January 2016

SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL • Los Angeles, CA January 2016 -Shvat 5776 Volume 16, Issue 3 shalhevetboilingpoint.com

FLASH MOB: The Choirhawks offered an impromptu performance of John Legend’s “All of Me’ at a park overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge during their first-ever Chanukah concert tour last month. They also sang in San Francisco, Oakland and Palo Alto. Story, page 12.

A capella by the Bay

BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

Transition: Benjamin starts on uncharted path By HANNAH JANNOL, Staff Writer Imagine waking up every morning and putting on clothes of the opposite sex. Imagine putting on a dress, or a suit and tie, and then going to work or school and being called a name of the wrong gender, and then being referred to with the wrong pronouns. Then imagine realizing you’re just in the wrong body for the gender you know you are. This is how transgender Shalhevet alumnus Benjamin Kenner explains being transgender. “Imagine that, whatever gender you are, everyone insisted you were the other one, and nothing you say seems to convince them otherwise,” Benjamin told The Boiling Point by telephone from Portland, Ore., where he lives now.

“You know deep in your heart that they are wrong, but for some reason they keep insisting that you are the one who is wrong. Imagine living everyday of your life like that.” Previously known as Rochel-Leah Kenner, Benjamin left Shalhevet in the middle of senior year to present as male. The girl he used to be came to Shalhevet in 2011 for a second junior year after leaving the Hebrew Academy in Huntington Beach, where she came out as a lesbian in 11th grade in early 2011. At the time, Rochel-Leah thought wanting to be masculine and wear men’s clothing meant she was lesbian. As a lesbian, she didn’t personally experience any bullying, discrimination or animosity at Shalhevet from 2011 to 2013.

“It took me a while to feel brave enough to come out, but once I did people were pretty cool about it,” he said. “They were still as homophobic as they were in general, but none of it was ever directed at me.” However, when the subject of changing genders came up, he felt a different vibe. One day, a video about transgender people was played in Ms. Tove Sunshine’s AP Psychology class. “I have a vivid memory of smiling at my desk, and the kid next to me recoiling in horror in his seat,” Benjamin said. Today, Benjamin works at a home for adults with developmental disabilities, a “dream job,” he said. After leaving Shalhevet, he eventually got a high school Continued on Page 8

Most perceive favoritism, but not a solution By ERIC BAZAK,

Editor-in-Chief

Be on a lookout for an abyss at our school. Student-faculty relationships, diverse co-curriculars, and Shalhevet’s emphasis on leadership and publicity, among other factors, have fueled this possible divide. Some think this gap is deceptive and chimeric, while others see it as too deep and important not to be addressed. In a Boiling Point poll of 96 students last month, favoritism -- defined in the poll as “preferential treatment given to one student or group of students over another” –was be-

lieved to exist by 83 percent of students. The rest said that though students see it, it doesn’t actually exist. Opinions were similar across all grades, though sophomores and juniors were most likely to see favoritism as a problem. Among the 54 combined sophomores and juniors polled, the number who are concerned about favoritism was 95 percent. Yet at the same time, of those who answered this question, only 40 percent believed that the school actually should address favoritism and attempt to stop it. “I think that there is favoritism in our school, but I also think it’s naive to think

that impartiality is possible,” said junior Bennet Schneier. “Teachers will treat the more likable kids better than the unlikable ones. It’s just inescapable.” While grades would be considered as the most serious form of favoritism, favoritism in grading was not mentioned as frequently in the poll as publicity and co-curriculors. The poll was a bit over a page long and there was space for students to anonymously write examples of favoritism that students had witnessed or experienced. Those with strong feelings about the topic were encouraged to contact the Boiling Point and

Applications double in 2 years By MAAYAN WALDMAN, Community Editor In spite of a record 115-plus applicants for next year’s freshman class, the administration has decided to keep enrollment capped at 240 students -- roughly 60 students per grade. The maximum class size was set based on educational, philosophical and financial considerations, Rabbi Segal told the Boiling Point, which don’t change just because the applicant pool grows. “If the school gets beyond this number of students, we lose that sense of community that makes the school special, “ Rabbi Segal said. “It’s hard from a decision making perspective and it’s hard emotionally, but if the school were bigger, it wouldn’t be Shalhevet.” Last year there were 90 applicants, of whom 65 were initially offered spots, but 71 were eventually accepted. This is because not all of those accepted enrolled, so some were admitted from a waitlist. One told the Boiling Point that she understands the need for the list. “I know that they want diversity and that there is a certain limit of students,” said freshman Abby Blumofe. “I was upset about not getting in at first, but once I got in I was so happy.” Applications have been building steadily since 2010, when the administration was thrilled to receive 38 applicants, according to Admissions Director Natalie Weiss, who started that year. Two years ago, this number was around 60, and has been increasing every year, she said. Among the reasons for this growth, Ms. Weiss Continued on Page5

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FASHION TRENDS

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A VISIT FROM GLENDALE

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GIRL MAKES KIDDUSH

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ONE ACTS IN NEW THEATRE

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SECURITY AT SHALHEVET

The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Community

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Junior transfer student spearheads first robotics team Group is set to participate in competitive high school league with funding from Google and donors. Studentled team has six weeks to design a robot that can perform specific tasks in a sports-themed contest. By Benjamin Zaghi, Staff Writer ROSE LIPNER, Deputy Editor-in-Chief With $20,000 in its budget from Google and other grants, Shalhevet’s first-year robotics team plans to jump over entry-level meets and compete with more experienced teams like Beverly Hills High and Milken Community High School. Junior Seiji Shaw formed the club after transferring to Shalhevet from Lowell High School in San Francisco this year. The money is important because it means the team can buy more advanced equipment to work with, and can build its own parts rather than assembling purchased ones. “With more money the team will have more tools, and with more tools there is more flexibility to create a more impressive robot,” Seiji said in an interview. The new club has already qualified as a team in the FIRST -- For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology – Robotics Competition league, which is holding a competition in Long Beach March 10. Participating teams got their assignments Jan. 9, giving them six weeks to build their robots. This year’s theme is medieval and robots must be able to pass different types of defenses that opponents set up, while shooting balls into a goal on their side of the field. If the robot shoots enough balls into the goal, it can capture the opponent’s goal. Points will also be allocated if the robot scores or passes the defenses. Before Seiji could even think of entering the competition, however, he had to first receive funding. Once Seiji had compiled a team of interested students, he was eligible for a $6,000 “rookie grant” from the Argosy Foundation -- $4000 to spend this year and $2000 for next year. Meanwhile, sophomore club members Sam and Zack Hirschhorn asked their father for help from Google. Mr. Gary Hirschhorn is a software developer for the company, which has a budget set aside for FRC teams and gave $5,000.

FRC. “At first Shalhevet was going to do the same thing YULA was going to do,” Seiji said. “I thought we can go the whole way and do FRC.” The lower level brings in students from middle school in addition to high school students and plays on a smaller field. But the bigger difference is that FRC teams must machine their own parts, while the lower level teams receive their parts from FIRST. “Coming from an FRC team, I feel that doing FRC would be much more valuable because of what it brings to the table,” Seiji said. The Robotics team is separate from CIJE (Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education) classes that meet after school twice a week. CIJE students are broken up into small groups, whereas Robotics Club is one team working together to do one project. Also CIJE doesn’t necessarily work on robots The new club has also done smaller projects in preparation for building the robot for the competition, such as assembling its 3D printer and holding small tutorial workshops on coding. INNOVATION: Founder Seiji Shaw works with team members to build the base of the robot. “So far we have been learnClub several times a week to prepare for the competition that will take place March 10. ing coding and more, to prepare for the competition,” said Zack Hirschhorn. “I am so excited for the competition and can’t wait to BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu see what the game will be.” At first there were more than 20 members on the team, but the It can also print iPhone cases with Shalhevet logos, which team number dropped to 15 to 20 members because people didn’t have members plan to sell for a fundraiser. “We have been making great progress so far,” said sophomore time or weren’t interested. Most are sophomores and juniors who team member Maia Julis. “We are also in the process of sending don’t participate in CIJE. They meet for an hour-and-a-half every day of the week except other organizations letters to donate.” Most beginning teams enter something called the First Tech for Friday and Saturday. The robotics teams’ faculty adviser right now is Shalhevet IT diChallenge, and when Seiji first contacted Shalhevet’s administration, officials said that the robotics team would compete at that rector Mr. Yossie Frankel, though Seiji is teaching the programming level, which is where YULA competes. This program tries to expose and the electronic workshops and the whole team is student-run. students to robotics and STEM in a fun way by forming competi- Mr. Frankel supervises the students, signs forms and is the liaison with FIRST. tions. But Seiji thought Shalhevet could go up another level and enter With additional funding from donors who wished to remain anonymous, the team managed to reach its goal of $20,000. The club intends raise even more money to use for more tools and supplies, maintenance equipment and a 3D printer, along with team tshirts, transportation and hotel for the competition in Long Beach. The printer is for something called “rapid prototyping,” -mock-up body parts, which are smaller and less expensive scale versions for when the team is in the experimenting and building phase.

Correction: Election story was missing a key fact In the Page 1 story “Unannounced Group Sets Election Protocol” that ran in last issue, the Boiling Point left out a key fact concerning the actions of former Fairness Chair Goldie Fields. During last year’s elections, Goldie was following instructions from then-General Studies Principal Mr. Roy Danovitch, when she took students’ votes over the

phone. Mr. Danovitch was Just Community adviser at the time. “I asked Goldie and the Agenda Committee — those that weren’t running for positions — to find the last few voters and remind them to vote,” Mr. Danovitch told the Boiling Point after the story

ie’s calls to voters might inadvertently have influenced their votes, since her brother was on the ballot was running for Agenda Vice Chair.

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was published in November. “I also told Goldie to call those voters if necessary. We wanted full participation from the student body.” The election was controversial in part because some thought Gold-

The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Community COLUMN THREE

Senioritis: Redundancy and redemption By shirel benji, 12th Grade Twenty-five minutes into class, and you’re already staring at the clock, counting the minutes until it ends. Your mind can’t help but spacing out. Noticing your teacher’s angry glare, you nod your head, trying to make it seem as if you’ve heard every single word of the lesson. Finally, you can no longer suppress the urge to stand up, so you get out of your seat, walk out of the classroom, and fall asleep on the turf. This is the life of a senior with senioritis. People often think that senioritis is a made-up phenomenon, created long ago in the minds of seniors who wanted to get out of doing work and maintained by willing slackers on their behalf ever since. Even the dictionary doubts it, although at least it gives it space: Senioritis is “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.” The teachers laugh in our faces when we say that we have become victims of senioritis. But walk through the hallways of Shalhevet and you will find at least one third of the senior class sitting there each period -- that is, before they get yelled at to return to class, and start watching the clock again. Senioritis is real, and for those of you who are still confused about what it is, let me take you into the mind of one who is convinced of its existence.

Senioritis is not laziness. It’s just been done. Being done with the hours of hard work and stress, and just wanting to get out and experience what the world holds.

11 awards at Princeton as debate team tackles teen, banking issues By SHARON KHALIL, Staff Writer Eleven awards were won and a ninth grader’s bill made it all the way to the president’s signature as the 22-member team tackled a range of national issues and problems at Princeton Model Congress Nov. 18 – 21 in Washington, D.C. Freshman Lucy Fried presented “An Act to Advocate for the Youth of America,” which would have banned incarceration of youth for status offenses and other crimes that are not harmful to society. It passed in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and then full session. The student “president” -- Michael Bass of the Hopkins School in New Haven, Conn. -then signed it into law. It was the first time a Firehawk freshman had a bill get that far and only the third time in school history that a Shalhevet student’s bill made it into law at all. “I was initially really interested in the topic of kids and teenagers and their safety,” said Lucy in an interview later. “Then I started thinking more and researching about our juvenile justice system and I realized how many problems I had with it.” Status offenses are actions that states make illegal only for people of a certain age group. Some status offenses are skipping school, violating a city or county curfew, underage possession and consumption of alcohol or drugs, and running away. Lucy’s bill would not legalize those behaviors but would prevent kids convicted of them from having to go to prison. “I think it was just a very common sense bill.” said debate coach Mr. William Reusch. “It makes a lot of sense on all levels, from all kind of different political standpoints.”

Firehawk debaters also won three gavels for excellence in committee debate, and eight honorable mentions. Students are judged on their bills and on BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu their ability to think on their feet, debate other bills, and FOUR-PEAT: Boaz Willis receives a fifth award at his fourth thrive under pressure. Princeton Model Congress, Nov. 21 in Washington, D.C.. Senior and team co-captain Boaz Willis won a gavel in the Banking, Housing and ing abilities have increased so much because Urban Affairs committee, where he present- of the trip.” ed a bill called “An Act to Prevent Wrong“(This trip) really pushed me out of my ful Influence Over Monetary Activity.” The comfort zone in so many ways,” she added. bill put limits on officials of Federal Reserve Boaz Willis said the team had won fewer banks as to where they can work before and awards this year – last year the team won 14 after their service at the federal reserve, to -- but that it was because of the calendar. avoid using their influence for personal gain. “The way that the practices worked out Jonah Gill, another senior, won a gavel wasn’t so great because of the holidays and in the Judiciary committee. His bill, “An Act everything,” Boaz said. to Fix The House of Representatives,” ended On Saturday night, near the end of the geographically arranged districts and having final debating sessions of the conference, everyone in a state vote for all its representa- the teams had to leave the Hyatt hotel due tives instead. to smoke in the lobby, though students The team’s third gavel was won by soph- thought at that time that there was an actual omore Sam Hirschhorn, in the Ways and fire. Some were still debating while others Means Committee. Sam presented a bill were already in their hotel rooms when they called “An Act to Prevent Government Shut- were told to evacuate. downs,” which hoped to give congressmen According to a concierge who requested an incentive for compromise by withholding to remain anonymous, there were sparks and their salaries for each day the government is smoke in an electrical circuit that was next closed when Congress has failed to pass a to an air vent, which sent the smoke to other budget. hotel rooms. There was no actual fire, which Lucy won one of the eight Honorable is why the fire alarm did not set off. Mentions, and she said she’d learned a lot After the Firehawk team regrouped outabout debate. side of the hotel, they walked to Haagen “It was like an out of body experience, I Dazs and watched Spectre, as previously almost couldn’t recognize myself debating in planned. front of all these people,” said Lucy. “It definitely boosted my confidence and my speak-

Taxes, loans, money-laundering... in class? By Eva suissa Staff Writer

Although I have been an extremely motivated student throughout high school, I too have acquired the syndrome. Trust me when I say I’ve gone through the whole shebang: six tests a week, two essays a day, and the three projects a month was the norm for me for three whole years. But upon becoming a senior, my view of life and my surroundings has begun to transform. To be specific, I have recently apprehended the fact that there is an entire world out there, one beyond the four walls of Shalhevet. And that has made it difficult to do the same routine each day, without a way out. It gets tiresome, and instead of being awake to what is new, all you really want to do when you get home every day is take a nap. Most members of the senior class have their drivers’ licenses, but their cars don’t even get to be put to use because they’re parked for eight hours every day! Furthermore, when one is being given the responsibilities of an adult – as seniors in school leadership roles are – it’s hard to constantly be surrounded by people who are less mature and smaller in size. Senioritis is not laziness. It’s just being done. Being done with the hours of hard work and stress, and just wanting to get out and experience what the world holds. Senior year is filled with talk about college, the life beyond high school, but it doesn’t even seem real because there are still another six months of redundancy before redemption. This year would be so much more meaningful if we were expected to learn for a few hours each day, and then given the rest of the day to do something else. Since many of us are going away for college, it would amazing if we were given time to go and explore Los Angeles as a grade. One day could be a hiking day, another could be a Segway tour through Hollywood day -- any new activity that could bring us closer during our last few months together while getting us out into the world we are yearning to see. We are only young once, and therefore we will never be able to see the world in such a novel way again. Why not let us do that with one another, now, instead of looking at the clock as time slips away.

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If you happen to spot paper bills on the floor with the head of History teacher Mr. William Reusch on them, pick them up. They may not be very useful at a Starbucks or clothing store, but “Reuschbucks” are pretty valuable to certain students in Mr. Reusch’s classes. Once again this year, Mr. Reusch has created a mini-economy in upperclass Government and Economics through a system of fake money called Reuschbucks. This time, interest rates, taxes, bankers, investments and loans are all components, and the exercise will last all year and account for 10 percent of students’ final grade. Mr. Reusch introduced the idea of creating a marketplace last year. Groups of students competed against each other to see who could sell the most candy bars and thus profit the most in Reuschbucks. This year’s game has become much more complex. “Because the second semester with seniors is challenging with the Poland-Israel trip, Economics got cut out (last year),” Mr. Reusch said in an interview. “I figured this was a way I could go into more depth in government, and then still cover economics throughout the year.” This year, students can invest in a higher education for themselves, real estate or a startup company. Investments are pretty risky, because how much money one makes is determined by a number rolled on dice. Real estate investments have the highest probability of profit, but startup investments have higher reward potential. At the end of each month, students pay three percent of their Reuschbucks as a tax, but then receive a five percent interest rate on any money not tied up in investments. How well students do on tests, quizzes, and activities also affect how many Reuschbucks they make. But at least in the first few months of the year, what distinguished the wealthy and poor was the amount of money

received on the first day of the game. One student was given $5,000 while others began with just $1, since in the real world people are born into different financial situations. Senior Jonah Gill in Mr. Reusch’s honors class appreciates this non-traditional teaching method. “It’s an intuitive way to learn it,” Jonah said. “We’re not traditionally learning all these concepts, but when you have the Reuschbucks, you end up learning these things. We still have normal Econ classes, where he has Powerpoints, but for some concepts, it’s cool to learn them this way.” Students are also learning about something that was unexpected in the original lesson plan: the causes of cheating.

BP Drawing By Eva Suissa

At the beginning of this year, students who were randomly assigned less money than others were tempted to cheat. “Even moral kids, the first thing they were like ‘Ooh, how are we going to steal from the rich kid,’ or ‘how can we lie about this,’ or ‘how can we find a shortcut,’” said Mr. Reusch. “Because it’s so hard to make money the legitimate way.” Students were surprised. “I was a little upset at first, but I realized this is how the real world works,” senior Kian Marghzar said when he found out he was poor. “Not everyone is born into a rich family, and the best way to elevate yourself and become successful is to do hard work . . . The most successful person works the hardest.” Kian learned, he said, that a rich man has a head start on a poor man, but with enough hard work, the poor man may eventually surpass him.

In the Reuschbucks system, this hard work would be studying for tests and quizzes, because the higher the grade a student gets, the more Reuschbucks they receive. “He’s motivating us through the Reuschbucks to work harder, and teach us how hard work will eventually give you success,” Kian said. “That’s what the American dream really is.” But hard work isn’t always the most attractive route. Last year, some students cheated by printing Reuschbucks, or selling them for actual money. “I think that’s really interesting, because that’s what it’s like to be poor in America . . . to go from being poor . . . to being middle class or wealthy, it’s really really hard, but if you cheat, it’s easier,” Mr. Reusch said. This year, other cheating tactics arose. Since at the start of every month students receive five percent interest on the amount of Reuschbucks they have, in the beginning of the year some decided to take loans from richer students in order to increase the amount of interest they earned. Since there weren’t any rules against it at the time, there weren’t any penalties. After the activity, Mr. Reusch found out about the cheating, so he asked the students who did cheat to come clean, so the class could analyze why they did. This year, Mr. Reusch has enforced consequences such as large fines for cheating. So far this year, no one has been caught cheating. Kian said he restrained himself from cheating, because it isn’t ethical. “I was thinking about stealing, but I realized (it’s) probably not the best idea moral-wise,” said Kian. No government system is perfect, including Reuschbucks. Just like a real national economy, Mr. Reusch -- and Dean of Students Mr. Jason Feld, who contributed to this idea -- are constantly tweaking and improving their system.

The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Community

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BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

TOP: Glendale sophomore Steve Dorsey shares his thoughts about whether “the ends justify the means” at Town Hall Dec.3. BOTTOM RIGHT: Shalhevet seniors Derek Orenshein and Kian Marghzar and Glendale sophomore Joshua Stephens compare their posts for the #BeginsWithMe social media campaign introduced that day. Members of the two schools’ football teams learned about anti-Semitism and how to not be a bystander.

