, everyone there was influen al, good‐looking, or
both." Save the Date: Alumni Reunion
Saturday, November 26, 7:00 p.m. ‐ 9:00 p.m. | Rochelle Zell Jewish High School
Featuring our annual Alumni Basketball Game!
Recognizing the 10 Year Reunion of the Class of 2007!
Mingle with old friends and teachers and cheer on the
alumni! Don't miss the annual interac ve ac vi es and
goofy photo booth! There will be a suggested $10
dona on at the door. Each entrance dona on will
include a Rochelle Zell tote bag. Are you interested in
par cipa ng in the Alumni Basketball Game? Please
click here to sign up. For ques ons, please contact
Michelle Friedman at 847.324.3720.
P.O. Chanukah Fund
Contribute to the Annual PO Teacher/Staff Chanukah Gi Fund
The suggested contribu on is $18 per student, but any amount is greatly appreciated! Checks
must be received by Thursday, December 15, but welcome sooner! Please send cash or check
made out to Rochelle Zell P.O. to the school main office in an envelope labeled Rochelle Zell P.O.
Chanukah Fund with your student'(s) name(s). You may also contribute online by
clicking here. Ques ons? Contact Mar ne Gorstein at 847.791.0223.
Looking forward to a Happy Chanukah for all our teachers/staff and the en re school community. Thank you so much!
Kippah Your Shirt On...
Rochelle Zell Kippot Now Available
Handwoven kippot from Jerusalem are available for $20 from the development office. Contact
Michelle Friedman at [email protected] to get yours today.
Sponsored Breakfast
Many thanks to Camp Ramah for sponsoring breakfast this week. To
sponsor bagels in honor of your favorite Tiger, please contact Diane
Zidman in the front office.
Community News and Events Rochelle Zell in the (Rock) House
If you were at the Rock House last Thursday, you undoubtedly saw
more than a few familiar faces! Thanks to all the student lounge
Tigers who came out to listen and boogie with Ms. Nancy
Steinberg at the rock concert given by her son Ben. A good me
was had by all!
Upcoming Films
Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew
November 13, 3:00 p.m. | Deerfield High School, 1959 Waukegan Rd., Deerfield
Mekonen: The Journey of an African Jew follows the backstory and
personal journey of Mekonen Abebe, once a young shepherd in
Africa and now a commander in the IDF. Mekonen was a 12‐year‐
old shepherd when his father died suddenly, less than a day before
his family was about to move to Israel. The film accompanies
Mekonen back to Africa on an emo onal journey. He explores his
roots, makes peace with his past and embraces his future in Israel.
The Ethiopian‐Israeli Band, Café Shahor Hazak is flying in from
Israel to perform and hip hop concert in conjunc on with the film.
Both the film and concert are free, but registra on is required! To
register, click here.
On the Map
November 5, 7:00 p.m. | ArcLight Cinemas of the Glen, 1850 Tower Rd., Glenview
S ll on a Cubs rush? On the Map tells the story of the 1977 Israeli‐
Soviet basketball game for the European Championship that made
sports history by pu迀�ng Israel "on the map!" The film takes its
name from the unforge able a er‐game quote by team captain
Tal Brody, “We are on the map!” With archival footage,
interviews with the players and observers like Bill Walton and
former NBA Commissioner David Stern, this powerful
documentary gives you a courtside seat to a watershed moment in
Israeli history. The film is showing Saturday, November 5 at 7:00
p.m. with guests Israeli basketball legend Tal Brody and director
Dani Menkin. For more informa on and to order ckets, click
here. Any ques ons? Please contact Diane Halivni,
[email protected], 847.254.2024.
Live and Become
November 5, 7:00 p.m. | Niles North High School, 9800 Lawler Ave, Skokie, IL
The Hebrew Na onal Honor Society at Niles North High School
presents its fourth annual Israeli Movie Night this Saturday night.
Live and Become is about a Chris an Sudanese boy who is sent to
Israel on "Opera on Moses," a mission which brought thousands of
from Sudanese and Ethiopian refugees to Israel. This amazing
film sheds light on racism, iden ty, and matura on. Doors open at
6:30 p.m. For more informa on, contact Lexi Levin.