Day of talking breaks tension between Glendale and Shalhevet football teams By MAAYAN WALDMAN, Community Editor

phones to put it on Snapchat before we help them.” At the end of the session, the On the morning of Dec. 3, religion and culboys were told to use their favorite soture transformed from divisive boundaries to topcial media account and #BeginsWithMe to say ics for conversations for flag football players from how they would counter what the program called Shalhevet and Glendale Adventist Academy. the “bystander effect.” Boys posted selfies or short That morning, what had started as an anti-Sevideos to Facebook or Snapchat. Most used the mitic confrontation Oct. 25 at the annual Loma hashtag #BeginsWithMe, which the iWitness repLinda flag football tournament became a catalyst resentatives had introduced. for a learning experience for the Shalhevet team On Snapchat, Noah Rothman posted a selfie and its Seventh Day Adventist counterpart. of him and a boy from Glendale with the caption, It all started when running back Nicholas “Not being a bystander #BeginsWithMe.” OthMarcondez had jokingly -- and regrettably, he ers posted one-liners such as “I promise to later said -- gestured “Heil Hitler” as Firestand up for what’s right #BeginsWithMe” hawks and Cougars exchanged hand-slaps on Twitter. at the end of Shalhevet’s last game in the I thought it was somewhat funny but I didn’t mean to After the iWitness session, the boys tournament. offend anyone at all. The picture showed how serious it was walked down together to the gym for a “I thought it was somewhat funny but I and the gravity of it. Town Hall on a moral dilemma about didn’t mean to offend anyone at all,” Nichwhether the ends justify the means. Alolas said in an interview with The Boiling -Nicholas Marcondez though no one thought it was relevant to Point. “It showed I support Hitler, which I the incident, two Glendale boys particidon’t. Hitler did many terrible things -- to pated in the discussion. Jewish people, to homosexuals, and others.” At lunch time boys shared Nagila pizza and A Glendale player responded. When it happened, Shalhevet seniors Boaz “I don’t think people should do that because soda in the Beit Midrash and compared their Willis and Noah Rothman responded by heading for the Firehawks’ van to rile up the Firehawks to they don’t have the right,” said Joshua Stephens. favorite T.V. shows and sports teams. They also talked about what was in common between their confront Nicholas. Several boys yelled at him, and “Everyone is equal.” Nicholas told the Boiling Point that seeing religions. when Glendale Coach Athletics Director Chris “We talked about how some of them don’t eat Lindstadt saw the commotion, he stepped in and this picture made him realize that the Heil Hitler salute was a bigger deal than he initially thought. meat, and we explained Shabbat and kosher,” said told Nicholas to apologize to the whole team. “The picture they showed of the soccer play- junior Alex Silberstein. Nicholas apologized, and in the following The idea of inviting the Glendale team to days, he was spoken to by his principal and coach er- how he was banned and suspended from the several times about what happened, he told the league -- showed how serious it Boiling Point. Since it was the last game of the was and the gravity of it,” Nicholas season, he was not removed or suspended from said. “It showed me how sensitive that subject is.” the team. Later in the day, as the boys beAfter the incident, Shalhevet and Glendale faculty and administration communicated fur- came more comfortable with each ther, and together decided that the entire Glen- other, some of the groups brought dale team would visit Shalhevet, hoping to turn it to the surface the elephant in the room – what had happened at the into something positive. The program Dec. 3 consisted of an hour- Loma Linda game. “I was one of the bystanders,” long morning session in the Beit Midrash, part of which focused on anti-Semitism in the sports a boy from Glendale admitted to world, followed by the Glendale boys attending a the boys at his table. “Personally, regular Town Hall and then eating lunch together I thought it was wrong, so I don’t know why they would do it.” with the Shalhevet team. The other two boys at the table The Beit Midrash session was facilitated by iWitness, a program run by the USC Shoah from Glendale nodded, and the Foundation. The boys learned how to review discussion broadened. “It’s crazy how much we don’t their experiences in terms of being either a “bystander” – someone who plays a passive role in help other people,” another Glena social conflict -- or a victim of anti-Semitism, dale boy said. “We take out our learned about what the consequences of being a bystander are, and watched video testimonies of Holocaust survivors. At one point, the boys were shown a picture of a contemporary sports figure raising his hand in a Heil Hitler position, an event strikingly similar to that which brought the two teams together in the first place. “A professional athlete is someone who a lot of kids look up to,” Jonah Gill told the group after discussing the picture with his table. “By doing this motion, he is reinforcing that this is something okay to do. “

Shalhevet was suggested in a Town Hall Oct. 29, although the administration had already discussed a similar solution. After some back-and-forth with the principal of Glendale Adventist Academy, General Studies Principal Mr. Daniel Weslow got in touch with iWitness and facilitated a plan. “We tried to find the best way for Glendale Adventist Academy to get a sense of the Shalhevet community and culture and for the boys to realize that we do have common threads,” Mr. Weslow said. Steve Dorsey, a sophomore at Glendale, said that he was able to relate to the anti-Semitism Jews face because of his experiences in America as an African-American. “[Anti-Semitism] is kind of like more detailed stereotyping,” he said. “I go through that as well, so it’s not just anti-Semitism.” Even though Shalhevet students didn’t learn anything new about anti-Semitism, Alex Silberstein told the Boiling Point, it was important for both teams to go through the experience together and it allowed them to bond. “iWitness wasn’t just shooting to say you shouldn’t be anti-Semitic,” he said. “They were saying you shouldn’t be an innocent bystander. It taught tolerance for everyone.”

BP Photo By Maayan Waldman

The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Community

Overcoming obstacles, BP earns multiple CSPA awards

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By Lucy fried, Staff Writer

CSPA distributes six each of these awards in about 30 categories, receiving thousands of entries from throughout the U.S. and No office, no server, no day-time work or meeting space — no English-speaking schools around the world. Eric’s and Josh’s stories were also awarded national Quill and big deal: the Boiling Point still managed to win major awards last year, while school was being held at the Westside Jewish Commu- Scroll awards last spring, Eric’s in news writing and Josh’s in opinion. nity Center where there was no place for staff to meet. Last year’s Boiling Point, led by Alexa Fishman, Goldie Fields, The BP’s combined print and web editions have earned a fourth consecutive Gold Medal with All-Columbian Honors from the Co- Margo Feuer, Nicole Feder and Jordan Levine, faced multiple lumbia Scholastic Press Association for the 2014-15 school year, challenges, including lacking an office due to limited space in the and earned their highest-ever score on the organization’s critique JCC. Their file cabinets and reference materials were all in storage Alexa Fishman, who is at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Israel service, 956 out of 1000 points. They have also been nominated for the fourth time for the CS- for the year, said the situation wasn’t nearly as limiting as she had PA’s highest award, the Gold Crown, which is awarded in March. expected. Students made up for lost time with meetings at faculty adviAll nominees win either a gold or a silver. A CSPA judge commended the Boiling Point’s reporting in a sor Mrs. Joelle Keene’s house, where the BP computers were kept on a rolling table in a coat closet. Alexa said that the limitations narrative summary that followed a 16-page critique. “The professionalism of the staff, its courage at pursuing the only motivated them to work harder when they got there. Additionally, she said that she loved writing and assigning the truth in researching controversial topics, its even-handed reporting of the truth without bias and the quality of the writing set this more controversial stories that were tackled last year, and that paper above the rest,” wrote the judge, whose name was not given, they were definitely a factor in the Boiling Point’s success. “I think the real job of a journalist is to tell the truth and following CSPA rules. Additionally, five BP writers received Certificates of Merit in talk about relevant issues that people are afraid to bring up,” Althe CSPA’s Gold Circle Awards, among the most prestigious awards exa said in a telephone interview from Jerusalem. “Even though in high school journalism for individuals, and exceeding the staff’s sometimes I was scared of the backlash, I knew that the BP was doing the right thing and standing by our values.” previous one-year record of two. Among the stories that were challenging were several that were A Gold Circle Certificate of Merit in sports news was awarded jointly to junior Alec Fields and then Editor-in-Chief Alexa Fish- praised in the CSPA critique, including coverage of cheating on ShalhevetBoilingPoint.com man ‘15 for their sports story on the resignation of former debate Schoology tests, the controversy over the title “Maharat,” the deWINNER: Senior Gabe Silverstein’s design for a Charlie Hebdo op-ed article parture of Mr. Buckley, and and football coach Christopher Bucka special pullout section won a design award, and Josh Goldner ‘15 won a writing prize for the story. ley, “Refusing Playoff Suspension, Buckon the summer 2014 war ley Resigns.” It is the first time the Boiling Even though sometimes I was scared of the backShe said staff was selective in the information that was put into in Gaza, which included a Point has won any award in sports coverlash, I knew that the BP was doing the right thing and story about Los Angeles Arab each story and put a great amount of thought into each decision. age. standing by our values. “They were operating at a very high level, with a lot of thoughtteens with relatives there. Senior Gabe Silverstein won the BP’s In addition to the graph- fulness and awareness of the power and responsibility of the Boiling first-ever award for digital illustration for - Alexa Fishman, 2014-15 Editor -in-Chief ics and other aspects of the Point, and I think it showed,” she said. his op-ed opinion page design of “From The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), established print version of The Boiling Charlie Chaplin to Charlie Hebdo, satire Point, the CSPA judge also in 1925, enrolls student newspapers, magazines, and yearbooks as is a crucial force for change” which was written by Josh Goldner ’15. Josh won a Gold Circle award in opin- applauded the paper’s website,shalhevetboilingpoint.com, writing: members annually, and performs rigorous evaluations of each pub“The website has energy. It captures the school’s spirit, culture and lication. ion writing on off-campus issues for the same story. Publications enrolled in the annual critique are rated based on Senior and current Editor-in-Chief Eric Bazak won a Gold personality.” In an interview, Mrs. Keene expressed admiration for the work specific CSPA judging standards, and receive either Gold, Silver, or Circle news writing award for his story about Annie Asch ’14, tiBronze medals based on the numerical score they are given. tled “Alumna Safe After LAPD Takes 25 Minutes to Arrive at Home ethic and cohesiveness of the staff. All-Columbian Honors, which the BP also received, are given to “I am not at all surprised that they won,” Mrs. Keene said. “This Invasion Robbery in Beverlywood,” And Sigal Spitzer ’15 won in the first-person experience category for her report from last spring’s was such a hardworking staff, and a very brave staff that was not to publications that score in the 95th percentile or higher in specific Poland-Israel trip, titled,“Majdanek: Endless Death in the Heart of afraid to look at things that were tough and also to check themselves categories detailed in the CSPA critique. at every point.” a City.

Applicants increase in number, but grade cap to stay at 60 clear that there will be students who won’t get in that could sucsaid in an interview, are the various new ways in ceed here,” Rabbi Segal said. “When which Shalhevet is reaching out to the broader you’re choosing between two imporcommunity. She mentioned the recent Glouber- tant values, you have to pick the one man tournament and Shalhevet Institute events that preserves the nature of the enas examples. terprise. That’s the number one goalMs. Weiss has also created Winterm, a pro- keeping Shalhevet how it is.” gram in which 7th- and 8th- grade prospective Flexibility is limited because it’s students can try out certain Shalhevet co-curricu- not feasible to add just a couple lars for three consecutive Sundays. more kids per grade, Rabbi Segal exOther events include prospective parent “par- plained. The grades now each have lor meetings” with Shalhevet teachers and ad- three 20-student sections -- or three ministrators – at least one for each feeder school classes going on at once -- and a few – along with student tours, which occur weekly more would mean adding a whole on Tuesday, and the Open House school show- new section, meaning four classes case, which this year was five hours long so people per grade instead of three. could attend at various times . At 20 per grade, that would Ms. Weiss has also worked to build relation- eventually mean adding 80 more ships with feeder schools, inviting principals on students to the school, taking maxitours and visiting schools herself, sometimes with mum enrollment from 240 to 320. other Shalhevet administrators. “We don’t want any kid to be In addition to the main feeder schools Mai- anonymous,” said Ms. Weiss. monides, Hillel, and Pressman, this year ShalA prospective student from MaiBP Photo By Michelle Hirschhorn hevet has received more applications from both monides told the Boiling Point that Emek Academy and Sinai-Akiba. he is not sure if he will get in because GREETING: Director of Admissions Natalie Weiss introduces prospective students to freshman Student Ambassadors. Ms. Weiss said 11.2 percent of this year’s ap- of the increasing demand for the In addition to the eighth-grade applicants, Shalhevet doesn’t recruit for any specific type plicants are from Emek, almost double than last school. year’s 5.7 percent. Last year there were no Sinai “There are a lot of kids applying and there’s of talent, Ms. Weiss said, but this year’s applica- Natalie said there are five or six transfer applicants applicants, but this year 7.7 percent of the appli- not a lot of spots to fill,” said eighth-grader tion asked whether the students wanted to share from a variety of schools. She said most of them anything extra about themselves, such as hobbies were offered spots as freshmen, declined them, cants are from Sinai. She declined to give exact Hayden Klein. exact numbers. There are many criteria for who is accepted or other pursuits outside school. Since Shalhevet and are now asking to come back. The rate of Shalhevet students transferring to “These are relationships we have been nurturinto Shalhevet, but is a Modern Orthodox school, it is important that other schools has remained constant for the past applicants are passionate about Judaism, she said. ing and it’s nice to see the Rabbi Segal and Ms. two to three years at zero to two students.NotifiThe committee also seeks diversity, which positive results this year,” Weiss both said that she said. These are relationships we have been the number one fac- comes naturally in terms of how people think cation letters will be emailed out Feb 17. Despite the growing number of applicants, Other feeder schools tor the admissions about things, said Ms. Weiss, and what their famnurturing and it’s nice to see the positive Natalie said she still feels it was important to have ily structures are like. include Yavneh, Ohr committee considers results this year. multiple admissions events. Finances are also considered. A grant providHaChaim, Kadima, Kabis menchlichkeit – be“You can never get complacent,” Natalie said. --Natalie Weiss, Admissions Director balah and some public ing a good, kind and ing scholarships from the Jim Joseph Foundation has expired, though Rabbi Segal said the total “You can’t say because we have a waiting list, we’re schools. In the past, Shalrespectful person. going to have one next year and we’re always goamount of financial aid is staying the same. hevet has received aping to have one. With every new group of proThe Jim Joseph grant helped Shalhevet build plications from Milken, The committee also looks at whether Shalthough none came from Milken this year. hevet can meet the student’s academic needs – an endowment, so now Shalhevet is taking the spective students parents, we have treat them to Rabbi Segal said the growth in applications whether that be with challenging enough courses money being earned on that endowment and giv- the same opportunities to get to know Shalhevet.” ing that to awardees. makes the decision-making process harder. “It’s or Student Support. Continued from Page 1

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Torah

SIMILARITIES: Students at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in New Jersey all pray together in one minyan. Below, a Sephardic minyan at SAR High School in New York, one of the more common options in schools surveyed.

JANUARY 2016

Across nation, similarities and differences in Modern Orthodox schools with how to spiritualize davening BP Photo By Gabe Zuckerman, Kushner

By ALEC FIELDS, Torah Editor

short, but with intention. The neo-chasidut minyan holds It might have been unusual to open a student-led discussion parts of davening outside, while the about davening options at Shalhevet’s Just Community meetings miat mikavana minyan says fewer parts last fall, but the wide range of choices that came out of it is not of davening, but takes longer to say each part. unusual at all in Modern Orthodox high schools. Ida Crown is the only school with A Boiling Point survey of seven schools from L.A. to Chicago and New York found a range of minyanim available to students a solitary minyan, in which students sit throughout the country. The reasoning everywhere is pretty much about 10 feet away from each other and daven by themselves. Ida Crown junior the same. “One goal for davening [prayer] is finding connections, and not Yardayna Ben Simon enjoys it. “I’m at solitary and for me that’s the everybody needs to be doing the same thing or is going to connect in the same way,” said Lisa Schlaff, Director of Judaic Studies at best way to daven,” said Yardayna in an interview. “You daven to yourself and Salanter Akiva Riverdale (SAR) High School in Riverdale, N.Y. “There are some people who meditation is going to be a wonder- you don’t have to go at a certain pace so ful way for them to daven...and there are going to be other students it just works best for me.” Only Kushner and YULA girls have who are not going to connect in that way at all, and we don’t want everyone daven together every day. to say everyone has to do the exact same thing.” Kushner junior Gabe Zuckerman While alternative minyanim vary from school to school, most take similar approaches to attendance and minimum requirements, does not mind only having one minyan and he enjoys davening and no one insists that students actually pray. Nonetheless, each there. “I kind of like the standard minyan,” said Gabe. “It’s traditional, school has unique features. Hashkama minyan and the recently implemented reading policy it’s nice.” AT YULA Girls, students say up until Baruch She’amar together, are unique to Shalhevet. Unusual choices elsewhere range from a meditation minyan to but then say the rest individually because there is no male chazzan a solitary minyan, where students worship a set distance from one to lead. “I like that it is independent,” said junior Jenna Kirschenbaum. another. Some schools provide the options every day, while others “When it comes to davening by yourself, you can choose which only offer them during certain times of the year. Ramaz High School in New York City and Ida Crown Jewish parts you find most important in the davening.” Shalhevet’s most successful voluntary minyan is its daily HashAcademy in Chicago and Shalhevet have girls’ singing minyans. Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in New Jersey offers grade-wide girls’ kama, or sunrise, minyan, and this year it also has the girls singing minyan, a freshman-sophomore grade minyan and a junior-senior tefilla groups. Almost every school has a standard Ashkenazic minyan and minyan. Occasionally a meditation minyan is also offered, led by some different choices. Other typical options are girls’ minyans, Judaic Studies teacher Ms. Ruthie Skaist. By far the most popular minyan is Hashkama, which starts at 7:25 a.m., 35 minutes before Sephardic minyans and explanatory minyans. YULA Boys, Ramaz and SAR also host Sephardic services. SAR school. Students run the minyan without faculty and finish davening right before the start of first period. Then they have a free pesenior Eli Best attends one even though he is not Sephardic. riod while the rest of the school at“It’s a whole different culture and tends Shacharit from 9 until about it’s a really interesting way, contrary to 9:30 a.m. what I normally do,” Eli told the BoilEveryone can decide what they like best and connect Minyan founder and current ing Point. the way they want to connect. There are so many senior Noah Rothman said that Ida Crown and Ramaz both allow Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal students to attend explanatory minoptions and if you don’t like something, then there suggested that he start the minyan yans, where students learn about davis always something else for you. when he was a sophomore. Noah ening, though they don’t meet every-- Yardayna Ben Simon, Ida Crown junior did not realize that it would beday. The students say the main parts of come the most popular minyan in the service, but do not say everything the school. – so there is time to learn. YULA Boys “We started getting 15 people school tried an explanatory minyan last year and will be bringing it back this year second semester, accord- and then 30 people, and then 40 people and it really took off,” said Noah. “It’s a good davening experience. For the most part it is ing to YULA Principal Rabbi Arye Sufrin. “You get 25 to 30 kids not coming for food or the honors credit silent, we say a lot and we move quickly.” Junior Nicole Miles attends the minyan everyday. but to gain something,” Rabbi Sufrin said. “They really feel that “I feel that the people around me are glued to their davening they are learning something every time.” Both SAR and Ramaz offer music minyans as well. In past years more than in regular minyan,” said Shalhevet junior Nicole Miles. “I feel like I can daven better there.” Shalhevet has had a music minyan, but not this year. Also completely unique to Shalhevet davening is something that Noah Greenwald of New York attends the singing minyan at came out of the Just Community meetings: that students can read Ramaz. “Its a really good time,” said Noah. “Everyone is really into it, from a list of approved Judaic books instead of davening when at everyone chooses to be there and its different then your usual sit the Main Minyan. It was first suggested by Just Community reorientation at the down davening.” SAR has three unique minyans called the meditation minyan, beginning of this school year. Senior Boaz Willis sometimes takes “neo-chasidut minyan, and miat bikavana minyan, translating to advantage of it.

BP Photo By Eli Best, SAR

“If you’re reading something that is making you think about God or Judaism or your place in the universe, then that is a form of tefilla [prayer],” said Boaz. “You are davening, just doing it in another way.” Principal Reb Noam Weissman explained why he agreed to allow it. “I want them to be learning, I want them to be doing something meaningful,” Reb Weissman said in an interview. “We’re never going to force a kid to say a word of davening, so we do expect a culture of respect.” While no other school allows this as an official option, most schools would allow certain students to read if the rabbis felt it appropriate for that particular student, they said in interviews. Schools have varying standards with regard to what a student must do or say during tefilla. But most schools, including Ramaz and SAR, the requirement is an open siddur, which follows what the rest of the minyan is doing. “Students need to be part of the kahal,” or congregation, said Mrs. Schlaff. “In order to create a community of people who are davening, you need to have a siddur, the siddur needs to be open to the right page, and if everybody is sitting you need to sit.” Requirements depend on the specific minyan at Ida Crown. “The kollel minyan, they have to be davening. If you’re not davening, you’re out of that one,” said Ida Crown Rabbi Joel Gutstein. “The other two we don’t force them to daven, the learning one and solitary.” Faculty from Shalhevet, SAR, Ramaz and Ida Crown all agreed that students cannot be forced to pray. “I can’t force you to daven, because that’s between you and God,” said SAR’s Mrs. Schlaff. “But you do need to understand that you need to be a presence in this room who is contributing to the atmosphere and not taking away from it.” That policy is universally appreciated. “I don’t feel like I’m always getting commanded to daven,” said Gabe of Kushner. “I feel like it allows me to do it on my own at the same time as being in a facilitated, traditional way.” But in spite of all the energy it takes to make prayer work for the greatest number of students, no school officials would consider giving it up. Prayer seems to be something that every Modern Orthodox school is determined to teach. “Why do we daven?” said Reb Weissman. “There are multiple ways to have that connection to God -- through tefilla, through talmud Torah, and through g’milut chasadim,” or acts of kindness. “And tefilla is a very important avenue.”

The Boiling Point •January 2016 • Torah

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Role reversal: Guys say L’chaim to girl’s blessing By rose lipner, Deputy Editor-in-Chief NICOLE SOUSSANA, Staff Writer With 28 people surrounding her, senior Nicole Newman recited kiddush on Friday night for students and faculty on the Model Congress trip in Washington DC. Yes, Nicole was slightly nervous. However, she explained in an interview that she took the chance to set a leadership example for the team and especially the underclassmen. The Shulchan Aruch states that women are obligated in kiddush just as men are. For that reason, most authorities agree that women can also recite kiddush on behalf of others who are obligated, including men, and fulfill their obligation. “I thought that if it is halachically allowed, then why not take on that leadership role?” Nicole said in an interview later. The idea, however, came from senior and debate team member Micah Gill. When it was time for kiddush, the trip’s Judaic chaperone, Chachama Ilana WIlner, asked Micah to recite kiddush on behalf of the 29 students and faculty on the trip. However, Micah felt the kibud, or honor, shouldn’t be given to him over others, since he is not a rabbi and does not hold a special position on the team. Rather, Micah said, since men and women are considered equal for this law, why not apply what

he had learned in 11th grade to the situation? “I was going to make kiddush,” Micah said, “but I was thinking that it seemed a little bit silly for me to take on that role when I didn’t do anything to deserve it.” In the 11th-grade Talmud curriculum, a case in Brachot 20b is used to prove that women have an equal obligation as men in the mitzvah of kiddush. The Gemara states that anyone obligated in the shmira or observance, of Shabbat — that is, the restrictive mitzvot — is also obligated in the zechira, or remembering, of Shabbat — that is, the positive mitzvot, such as kiddush. Since men

son — that is, fulfill an obligation on his or her behalf. Students interviewed by the Boiling Point said the majority of debaters who were there did not object. But some students said they felt conflicted. Junior Maya Golan requested that a boy recite kiddush for her, so senior Boaz Willis did so. Maya said that, although she had learned that was halachically okay for a woman to recite it it was uncomfortable for her from the standpoint of tradition. “Even though everything was done according to halachic law and we were not violating anything,” Maya said, “in my life tradition plays a huge role, and I was extremely uncomfortable with going against tradition. It wasn’t so much a conflict of gender roles.” In addition to it adhering to traditional values, Maya felt she should stand up on behalf of the underclassmen, some of whom, she assumed, were uncomfortable with a woman making kiddush but were too shy to say anything. “I wanted to show them that it’s okay if they didn’t feel comfortable and its okay to speak up,” she said. However, no underclassmen participated in Boaz’s recitation of kiddush.

REMOVED AT REQUEST OF ADMINISTRATION I was going to make kiddush, but I was thinking that it seemed a little bit silly for me to take on that role when I didn’t do anything to deserve it. -- Micah Gill, 12th Grade

and women are equally obligated in the shmira of Shabbat, they are also equally obligated in the zechira, such as kiddush. Chachama Wilner, who teaches this unit, added that if you have an equal or greater obligation than another person in a mitzvah, according to the Shulchan Aruch, you can be yotzei that per-

BP Drawing by maya Rosen

Those who oppose women leading kiddush cite minhag, or custom, note that though there may be no Talmudic ruling saying so, there is a concept of minhag Yisrael Torah hi – the custom or tradition of Israel is law, Rabbi Stein confirmed.

RCA decision on women brings Lahav to real life By ZEV KENT, Sports Editor

High School Journalism with Judaism in Mind

3rd Annual Jewish Scholastic Journalism Conference and Shabbaton in Los Angeles Feb. 25-28 2016 For information and registration, visit jewishscholasticpress.org

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Just days after the Rabbinical Council of America passed a new Policy Concerning Women Rabbis, Shalhevet’s Lahav Talmud curriculum was put to the test as 11th grade students gave their own halachic opinions regarding women in rabbinic positions. On Oct. 30, the RCA announced that women would not be permitted to attain rabbinic ordination and that Orthodox institutions may not employ them in that capacity. The policy states that, while the RCA supports the education of women and thinks it’s very important, ordination is forbidden. “RCA members with positions in Orthodox institutions may not ordain women into the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title used,” the document states. This was the cornerstone of a resolution -- which organization officials said passed by a narrow margin though they would not give exact numbers -that went on to state that a member of the RCA cannot hire a woman into a rabbinic position, nor may they allow a title signifying rabbinic ordination to be used by a woman. It does not, however, name any consequences for violating the ruling. On Nov. 11, Shalhevet rabbis gathered the 11th grade together to address the issue. It was most familiar from last year’s debate over the title maharat -- an acronym that means female leader in Torah, spirituality and law -- when a prospective teacher who had been ordained with that title turned down a position at Shalhevet apparently because she wouldn’t be permitted to use it. Students had many things to say, but Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi David Stein encouraged them to use the Talmudic sources they’d learned in order to form their opinions. “People who are hiring maharats are wrong,” said junior Jonah Kaye. “It’s not the practice of the community and not the majority at all. This community is not ready for that yet, it’s not the consensus.” He was referring to the first source that is taught in the Lahav curriculum, Bava Metziah 59b, which teaches that the halacha follows the majority. Consensus is one of the three components of the halachic process taught in ninth grade and is one of the central points as to whether a decision is halachic or not. On the other hand, students used the Gemara in Eiruvin 13 to show that the RCA made the wrong decision. “I think that, based off the sources, having a Maharat or something like it would be valid because of eilu v’eilu,” said junior Liora Rabizadeh. Eilu v’eilu is another one of the Gemara’s key ideas. It says that there can be multiple correct answers to a question and is one of the foundational principles for diversity in halacha. At the end of the assembly, regardless of halachic conclusions, both students and teachers felt like it was important to hold this event. “The goal was to help us recognize that Shalhevet gives us the tools to make decisions like this, “ said Liora. “By giving us these sources they gave us tools to apply them to our lives.”

The Boiling Point •January 2016 • Torah

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Benjamin Kenner, who attended Shalhevet from 2011-13 as Rochel-Leah Kenner, left early to transition from female to male. So far, worshipping on the men’s side of the mechitzah at a Portland Chabad has not been a problem.

continued from page 1 equivelency diploma (GED). At Shalhevet, then-Rochel-Leah was active in drama, Litmag and poetry readings, and was alson one of the first girls to volunteer to carry the Torah through the women’s section during Shacharit. Being part of both the Modern Orthodox and LGBT communities began to seem contradictory – and still does, he says, because he still believes in God. “Sometimes I was very angry at God, but I always believed in Him,” Benjamin says. He knows he would fit in better at a Reform or Conservative synagogue, but when he tried a few Conservative shuls in Los Angeles, he always

felt uncomfortable. Ultimately, he wants to find an Orthodox community similar to Bnai DavidJudea, which he attended during high school. When she arrived at Shalhevet as a lesbian in 2011, Rochel-Leah Kenner was already having much stronger inklings of being trans, something she had ignored since the age of 11, when she told her mother if there were gender-neutral pronouns she would use them. She also began wearing pants, something she had put off for years following her family’s religious practice. Finally, in the first semester of senior year she could no longer ignore her transgender feelings. She came out to many close friends, including David Lorell ‘15 and Talya Joffe ‘14, who were all

very accepting. “He -- then she -- told me, very emotionally, about the horrible struggle that he was having with being forced to adopt the practices of being female at school — wearing skirts, worshipping in the female fashion, etcetera,” David Lorell said. “It was really moving. I can understand why he felt the need to leave.” Still, Benjamin decided not to come out as transgender to the wider community of Shalhevet, assuming it would amount to nothing. “I thought,

I’m still going to have to present as a girl at school, so what’s the point?” he said. During winter break of 2013, Benjamin Kenner sent an email to the faculty and upper administration, which then consisted of Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal and General Studies principal Roy Danovitch. He explained he would not return to school for the second semester. “I felt many conflicting emotions,” Rabbi Seg a l said in an e-mail interview with the Boiling Point “For one, I was sad – sad that Benjamin felt that he had to leave Shalhevet

For transgender, halacha ventures into (mostly) unknown territory By HANNAH JANNOL, Staff Writer Modern Orthodoxy has been considering the topic of gay and lesbian Jews for a while, but transgender Jews present a challenge which is just beginning to be explored. There’s no set dogma on the topic of modern day transsexual people, because the phenomenon postdates second- and thirdcentury Talmud. “Halacha doesn’t have a prescribed category for these issues,” said Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg. “So the issue is how do we apply other halacha categories.” Most rabbis are not well-acquainted with the issue, and have likely not met a transgender individual. Even those who could rule on the topic of transsexualism are limited to the worldview of their particular yeshiva or university or community, said Rabbi Schwarzberg. Similarly, a lot of the technology, techniques and medicine used in modern day gender transition didn’t exist even five or 20 years ago, which makes it increasingly difficult for rabbis to pasken, or halachically decide, what to do when transgender individuals are in their communities, Rabbi Schwarzberg said. However, there are commandments that might discourage a halachically observant person from transitioning to a new gender. In cases of male-to-female transitions, castration, or sirus, is prohibited in Leviticus 22:24. For female-to-male transitions, this is only a rabbinic prohibition. Based on Deuteronomy 22:5, a natal man or woman wearing the clothing of the opposite sex is also against the law, and “an abhorrence unto Hashem.”

BEFORE

Male-to-female sex changes may also be prohibited by Leviticus 18:22, the verse famously interpreted as forbidding homosexuality. A commentary by Ibn Ezra quotes Rabbeinu Chananelben Chushiel, an 11th-century rabbi from Tunisia. “There is one who took on the anatomy of a woman, which is not naturally possible,” Rabbeinu Chananel writes. Therefore, he said, this person is now not a woman, but “an androgynous.” Judaic Studies teacher Morah Atara Segal says this does not necessarily extend to female-to-male sex changes. It’s possible Rabbeinu Chananel was speaking about men transitioning, she said, because biblical Torah speaks about humans as men as the default – but it’s also possible he was specifically talking about people born as males. “It’s also important to note that this is not a Torah prohibition – it’s a biblical commentary that is interpreting a verse in the Torah,” Morah Segal said. On the other side is the principle in Jewish law of pikuach nefesh — literally “saving the soul” — which states that saving human life is more important than following any halacha except for laws against murder, adultery and idolatry. Some say that would justify gender changes because for most transgender people, transitioning is a matter of life or death. Prior to transitioning, and at the height of feelings of being in the wrong body, many trans individuals become suicidal. “The risk of someone seeing Jewish law in such a way that could potentially cause even one person to damage themselves, hurt

AFTER

themselves, kill themselves, that becomes something Jewish law takes the most seriously,” Rabbi Schwarzberg said. “The Gemara says you should live by the mitzvot, but you should not die by them,” he continued. “That’s the way we understand the Torah — the value of life, of pikuach nefesh, is paramount.” Rabbi Yona Reiss, who is currently the Av Beth Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council and from 1998 to 2008 was the Director of the Beth Din of America, agreed with Rabbi Schwarzberg, while noting that pikuach nefesh is not a consideration that would create permanent law. In a telephone interview with the Boiling Point, Rabbi Reiss said that even though pikuach nefesh is not enough to change the law, which is immutable, it can be applied where it is relevant to a certain individual – just as it is permissible for an individual to eat non-kosher meat to save his life, but that doesn’t change the law to permit non-kosher meat to all. “The goal is to safeguard halacha while at the same time helping people, regardless of their challenges, to live positive and fulfilling lives within that halachic framework,” Rabbi Reiss told The Boiling Point. The suicide statistics involving transgender people, Jewish or not, are staggering. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), 41 percent of transgender individ-

The Boiling Point •January 2016 • Torah

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Page Design by Noa Segal

TOLERANCE: In the background, the Chabad house in Southeast Portland that Benjamin Kenner is a member of. The Chabad house allows him to sit in the men side, though excludes him from some of the service opportunities.

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and that a part of Chabad at Portland Campuses, a Chabad we would not see him around school anymore. house near Reed College, where it is known that “But I also felt really happy – happy that Benja- he is transgender. “The vibe I get is that they don’t want to put min was able to take that kind of step and begin the process of being truer to himself. Ultimately, up a fight,” said Benjamin. “They let me stand on the men’s side, but they don’t count me in a minthat’s what we want.” Rose Bern remembered when she found out yan, they don’t include me in a lot of male things, about Benjamin leaving. The transgender part they didn’t let me wear tefillin a while back. It’s clearly very uncomwas not what stood out. fortable for them.” “I’ll never forget it--we The Boiling Point were sitting in advisory with The vibe I get is that they don’t want to contacted the BenMr. Buckley and he explained put up a fight. They let me stand on the jamin’s rabbi there, that the administration had Rabbi Dov Bialo, who recently received an email men’s side, but they don’t count me in declined to be interfrom Benjamin saying that a minyan, they dont include me in a lot viewed. In an e-mail he was leaving school, fled to of male things. he wrote, “Thank for Portland, Oregon, and ended -- Benjamin Kenner reaching out to me, the email by saying that his but I would like to new name was Benjamin,” shy away from this insaid Rose. “And my best terview.” friend, Brianna, and I were asBenjamin plans on purchasing a pair of tefiltounded – this individual who we saw every single lin when he has the money to do so. He added day and acted with in plays was gone.” In Portland, Benjamin has been working to- he would like to eventually read from the Torah ward transitioning. After getting a letter of ap- and lead a minyan, something he has wanted to proval from his therapist four months ago, he do for years. Benjamin’s parents are an Orthodox father began receiving testosterone injections. He is now

and a liberal mother who converted in to Judaism before he was born. Benjamin says his mother has always been very supportive of him, and his father accepted him as a lesbian about a year after he came out. “He still does not accept me as transgender, he refuses to talk about it,” Benjamin said. The Boiling Point tried to reach Benjamin’s parents but was unsuccessful. He said his father does not believe transgender people exist. While the rabbis of the Talmud recognized the existence of individuals who didn’t fit a strict gender categories, religious law on the subject is not clear. (See adjoining story, this page.) Benjamin is not the first Jew to stay religious after going through transition. Another is Rabbi Elliot Kukla, who currently works for the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center in San Francisco. “A lot of people see me as a gray area, even though I don’t feel like a gray area,” said Rabbi Kukla in an interview with the Boiling Point. “Still, in halacha, there’s an acknowledgment of those who don’t fit well in the binary … there’s ac-

tions “works.” uals attempt suicide at some point in their lifetime, compared to In an email to the Boiling Point, he referenced an article 4.6 percent of the overall population of the U.S. (The same figby Rabbi David Bleich in Contemporary Halakhic Problems, ure among lesbian, gay and bisexual adults is 10 to 20 percent.) saying that the normative halachic view says that a sex change Benjamin Kenner, who attended Shalhevet from 2011 to operation would be halachically ineffective in changing a per2013 when he was still female, was not immune. son’s gender. “I was talking to a friend of mine and said ‘I want to die, I “Rather, a person would be halachically considered as recan’t do this -- I want to transition and I can’t,’” Benjamin said maining the same gender as they were originally born,” Rabbi he told a Shalhevet friend early in 12th grade. At the time, thenReiss said. Rochel-Leah Kenner felt trapped out of both her community But there is evidence for exceptions even to this. Rabbi Reiss and her religion, he said. brought up a case decided by Rabbi Asher Weiss, a Haredi posek What turned the switch, he recalled, was when the friend replied: “I think God would prefer you trans and alive than dead.” in Borough Park, Brooklyn, of two Jewish people who were getting a divorce. The husband’s father, Daniel, had transitioned “If God cares about me, then God wants me to be alive and to become a woman. For the purpose of finalizing the get, or okay,” Benjamin said last month. religious divorce, he decided, the scribe should not write “son of Benjamin says his mental health has never been as good as Daniel,” but use the father’s new name and say “son of Ronit,” it was the week of his first shot of testosterone, and every week because ‘Daniel’ is no longer in use. he keeps getting better, making him a literal example of pikuach Rabbi Reiss also quoted the nefesh. Tzitz Eliezer – Rabbi Eliezer But Benjamin doesn’t believe JuWaldenberg, a halachic medidaism should wait for a transgender cal ethicist who died in Israel person to become suicidal -- to enter There is the human element in every single case. in 2006. that territory of risking their life -It’s very difficult to look at it solely from a clinical and “Even the Tzitz Eliezer, who before being allowed to transition. technical perspective. articulated the minority opin“We need to not think of tran-- Rabbi Yona Reiss, Chicago Rabbinical Council ion that a sex change operation sition as the last option,” Benjamin can alter a person’s gender from said. “We need to actually love and a halachic perspective, only adaccept our trans community memdressed the issue of whether the wife of a man who became a bers and listen to what they say they need.” woman would require a get,” Rabbi Reiss said in an email to the Boiling Point. Once transgender Jews fully transition, even more halachic “Any extrapolation of his opinion with respect to other halaquestions come up. Can a trans man wear tefillin and read from chic ramifications, such as obligations in mitzvot, is speculative the Torah? What side of the mechitza do transgender Jews stand in nature since he did not explicitly address those issues.” on? Are transgender men counted in a minyan? Are transgender women, even if they are on the women’s side of the mechitza, All this illustrates Rabbi Schwarzberg’s point that rabbis exempt from time-bound commandments? have few cases and minimal real life experience to base decisions Rabbi Reiss said this all depends on whether or not a transi-

knowledgment we exist.” Rabbi Kukla was ordained at the (Reform) Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Los Angeles. Reform synagogues count both men and women in minyans, so there is no issue of his gender there. Then there is Yonadav Kenyon, an Orthodox transgender man in Illinois who transitioned twice. Born male, Yonadav transitioned to be a woman in his mid-20s and lived as a female for 17 years before becoming ba’al teshuva, religiously observant, and transitioning back. In an interview with the Boiling Point, Yonadav said he felt he could not become religious – as he put it, return to teshuva, or repentance -- without returning to his gender at birth, the one he feels God intended him to be. But he does not regret his earlier transition and sexual reassigncontinued on page 10 ment surgery.

on, and the law is still evolving. “Your average rabbi who might be a great scholar and might be very knowledgeable might not have a lot to offer on this topic because of lack of experience,” Rabbi Schwarzberg said. “They were certainly never educated on it, and the issue probably hasn’t come to their office, to their shul, to their community yet.” What if a transgender student came to Shalhevet, or if a student who was already here decided to transition in one direction or another while attending the school? Rabbi Segal says he would consult with the poskim. “If a student at Shalhevet came out as transgender, regardless of their original sex, which I think is irrelevant to the question, I would consult with my halachic mentors in order to address particular policy issues,” Rabbi Segal wrote in an e-mail. “As an Orthodox school, that’s always an integral part of any plan of action.” Although obeying halacha is important to Rabbi Segal, inclusion of transgender individuals within that halachic framework is significant as well. “It’s our job to consult with our poskim and to maximize our inclusion of all people within a halachic framework, when it comes to policy decisions that affect the school,” Rabbi Segal wrote. While even the most authoritative poskim, such as Rabbi Reiss, do not have a clear answer to many questions about what might be called “transgender halacha,” Rabbi Reiss says the answers needed will be found, situation by situation. There is a rich halachic literature, he said, capable of eventually addressing whatever comes up. “There is the human element in every single case, it’s very difficult to look at it solely from a clinical and technical perspective,” Rabbi Reiss said in a phone interview last month. “In every individual case one has to address the individual questions, and be very sensitive toward the situation regardless of what the halachic answer is going to be. Ultimately, of course, we have to follow the halacha.”

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Transition of Benjamin Kenner, former student continued from page 9

Taller, kosher mechitzot bring Israeli artistry to school

SYMBOLIC: Metal panels in a pomegranate pattern bring the mechitzot to the proper halachic height.

BP Photo By Tara Chriki

By Jacob Perelman, Staff Writer New mechitzot for the building were finally completed Dec. 15, with laser-cut metal panels in a pomegranate design across the top to make them both halachically permissible and artistic. Designed with both halacha and the state of Israel in mind, the panels were purchased from Kibbutz Lavi in the Lower Galilee and are in all davening spaces, including the Beit Midrash, Beit Knesset and the gym. “It was the prettiest of the decorative options open to us,” said Executive Director Robyn Lewis. She also said pomegranates are symbolic in Judaism because the number of seeds inside of a pomegranate is roughly 613, which corresponds to the number of mitzvot in the Torah. Mrs. Lewis said that, while Kibbutz Lavi is known for making beautiful things, the school had another reason for choosing them to build it. “We are always trying to support Israel and Israeli businesses,” Mrs. Lewis said. While she declined to give the cost of the mechitzot, she said the kibbutz was “a very good partner in helping us to save money.” At the JCC last year, Shalhevet used a wooden frame with black cloth stretched across it as the mechitzot. This is the first year using specially designed mechitzot. The concept of a mechitza was first seen in the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple in Jeru-

salem, according to most historians. There, the mechitza preserved modesty by preventing men from seeing women while they prayed. Today’s rabbis disagree about what the minimum height of a mechitza should be, because it was not included in the Shulchan Aruch, which was first published in the year 1565. According to Reb Weissman, there was no reason for a law at that time since women either didn’t go to shul or sat in a balcony out of men’s view. When mechitzot became part of synagogue architecture in the U.S., Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik -- two of the leading American halachic authorities of the 20th century – each gave an opinion on the matter. Rav Moshe said at least 54 inches high, while Rav Soloveitchik said 50 BP Photo By Gaby benelyahu inches. Before the new panels were installed, Shalhevet’s mechitzot only measured 49 inches tall. That came as a surprise to Reb Weissman. “Really?” he asked, when told by The Boiling Point. “It is a big deal halachically – I thought we knew exactly how high the mechitza was. We follow Rav Moshe’s and Rav Soloveitchick’s shita [decision].” But with the pomegranate panels now in place, they measure 61 inches – taller than the minimum according to both opinions. Even though most students are taller than the

mechitzot and could look over them or through the grated metal pomegranates, Reb Weissman said that is not a problem. Through email, he explained that their purpose isn’t to prevent people from looking at each other. “From my understanding, the main reason we have mechitzot is not to have kallut rosh, or frivolity,” said Reb Weissman. “Tefilah is an incredibly serious and meaningful opportunity. Making sure we focus and have the proper mindset is key.” Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi David Stein said that there are two understandings of the purpose of mechitza, but only one is widely recognized. “Either the purpose is about stopping people from seeing each other, which it’s not, or the purpose of mechitza is just about creating the separation and creating a sacred space,” Rabbi Stein said in an interview. Rabbi Stein said another reason for mechitzot is tradition. “Our shuls, our beit knessets are modeled and designed to be mikdash mihadrin, meaning batei mikdash,” or houses of worship, said Rabbi Stein. “Particularly, we try to adopt some of the architecture that was in the Beit Hamikdash,” the holy temple in Jerusalem. On school trips mechitzot are not used, but Reb Weissman said that it is alright because they are unnecessary. “The mechitza is only for the function of a shul,” he explained. “When you have a minyan that is ad-hoc, you don’t need a mechitza, you need to just separate the men and the women.”

“I always say had it not been for the surgery, I would be dead right now,” Mr. Kenyon said. “The kind of person who needs to get the surgery starts engaging in self-destructive behavior, because they have anatomy their brain will just not accept.” Mr. Kenyon says that his sense of yirat shamayim — fear of Heaven — was greater than the pain of reacquainting with his male self, which he said was ironically made possible by his sexual reassignment surgery. Any remorse he has about his initial transition, he added, comes from its limiting of marriage prospects, the possibility of raising children, and confusion he gets from people who learn of his past. Jenny Newman ‘11, a Shalhevet alumna who is lesbian, believes the passage for Orthodox transgender Jewish people will be upstream because gender roles are so clearly defined in Jewish law and practice. “You don’t really fit in any prescribed boxes, which makes it understandable that the Orthodox community has issues,” said Jenny. “I understand why, but it doesn’t bother me any less.” Jenny said that while she was at Shalhevet, classes and sex ed assemblies never addressed what it meant to be gay, lesbian or transsexual. This year’s upperclassmen said it hasn’t come up during their time either. “It is extremely problematic because it drives away young Jews away from Orthodoxy,” Jenny said. Benjamin Kenner agrees, and hopes that the peace he is finding personally in his new gender can one day be a characteristic of Orthodox Judaism in general. “Orthodox Judaism has as many queer people as any other group, even if we don’t want to admit it, and they’re struggling,” Benjamin said. “Our queer members are feeling like they have to hide, and that’s really hard when you want to be a part of a community.”

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CONVERSATION: Hundreds gathered inside the gym on a Saturday night to hear rabbis agree and argue. From left, Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, Rabbi Pini Dunner, Rabbi Adam Kligfeld and Rabbi Sharon Brous, with Rabbi Schwarzberg.

BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

Cross-denominational discussion hosted by Institute By Alec fields, Torah Editor In the crowded Shalhevet gym on January 9, Modern Orthodox, Conservative and progressive rabbis offered their thoughts on pressing Jewish issues. Rabbis Sharon Brous of Ikar, Yosef Kanefsky of B’nai David Judea, Rabbi Adam Kligfeld of Temple Beth Am and Rabbi Pini Dunner of Beverly Hills Synagogue were asked various questions by Shalhevet Institute founder Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg. “I don’t believe, and I’m not the first person to say this, that unity means uniformity,” said Rabbi Brous. “I think while we all know that intellectually, what frustrates us most in this internal Jewish conversation is really a lack of uniformity which is not actually something we really want.” Rabbi Kligfeld agreed and shared his view on unity. “The Jewish unity that we want and that we’ll always be comfortable [with] is one where we are connected to one another through non-rational pathways and then occasionally we are going to argue, because you do that,” said Rabbi Kligfeld. “You do that in a family and that is the beautiful achdut that we need.” Rabbi Kanefsky then spoke about what unity means according to the Torah. “[Torah] requires us to be unified, to care for one another, and also to share our views with one another and also to share ideas with one another and also to be alive and understand and embrace one another as teammates and allies,” said Rabbi Kanefsky. Afterwards, Rabbi Dunner explained the importance of Jewish unity. “We must make sure that our children and our grandchildren are Jewish and there will be a state of Israel, and they will be proud to be Jews and there will be Jewish life in the future,” said Rabbi Dunner. Rabbi Schwarzberg also asked questions about mesora (tradition) in Judaism and support for Israel. Rabbi Dunner and Brous disagreed on the role that tradition should play in making laws. “When you are part of a corporate body, it is not just about the me or all the individual mes,” said Rabbi Dunner. “It’s about action, showing a deference to a system which preceded the me in me and which will last beyond the me which is me.” Rabbi Brous disagreed and compared tradition to a scaffolding and said that we should not be too caught up in details and must remember its purpose. “The problem I think emerges when we become so focused on

the details of the scaffolding that we forget that the scaffolding was territory.” Rabbi Brous criticized some of Israel’s behavior. put in place in order to hold and make place for something holy to “We are risking undermining our own existence by some of our emerge,” said Rabbi Brous. Instead, Rabbi Brous said that communities must balance tradi- behaviors in Israel and this is something that the Jewish community in America is complicit in,” said Rabbi Brous. “We don’t stand up tional rituals as well as moral action. “There are communities that are obsessed with moral action and and speak up enough insisting that there is in fact a Jewish way to communities that are obsessed with ritual action, but we’ve com- engage our neighbors, a Jewish way to engage in war.” Rabbi Kanefsky answered the question by explaining the difpletely forgotten that our tradition holds and calls for and demands ferent views on Israel that Religious Zionists can have. He said from us the marriage of these two.” that it may be looked at as a Rabbi Kligfeld took a gift that we must be thankful stance in the middle and for regardless of size, or it can said why it is not just one be looked at as the land that way or the other. is rightfully Jewish, according “If we pass something to the Torah. which is brittle, its going “If the day were to arrive to break by the time the when there was a sufficient third person touches it,” reason to believe that a Palsaid Rabbi Kligfeld. “And estinian state or part of the if we pass something malWest Bank could be a trusted leable and soft it’s going ally and partner, rather than a to have everyone’s finger source of aggression, if such prints on it, its going to a day were to arrive, the rehave the bouquet, stench ligious Zionist community and the imperfections would oppose it and the reaand the canonized missons they would oppose it is takes of everyone who BP Photo By Alec fields that that supports the messihas touched it from Sinai until now.” AFTER THOUGHT: Rabbi Brous of Ikar chatting after the Shalhevet Institute event. anic view of Religious Zionism.” Rabbi Kanefsky Although an audience thought that halacha sometimes needs to change and said that it is improper to use tradi- question and answer period was scheduled, there was time for only one question due to the lateness of the hour. The event did not tion by itself to say that something is disallowed. “Mesora when the term is appropriately understood, appropri- conclude until close to 10:00 p.m. that night. In his opening remarks, Rabbi Schwarzberg explained his goal ately used, doesn’t mean it can’t be right,” said Rabbi Kanefsky. “When conditions and moral religious considerations change and for the event. “We are trying to create a learning community that seeks serious evolve, so must halacha. That is the substance of mesora.” Near the end of the evening, Rabbi Schwarzberg asked whether study of talmud torah, serious study of jewish literature, in a manthere is a correlation between the views of liberal Jews and left-wing ner that allows for ideas, conversation and religious meaning,” said Rabbi Schwarzberg. Zionists, and conservative Jews and right-leaning Zionists. During the debate, Rabbi Kligfeld praised the event. Rabbi Dunner spoke first and offered his personal views on the “I think these are the nights that are the harbingers of the messtate of Israel. “My primary concern as a Jew is the preservation of the Jewish sianic era,” said Rabbi Kligfeld. nation and Judaism,” said Rabbi Dunner. “I don’t see how concessions to Palestinians can allow for a Jewish nation to exist in that

Project Simcha brightens students’ days one poster at a time By ZEV FRANKEL, Staff Writer “Wow these are adorable! “called out junior Sarah Yadagari, spotting some new flyers hanging in the second-floor hallway opposite the lockers Nov. 11. The 8 ½ -by-11 inch signs with encouraging messages like “God blessed us with water in this desert of Los Angeles (and we didn’t hit a rock) -- Appreciate the water,” the flyers were the were spread throughout in the hallways as students bustled out of their first-period classes that day. It was the third year of a “Project Simcha,” an annual undertaking by Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Derek Gormin’s senior Jewish Philosophy class with a goal of spreading happiness – simcha – through the student body, and eventually positively affecting the world at large. The mitzvah of spreading joy, Rabbi Gormin explained, has a ripple effect. “Learning to understand simcha in order to make ourselves and our communities happier, can potentially lead to a spreading of happiness worldwide,” said Rabbi Gormin.

Affixed to walls in hallways and classrooms, the posters contained messages that reminded students about things they could appreciate or do for others to be happier. This year’s initiative began with the senior class exploring the Jewish view of happiness through sources ranging from Tanach to the essays of modern-day scholars. One group used a quote from the Rambam’s Hilchot Lulav: “The happiness that comes from performing mitzvot, and the love of God, Who commanded us to do the mitzvot, are great forms of service to God.” Another group used a quote from Psalm 100: “Serve the Eternal with gladness, come before Him with joyous singing.” A poster in the Music Room read, “We have so many talented singers in the school and this is the one place that they can all come together; Tehillim 100-2 states ‘Serve the eternal with glad-

BP Drawing by Shannon Assis

ness come before him with joyous singing.’ Appreciate our choir! #Projetsimcha” A poster in the main hallway called for students to take a moment to complete three steps based on the suggestions of both Rabbi Noach Wineberg and Rabbi Yitzhak Berkowitz of Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem: Step one: what am I thankful for? Step two: why am I thankful for that? Step three, how can I show my appreciation? And another encouraged students to help each other after a spate of accidents resulting in several students on

crutches. “For some reason,” the poster stated, “our school has lots of kids who have hurt themselves,

Rambam says that happiness comes from performing mizvot. Take a second to ask someone if they need help with something.” The drought poster referenced Rabbi Berkowitz’s environmental views. “Rabbi Yitzhak Berkowitz says God created a beautiful world and we should take joy from it,” it stated. The students seemed, well, happy with the posters. Sophomore Jonah Sanders said it was “a nice thing that brightens everyone’s day.” Rabbi Gormin thought the project had succeeded in making a point. “Judaism is about action; and our learning should result in stronger actions towards the betterment of our world.” Rabbi Gormin said. When the posters came down on Dec. 25, he was philosophical. “If our class was able to make one person smile when they were having a tough day, which I know they did many times over, I know that the entire project was worth it,” Rabbi Gormin said.

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Arts & Culture

JANUARY 2016

GUESTS: Choirhawks posed outside the Jewish Community High School of the Bay in downtown San Fransisco, where they sang at lunch.

Road trip takes Choirhawks north to spread Jewish a capella on its first-ever Chanukah concert tour By LUCY FRIED, Staff Writer

BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

For several hours, the choir waited on the side of the road on They started with John Legend’s “All of Me,” and then added the I-5 North of Los Banos before a truck arrived and professionals “Al Hanissim.” “We all bunched together and it was so cool, and we had a huge began the repair. A hydraulic press was used to lift the back of the On the morning of Thursday, Dec. 3, the Choirhawks performed at Town Hall wearing loose sweatpants, hats, and casual crowd, and they were all clapping, asking us to do another one,” bus off of the ground, and then the tire was replaced with a durable said freshman Abby Blumofe. “It was probably the best thing that one in a process that lasted approximately 20 minutes. T-shirts, in clear violation of the school dress code. The mishap delayed the group by four hours, but statistics show In spite of this, a few minutes after they finished, music teacher happened on the trip.” On Saturday night, the choir surprised pedestrians with flash that the situation could have been much worse. and choir director Mrs. Joelle Keene received a text message from According to Standavislaw.com, tire mobs at Ghiradelli Square and Pier 39, Principal Reb Noam Weissman. blowouts cause over 400 deaths per year. though crowds were smaller. “Holy lord that was amazing!!!!!!” A lot of people were recording us, they all The group davened and ate their Students said there was no sign that the The group was dressed this way due to the fact that they were stood up and clapped and then after we tire from the Shalhevet bus damaged any on the brink of their first-ever choir performance tour, for which meals at the Orthodox congregation were done they all came to talk to us. other vehicles, but the annual number of they would board s bus to the Northern California as they walked Emek Beracha near their hotel, and then accidents caused by tire blowouts sums up out the door that morning. Their tour took them to San Francisco, walked more than a mile to the conser--Emily Schoen, 10th grade vative Kol Emeth where they gave their to 78,000. Oakland, Marin County and Palo Alto over four days. Mrs. Keene said that while the unexLoose sweats are allowed during long-distance transportation, biggest performance of the trip on Satpectedly extended ride back was difficult at but the performance hadn’t been planned. The group was supposed urday afternoon. to leave an hour earlier, but because of the terrorist attack in San At Kol Emeth the Choirhawks gave a 45-minute tour through the time, the experience will not prevent the choir from embarking Bernardino the day before, security guard Walter Morales was called Jewish a capella, performing their entire repertoire, each song in- on long driving trips in the future. It also provided the opportunity for another flashmob. Mr. Mothat morning as a last-minute extra chaperone. That delayed the troduced by a student-read dvar Torah or explanation of how it rales befriended an officer of the California Highway Patrol, who Choirhawks’ departure until a few minutes after Town Hall began. represented the genre. Senior Jake Benyowitz, who has been a Choirhawk for four When they were fiinshed, the group received a standing ovation drove to his station and came back with gallon-sized containers of years, had the idea for a trip last year after being inspired by a visit to from a capacity crowd in the shul’s sanctuary, along with calls of water for the students to drink. The Choirhawks crammed to the Shalhevet from a touring Jewish high school choir from New York, “Encore!” In response, members of last year’s group sang “I See front of the bus and sang “All Of Me.” The students expressed appreciation for the security that Mr. “Last year, Ramaz High School from New York came out here Fire.” Then came more requests for an album or EP. Morales provided. on a trip like this,” Jake said. “We sat down with Reb Noam, and “This was so much better than going to New York,” Mrs. Keene “Having someone else be there to just make sure everything was San Francisco came out of the idea, and we just made it happen.” said later. “The audiences were so appreciative, because they never With 30 students this year – the most ever for Shalhevet’s choir hear this kind of thing up there. Jewish a capella is really common okay and going well felt good,” said junior Eli Greenberg. “Just -- the choir was also accompanied on the trip by Admissions Direc- on the East Coast, but you could tell it was really new to the com- knowing that nothing was going to happen and if something did, we were safe with Walter.” tor Mrs. Natalie Weiss and Judaic Studies teacher Ms. Ilana Wilner. munities in the Bay Area.” The San Bernardino shooting left 14 people dead and 21 injured, Reb Weissman’s reaction was a taste of things to come. AudiShe said the trip led also to a greater sense of unity between and several parents jittery about the groups plans. Mrs. Keene said ences seemed enthusiastic at every stop. members of the choir. At Oakland Hebrew Day School and at the Jewish Commu“We had never had that much concentrated time together, and three parents mentioned this in emails the night before they left. Mr. Morales, a former LA County Sheriff’s deputy, was glad to nity High School of the Bay in downtown San Francisco, the sing- people who didn’t know each other very well before know each ers were approached by students and teachers wondering where to other better,” Mrs. Keene said have made the trip. “Having any measures that I know from my training experience, find the choir’s iTunes album. The Choirhawks “Choral music is partly chemistry, and trying to assess the situation, helped out in letting the kids haven’t made one yet, but Mrs. Keene said that and I think we got our chemistry to I felt like I was in a legitimate choir that know that I was there for their safety and for any other issues that they were hoping to record one as soon as next a level beyond where it even would was performing, and I think that we reprethey had,” said Mr. Morales. month. have been by the end of the year.” sented Shalhevet very well. At 8 p.m., the choir arrived safely back at Shalhevet, and stu“A lot of people were recording us, they all There was, however, one bump dents departed quickly to light their first Chanukah candles. The stood up and clapped, and then after we were -Micha Thau, 11th Grade in the road. On Sunday, the choir choir’s first annual was described by many as a tradition worth condone they all came to talk to us,” said sophogot back on the bus planning to armore Emily Schoen. rive back at Shalhevet at around 4 tinuing. “The choir trip was pretty incredible,” said junior Micha Thau. The group sang a mix of Chanukah, Israeli, pm., in time to observe the beginning of Chanukah that night. But ing, Jewish and pop a capella, mostly songs they’d performed before, on the I-5 North of Los Banos, with about three hours left in the “I felt like I was in a legitimate choir that was performand I think that we represented Shalhevet which this year’s 15 new members learned in just a few weeks bus ride, the outer back left tire of their bus blew out. before departure. They sang “Maoz Tzur,” “Mi Yemalel” and “Al “Suddenly, the bus slowed down and went to the side of the very well.” Hanissim” for Chanukah, along with “Y’hei Lecha,” “Shir Hae- highway,” said sophomore Daniel Lorrell “Some people said they Staff writer Aidel mek,” “Adom Olam” (“Cups” version),” “I See Fire,” “I Won’t Give had seen the tire fly into the air behind them.” Townsley contributed to Up,” and “All of Me,” the order depending on the event. On their way to Palo Alto for Shabbat, the group made a sightAccording to the National Safety Council, tire blowouts are gen- this report. seeing detour to cross the Golden Gate Bridge, disembarking at a erally the result of low air pressure in a tire, an overloaded vehicle, public viewing area on the north end with a spectacular view of or damaged tires. the bridge and the city. There they performed a spontaneous flash “It was a full blowout,” said junior Yaakov Sobel. “The rubber mob, at the request of Ms. Natalie Weiss who was going to miss one completely disconnected from the mesh wiring, and we started seeplanned for after Shabbat. ing pieces of rubber flying through the air.”

The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Arts & Culture

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Ninth-grade ballerina twirls into four-minute role in Moscow Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ By Hannah jannol, Staff Writer Going to sleep at midnight on a regular basis is not a rare event for most Shalhevet students, but try doing so after four rigorous hours of jazz, tap and ballet. This is no rarity for freshman Adira Waldman, who performed in The Moscow Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Wiltern Theater on Dec. 20 and 21. Adira has been doing gymnastics since she was six. When it took up too much time and she realized she was interested in the arts, she began practicing ballet, tap and jazz when she was nine. Since then she has danced in three performances, the 2014 and 2015 Nutcracker with the Moscow Ballet, and a recital at the end of an intensive ballet training program in the summer of 2015. Last year, Adira danced the Nutcracker role of a Russian dancer — a 45-second dance — but this year, she had a primary, four-minute dance duet, in the famous “Danse Arab,” also called the Arabian. “It’s a twist on ballet,” Adira said in an interview after a practice Dec. 6. “In the piece we put our hands behind our head, and that’s not usually done in ballet. The shapes you make with your body are more abstract — for example we go down in to the splits at one point, which you wouldn’t do in a ballet dance.” The split is the most unconventional part, she said, as well as the most challenging. Adira and her dance partner must slide slowly into the splits and from there transition to dance moves performed on the floor of the stage. Those moves were the ones most heavily critiqued by her teacher, Jill Collins, at the second-to-last practice before the performance. “Turn out your legs!” she instructed the two ballerinas at the commencement of the piece.

“Shift, but don’t shift too much,” Ms. Collins said as they glided into their splits. “Be in sync with one another, but dance on your own,” she said later. These instructions and practices were weekly for Adira, who rehearsed for the Nutcracker every Sunday beginning in mid-October at the Penny Lane dance academy in Sherman Oaks. Ms. Collins learned the dances during a week of training with one of the Moscow ballerinas. The Sunday practices were the only ones Adira had aside from one rehearsal with the profes-

She began practicing ballet, tap and jazz when she was nine years old. sional Moscow ballerinas on the day of the first performance, Dec. 20. Coordinating all this with high school turns out to be difficult for the teacher, too. “The hardest part would be [that] because these dancers are from different schools, we have dancers from all over the Los Angeles area that are coming together,” Ms. Collins said in an interview. “That’s been the hardest thing, to train the dancers as a group when they just met each other.” Adira was one of five high school students in the ballet. The others were mostly elementary schoolers with smaller parts. She found out about this dance opportunity from her teacher Anat Stigers, who knew the Moscow Ballet company was recruiting in the Los Angeles area. Recruitments are conducted by professional ballerinas from Russia who are a part of the company’s “Dance With Us” program, which has recruited an estimated 50,000 student dancers over the past 2 decades, according to their website. There were three performances,

two Dec. 20 and one on the 21st, all at the Wiltern Theater on Wilshire Boulevard near Rossmore. They were two hours long with a 20-minute intermission. In the days leading up to the performance, Adira said she was nervous, but more excited than anything else because this year she knew what to expect. The Arabian, or “Danse Arabe,” occurs when the prince, previously the “nutcracker” takes Clara, the prima ballerina, to the Land of Peace and Harmony. The two are welcomed with dances from international emissaries, each piece personifying and representing their country. In the American version of The Nutcracker, each diplomat represents a delicacy from a country, from the Arabian is coffee. But in the Moscow version the dancers are supposed to personify the culture and beauty of the region their dance is from. The Moscow ballerinas who danced in the middle of the stage created a perfect “Arabian” visual, with exciting spins, and enticing leaps. On opposite sides of the stage, Adira and her dance partner, Rena Pearl, complimented the Russian dancers with what appeared to be a more American version of the dance, personifying coffee. Adira and Rena quite literally embodied the entire experience of drinking coffee. At different points in the dance the ballerinas pretended to pour cups of coffee and then twirled their hands upward, wafting the steam and scent of the coffee toward themselves. Slow and graceful yet unconventional moves such as these were perfect accompaniment for its musical score written by Tchaikovsky. Despite being a Western romantic piece, it has an extracted Middle Eastern feel to it. To match the music and the dance, the outfits for the Arabian were straight out of Disney’s Aladdin, with baggy pants and a simple top. Performing in The Nutcracker was a huge opportunity for Adira, not only because of The

DANCER: Freshman Adira Waldman poses in fifth position at a dance recital last year. Moscow Ballet’s prestige, but because of the dates of the performances - Sunday and Monday, and no Saturdays. “When I first found out about this opportunity it was crazy that nothing was on Saturday, that was a first,” Adira said. Adira added she has had to give up multiple opportunities in dance because of the conflict with Shabbat. For example, in 7th grade she couldn’t join a jazz and tap team because all the competitions and conventions were on Saturdays. “It was one of the hardest non-decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Adira said. The following year she attended half of a dance convention, whereas everyone else went on Saturday and Sunday. Because of the convenience of the Moscow Ballet’s The Nutcracker, Adira says she hopes to keep performing in it through out high school. BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

Mixing nostalgia and ambition, ‘Star Wars’ awakens the Force By AARON SILVERSTEIN, Staff Writer Audience members settled into their seats and the movie theater lights turned off. As the screen displayed a starry background, the Star Wars logo appeared, and the iconic theme composed by the legendary John Williams queued, slightly altered but familiar enough to raise excitement for a diverse crowd of adolescents, middle-aged men and even a couple of elderly folk, some dressed in Star Wars-themed costumes and T-shirts. Then, as the opening scroll of text revealed itself, the fully occupied theater broke into applause. It was obvious to everyone that this would be more than a routine blockbuster. In its opening week, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was to be an experience on a galactic scale. Three decades later both in reallife production and in the canonical universe of the original series, the ubiquitously heralded science-fiction adventure is adequately infused with nostalgic elements that pay homage to the original and prequel trilogies. Yet it still stands on its own as a independent sequel worthy of watching in the theater, then at home, again and again. It starts off with a brand new character — Pilot Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac -- executing an important mission for the Resistance to fight The First Order, the primary antagonist.

her home planet -- to which He is aided by Rae (Daisy Ridshe was determined to return ley), a lowly scrap scavenger, -- and impossibly unleashes Finn (John Boyega), a former her Force potential far too storm trooper who is lost in his quickly. When communicatown identity, and the lovable ing with other characters, she droid BB-8, along with returnsometimes seems less dediing actors reprising their roles, cated to her character’s intenamong them Harrison Ford’s tions or conflicts than to the Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s needs of the plot. Hopefully Princess Leia. subsequent episodes will fully Most of these personalities realize the new cast of characare dynamic and their characters on both the light and the ters develop throughout the dark side. course of the film, letting view But whatever its flaws or ers connect and empathize with unsupported plot lines, as the them as their stories play out. credits rolled the film’s am Director J.J. Abrams not bitious ending left me cravonly caters to loyal fans with reing more. Many questions turning characters and a living, remained unanswered, from human cast, but also delivers the origins of key characters a stellar blend of practical and BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu and the actual meaning becomputer-generated effects. hind the awakening of the The atmosphere of desert trade STAR WARS: The Force Awakens is filled with action, suspense, and dazzling special effects. Force motif. Indeed, these and towns on the planet of Jakku other unknowns may infuriate feels authentic with robots and closing circles reminiscent of previous first Star Wars movie, A New Hope. various non-human characters bus- trilogies. Perhaps this is needed to connect the some, and resonate with others – while tling in real-life sets. Moreover, in between the laser rebirth of the franchise with defin- almost certainly providing intriguing material for future episodes to explore. The size and scope of spaceship blasts and unknown alien languag- ing Star Wars tropes. One certainty is that the ying-yang battles are epic and awe-inspiring, es, Star Wars is chock full of witty writAlmost all of the characters’ stothanks to appropriately used com- ten dialogue, which complements an ry arcs follow the cookie-cutter tem- themes of the Force are essential buildputer generated effects. The camera adventurous, fun storyline that exceeds plate of the hero’s journey, which ing blocks of any Star Wars film. With cuts from cockpit to cockpit during most expectations of Star Wars fans makes the new film feel much like its a galactic fusion of old and new effects, intense dogfights and chases, adding and critics. predecessors. However, the prominent plot tropes and cast, The Force Awakan almost 3-D sense of immersion for This film is not without it’s flaws, heroine Rey is interesting and lik- ens upholds its mantle as a worthy the viewer. All accompanied with rip though they’re few in number. There is able, though she suffers from having genesis for an ambitious trilogy, and breathes new life into the beloved Star roaring sound design and scene tran- a vast consensus that the backbone of no apparent flaws. sitions such as soft screen swipes and the plot is very similar to that of the Rey feels no conflict over leaving Wars franchise.