Mazal Tov and Alumni Trivia
Mazal to to Shayna Flink (CJHS '06) on her marriage to
Brandon DeShields last weekend. Shayna and Brandon reside
near Philadelphia, where Shayna is a learning specialist at the
Perelman Jewish Day School. Shayna earned her master's from
the Bank Street College of Educa on and has previously been a
head teacher at the Shefa School in New York. Mazal tov also to Lisa Banoff Rothenberg (CJHS '05) on her
recent marriage to Cleveland Indians fan Ma Rothenberg. (The newlyweds enjoyed a very intense world series and peace
on the couch now reigns.) Lisa also works in special educa on
in Chicago and suburban schools; she received her degree from
Na onal Louis University.
Mazal tov to English teacher Mrs. Vanessa Averbach and her
husband Rabbi Ari Averbach on the brit milah for their new
son, Shai Haskel Averbach!
Baruch Dayan Emet
We are saddened to announce the passing of Debby Cortes, grandmother of freshmen Eli and
Rachel Gurin. Visita on details are forthcoming. May God's presence comfort the Cortes
and Gurin family among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
A Taste of Torah: Babel, Speech and Silence
The story of the Tower of Babel, read this week in parashat Noach, deals with speech and the
‫שָׂ ָ ֣פ‬ ‫כָל־הָ ָ ֖א ֶרץ‬ ‫—”וי ִ ְ֥הי‬
nature of language. The narra ve opens with the words, “‫אֲחָ ִדֽים‬ ‫וּדְ ב ִ ָ֖רים‬ ‫אֶחת‬ ‫ה‬
ָ֑
The en re earth was of one language and uniform words. With their singular language, the people
come together with the inten on of building a tower to reach the heavens—a biblical skyscraper,
ַ ‫ו ְֶז‬ ‫ ְל ֻכ ֔ ָלּם‬ ֙‫אַחַ ת‬ ‫ו ְשָׂ ָ ֤פה‬ ֙‫אֶחָ ד‬ ‫עם‬ ‫ן‬
if you will. When God sees the finished product, he declares, “‫ֽחִלּם‬
֣ ָ ‫ה‬ ‫֖ה‬
֤ ַ ‫ֵ ֣ה‬
ַ
‫—”לֽעֲ ֑שׂוֹת‬They are one people with one language and this is what they have commenced to do.
Vexed by the uniformity of their communica on, God descends to confound the people’s
language. When I read these psukim last year in Tanach class, I struggled with the essence of God’s rage. I
could not reconcile what was fundamentally wrong with common language. Why would God
jumble speech, cut the es of communica on, and thus sever the bonds of unity? Why would he
sentence the people to a life me of alphabet soup? It was not un l a few weeks ago, reading
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik’s The Lonely Man of Faith, that I came to understand God’s mo ve. Soloveitchik understands man to be dual, his experience a project of straddling two domains that
arise from the two images of man depicted in Bereshit. The inner life of a human being, hidden
beneath the surface of his unique persona, is unable to be relayed in full, through words.
Soloveitchik reaches the conclusion that language is a surface‐level means of communica on, that
words erase uniqueness. Herein lies the vital flaw in the people of ‫בבל‬ ‫מגדל‬. By embracing their shared vocabulary, the
people abandoned their uniqueness—the very uniqueness divinely granted to them by virtue of
being human. True expression is unable to be delivered through words. We cannot limit all
modes of communica on to speech. Language erases human singularity. And so, the Tower of
Babel came crumbling down. Certainly, there is a me for speech and a value to language. However, in my own experience,
there have been mes when I have been le speechless, when words have been unable to express
what I truly want to convey. Yes, it can be frustra ng. Yet to be speechless is OK. To be speechless
is to express. To be speechless is to be human. In Teaching A Stone To Talk Annie Dillard writes,
“Wherever there is s llness there is a s ll small voice, God’s speaking from the whirlwind.”
READ MORE>>
Natalie Ecanow ('17)
1095 Lake Cook Road • Deerfield, IL 60015 • [email protected] • 847.470.6700