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A NEW STAGE By HANNAH JANNOL, Staff Writer

An 18-year-old stares intently at a letter from his parent’s dream college, UC Berkeley. An ultra-orthodox mother tells her ambitious daughter she cannot go to college at all. A 43-year-old comic bombs on stage with cheesy jokes. A 14-year-old girl throws off a translucent mask that symbolizes her toxic inner voice. And Amelia Earhart bursts through a time transportation portal to be with a man born 400 years after her death. These are just a few of the student-written scenes from last month’s fall theater production, You Do You, held Dec. 17, 20 and 21 in the new Wildfire Theater, located behind the auditorium and sharing its reversible stage. The unifying theme this year was “forging identity,” but it could also have been identity struggle -- considering that Drama last year had to struggle with no stage, renting one in the fall and using a home as a stage in the spring. Also, the annual Festival of One-acts is usually produced in the spring, but this year it was moved to fall semester. So You Do You was thus a defining moment for both Shalhevet and its drama program -- and in the end didn’t struggle at all. Arriving in its new permanent home, this year’s fall mainstage production continued the line of great plays from before it and set a worthy standard for what will likely be seen there in the future. Institutional implications aside, forging identity is both a universal struggle and one that is most pertinent to teenagers. That made it a natural choice for this year’s student writers. The first play, “Art For Art’s Sake,” written by junior Tania Bohbot, introduced two 18-year-old aspiring artists, Wyatt and Hermes, were played by senior Eitan Schramm and junior Ezra Fax, respectively. Hermes must fulfill his family’s dreadful

legacy of studying law at UC Berkeley, but he and Wyatt have dreams of painting the walls of Europe after high school. Wyatt tries to convince Hermes to defer his acceptance to Berkeley, while Hermes explains the predicament of telling his parents he doesn’t want to study la.w Acting in their first roles, Eitan and Ezra depicted two polarized best friends whose argument presented both sides of a common dilemma: passion vs. practicality. Ezra perfectly embodied the over-pressured high schooler with constant armcrosses and agitated tugging at his burgundy beanie. Eitan was the laid-back artist, stuttering casual yet defensive sentences about his lack of a plan for after high school, alternative friend groups, and rumored drug use.

ONE ACTS

In the next play, the character of Esther had the opposite ambition in sophomore Aviva Katz’s “Going Out The Door.” When the Haredi but academically ambitious Esther, played by Hannah Merritt, tries to trick her mother in to signing a parental agreement form for the PSAT, the pair begins an argument as together they set the table for Shabbat. Comments from the mother, played by freshman Donna Grunfeld, such as “It’s a woman’s role to raise the family and cook the food,” and “After seminary, you’ll be shidduched [matched] with a nice Jewish man with a good job,” provoked laughter from the audience. Although it seemed like a distant dilemma for Modern Orthodox girls at Shalhevet, it’s apparently not so far-fetched other communities. Aviva said she’d been inspired by a situation with a friend of hers in Sherman Oaks. “Her parents were frum and wanted her to go to seminary and get married,” Aviva said in an interview. “Now they’re open to the idea of her going to college, but I remember when we were younger that was more of a struggle for her.” Aviva said she likes to write about people she knows. Perhaps that’s why the Hebrew and Yiddish dialect brought the play’s characters to life without creating caricatures or vapid stereotypes. Debra does not want Esther to attend college because of immorality and “sin” she participated in when she went to university herself. The one-act tackled an ongoing issue in nearby communities, while still maintaining warmth and even some comedy. When Debra hints to her daughter about what she did in college, Esther garnered laughter from the audience after quipping, “What, you wore pants?” Perhaps the most intense and serious one-act was a sketch tackling anorexia and body image with an artistic edge. Written by freshman Donna Grunfeld, “Behind Her Mask” featured sophomore

Shana Lunzer as the malicious inner voice of a struggling freshman girl, Jade, played by freshman Gabriela (Gaby) Grunfeld. Wearing a crisp ensemble of beige pleated skirt, brown leather jacket and fashionable knee-high boots, the voice mocks Jade’s outfit choices, weight, height and hair. Shana perfectly personified a destructive self-image, complete with sharp invective, angry hand gestures and vicious condescension. Gaby used fake crying, hurt looks and anxious facial expressions when her balancing bitter inner thoughts and a conversation with her frenemy Stephanie, played by Aviva Katz. For most of the performance, Gaby wore a hard, clear mask, symbolizing her character’s confident but false exterior covering up an insecure emotional interior. The most chilling moment of the performance was when she attempted to stand up to her inner voice. Jade throws off her mask, and the inner voice responds, “This isn’t about your happiness anymore,” and tells her to put it back on. The struggle continues until the lights go out dramatically, leaving the audience to ponder the back-and-forth and wonder who will win.

REVI

In addition to the new theater, the drama program added new technology to its performances with a large projector screen. Videos and graphic designs -- shown between plays while actors set up for the next sketch -- usually anticipated the upcoming one-act while entertaining the audience during 60-second transitions. Preceding “Too Little Too Late,” a quick clip of a comedy routine about bees by Louis C.K amused the audience while actors set up the back room of a bar. In this bar, aspiring middle-aged comedian Isaac, portrayed by freshman Adam Ritz, looks in a mirror to check his appearance before performing for free at a bar where he usually waits tables. His agent, Cole, played by Ezra Fax, quickly motivates Isaac to do his best during his performance. Isaac is booed off stage after telling multiple cheesy puns. Isaac then receives a job offer from his mom to work for his uncle’s real estate firm, but rejects it. After his failed performance, he calls his mother back to accept the offer, but in a comical twist of fate, his cousin has already taken the job. This calamity becomes the inspiration for a genuine and funny comedy routine in which Isaac makes fun of his situation, and the plot unwinds from there along with Isaac’s hopes. Although some of the self-deprecating quips were a bit cliche, their delivery by freshman Adam Ritz made them authentic, and the play movingly portrayed the struggle of aspiring artists and performers of all kinds. Moreover, Isaac’s need to

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Debut for nEW Three p.m., Dec. 20: Shalhevet’s new Wildfire Theater is packed with students, parents, siblings and teachers. Drama Director Ms. Emily Chase stands on the new stage under bright ceiling lights in a space with blackpainted walls, ceiling and floor. Seventy-five minutes of student-written one-acts follow, surrounded by great sets and backed by a giant projector screen. It is hard to imagine that just a few days before, that same space was being banged at irregular intervals by basketballs hitting the other side of its conjoining wall. This is one of a few challenges facing student actors in the new building – though the product they produced didn’t’ seem to show the effects (see related story, this page). Alumnus David Lorell ‘15, who filled in for senior Mati Davis at some performances in this year’s fall production, called the new theater “garagelike.” He said the roll-up metal wall between the stage and the gym provides

almost no soundproofing “The old one was its o vid. The new theater, howe and installed just for the allowed for great sight lin metal wall at the back of t worked as a makeshift ac The wall was hidden with walls, created a centralizi The multi-purpose p gym can also be used as a Athletic Director Eli Schi he found out the perfor

The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Arts & Culture

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IDENTITY CRISES: Clockwise from top; In his acting debut, freshman Adam Ritz plays a low-level comedian contemplating a job change; Mati Davis is a time-traveler from the future clashing in time with Amelia Earhart, played by Hannah Merrit; the whole cast poses in costume with Drama Director Ms. Emily Chase; and Mati holds the remote to a super computer that can warp time.

choose between a good income from a job he hated and a minimum-wage job that let him to do his passion was a great depiction of the struggle that is “forging identity.”

The set’s last one-act, “The Anomaly,” was in fact the maly of the entire production. For one, the “forging iden” theme was not extremely overt, and secondly, the one-act a sci-fi thriller romance. Inspired by Doctor Who and Star k, playwright Eitan Schramm retrieves the real-life 1930s tor Amelia Earhart, whose disappearance while on a worlde flight has never been solved. In the play, Earhart is brought to the future – the year 8 -- because her death is found to be “an anomaly” in the ce-time continuum. When she is in the future with Dimus, trayed by senior Mati Davis (and on some nights, alumnus vid Lorell ’15), the anomaly disappears. Not surprisingly considering the circumstances of her disearance, the character of Amelia, played by freshman HanMerritt, is not just your usual love interest. When thrown ough a time portal with no warning, she demands with auty to be told what is going on. The scene turns from excitto grim when Dimus and his work partner Kell, played sophomore Amin Lari, inform her that back in the 20th tury, she died a mysterious death. Following directions from the mocking Kell, Earhart is put k into the 1930s. But once she is, an oddity suddenly aprs again on a projector screen behind the actors. Through a

second time travel, the characters discover Amelia is meant to be with Dimus, and the one-act ends with the two mysteries solved at once as the pair smiles at one another. Any romantic sappiness in the play was offset by the cynicism and sarcasm of Kell as portrayed by Amin Lari. Initially cast as Dimus, Amin said he himself realized he was better fit for a more sarcastic role and the switch was made. This decision created the perfect balance between a romantic and optimistic Dimus, and a mocking Kell. Dimus was played by senior Mati Davis and sometimes by David Lorell ‘15, who understudied the role due to an emergency in the Davis family. Despite the short notice he was given, David proved a great replacement, having starred in drama productions through out high school and acting locally since graduating. Freshman Hannah Merritt was an excellent and talented match to a seasoned thespian such as David Lorell on the night The Boiling Point was there. The stage has a dedicated and significant space in the Wildfire Theater, which is painted black and has a sign on the door, a catwalk, and a new ceiling light system. Although it has its limitations -- such as a shared metal wall with the basketball court that makes afterschool practice noisy -- it worked as an intimate and practical place for the fall performance. It’s also a contemporary room, which is now united with the rest of the campus.

W WILDFIRe tHEATRE

g. own tiny little cozy universe of a theater,” said Da-

ever, has eight more seats. Though they were rented run of the play, they were tiered, comfortable and nes. The acoustics in the room were also good. The the stage, although a shortcoming during rehearsal, coustic shell which reflected sound to the audience. h black drapes, which alongside the theater’s black ing visual effect while also preventing echo. positioning of the stage, which is reversible so the an assembly space, affects Firehawk athletics as well. iff said he had to reschedule basketball games when rmance dates. A few practices were cancelled, and

others were moved to a different time or location. “However, I’ve also had to cancel practices and games for various other events -- SATs, Open House, Back To School Night, Shalhevet Institute, rentals,” Mr. Schiff said, adding that Facilities Director Lili Einalhori was helping with the problem. “Lili and I have created a calendar to avoid double-booking the gym.” This year’s actors had other complaints as well. Senior Eitan Schramm said the off-stage area is too small for all the actors to fit in at once, and David Lorell said the ceiling was too low for good lighting. Others just still feel attached to the old theater. Junior Ezra Fax felt the old theater was more personal, and created a feeling of ownership among drama students because no one else used it. Detached from the school building, it also had more space, a deeper stage and velvet curtains, and gave many an impression that they were inside

BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

a real theater, even though it was previously “an old, decrepit storage room” according to Ms. Chase. Ms. Chase said it was still too soon to evaluate the new theater because it was still “in the process of being birthed.” She said the school plans on adding a lighting grid and installing speakers permanently, which would be very helpful to student productions. “Eventually they hope to install permanent, flexible seating, a lighting booth and other features,” Ms. Chase said. But despite any defects the theater may have currently, most flaws hopefully will be resolved over time – except perhaps for the basketball problem. At the end of the day, it is not the stage or the theater that makes a play, but the actors and the writers -- two things at Shalhevet Drama that are as strong as ever. --Hannah Jannol

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FEATURES

PERSONALITY: Models at last month’s fashion show said organizers had dressed them in clothes they would actually wear.

JANUARY 2016

Fashion club steps out onto the runway By MAAYAN WALDMAN, Community Editor Rebecca navon, Staff Writer Seventeen student models walked down a runway one by one Dec. 13 when the Fashion Club’s sponsored its first-ever “Tzniut Can Be Cute” fashion show for women only in the Shalhevet gym, raising about $500 for the National Council of Jewish Women. Tzniut means modesty, and all outfits were dress-code appropriate. “Especially going to a school with a tzniut dress code, we wanted to show that tzniut can in fact be cute no matter where you are going.” said co-founder Gaby Benelyahu. “Whether it’s school or a party, you can still look tzniut and cute at the same time.” The club, which is new this year, was founded by Gaby and fellow junior Sarit Ashkenazi so students could become more educated in the fashion industry and learn to express creativity in new ways. “It is a creative outlet and a place for everyone,” said Sarit. They started with the help of a program sponsored by the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), which offers support and a box of supplies full of activity ideas to high school students running fashion clubs across the country. Most meetings have been at lunch with guest speakers from the fashion industry. The fashion show was the club’s first event outside of school hours. It attracted a mix of students, prospective students, moms and teachers, who spent the first hour buying skirts, scarves, jewelry and other merchandise from various vendors at the show. They also took pictures in a photo booth and sipped on iced tea and lemonade.

Guests were encouraged to bring clothes to donate to the National Council of Jewish Women, and several bags of clothes were donated. Tickets were $5 for students and $18 for adults, After an hour, the fashion show began, led by model Michelle Greenberg, a junior who wore a pink long-sleeved shirt, a black jacket with sparkles on the back, a black pencil skirt, and black booties. A black curtain behind the runway perpendicular to the stage hid the other models until it was their turn to go. The audience, was seated on both sides of the runway, which led out from the stage at the front end of the gym. Guests clapped as Michelle walked down, posed, and turned back. Michelle was followed by the other models and a finale in which all of the models walked down together. Sarit and Gaby told the Boiling Point that they tried to help the models feel comfortable on the runway, selecting outfits that would showcase their personalities and make them feel more confident. “When Sarit and Gaby saw the fringe jacket I ended up wearing, they immediately thought of me, and how I’m into funky clothes like that, so they assigned it to me,” freshman model Eva Suissa said. Other models were juniors Maya Golan, Gabby Ohana, Dana Alkoby, Maya Rosen, Jessica Dawoody, Emily Schoen, Sarina Finn, Danielle

Photo Courtesy of Natalie Levy

Mandel, and Michaela Somekh, Ayala Chocron, Jackie Faerstein, Ariella Sassover and Elinore Kerendian. All of the clothing worn by the models was available for purchase after the show, and the Karen Michelle items were sold at a 40 percent discount. People bought infinity scarves by Zanahoria Designs, motivational fitness jewelry by FashionFit, and authentic Persian jewelry from Nonatalie Jewelry, created by Natalie Weiss, Director of Admissions. The show’s profits of over $1000 were split between the National Council of Jewish Women and the fashion club. The new club met two to three times a month during the fall semester, and has had a number of guest appearances. Both girls and boys attend meetings. “It is not weird for a guy to go to a fashion club, especially now that guys’ fashion is so big,”

said junior Nathan Benyowitz, who has attended two meetings. Eliana Jalali, a YouTube makeup artist, spoke to the club about her experiences in the makeup industry Sept. 17 and gave recommendations for different makeup brands and products. “What I took away from this meeting was that it’s really nice to just enjoy make up as opposed to using it impress other people,” said freshman Ariella Sassover. “She inspired me to be more creative with make up.” The club also hosted Isabel Iny, the owner of a jewelry making business, and Arielle Worona, a TV producer and blogger who taught students how to draw watercolor lipsticks and start a blog. Gaby and Sarit are already thinking of projects and ideas for second semester. They plan to invite the owner of BCBG Max Azria to speak to the club, and possibly arrange for the club to get a factory tour of BCBG.

BP Photos By Gabby Benelyahu

Graphic design by Tara Chriki

Shalhevet’s dress code allows for freedom of expression and unique styles. Each student tailors every outfit to fit his or her individual personality. But even with diversity, certain trends pop up at school every day. This season, get out your flannels and sweaters, your booties and Sperry’s, and your pleated skirts and tzitzit. Enter junior Rayna Wasserman and senior Boaz Willis who make these trends, well, trendy.

The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Features

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FAVORITISM: Poll shows most Shalhevet students think it exists, but few think there’s anything to be done P

playing on. There’s no grass, only dirt. Every time you run, you kick rincipal Reb Noam Weissman said that dealing with disup a cloud of dust that others breathe in.” ciplinary consequences as principal, he had never seen an By contrast, flag football teams play at LACES, 1.2 miles from instance when some students were punished for something other explain. While unfairness in grades would be considered the most serious school, and Firehawk baseball and tennis teams both play in nearby students were exonerated for. “From my perspective, having dealt with students in grades, plaform of favoritism, it was not mentioned as frequently in the poll Cheviot Hills. Mr. Schiff said the soccer location was the best option available giarism, disciplinary action, I feel as though, from my perception as publicity and school leadership, with co-curriculars coming in after school that had lights. that there is no favoritism,” Reb Weissman said. third. “That was the closest one I can get after hours that was avail“If it’s the case that students really feel that one of those three Out of the 80 students who said favoritism did exist, 54 said they had seen or experienced favoritism in which students are se- able,” said Mr. Schiff. “AYSO and other local groups use the [local] things are not treated equitably, than I really want to address that, fields until 9 or 10 at night. We could in theory play at 1or 2, but but I haven’t experienced it.” lected to lead things. Reb Weissman also said favoritism was a serious issue a few years Several cited an incident last May, when school officials invited a then we’d miss more school.” Moreover, Mr. Schiff deals with logistics for all sports that go on ago when the administration was less conscious of it. At that time, group of now-seniors to a private meeting, asking them to convince the grade to postpone prom until after graduation this year. (Prom trips, such as the Loma Linda Tournament for football and Columbus trip traditionally takes place late May or early June.) Do you believe that favoritism exists at Shalhevet? Students not invited to the meeting complained that the school for baseball – not just the basketball hand-picked some students to be leaders in a matter that involves team. One senior complained that the the entire grade. Ultimately, the administration apologized. Nicole Newman was among those who protested. She said the administration even watches more basketball games than that of any othadministration responded well and she appreciated their apology. “My reaction to them pulling away a select few – which I heard er sport. The Boiling Point could not from the people that were chosen were called the ‘official unofficial substantiate that claim. But other students went out of leaders’ of our grade – made me furious,” Nicole said. “They were telling these few kids that they mattered more than the rest of the their way to deny that the school fakids in our grade. Not by elections or anything fair like that but vors the basketball team – knowing instinctively, perhaps, that others because they saw them as leaders.” In the end, she and other students interested were included in would allege it. They noted that many the talks. However, her feelings were hurt and she considered it an people benefit from the gym, includSource: BP Poll of 97 Students, December 2015 ing P.E. classes and the girls’ volleyball instance of favoritism. “We other kids were seen as less important,” she said. “We con- team. he said, “we had younger administrators in terms of years of expe“One example of non-favoritism is the basketball court,” one rience.” stantly see favoritism in the school. It’s sometimes hard to see the sophomore wrote in the poll. “People think it’s because they favor line. In this case there was no running from the truth.” “We were very close and friendly with some students. Those Principal Reb Noam Weissman acknowledged that it was a mis- the basketball team but it is also for school wide assemblies and students never had any unfair advantage, but we were much friendtake. He sent a quick email to six different students who he believed normal people playing. It is also more practical [to have] than other lier with those students, and when you see a principal have such a were in leadership positions, and did not realize how that may come stuff like a soccer field.” close relationship with that student, you feel there’s something not Drama director Ms. Emily Chase warned against comparing fair to that. across to other students. “I realized how that was perceived by others and I genuinely co-curriculars in s competitive way. “We’ve grown as an institution,” he said. “We were made aware “Each co-curricular has unique needs,” said Ms. Chase. “Shal- of it and changed our disposition and behavior so as not to give apologized for it,” Reb Weissman said. “I’m not asking for accolades for the fact that I genuinely apologized, but it deserves to be hevet kids have a wide range of talents, and it’s in the entire school that perception.” recognized that my apology was genuine. I felt I made a mistake community’s best interest for all the co-curricular activities to In any case, most students polled still do not see favoritism as an thrive. It’s not a competition.” and I owned up to it.” issue needing to be solved, either because they do not think there is a solution or because they answered that it does not actually exist. The poll also asked whether allegations of favoritism should be ifty-three out of 80 students polled checked “school publicthers polled brought up subjectivity in grading and particity” as another example of favoritism at Shalhevet. Students ipation points and said teachers are more lenient toward addressed through the Just Community. For reasons having to do who have been picked to be “student ambassasome students than others. Twenty-eight people thought with the layout of the poll papers, not all of those who thought dors” to eighth-grade applicants or this week’s favoritism appeared in grades, and 21 said they’d seen it in favoritism exists answered that question. But of those who did, 48 percent said they were in agreement fundraising phone-a-thon are often the same classroom activities and assignments. ones featured in the school’s in social media, Some student-teacher relationships would naturally with the statement: “Favoritism is natural and occurs in many insuch as promotional videos or the annual calbe closer than others. While that by itself would not be stitutions. Shalhevet is no different and there is nothing we should considered favoritism, some said it leads to preferential do about it.” “You will never find a school or situation where there is no fatreatment. Sophomore Rosie Wolkind said there can be a thin voritism,” one sophomore wrote in the poll. “If there is no favoritWhere do you see favoritism? line between being close with teachers and being favored. ism, then there is [sic] no human attributes to those interactions.” Ultimately, while the administration does not believe there is Most relationships, she said, originate when students stay favoritism, Reb Noam hopes students will speak up when they do. to chat with teachers after class. “You can never tell someone how to feel about something,” Reb “While most people believe that favoritism affects grades, I believe it is more commonly reflected in the Weissman said. “It’s all an internal reaction, and whether or not classroom dynamic, which has worse effects than grades,” they are right.” said Rosie. “A teacher will call on a person more often, or have a back and forth conversation between just them and the student. Reprimand one student for arriving late but just letting someone else get to their seats quietly.” It hurt our feelings because we other Teachers’ efforts to combat this impression may not kids were seen as less important. even be successful. AP Psychology teacher Mrs. Tove SunWe constantly see favoritism in the shine said psychological studies have shown that teachers school, It’s sometimes hard to see the naturally show preference to some students even if they line. In this case there was no running try to conceal it. from the truth. “When adults and teens were shown a video of just a teacher’s face and voice as she interacted with an unseen Nicole Newman student, or just listened to a tape of the teacher’s voice Source: BP Poll of 97 Students, December 2015 for only 10 seconds,” Mrs. Sunshine said in an interview, “they were able, with fair accuracy, to determine whether or not the teacher liked the student.” endar, they alleged. Senior Josh Joffe described seeing this. “I was not allowed to be a student ambassador because I had “I put my arm around [a certain staff member] and he aggresworn a short skirt, but another [male] student who had a piercing You can never tell someone how to sively told me to take it off,” Josh said. “But I have seen other stuis?!?” wrote one junior. feel about something. It’s all an internal Others see different treatment of co-curriculars -- namely, a dif- dents do that in the same environment and he put his arm around reaction, and whether or not they are ference in budgeting and other kinds of attention directed toward them back.” right. Another senior made a similar observation in the poll. the boys varsity basketball team. Twenty-seven students polled saw “Certain teachers and admin converse with other students,” that favoritism in co-curriculars, and five students specifically listed the Principal Reb Weissman senior wrote. “But [when] I try to talk to them, they ignore me.” basketball team as an example. When Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg heard that charge, he responded The basketball team has a home-court gym in the school and hosts a tournament, and logistics for its March Sarachek trip are that while faculty needs to be aware if individual students feel this taken care of by Athletic Director Eli Schiff. Before it had its own way, it may not be indicative of very much. “If that’s really a student’s experience here then that’s unfortugym, it practiced at Ohr Eliyahu, 1.6 miles away. By contrast, the soccer team does not travel, and their home nate and something our faculty needs to be more aware of,” Rabbi You will never find a school or field is an hour away in Downey. For half of their practices, they Schwarzberg said. situation where there is no favoritism. “However, it’s really difficult to use individual experience to have no goals to practice shooting on. If there is no favoritism, then there “We’ve had tons of scoring opportunities against teams on our make a sweeping statement about student faculty interaction as a is [sic] no human attributes to those level this year, but we just haven’t been able to finish those plays, whole.” interactions. and a lot of that’s because we can’t practice our shooting,” said socPage design by Noa Segal cer co-captain Mark Miller. “Our home field also isn’t great for Anonymous Continued from Page 1

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The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Features

18 TEACHER TALES:

RESEARCH: Biology teacher Dr. Melissa Noel discovered one way that fetal alcohol syndrome leads to neuronal death and brain problems.

A path to science and a new home By HANNA DIAMOND, Staff Columnist Determined to inhibit a serious symptom of fetal alcohol syndrome, Melissa Noel injects newborn mice with high doses of alcohol. Of these mice, only some contain tPA, a gene typically known for breaking down blood clots. She then nervously tests the mice’s learning and memory abilities, anticipating whether her discovery of a new function of tPA, one that could save numerous children’s lives, will be confirmed. The year is 2009, and she is at the David Rockefeller Graduate Program, a program in New York City that trains scientists and that has produced the largest concentration of Nobel Prize winners in the world. This is where Dr. Noel obtained her Ph.D. in neurobiology. She currently teaches biology and physiology at Shalhevet High School. Her results ultimately validated her hypothesis that tPA triggers neuronal death, indicating that the mice exposed to tPA developed cognitive impairments from alcohol, while mice who lacked tPA were not affected. That discovery moved scientists a step closer to manufacturing drugs that target tPA and stop the progression of neuronal death in fetuses in the future. Dr. Noel was able to publish her research in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. But more than wanting to cure fetal alcohol syndrome, Dr. Noel’s upbringing was the ultimate motivating factor in her decision to move to New York in pursuit of a career in science. Growing up in Puerto Rico, her mother was a guidance counselor at the University of Puerto Rico and her father was an accountant at the same

This is your time to discover what you’re about, so expose yourself to as many new opportunities as possible. --Dr. Melissa Noel

university. This gave him the opportunity to work simultaneously on a master’s degree in English literature, a pursuit he was very passionate about.

BP Photo By Katia Serpin

Her parents both grew up in poor families and were the first of their families to go to college. Her father, concerned about supporting his children financially, pursued accounting despite an aversion to it. “He wanted to make my sister and me very aware that we could choose what we wanted to be,” Dr. Noel said in an interview. Because of where they worked, Dr. Noel’s family was an impactful, and sometimes unavoidable, part of her life. “I felt like I couldn’t escape my family,” Dr. Noel said. “I’d be walking with my friends in college and I’d see my mom walking, and I’m just like —‘I want some freedom.’” Yearning for independence, she decided to apply for graduate programs in America.While she was at Rockefeller, Dr. Noel found herself enjoying the tutoring she did to supplement her scholarship. After getting her Ph.D., she felt unsure about pursuing a career doing research, and decided that teaching was more compatible with her personality.

“There’s something vibrant, youthful and fun about working with students,” she said. “We can have real conversations but you have a sense of humor that’s hard to find in adults.” Dr. Noel advises current high schoolers to take the same risks she has. “This is your time to discover what you’re about, so expose yourself to as many new opportunities as possible,” she said, “even if they make you feel uncomfortable. You need to be honest to yourself and honest to what it is that you enjoy doing and that’s what you need to pursue.” And though her family still lives in Puerto Rico, Dr, Noel does not plan on returning. She said she stays informed about fetal alcohol syndrome, but that so far her research has not led to a cure. Dr. Noel explained that since it’s a syndrome, there are many ways a baby can be affected, and it’s more realistic for science to strive towards treatment or prevention.

For more information call: 323-930-9333

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Outside News JANUARY 2016

School security, already heightened, increased after attacks Shalhevet was open, but some students stayed home on the day LAUSD was closed in hoax threat By elon glouberman, Outside News Editor Random vehicle checks in carpool lanes, newly installed equipment in classrooms and an almost-missed day of school all resulted from increased terrorism fears this past month after devastating attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. While Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal has sent numerous emails trying to assure families that the school is safe, Shalhevet has tightened its security, taking extra precautions so the school does not become a victim of attacks, and also to calm fears. This was especially true Dec. 15, when public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District closed for the day because of an emailed bomb threat. Occurring two weeks after 14 people were killed by at the Inland Empire Regional Center in San Bernardino and a month after coordinated terror attacks around Paris, many thought that maybe Jewish schools should be closed too. Rabbi Segal spoke with security officials who said private schools were safe, and Shalhevet stayed open. He also said that the school hired extra security and continued to stay in touch with local law enforcement. Director of Security Mr. Manny Fernandez said other security enhancements were made that day as well. “There’s obviously one more level up that you go in a situation like that,” said Mr. Fernandez in an interview with the Boiling Point. “You might change some policies around, you might change some daily operational stuff that you do on a daily basis.” Rabbi Segal called staff and families on the school’s emergency phone line that morning around 8:30 a.m. hoping to allay fears. “At this point, people’s responses are to their [LAUSD’s] closing down, rather than to the intelligence we are receiving,” Rabbi Segal said in the phone call. “We’ve been in touch with local law enforcement, counter-terrorism units, the FBI, local LAPD, and have no reason to believe we need to close today.” But he also stood at carpool line, chatted with parents and personally inspected people’s trunks. All this reassurance did not resonate for some, as around 10 students stayed home at their parents’ insistence, according to Mrs. Muriel Ohana, Rabbi Segal’s assistant. “My mom didn’t let me go to school because she was nervous and all the other schools had closed for the day,” said senior Rachel Sentchuk. “I didn’t really agree because I trust Manny and the Security staff, but it ended up being a good thing because I got a lot of homework done that day.” While Shalhevet was open, other Jewish high schools in and around the Los Angeles area had varied responses. YULA, Hillel, Maimonedes and Yavneh cancelled classes, while Valley Torah, Harkham Gaon Academy, Pressman and Milken remained open, also hiring extra security. When it was over, officials tried to keep people’s guard up. “Let’s stay vigilant – if you see anyone or anything that is out of the ordinary, please let us know,” Mr. Fernandez wrote in an email sent out to the Shalhevet community mid-December. “This could range from someone taking pictures of the outside of the school, someone coming on campus looking lost or acting strange, a strange package left somewhere unattended or someone in a vehicle that doesn’t seem right.” Security in the new building is much better

WATCHFUL: Manny Fernandez, Director of Security, monitoring cameras from the gate-control booth in the driveway. Below, the front gate of the school extends to driveway roof and cannot be climbed.

BP Photos By Katia Serpin

than in the one-story former hospital that Shalhevet occupied from 1999 to 2014. For example, the front gate seems impossible to break into as it extends upward into the building, providing no space to climb over it. The old entrance was much shorter, open on top and more susceptible to breach. Along the back boundary, a new concrete wall behind the parking lot, now augmented with a chain-link fence spanning the top, has replaced an easily climbable chain-link fence that was there before. Meanwhile, personal emergency preparedness has taken a back seat to equipment and staffing so far. There have been two fire drills but no earthquake or lockdown drills in the new building. Mr. Fernandez said they are planned for next semester. “We’re still in the process of putting that together,” he said. Junior Ezra Fax thinks lockdown drills are unnecessary because Mr. Fernandez and his assistant, Mr. Walter Morales, can handle whatever

comes up. “Manny and Walter are constantly on guard and armed and all they want is to keep us safe,” Ezra said, “Lockdown drills would be nice but not necessary. Our school is completely gated and have taken protective measures and other things like that.”

Micha Thau, also a Junior, agrees but says that it wouldn’t hurt for there to be drills. “As a Shalhevet student, I do feel safe in my school but there is room for improvement,” Micha said. “We can never be too careful. As long as there is not constant interference with class time, drills that extend beyond just fire drills could be

cluding the teachers and faculty.” According to Mr. Fernandez, the supplies are in an unlocked room in the basement, but he hopes to move everything to an outdoor canister in the parking lot within the next 30 days. Only security personnel, some administrators and emergency officials will have access, he said. Mrs. Einalhori also said that she and Yossi Frankel, Director of Academic Technology, are CPR certified. The Jewish religion itself has had many threats and Mr. Frankel was also previously a cerhas had them from the beginning of time. We aren’t tified paramedic for 14 years. looking for anything suspsicous, it’s just anything As for the additional security staff members, Manny declined to say that looks odd or out of place. whether they would be temporary or -Manny Fernandez permanent. Mr. Fernandez declined to say how many cameras are placed around school but said they were constantly beneficial for the school as a whole.” monitored. When asked if he carries a gun, he Mr. Fernandez said equipment for lockdowns said that there are armed guards on campus at all is already in place in most of the classrooms. This times, but did not specify who they are. includes shades for the windows so those inside He said the building is under heavy surveilcan’t be seen from the hallway and spe- lance and security every day of the week during all cial doorstoppers to prevent intruders hours. This includes when Ikar is renting out the from breaking in. They are installed in building and when school is not in session. all second-floor classrooms and thirdBut the main thing Manny expressed was how floor classrooms that have doors open- important it is for students to say something if ing inwards. But third-floor rooms they see anything suspicious. like the Beit Midrash, Beit Knesset, “It could be anything, and everything,” Mr. Art Room, and Music Room do not Fernandez said. “The Jewish religion itself has had have the equipment installed because many threats and has had them since the begintheir doors open outwards, where the ning of time. We aren’t looking at anything specifdoor stoppers would serve no logical ic. It’s just anything that looks odd or out of place. purpose. “On a daily basis what we have to do is secure “If someone gets through the the campus, students, and staff,” he said. building, you can’t see what’s inside Specifically, Manny explained that they have the room,” Mrs. Einalhori said of the been doing random checks on cars coming into shades. “Everybody is supposed to get Shalhevet. They have not been looking for anythe edges and go against the walls, so thing in particular, only for certain things that what ever this person who is attacking may look dangerous or weapon-like. is trying to do, he can’t get to people.” “We aren’t looking at anything specific, it’s In addition, in case of any kind of just anything that looks odd or out of place,” emergency, Facilities Director Mrs. Lili Einalhori Manny explained. “I don’t want to say it’s this says Shalhevet has emergency supplies stored in specific person or this specific thing because you the basement. never know. And that’s just the way it works. You “We have food and all the other things that never know.” you need, enough for three days,” Mrs. Einalhori said. “We have portable toilets there, and the supply of food is for all the people in the school in-

The Boiling Point •January 2016 • Outside News

20

Water work: School adjusts landscaping and kids take shorter showers By ZEV KENT, Sports Editor About 20 percent of Shalhevet students say they have personally changed their habits because of the California drought, and nearly half say their families have made at least some changes. In a Boiling Point Poll of 74 Shalhevet students on Dec. 23, 35 said their family had made changes in the way they use water because of the drought, and 14 people said they’d made changes themselves. Of those, 39 percent are taking shorter showers. Some are also turning off the sink while they brush their teeth. The most common things their parents have done, they say, is reducing how often they water the lawn. Executive Director Robyn Lewis said the drought was also considered in designing the new building. “The one major installment that we made was building low flow water toilets and no water urinals,” Mrs. Lewis said. “We also chose low water plants, and a lot of them are succulents, which are located at the front of the school. At the back of the school, there are grasses that require very little water.” Mrs. Lewis, who is responsible for most of the design elements of the building, approved of the way they look. “The drought resistant plants just look very pretty and there is no reason to get plants that need more water,” she said. California’s historic drought led the state legislature to mandate a 25 percent water reduction, causing water agencies to raise prices for those who use too much. Recent winter rains, which may become stronger than usual due to the weather pattern called El Nino, could dampen students’ enthusiasm to conserve. But the poll showed they seemed to realize that even record rainfall this year would not overcome the long drought’s effects. In the poll, out of the 53 students who said they’d heard of El Nino, 35 agreed with a statement saying that El Nino would not solve the drought crisis. California needs 58.2 inches of water over a two-year period to replenish the state’s water supplies and ovecome the drought, according to Joseph Reichenberger, a professor of civil engineering at Loyola Marymount University who specializes in water manage-

A little bit

36

No

Yes

24

14

Have you personally changed the way you use water because of the current drought?

Yes

35

No

13

Unsure

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Has your family made changes? ment. That would mean record rainfall for two years straight, he said. “While El Niño may be coming, we still have a long way to go, and we need to be mindful of our water use and use it wisely and efficiently,” Mr. Reichenberger said on the Loyola Marymount website. Science teacher Ms. Amy Sirkis said that much rain could cause other problems. “There are positives and negatives to El Nino,” said Ms. Sirkis. “The positive is that we’ll get rain which we desperately need, but the negative is that the ground is so dry that it could ultimately create mudslides.”

PRETTY: New landscaping behind the school features grasses and an irrigation channel.

BP Photo By Ezra Fax

Science Department Chair, Dr. Noel, says people should prepare for the rain. “In January, February and March there will be very intense periods of rain,” Dr. Noel said. “Buy your rain-boots, an umbrella and a little poncho.” *BP Poll of 74 students, December 2015

Rams have some work to do to win fans from other teams By Jordan fields, Staff Writer Despite the excitement of the Rams coming to Los Angeles, many Shalhevet students will still support the team they already root for. “I am a firm believer in something called loyalty,” said junior Alex Silberstein. “I feel like I dedicated a lot of my time and my heart to the [Atlanta] Falcons and I have developed a personal connection to them. I feel like it would be wrong if I betrayed them and started fresh with the Rams.” Sophomore Rami Gruman roots for the Green Bay Packers. “It wouldn’t feel right to switch allegiances, after having rooted for them for so long,” Rami said. Still, after a 22-year drought, Los Angles football fans find a familiar team in the Rams. They played here before, and on Jan. 12 of this year the NFL, by a vote of 30 – 2, said they could come back. League owners also voted to let the San Diego Chargers join the Rams in their move to L.A. if they can work out a stadium-sharing

plan. No decision has been made yet, but it seems likely that the Chargers will come to Los Angles too, because they don’t like their stadium in San Diego. Another team that had hoped to come to L.A. was the Oakland Raiders, but the NFL turned them down. An informal survey of 14 Shalhevet students this week found 10 planning to stick with other teams, while only 4 would root for the Rams. No one who had been following another team planned to switch. Some students were disappointed that the Rams were the team permitted to move rather than the Raiders, but others are too attached to other teams to switch their loyalties. Sam Hirschhorn thinks the Rams are terrible. “I am still going to remain a [New York] Giants fan for sure,” said Sam, “I might like the Rams a little, but I was disappointed it was not the Raiders, because the Rams are terrible and they just have a terrible head coach, bad organization, which is annoying. But the Raiders are really good and if they moved, I would be

a hardcore Raiders fan.” The Chargers have until January 2017 to make a decision. Freshman Clara Sandler had been rooting for the Rams already. “I will definitely root for the Rams, because my dad grew up a Rams fan and has been rooting for them to come home,” said freshman Clara Sandler. “And now they’re finally here and I’m really pumped!” And some students are just glad pro football will be here. “I have been waiting to have a football team in LA to root for, and I am really happy it is the Rams and not the Chargers so far,” said freshman Noah Altman. Junior Eitan Ohana, who before did not follow football, said he will now.

“I had no interest to root for football because there was no team that I could call mine and now there is,” said junior Eitan. Up until 1980, the Rams played in Los Angles, then moved to Anaheim, and in 1994 left for St. Louis. The Chargers were the closest football team to Los Angles since then. Although many are excited about the move, it may not take long for them to realize that the Rams have not had a winning season in more than 10 years. The team plans to build a new $3 billion stadium in Inglewood, south of Culver City, where Hollywood Park race track used to be. Reports say it will be the most expensive stadium in the world.

The Boiling Point wishes everyone a fun, safe and restful break. See you second semester.

The Boiling Point •January 2016 • Outside News

Table Talk

21

Global treaty sets goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

An assembly of about 500 political and business leaders at the 21st United Nations Conference on Climate Change finalized the first binding agreement in history requiring countries to set targets for carbon emission News to Help You Schmooze reductions Dec. 12. The ultimate goal of the conference was to keep global temperatures at most two degrees Celsius above socalled pre-industrial temperatures as measured during the second half of the 19th century. Accomplishing this would require zero greenhouse gas emissions by the second half of this century, according to un.org. Known as the Paris Agreement, the 31-page document will enter into effect once at least 55 nations that produce at least 55 percent of the Earth’s carbon emissions ratify it. Its primary call is for each country to set its own goal for carbon-emission reduction. Every five years starting in 2023, countries’ collective progress would be evaluated in a review called “global stocktake,” to set more ambitious goals for individual nations. The agreement also reiterates the principle adopted by the U.N. in 1992 that developed countries BP Drawing by Samantha Bernstein After the San Bernardino attacks of Dec. 3, Republican presidential should help those with fewer resources. primary candidate Donald Trump called for “a total and complete While politicians hailed it as a diplomatic feat, the scientific community is divided over shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our counthe potential value of the agreement. Most observers say progress will depend on each country’s representatives can figure out what’s going on,” during try’s own willingness to set ambitious goals for itself, since the U.N. will have no say over a campaign speech Dec. 7 in Davenport, IA. what specific countries actually do. He has also called for extra surveillance inside of According to the U.S.-based Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, these very mosques and said that if elected, he would create a database leniencies made the agreement possible, because the laxness of the provisions enof all Muslims who live in the US. couraged more countries to participate and set ambitious goals. Signing of the He also has referred to the Muslim population as a problem agreement is scheduled for April, 2016. to be solved. Also, although experts expect that reduced greenhouse gas emissions will “You’re going to have many more World Trade Centers if you don’t reduce climate change, no one can predict specific outcomes. solve it,” Trump said in a CNN interview. “Science has yet to uncover a simple relationship between carbon emisSuch comments have been met with widespread public condemnation. sions and the level of future global warming,” said Tim Palmer, Royal Society For example, Jonathan A. Greenblatt of the Anti-Deformation League has research professor in climate physics at the University of Oxford. called Trump’s idea “unacceptable and antithetical to American values.” “Instead, the relationship is imprecise – even more so at the regional level – reflecting Well-known author J.K. Rowling turned to Twitter upon hearing the recurrent uncertainties in many complex processes at play in the climate system.” marks and said, “Voldemort was nowhere near as bad.” -- Mark Miller, Staff Writer Not all Republicans agree with him either. House Speaker Paul Ryan, for example, said Trump was misrepresenting the Republican party. “What was proposed yesterday was not what this party stands for, and more importantly is not what this country stands for,” Speaker Ryan said in a press conference on Dec. 8. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted her feelings. “This is reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive,” said the former Secretary of State’s tweet. The Guardian has reported that Saif Inam, Policy Analyst of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, compared Smoke and dust billowed in a circle around the landing pad as the Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX descended Voldemort was nowhere near as bad. Trump’s comments to the “J” that was from the sky Dec. 21, illuminating the night sky in a reverse blastoff to stick a smooth landing near its launch stamped into European Jews’ passports pad in Florida. -- J.K. Rowling, on Donald Trump Landing right on schedule 10 minutes after it had taken off and deployed 11 Orbcomm satellites into orby Nazis and is creating hostility. bit, the Falcon 9 thus became the world’s first reusable rocket launcher to return to Earth upright at a specified Others agree with Trump’s comlocation. Watched around the world by live videocast, the SpaceX team and a dense crowd of spectators could ments. Conservative political commenbe heard cheering as the first stage descended vertically to the landing zone. tator Ann Coulter tweeted “My best Three weeks later on Jan. 17, the company had mixed results as it tried to repeat the monumental landing birthday gift! Donald Trump Calls For on a barge in the Pacific Ocean. The rocket descended properly and came to rest right in the center of the ‘Complete Shutdown’ of Muslim Entry to U.S.” upon hearing the news. barge, but the craft keeled on its side as a landing leg failed to deploy. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump -- who is famous for being a real estate developer and reality TV Another reusable rocket, Blue Origin’s New Shepard, landed a rocket vertically on Nov. 23. But New Shepshow host of The Apprentice and saying his catchphrase, “You’re fired!” -- is still leading in ard was not sent into orbit and reached only half the altitude of Falcon 9. the Republican primary polls, especially among Hispanic voters, according to The Political Scientists marveled at the reusable rocket, an engineering feat, with such precise control and the capability Insider. to tolerate the extreme forces endured during the launch and reentry. Twenty-eight percent of Hispanic Americans say they agree with Trump’s statement Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, later commented on Instagram that no damage was susJune 16 – in his announcement that he was running for president -- that “When Mexico tained and the Falcon 9 is ready to be launched once again, though later reports stated the rocket would be sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of preserved as an artifact of space history. problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” An important goal of the Falcon 9 program was to reduce the cost of rocket launching. SpaceX’s Falcon According to RealClearPolitics.com, as of last week Mr. Trump he was leading with 35 9 is already about 60 percent cheaper per launch than Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas V rocket, and the percent of Republican voters nationwide and a significant lead over his competitors. Sen. price could continue to drop if it endures repeated launches. Ted Cruz was in second place with 20 percent. If the trend continues, competing companies will be pressed to reduce prices in order to contend with With his slogan of “Make America Great Again,” as he promises every time he makes a SpaceX, though many foresee difficulty in making disposable rockets cost-effective. SpaceX already has conspeech, it will be interesting to see how many Americans actually vote to give Mr. Trump tracts with the US government for many more launches. the chance. The first votes will be cast at the Iowa Caucuses Feb. 1. -- Tyler Ekaireb, Staff Writer --Clara Sandler, Staff Writer

Trump still trouncing rivals despite controversial stance on Muslims

Reverse blastoff gently returns SpaceX rocket upright to its launch pad

Worldwide video chat remembers terror victim Ezra Schwartz By sadie toczek, Staff Writer Shalhevet students gathered in the gym Dec. 21 to take part in a siyum with yeshivas across the world via Skype in honor of Ezra Schwartz, z”l. Ezra was a graduate of Maimonides Academy in Boston, who during his gap year at the Yeshivat Ashreinu in Bet Shemesh was murdered by terrorists Nov. 19 on his way to clean up a park dedicated to the memories of three boys murdered in June of 2014. In honor of his shloshim – the 30-day mark after his death – yeshiva students from many cities watched on the ceremony on a divided screen so they could all see and hear one another. Rabbis who knew Ezra -- and some who did not – spoke about the meaning of his life and even his death. As seen on screens in the Shalhevet gym, every school was attentive and silent paying their respects to his family and everyone touched by him. Rabbi Efram Goldberg of the Boca Raton Synagogue in Florida shared a poem called “The Dash,” by Linda Ellis, about savoring the time you have between your birth and death. This is represented by the dash on your tombstone. A student from Rabbi Goldberg’s congregation was in the van with Ezra when it was attacked. “None of us know how long we’ll live, bow long we’ll live,”Rabbi Goldberg said. “But we can control the way we live each and every day, following [Ezra’s] model to live life to its fullest, with kindness and sensitivity, caring about people around us, with having a contagious

SOLIDARITY: Students watch broadcast of Ezra Schwartz’s shloshim in gym Dec. 21. Schools watching around the world could see one another. BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

smile that lifts the life of others.” The schools involved included Frisch (New Jersey), Ida Crown (Chicago), RASG Hebrew Academy (Miami Beach), MTA/YU High School for Boys (New York), Yeshiva High School (Boca Raton) and YULA boys school (Los Angeles) in addition to Shalhevet. In preparation for the ceremony, schools learned several mishnayot in Ezra’s memory. Six schools each had a student read and translate one mishna for the rest of the audience. Rabbi Gotch Yudin, head of Ezra’s yeshiva, delivered a d’var torah that touched on an idea called ahavat chinam — unreasoned caring for one another. Though his voice broke and he was fighting back tears, he managed to speak about his love for Ezra, and how it

is said that any righteous person even after their death, is still alive after he has died. “Ezra Schwartz, no question, in my mind falls into this category,” Rabbi Yudin said. “Ezra’s ultimate legacy of being someone who is so friendly and looking to make some laugh — this is Ezra in every way, shape or form and the idea of ahavat chinam.” Ezra’s mother, Mrs. Ruth Schwartz of Sharon, Mass., also spoke briefly. “We are so proud of Ezra,” Mrs. Schwartz said. “He was smart, fun, silly, loving and a generous person. We hope to keep his memory alive by good deeds and acts of kindness.” The siyum included over 40 high schools from across North America as well as numerous schools that did not participate in the learning but did watch. “I was awestruck and inspired,”said freshman Talia Gill. “What stuck with me was how amazing it was that tens of schools came together to honor Ezra and the Schwartzes.” At the close of the program, Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal led the school in Hatikvah and “Acheinu.”Students linked arms, swayed to the music and sang a loud in unison. “This was achdus [unity] in the most palpable, tangible, inspiring way,” said Rabbi Segal, who had traveled to Massachusetts to visit Ezra’s family during shiva. “Notwithstanding the excruciating circumstances which brought it about, this gathering was uplifting beyond words.”

22

Opinion

EDITORIALS

Favoritism: a multi-sided call for action By The Boiling point editorial board

There are no facts. There is no evidence. But there are feelings, and feelings are important enough to confront the topic of favoritism. In a Boiling Point survey, 83 percent of students — especially sophomores and juniors— said that they feel there’s favoritism is present at Shalhevet. So we must address this issue— whether or not there is a plausible solution. This is not just a knock in one direction. Favoritism needs both sides to exist. A lot of the time, students criticize the staff for playing favorites. But half of the burden lies on their own shoulders. Students should involve themselves and take control of their experience at Shalhevet: join a club, participate in school events and respect the administration. Why would administra-

tion ask students who violate dress code or skip davening to represent the school in social media or to donors or prospective students > Blaming everything on adults won’t solve the problem. Teachers have a different role to play. They should recognize students who are active members of the Just Community, but also make sure not to neglect those who aren’t as loud or who they’re not as close with. They can go out of their way to get to know students whose families are new, or whose parents aren’t active in the community. With this in mind, participation grades are also something to be careful about. Just because someone doesn’t speak as much doesn’t mean he or she isn’t paying just as much attention as someone who is – and learning just as much, too.

Don’t get us wrong, One of our favorite things about Shalhevet is the closeness students and teachers form. There’s something magical about about having an older – or younger – role model and learning beyond the classroom. But we must try to find a line between what is and is not appropriate. Meeting with a student during school hours to talk about life is okay. Going to frozen yogurt at 9 p.m. together is probably not. When a relationship crosses this line, it invites either the perception of favoritism or actual unfair treatment. There may not be a solution to a problem that might not exist. But whether or not feelings can translate into facts, adjustments from students and teachers can preserve Shalhevet’s magical atmosphere.

We’re more safe, but we’re not more prepared By The Boiling point editorial board

BOOM! A major earthquake has just shaken Los Angeles during school hours. Quick, what does the school want us to do? Where are the earthquake supplies? If you cannot answer either of those questions, that’s an issue. Every student should be able to answer emergency-related questions in a heartbeat. That doesn’t just mean how to line up during fire drills. It means where to hide if God-forbid an armed intruder storms into our school, or what to do if an earthquake hits. To this point, however, students have not received any

The Boiling Point

education pertaining to how to handle emergency situations, with the exception of a few fire drills. It’s partly understandable. It’s easy to feel safe at Shalhevet – safer than we’ve ever felt before. The school has done an excellent job building security into the new building, from stronger gates and higher walls to phones in classrooms and a plethora of security cameras. Most of all, the Boiling Point and everyone else have the utmost confidence, trust and respect for the security team led by Mr. Manny Fernandez. But all students and all faculty still need some uniform, baseline knowledge of what to do if disaster strikes. A shooter could come

during lunch when teachers are not in the classrooms. An earthquake could strike after school when only co-curriculars are meeting. Disaster preparedness has been shown to save lives from Fukushima, Japan, to the Boston Marathon. Without it, there could be total chaos and serious repercussions. Our awesome security team can only do so much. At the end of the day, students should not be explaining to teachers how to lock classroom doors. We need to know how to hide if we are on the third floor where walls are all glass and there are no curtains to conceal ourselves from the outside. To many, this discussion may

seem too theoretical. While it is true that no such scenario has ever occurred at our school or probably ever will, we should not take our fortune for granted. When it comes to security and the safety of everyone in the school, don’t assume anything. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Security at our school has come a long way, that’s for sure. But it’s important for us to acknowledge the remaining holes and for all of us to be given the extra 20 to 30 minutes to fix them. A stateof-the-art building should have state-of-the-art preparedness, and not just for fire.

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Editor-in-Chief Eric Bazak

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The Boiling Point is the student-produced newspaper of Shalhevet High School and is published 6-8 times yearly. Unsigned ditorials represent the majority view of the members of the Editorial Board, which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor-In-Chief, Managing Editor, Senior Editor, Web Editor, Opinion Editor, Community Editor and Faculty Advisor. The Boiling Point welcomes submissions for signed editorials from members of the Shalhevet Community, and the final decision about print-

ing them is made by the Editorial Board. Letters to the Editor may be submitted via e-mail to shalhevetboilingpoint@gmail.com. The Boiling Point reserves the right to edit letters and opinion submissions and all become the property of The Boiling Point. Signed editorials and advertisements in The Boiling Point purchased by third-party organizations do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editorial Board or The Boiling Point as a whole. For information on advertising, please

write to Advertising Editor Rebecca Sentchuk at b.sentchuk@gmail.com The Boiling Point encourages readers to inform the newspaper regarding any possible factual errors found in print or online by emailing us as at shalhevetboilingpoint@gmail.com. When appropriate, we will fix the story online, and correct the error on Page 2 or on this page in the next print edition.

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The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Opinion

23

TWO BOILING POINTS OF VIEW:

Should Shalhevet cap enrollment at 240? No: Keep on growing By ERIC BAZAK, Editor-in-Chief It’s that time of the year when seniors sweat over interviews and stress over their chances of being accepted to their desired school – and I don’t mean college. I’m actually referring to eighth grade “seniors,” who are busy applying to high school. Though it wasn’t like this a few years ago, Shalhevet for many reasons has turned into the Ivy League of Jewish high schools. When I interviewed, all I was required to do was schmooze for a few minutes, then leave with a candy bar in hand. Now, the admissions process consists of tours, classroom and Town Hall visits, parlor meetings, mock co-curricular meetings called Winterm and, for whatever it’s worth, parent interviews – in addition to Open House, interviews, test taking and essay writing that we’ve had all along. That’s because Shalhevet has capped the number of each new freshman class at 60, despite receiving an increasing number of applications every year. Administration says it does this to preserve the small, comfortable atmosphere that has characterized our school. While that is a totally legitimate rationale, the school and some eighth-graders would gain tremendously if Shalhevet’s doors were more open. Among other benefits, larger classes enhance our co-curriculars, boosts the school’s finances, and diversify our student body. And of course, every student we turn down is a student not introduced to Lahav – Shalhevet’s pioneering Judaic curriculum – or the Just Community or our great teachers. Also, it’s in our best interest to be a medium-sized school. Ask any senior who attended college informational meetings: admissions reps of middle-sized colleges always mention that their school has the benefits of large-school resources while still maintaining that liberal arts, cozy vibe. With an expanding student population these past few years, our school has nearly reached that ideal equilibrium of a middle-sized school. But for now, we’re still more “small” tan “medium.” When I was a freshman, Shalhevet was too small. There weren’t enough people to populate the dozens of clubs students conceived of forming. Even for the clubs we did have, the smaller student population generally meant fewer people who were especially talented or interested, and a small cadre of super-active students were leaders of everything. We were also more in debt. Fewer people involved in the school meant fewer donors and families supporting our community. Also, everybody knew everybody. While we were all extremely close, that tightness often felt claustrophobic. We were not supplied with so many choices as to who we wanted as friends, and it’s not always great for the entire school to know so much about you. Now, look where we are in comparison. Our co-curriculars have never been stronger; one transfer student came in this year and managed to raise $20,000 in funding to start a robotics club. Fashion club, another start-up this year, has drawn the interest of dozens. Firehawks for Israel and Finance Club have both been revamped and are thriving. There are even 30 singers in the Choirhawks. Financially, Shalhevet has never been in as good of a place, and that can be partially attributed to a larger pool of generous donors supporting Shalhevet and more parents paying tuition. BP Photo By Katia Serpin We also have greater student diversity. Every added student or faculty member contributes another talent, story and perspective to the school. I also have more choices as to which people I spend my time with during and outside school. Some may lament the fact that they can’t recognize 90-plus percent of the student body by the end of the first semester. But this is not a problem. It merely gives us the opportunity to build relationships with “strangers” in March and April. We’re still a very strong and united community, but now there’s room to breathe. So what’s the magic number? It’s difficult to say. The building has limitations and we shouldn’t accept students who wouldn’t benefit from what Shalhevet offers. But with eighth-graders engaging in such cutthroat competition to be accepted, a growing wait-list of admittable students and ample room left in the basement to create more classrooms, 60 is unnecessarily small. Let’s not be forced to deny an eighth-grader all of his or her potential growth at Shalhevet because his ISEE scores were below average, or because he didn’t show enough interest in the school by coming to enthusiasm-building events like parlor meetings or Winterm -or because his parents had a weak interview.

Yes: We need to stay a family By MICAH GILL, 12th Grade If you were to walk into any Shalhevet parlor meeting — whether in the past, present, or, for that matter, even future — I can guarantee that you would hear someone say, “What separates Shalhevet is…” or “This is why we’re so different.” And to be frank, I’ve come to believe it. I believe that we are 100 percent unique and the only school of our kind. I used to be skeptical; I often thought that Shalhevet was nothing more than a run of the mill Modern Orthodox High School. Sure, we’re (very) quirky, and sure, we have a Just Community, but it wasn’t until my junior year that I fully realized and came to appreciate the extent of what makes Shalhevet Shalhevet. Part of the reason is our size. When I came to Shalhevet as a freshman in 2012, not only did I fail to notice anything that differentiated our school, but I didn’t think of school as anything more than, well, school. I knew the kids in my grade and a couple sophomores from my middle school, and looked up in awe to my senior buddy and her friends. At that point, even as an outgoing and gregarious kid, there was a large contingent of Shalhevet that I didn’t know existed. Back then, the school was about 160 kids, and to me, it felt like 260. As junior year rolled around, my position on the Agenda committee had gotten more serious and required more student interaction. I had met many more kids and began to think of Shalhevet as more of a family than a collection of students with whom I spent my time. I had developed bonds with classmates with whom I would’ve never guessed I would connect, and to be honest, I probably knew the names of over 90 percent of the school. This year, as I walk the halls of our new, much anticipated and glorious building, as I try to appreciate and savor the last months of Shalhevet I have left, it seems as if I see a new freshman every day. “Sorry, what’s your name?” comes out of my mouth much more than I would like and I can’t seem to shake the same thought: what’s happening to my Shalhevet? The Shalhevet that I know — my Shalhevet, if you will — is a family. It’s a place that stands in stark contradistinction to the “classic” high school. We don’t haze, there isn’t a hierarchy with seniors at the top and freshmen at the bottom, teachers are much more than just teachers, we don’t fear our administrators, and overall, we nurture an environment of warmth. People are nice to each other for the sole purpose of “we both go to Shalhevet — let’s be friends.” And this is the key: that mentality – the mentality of enjoying our time in school, feeling comfortable in the hallways, remaining happy in the classroom, and looking forward to returning after a long weekend or vacation – can only exist if we keep our grades small. Walking as individuals in a sea of strangers, always looking for my friends and my teachers – that isn’t family. Family is sitting in Town Hall, looking left and looking right, and sensing a feeling of comfort, responsibility and pride for those around us. Quite simply, this phenomenon cannot be achieved if class size proliferates. It may be possible that 60 kids per grade is the perfect number; I don’t know. Maybe I think it’s big because I’m pitting it against my previous years of smaller sized grades. However, I do know this: Shalhevet is only Shalhevet if I know my classmates. Our building is fancy, our academics are strong, the Just Community is thriving — all of which is remarkable. However, through the fundraising and through the hiring, through the studying and through the testing, we cannot lose what makes us, us: a sense of family.

The Boiling Point • January 2016 • Opinion

24 Letter to the Editor:

Words matter, and so do intentions An ear and a voice for BP readers Hello BP readership! My name is Tamar Willis, a member of Shalhevet’s Class of 2014 and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. I am excited to announce that starting this issue, I will be serving as the Boiling Point’s Public Editor. This means that any comments, criticisms, concerns or complaints you have about anything published in the Boiling Point — either online or in print — can be sent to me. I will ruminate on said critique and offer my opinion on the matter as an outside party. With the installation of a Public Editor, we hope to give our readers a forum for expressing their gripes and meriting a response. Writing to me is different from writing a Letter to the Editor in that it would be intended not for publication but for investigation and reply. I may excerpt or paraphrase your comments in answering them, however. And hopefully you won’t have to wait for the next print paper for a response. My goal is to address or allay your concerns. The Boiling Point is an award-winning publication, but like any newspaper, it balances many considerations and can make mistakes. Also, readers don’t always understand all the dimensions of reporting, writing, and creating a story—part of my job is to help present the other side. We believe this is a step in the right direction for fulfilling our newspaper’s mission to be a balanced, fair and accurate source of news. As for me, I began my Boiling Point career as a staff writer my freshman year at Shalhevet, and subsequently served as Sports Editor, Features Editor, and then Editor-in-Chief. I spent last year on the Kivunim Gap Year Program in Israel, and currently I am a freshman at Princeton University. Here at Princeton, I’ve been writing for a newsmagazine called the Nassau Weekly. I am looking forward to continuing my relationship with the Boiling Point and engaging with its readers. With the advent of this position, I hope to encourage a dialogue between the reporters and their readers in order to ensure that this publication reaches its highest potential, while remaining a reliable and enjoyable source of information and thought for all of its readers. Thank you and don’t hesitate to write! You can reach me at twillis@princeton.edu.

In your November issue, the editorial, “Bring Election Planning Out From Behind Closed Doors” raises some important points about last year’s Just Community elections. The editorial argues that increased transparency, and clearer guidelines, will make elections more fair, and more democratic. The editorial correctly opposes “ad hoc election committees,” which vest decision making power in unelected, handpicked members of the student body. The editorial also expresses legitimate concern over the election process, including the tabulation of votes. These are very valuable considerations and recommendations. The editorial, however, undermines itself by sensationalizing its account of last year’s elections, and making a few erroneous accusations. First, in its description of the voting process, the editorial insinuates that Goldie Fields – Fairness Co-chair, Boiling Point Executive Editor, Mensch Award winner – was, consciously or subconsciously, recruiting votes for her brother: “It turned out that [Alec’s] sister, then Fairness Chair Goldie Fields, was in charge of whipping in votes and personally telephoned the last 10 or so non voters, asking among other things whether they would like to give their vote to Bennett, Eric, or Alec. Any student who has taken AP Psychology could tell you what kind of advantage this gave to he brother, however inadvertent.” The excerpt describes Goldie as “whipping” votes, a loaded term that means threatening or offering inducements to ensure people vote one way or another. The excerpt also claims that Goldie called “10 or so non-voters,” an exaggerated and uncorroborated statistic that diminishes the merit or an otherwise plausible concern. I’d also like to make clear that while I accept the very rightful criticism about the practice of calling remaining voters, Goldie was only doing so under my instruction. I had also instructed Agenda Committee representatives (with the exception of those running for office) to find the remaining several voters in the

hallways, and remind them to cast their ballots. Our motive? Securing 100 percent participation, an impressive figure by any measure. We wanted the most representative and unbiased results possible. The editorial also ignores important contextual factors impinging on the process of administering the election. With contested races for every leadership position, proposals to incorporate coalitions, an ongoing Fairness case, and many other moving parts, Just Community representatives were under significant pressure to ensure a fair election, while considering any necessary modifications to existing policies. These conditions were compounded by pressure to leave the JCC, and a heavily circumscribed schedule. Given these circumstances, I’m incredibly proud of the Just Community elections – the most successful in my 11 years at the school. I’m also proud of the thoroughness of the vote counting procedures, which included reps from the Boiling Point and an independent faculty member, Ms. Walls, making sure the results were accurately and thoroughly vetted–and eventually publicized. Of course, we also learned so much about what we could have done better, and I’m glad the school is taking up the challenge of creating clearly specified guidelines for future elections. In this regard, the editorial is very helpful. I’m also grateful to Mr. Feld, and every student who participated in the election process, whether to challenge the existing system, or run for leadership positions. Taken together, this kind of participation and energy should be the envy of any school that values democracy. Just Community forever, Dano Former General Studies Principal Mr. Roy Danovitch was adviser to the Just Community from 2011 to 2015.

‘Ignore the Statue of Liberty - she’s a loser.’ BP Cartoon by Shannon Assis and Micha Thau

Need help writing your college essay? Want to perfect your supplementary essay? Looking to improve your writing skills? Lynn Rohatiner 310.562.7778 zalissue@gmail.com

25

Sports JANUARY 2016

Grappling club turns the less athletic into confident fighters By Will Kasdan, Staff Writer Sweat fills the air as the grappling club continues to practice moves in a secluded room in the basement. Nine to 12 members spend 90 minutes on Monday nights pursuing their passion for martial arts, specifically Brazilian jiu jitsu. They practice numerous fighting techniques designed to teach them how to fight more with their minds than their strength. “Jiu jitsu is like a game of chess,” said senior Kian Marghzar. “It’s not about picking someone up and throwing them on the ground, it’s not like basketball where there’s a height advantage. It’s about figuring out a person’s weaknesses and exploiting them to your advantage.” The club is led by history teacher Mr. William Reusch, who is also faculty advisor for the Debate team. “I initiated it because I think it is an extremely important thing for young men to study,” said Mr. Reusch in an interview. “This year the students asked to bring it back.” Mr. Reusch is an avid martial artist. His experiences includes eight years of karate, one year of Thai kickboxing, one year of western, and six years of jiu jitsu. Two years ago, he was awarded a gold medal at a North American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation. “Learning martial arts is one of the most important decisions of my life,” Mr. Reusch said. “The benefits of being a martial artist far exceed any other activity I have ever done and it has helped me and many others in all aspects of their lives.” Jiu jitsu focuses mainly on ground fighting, enabling fighters of all sizes to practice. Shalhevet’s club was formed two years ago in the old building, then skipped last year because there was no place to practice at the JCC. This year, it is back. Since the club only meets once a week and does not qualify for enough exercise time, members are not exempt from P.E., according to Sports Director Eli Schiff. That means they’re doing it just for the love of the sport. Members come dressed in shorts and T-shirts, removing their glasses and wristwatches in preparation for each session. Once the students finish cleaning the mats, they warm up for 15 minutes. They begin with a few repetitions of full-body exercises and then summersault on the mats, while rock music blasts from portable speakers. After the warm-ups come one-on-one, there are two-minute sparring rounds where members practice the moves they have learned. A submission, when one opponent taps out, can end the fight at any time, but a point system, calculated by the number of fighting techniques achieved during the round, generally determines the winner. For students to pick up specific fighting moves that contain multiple steps, Mr. Reusch demonstrates on members and critiques their stances. Junior Jonah Kaye and sophomore Ilan Bouskilla watched on Jan. 4 as he practiced defense on senior Eric Bazak. The meeting caps off with 30 repetitions of six different strength exercises, followed by fights between all five members and Mr. Reusch. The teacher said he has seen some improvement in the members’ performance. He is confident that with more experience, they will be able to easily take down someone larger and stronger than they are. So far though, most of the members have not engaged in any martial arts activity outside of the club. “I hope having the club begins the martial arts journey for students at Shalhevet,” Mr. Reusch said. The only complaint heard was from senior Zev Frankel, who said he hopes more will join in the future.

TAKE DOWN: Students watch as Mr. Reusch performs Russian 2-on1, a jiu jiutsu move, on senior Daniel Soroudi. BP Photo By Gabby Benelyahu

CHAMPION: Senior Daniel Soroudi accepts a gold medal for Team USA at the 17th Pan-American Karate Championships in Brazil. Photo Courtesy of Daniel Soroudi

Little sleep but plenty of medals for karate champion and student leader By ERIC BAZAK, Editor-in-Chief ZEV KENT, Sports Editor Senior Daniel Soroudi entered the 17th Pan American Karate Championship in Natal, Brazil, last fall with the same mindset he brings to all of his goals: low expectations but high determination. He left with three medals around his neck, having beaten competitors with as much as 13 years of karate experience. Hundreds of competitors from nine different countries across North and South America participated, dozens of whom competed with Daniel directly. Most fighters had been national champions in their respective country. Daniel competed in three categories in the 16-17-year-old male division. The categories were Ko-Go Kumite, which is offense-defense sparring; Kata, individual form; and Fuku-Go, which combines the two. He won gold medals in Ko-Go and Fuku-Go and a bronze in Kata. “I was honestly shocked that I did so well at the competition,” Daniel said. “When I think about it, I know it’s an incredible achievement. But I’m constantly surrounded by national and international champions so at the end of the day, I don’t feel like it’s a crazy accomplishment.” Somehow, the Mock Trial, Model Congress, and tennis team captain found time to train up to 17 hours a week during the months leading up to the Brazil competition Nov. 6 and 7 – months that are notorious for seniors working on college applications. Those who know him, including History teacher and Model Congress adviser Mr. William Reusch, were not surprised. Mr. Reusch also coaches the Grappling Club, where a handful of students – including Daniel – are learning another martial art, Brazilian jiu jitsu. “At the core of martial arts is discipline,” Mr. Reusch. “Daniel is one of the most disciplined students at Shalhevet and it’s not a coincidence. The only way to get good at high stakes martial arts is to know how to follow directions and stick to a plan.” He said Model Congress is run and coached mostly by the captains. “All I do is plan trips,” Mr. Reusch said. “Moreso than being faculty advisor on other teams, there is very little teacher interaction in MC. It’s very student run and I have faith in the captains to run it.” Daniel’s karate teacher is Mr. Avi Rokah, father of Shalhevet alumni Adam ‘15 and David ‘12 and owner of the Avi Rokah Dojo on Pico Boulevard. Mr. Rokah suggested that Daniel’s academic strengths helped him in karate. “On one hand you need to be a hard worker and consistent and focused,” Mr.

Rokah said. “[But] some people work hard and don’t get anywhere, because it’s not only hard work. You have to pay attention to details. It’s the details that make the difference between someone on high level to mediocre.” While most karate practitioners start training from a very young age, Daniel was only introduced to karate in middle school, though he quickly developed a passion for it. He completed his black belt in fourand-a-half years; most people take 10. Part of that speed can be attributed to Daniel’s strict work regimen. He can be spotted on Pico and Rexford training inside the Dojo every Sunday and on some weekdays. In the months before the competition, he understood that the only way to

At the core of martial arts is discipline. Daniel is one of the most disciplined students at Shalhevet and it’s not a coincidence. -Mr. Reusch

succeed while keeping up with class work would be to work extremely hard from morning until late at night. “Those weeks leading up to the competition were definitely the hardest,” Daniel said. “Not only did karate take up a lot of time, it drained all of my energy.” He said he didn’t sleep much. “I think I managed to get through it only because teachers understood how much I had on my plate,” he said. “That, combined with very little sleep and free time every night, made it all possible.” Daniel has won four Model Congress and two Mock Trial awards, and also performed in guitar recitals. He also takes AP Art, and maintains a high GPA. With success has come sacrifice, though he still manages a social life. On average, he only sleeps five hours a night, waking up at 6:30 each morning to attend Hashkama minyan at 7:20. He rarely watches television. Survivor, his favorite show, can only be watched once he’s more or less finished with all his work. Lakers and Dodgers games -- staples for many students -don’t interest him. Daniel does manage to do volunteer work at Mr. Rokah’s dojo. Since karate has been proven to aid kids with mental disabilities, he volunteers at a Friendship Circle program there kids karate. “If you ask anyone who knew me before I started karate and who knows me now, they’ll tell you that karate really changed me,” he said. “I wanted to

give that back to other people, especially when they really need it.” He has three siblings, Shalhevet alumni David ‘10 and Sarah ‘13, and Jonathan, 10. “Daniel’s fearless,” said his friend, senior Shirel Benji. “When he has a goal, he will put all his effort into achieving it. But … he still always makes time for his friends and he recognizes the importance of friendship.” In the summer of 2014, Daniel won a bronze medal in the American Amateur Karate Federation, also known as nationals, in Washington, D.C., qualifying him for Brazil. The summer prior, he had competed in nationals in Dallas. Then last June after receiving his first-degree black belt, Daniel traveled to Brazil with the rest of Team USA, along with his brother David, a graduate of USC. Since he was the only Jewish person competing, challenges such as kashrut were part of the experience. He said he explained the laws of Kashrut to the rest of the team members, who made accommodations for him and his religious needs. “They were very receptive to it,” Daniel said. “They loved learning about it, too, and they made sure every time they were finding a place to eat they said, ‘Ok, there’s something there for Daniel and David.’” A lot of Daniel’s time was spent with his fellow members of Team USA, and he tried to do some personal outreach with them. Many had never gotten to know a Jewish person before. “I was sensitive to other people and other nations because the media right now is presenting things in a weird way, and I wanted them to see this is what a Jew is,” Daniel said. When it came time to compete, Daniel said that Team USA members were supportive and cheering each other on. The U.S. coach, Sasa Panic, advised and motivated Daniel and the other members throughout. Back in Los Angeles, Mr. Rokah was only partly surprised at the result. “I was very excited,” Mr. Rokah said. “At the same time I expected him to do really well, but you never know in competition. I knew he was ready for it.” For Daniel himself, it was also just another learning experience. “Participating in competitions, no matter how big they are, is just another way to see what you need to work on,” Daniel said. “I made dozens of mistakes in Brazil and I know that each will take years and maybe even decades to fix. I really like that this competition was something to push off of and learn from.”

The Boiling Point •January 2016• Sports

26 AGGRESSION: Firehawk star point guard Asher Remer leapt toward the basket as a member of the Berman Cougars jumped to block him on the first day of the Glouberman Basketball Tournament Nov. 12. Below, YULA fans mobbed the court after defeating Shalhevet 39-36 in the semi-final matchup. Eitan Halpert, on the floor, was unhurt.

BP Photos by Katia Serpin

Heschel wins boys Glouberman crown, Firehawks place third By ERIC BAZAK,

Editor-in-Chief

of Teaneck, N.J., Abraham Joshua Heschel School of New York City, Berman Hebrew Academy of Rockville, Md., and Akiva Hebrew Day School of Southfield, Mich. All the visiting players were housed with local families--46 families in all made space in their homes, according to Director of Development Claire Benyowitz, who managed hospitality. The tournament hosted a barbecue dinner Thursday night, a Shabbaton with Shabbat dinner and Seudat Shlishit, and a ceremony in honor of Steve Glouberman z”l, the Shalhevet parent for whom the tournament was named. All three of his children – Leah ’14, and twins Rachel and Jeremy ’15 – were there, Jeremy having flown in from Israel where he is studying at Torat Shraga yeshiva for his gap year. In the boys’ contest, the Heschel Heat were the clear favorite of the tournament, outscoring their opponents by double figures in each of their five games -- including a 61-39 outpour against the YULA Panthers to win the championship. Heschel stars Aaron Brandeis and Sam Schwartzben were named the

Bleachers, broadcasts and giant posters of Firehawk players’ heads were just a few of the signs of excitement surrounding the first Steve Glouberman Basketball Tournament when it finally debuted in the Shalhevet gym Nov. 12-15. Four days, 14 bracketed teams and tournament was Shalhevet boys’ semi32 basketball games later, the Heschel final match against YULA. Hundreds Heat of New York City cruised to the of fans from both teams packed into boys’ title while the Lady Firehawks the gym that Saturday night to watch were champions on the girls’ side. a low-scoring game that was relatively Shalhevet boys finished in third close throughout, ending with a Panplace after only suffering one loss -- a ther victory of 39-36. Shalhevet fans three point semi-finals defeat to their waved two-by-three-foot black-andcross-town rivals, the YULA Panthers. white posters of their players’ faces in The Lady Firehawks defeated the the crowd. Frisch Cougars for the girls’ title. Shalhevet senior Asher Remer, who Games were played in the new attended YULA for his first three years Shalhevet gym and the nearby Westof high school, knew it would be an side JCC. On-campus games were emotional game for him, and the Panbroadcast live via thecube.com, with ther fans were extra loud every time he play-by-play and color commentary by touched the ball. Boiling Point staff. “There are many emotions comings “It was an unqualified success,” with playing YULA,” Asher said right said Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal, before the game. “I have close friends who had planned to have a nationwide playing and in the stands bebasketball meet since before the cause I’ve been going to school new building was built. “Our with them three years prior. It’s guests felt great, the basketball There are many emotions coming with playing definitely going to be hard when was fantastic, it brought a trethey’re rooting against you.” mendous amount of pride to YULA. I have many close friends playing and in Fans reported that Asher was our community, and, of course, the stands. -Asher Remer verbally harassed when he got it honored Steve’s memory in a near the sidelines, with YULA really profound way.” fans chanting things like “We Along with Shalhevet and Heschel, teams competed from De To- most valuable players of the boys’ don’t want you.” “I really didn’t even hear them ledo (formerly New Community Jew- tournament. Senior Joe Schnitzer won ish High School) and YULA from Los the three-point contest by making the when I was playing,” Asher said. “Once Angeles, along with Frisch of Paramus, most three-point shots over the course the game starts the adrenalin takes over and you’re in your own world.” N.J., Salanter Akiba Riverdale (SAR) of all the boys’ games. Since it took place in Los Angeles, With YULA up by three points in Academy of Riverdale, N.Y., Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC) perhaps the most hyped up game of the the final seven seconds, Shalhevet had

a chance to send the game to overtime. The inbound pass went by Joe and was recovered by junior Edan Sokol close to the half court line. Edon drove inside and kicked it out to Jacob Dauer at the top of the key. With just a few seconds left, Jacob was left with no choice but to fling a contested, fade-away three-pointer which didn’t fall. At the sound of the buzzer, Panther fans stormed the court despite Shalhevet star junior Eitan Halpert laying down on the floor, which sparked a brief altercation between the two sides since the Firehawks were afraid Eitan would get trampled. “It was a good win, we fought really hard,” said Panther forward David Sassoon afterwards. “I credit all of my teammates moving the ball and that resulted in me being open. That’s just a result of good ball movement.” Rabbi Segal said officials have met a few times to debrief and find areas for improvement next year. He said they had not yet decided how many or which teams to invite. Only half the games were played at Shalhevet. The rest were played at the Westside Jewish Community Center, about a quarter-mile southeast of Shalhevet on Olympic Boulevard. One potential change next year would be finding an alternative to

the JCC. A lack of air conditioning and slippery court surface there were among problems cited by Rabbi Segal. Also, the internet was not sufficient for webcasting. “For the first year of a tournament, it was incredible,” Rabbi Segal said later. “There will always be some bumps in the road, but the tournament was really smooth and that’s a tribute to all of the volunteers and Shalhevet staff who worked tirelessly to make this happen.” Athletic Director Eli Schiff ran the clock for all but one game at the JCC. He said the atmosphere there was similar to that of the Shalhevet gym when the Shalhevet teams were not playing – that is, mostly quiet – except for during a lunchtime YULA game which attracted a larger audience of YULA fans. All five Sunday playoff games were in the gym, spread throughout the day. Mr. Schiff said he was fine with being stationed at the JCC. “The only game I really would have loved to see was the ShalhevetYULA game, but it was recorded and I watched that afterwards,” he said. As of Jan. 20, the Firehawks hold a 17-7 record overall. The boys team won the Milken Classic Tournament, which was held Dec. 1-3, winning three games and defeating Milken in the finals by a score of 59-50.

The Boiling Point •January 2016• Sports

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The Boiling Point • January 2016• Sports

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Glouberman champions stay on fire NFL Playoffs: Who will win Super Bowl 50? By KIAN MARGHZAR, Staff Columnist An NFL regular season full off injuries and questionable officiating is over, and the season progresses into the playoffs! My initial predictions on the first two rounds are on the Boiling Point Website, but here we are nearing the conference championship games, and my calls are 6-2 (like I said, go to shalhevetboilingpoint.com for proof )! Not bad for a high schooler trying to do a job that people do professionally. Let’s break them down. I picked the entire wild card round correctly. Thanks to Blair Walsh missing a 27-yard chip shot, the Seattle Seahawks escaped and all my picks were safe. Then came the divisional round. The Arizona Cardinals routed the Green Bay Packers in a crazy oneof-a-kind game and the Denver Broncos defeated the Steelers thanks to Fitzgerald Toussaint’s late fumble. However, I did get some picks wrong-- shocking, right? The Carolina Panthers had a 31-0 lead at halftime over the Seattle Seahawks, yet the Seahawks almost came back to win the game, outscoring Carolina 24-0 in the second half. I thought the Seahawks would win. The second incorrect pick is something I’m beating myself over: the Chiefs over the Patriots. Obviously it was an easy call to make, but everyone made it, so why not have an off chance at being called a genius and getting a job at ESPN on the spot? Now that the Patriots won, I’m not getting that call anytime soon. However, I’m not a complete idiot. The Chiefs would have had a chance if Andy Reid had used any of his three remaining timeouts, which he inexplicably did not. So now we approach where boys turn into men: the conference championships! I’m sticking to my old predictions as a matter of principle, despite the fact that my picks are favored to lose. (I can’t just back out, that would be cheating!) In the NFC, the Arizona Cardinals visit the Carolina Panthers and I’m staying with Arizona. The Panthers had a 31-0 halftime lead over the Seahawks last week and almost blew it. And those first-half points had been gifts from Seattle. Seattle neatly wrapped up a stupid pick-six (interception returned for a touchdown) for one of its two picks in the first half. That lead was almost erased as the Seahawks came roaring back behind Russell Wilson’s three clutch touchdowns and the defense’s shutout. Alas, my bottom line is that the Panthers shouldn’t be too comfortable. I think the Cardinals will win for a few reasons. Firstly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, Bruce Arians is a genius. His system has allowed a injury-prone 36 year old quarterback to prosper into a pro-bowler. Second, QB Carson Palmer won his first playoff game! He has finally gotten over his hump and has proven that he can win at a high level. His curse is lifted and he gained essential experience. With these tools, he can beat the Panthers. In the AFC, the top seeded Denver Broncos host the New England Patriots. While New England might have seemed back on top with their injured players back, I still give Denver the edge. In what might be the last time Peyton Manning and Tom Brady play against each other, this one will be one of Manning’s few victories against his rival. The Patriots played against a decent Kansas City Chiefs defense which pales in comparison to the number one rated Broncos defense. Packed with ProBowlers, the Denver defense will get the best of Brady. The Broncos played against one of the best offenses in the league – the Steelers. While Pittsburgh was missing Antonio Brown, they still had most of their weapons and sticked to their efficient plans. That will prepare the Broncos for New England’s firepower. The Super Bowl will be close, but ultimately I think that the Cardinals have too much going on for them to lose. WR Larry Fitzgerald and RB David Johnson on offense, combined with CB Patrick Peterson and DE Calais Campbell on defense, will be the difference-makers who propel them past Denver.

SCORE: Lady Firehawks cruise past Heschel in a crowded gym on their way to the finals in the first-ever Steve Glouberman meet.

BP Photo By Katia Serpin

In the second quarter, Nicole showed great ball handling and shot a beautiful three. Shaya made four three-pointers and a layup. At the After starting the season with dazzling play on the home court half, Shalhevet was up 38-16. to win the first-ever Steve Glouberman Basketball Tournament, the At the beginning of the third quarter, the team seemed to lose Shalhevet girls’ basketball team went on to win the annual Grizzly focus and Frisch cut their lead from 22 points to 13, but they were Classic in Downey and later defeated Beverly High in the very com- still ahead 49-34 at the end of the 3rd. petitive Milken Tournament the following month. In the final quarter, Shalhevet brought its A-game. But Frisch Led by captains Nicole Newman and Sarah Mankowitz and rebounded a lot and improved its defense. Coach Ronnie “Flava” Winbush, the team has played only in tourna“Our best plays are when we stopped the ball and played good ments so far. The regular season began Jan. 7, and since then they defense,” said Frisch shooting guard Julia Reichel afterwards. “We are 4-1. made sure that their outside shooters weren’t scoring.” “We have won two tournaments this year,” said Nicole. “That’s an But by the end of the game, it was clear that Shalhevet would amazing accomplishment.” win. In the last two minutes, Coach Flava put in the team’s five freshThe girls won all four games at the Downey tournament and lost men – Talia Abel, Lily Drazin, Talia Gill, Eliana Hirschman and Baiall but one at Milken, coming in seventh. ley Mendelson – who played their very first minutes in competition. Nicole said the Steve Glouberman tournament was the most spe“Going into the tournament we were a little nervous,” said guard cial, taking place in the new home gym Nov. 12 - 15. It was also the Talia Gill. “We had never seen us play against another team and we first time in five years the team had appeared without former captain didn’t know how we were going to be. On the court we acted really and standout Sigal Spitzer ’15. united, we made good passes and we made good shots and we proved “They were our first wins of the season,” she said. “It really es- ourselves.” tablished us as a team with our own leaders, and not thinking about The Lady Firehawks won 58-41. who wasn’t there.” The team was very happy, but there was no crowd to jump on The girls won a first-place banner as well as individual awards. the team because it was so early in the morning. The girls celebrated Sophomore Loren Edry, power-forward and guard, was MVP, quietly and spoke to reporters. and sophomore and guard Shaya Rosen won the three-point contest. Shaya said the team’s practices had made the difference. Modern Orthodox high schools from around the country par“In practices we went over a lot of our plays and we did them ticipated in the tournament, which was named for Shalhevet parent correctly, and applied that to the game so it went well,” said Shaya, Steve Glouberman z”l, who died last year. adding, “I’ve been playing my whole life and it just comes naturally Coach Flava said everyone played well. to me, and I just played really well.” “We shot the ball well and we played Loren said they worked so well toWe shot the ball well and we played hard on hard on the defensive side and made a lot gether that she was surprised to win MVP. of good stops,” Coach Flava said. “The ‘We bonded on and off the court,” the defensive side and made a lot of good team played well, so we played well, and Loren said. stops. The team played well, so we palyed we got good results.” Frisch – also playing early in its season well, and we got good results. The Firehawks played four games over – said the team’s Thursday game against the course of the tournament, and their Akiva Hebrew Day School of Detroit, -Coach Flava opponents were Heschel, Berman, and Mich., had been its best. The Cougars Frisch. They played Heschel twice and beat won that game 53-7. Frisch to take the championship. “Our first game was our best game, we Their first game was at noon on the first day of the tournament, really proved to ourselves that we can we play as a team,” said Frisch Nov. 12 against the Heschel Heat of New York City. Shalhevet scored senior Rachel Krause. “It was only our second game we played toin the first 16 seconds and won 46-13. gether and we played with heart and had a huge victory.” Their second game was that afternoon against Melvin J. Berman Nicole said the other teams had been strong opponents. Hebrew Academy of Rockville, Md. The girls were unstoppable of“We got a lot of rebounds which was really good, and we did a lot fensively and defensively and cruised to a 53-30 victory. of ball movement on the top which helped us get a lot of 3-pointers,” The third game, a semi-final to determine who would play for the said Nicole. “I think we just came in and we really wanted to win championship, was against Heschel on Saturday night. and we wanted it more than the other teams. We brought our talents It was a full house, and most fans wore red and black. They were together and pulled it off.” cheering and screaming for the Firehawks. The visiting teams united, In Downey, the first two games were easy for the Firehawks. They with those who were not playing all cheering for the Heat. defeated Saddleback of Santa Ana 50 -14 and crushed Port of Los All of the fans were pumped up by the music playing during Angeles of San Pedro, 56-7. timeouts and halftime. Senior Jake Benyowitz, acting as MC, introTheir final two games were closer. Game 3 was against Buena duced the lineups and got everyone excited. Park and Shalhevet won 49-22, and the final game, against Calvary Once again it was a breeze for the home team. The Lady Fire- Chapel of Santa Ana, was a nailbiter: the Firehawks won, 41-40. hawks won 52-37 and headed for the championship match-up, Nicole said the earlier wins might have cost them some victories against the Cougars of Frisch High School of Paramus, N.J. at Milken. On Sunday at 9:30 a.m., the Firehawks took on the Cougars for “I think we were tired coming off of two tournaments,” she said. the championship. The gym was quiet as it was an early game, and “These teams were a different caliber team than the ones of the other only a handful of people came out. tournaments. But I think we still played very well.” The reason for the early start was that the Cougars had airline At Milken, the team played four games in four days. They lost reservations back to New York in the afternoon. But it wasn’t an three -- 70-29 against Saugus, 65-56 against Archer School for Girls, unusual scene for the Lady Firehawks. which is in Brentwood, and 48-45 against AGBU of Canoga Park. “That’s just woman’s sports,” Nicole said later. “It’s a sad reality.” That was a close one, ending with a buzzer beater three-pointer. The game was broadcast and can still be viewed on The Cube, The Firehawks did win against Beverly Hills High, 52-45. with Boiling Point staffers Jordan Fields calling the plays and Alec Junior Liora Rabizadeh thinks that team chemistry has had a lot Fields providing color commentary. to do with the wins so far. The game started quickly. Loren Edry passed to Nicole Newman “It was a mixture of the bonding that we did and the chemistry who passed to Liora Rabizadeh for a layup in the first 15 seconds. that we built over the weekend on the Shabbaton,” she said. “EvThe real shining star in the game was Shaya Rosen, who hit three- erybody played their best, and everyone played together instead of pointer after three-pointer. She had 13 in the first three games. focusing on themselves. We helped each other instead of being inThe first quarter was close; Shalhevet led 11-8 at the end of it. dependent.”

By CLARA SANDLER, Staff Writer