, 7 " SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL ĂĄ - / ; 6/ ĂĄ # @>?B < 4 CEEB ĂĄ * ?C; 1 ? ĂĄ = =
Alumna safe after LAPD takes 25 minutes to arrive at homeinvasion robbery By Eric Bazak, Features Editor It took around 25 minutes for police to arrive at alumna Annelise Asch’s house on Tuesday afternoon, July 22. Annie spent those minutes locked in her closet, as two robbers broke into her home and attempted to stash some valuables in a suitcase. Fortunately, Annie and her house were left relatively unscathed, as the robbers left the home, located on Airdrome Street arrived and without the suitcase Annie was not disappointed with how long it took for the police to get to her door, saying they stayed on the phone with her, quickly arranged for ways of catching the men, and situated a helicopter overhead. “The helicopter was above my house within a minute,� Annie said in an interview. “The woman on the phone explained that they were setting up a perimeter around my house to make sure that they
HOMEWARD: Jake Benyowitz, Nathan Benyowitz and Will Bernstein cross Olympic Boulevard on their way to the old student parking lot, across the street from the building on Fairfax.
BP Photo by Goldie Fields
School year begins at JCC By Alexa Fishman, Commmunity Editor Jewish Community Center Sept. 2, with 186 students arriving in cars and on foot for the start of what promised to be a very unusual year. With construction continuing on the new school building at the old location on Fairfax Avenue, the entire school has moved three blocks east to the JCC, where the building is there are no lockers or parking places. The
what’sinside
for school next fall. “I think the haimish-ness of the facility will breed creativity and strong relationships,� said Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal. But early reaction from most students was less optimistic. “It’s always boiling, there’s not central spot for us to hang out, and we don’t even have gym access,� said junior Jacob Dauer after his
On Thursday, with temperatures in the high 80’s, Student Activities director Raizie Weissman handed out logo-emblazoned cardboard fans. But upstairs the classrooms were still sweltering as the second week of school began. Unlike the old building – a sprawling, onestory structure that used to be a hospital -- the three-story JCC has a single hallway with nine scattered throughout the JCC. denominational synagogue IKAR, as well -
SPECIAL SECTION: Summer of War
not shared the incident report with The Boiling Point, though it is a public record under state law. An LAPD spokesman who would not give his name and said he was not familiar with the case said response time depends on a “code� that the 911 dispatcher assigns based on the urgency of the call. “Non-coded� is the least urgent category and Code 3 is the most. In an e-mail to The Boiling 3 permits the use of sirens and response. “WLA [LAPD’s West Los Angeles division] is currently at 7.7 Continued on Page 5
Foundation in place on Fairfax for new building By Noah Rothman, Torah Editor
AP Psychology class Aug. 26. “Change is always worse.� Most classes this year are being held in nine airy but non-air-conditioned rooms upstairs, though a few meet in an air-conditioned, di-
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caught the men. So I honestly think that they handled it as best they could and came in when I needed them. “ But the robbers were not caught. Annie overheard them saying they didn’t have much time before police would arrive, but in fact they had nearly half an hour.
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around and getting ready to lay the new building’s foundations Shalhevet High School’s new on wood and steel blocks that are building is growing—from the basement up. Trucks have been ment. digging, workers Chris Ward, the building, and the building’s architect, foundational beams said that was a sign are rising. of things to come. “Right now we are “In a few weeks right on time – right the steel frame where we want to will be erected on be,� said Don Tinkley, the site,� said Mr. project superintenWard in an e-mail dent for the building’s BP Photo by Jordan Levine response to Boilcontractor, Ed Grush GROUND: Pillars rise ing Point questions, General Contrac- toward street level at the “and you will be tor Inc, as he toured site of the new building. able to see it from the construction site the street, emerging with a reporter Aug. from the dust of the demolition.� 27. The building is supposed to The guided walk revealed the be ready for the 2015-2016 school footprint of the old building’s baseyear. ment laying wide open with wood This month, workers at 910 Continued on Page 2 South Fairfax are moving dirt
B New Teac her
?> StockTalk High holiday investing
?@ 56 new freshmen
The Boiling Point
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September 2014
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SPACE: The now usable basement of the new building is bigger than expected, meaning more space available upstairs. BP Photo by Jordan Levine
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The Boiling Point
September 2014
Community
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School welcomes freshmen at BBQ
The Year of Living DANGEROUSLY
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The Boiling Point
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September 2014
Community
New science teacher aims students toward future By Alexa Fishman, Editor-in-Chief Teaching at a Jewish school for Conservative chazzan Ms. Melanie Fine is bringing a new approach to science to Shalhevet. velop an interest in pushing science terviews.
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SCIENCE: Ms. Melanie Fine will be teaching Physics, Biology, and AP Chemistry. She is also an ordained chazzanit from JTS. Ms. Fine will be teaching Biol-
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The Boiling Point
September 2014
Community
Alumna safe after LAPD takes 25 minutes to arrive at home invasion robbery in Beverlywood
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the newspaper to continue There has been no call so far. not see it because a reporter
Screenshot from KTLA.com
ROBBERY: Alumna Annie Asch ‘14 appears on KTLA news after robbers broke into her home July 22. She hid in her closet and was afraid to come out even after police arrived. Suspects escaped despite a police perimeter.
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unhurt. that it was not serious enough to sible arrival.
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WANDERING JEW Rachel
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The Boiling Point • September 2014 • Community
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p e f u l l y ) o n e e x c e p t i o n a l y e a r, s kind of all over the place Student Lot
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School year begins at Westside JCC Continued from Page 1 cabi Games, an afternoon Hebrew school and swimming classes in an Olympic-size pool. Those areas, along with a threeFirehawks. one block west and across the street. Last Thursday, school custodians Jose -
similar to my college dormitory experiof ‘no boundaries’ is most clearly manially on top of each other. But I’m excited for the good company.” Since there is no air conditioning, four large fans blow air into the hallway to keep the air moving. The JCC was has air conditioning.
created noisy breezes in hallways. Large into the building by a JCC security classroom windows clanged open and Muriel Ohana is just past the circular shut in the wind. main lobby on There are no lockers in the a meeting room building, and selounge for teachers niors and juniors The JCC is the perfect opis just behind her. are parking in the tion for Shalhevet for it’s According to old student lot across Fairfax from location, and the tight corthe old school. ners just add to the exciting Lewis, Shalhevet “I hate that ambiance on which Shalhepaid to repaint the I need to get to classrooms, install school an extra 15 vet prides itself. minutes earlier so -- Micah Gill, 11th grade TV’s and a PA system, and replace I can walk to the the mirrors in the building,” said sebathroom in order nior Shana Chriki. “And I have no idea where they expect to prepare the JCC for students. The JCC me to keep all my books because I am meanwhile bought new toilet seats, new paint for the bathrooms, and new light not walking back and forth to my car.” The old building building had 14 Town Hall will be held in the auditoclassrooms, compared to the 11 in the JCC this year. At the same time, enroll- rium downstairs last period on Tuesday ment has climbed by 27 students, to 188. afternoons. Since Shalhevet cannot use That means teachers will be using the JCC kitchen, students will choose multiple classrooms a day, meaning that among four options from Nagilla Meatthey will not have a singular room to ing Place, Bibi’s Warmstone, Shanghai store their classroom supplies. depending on the day. Opinions are not unanimous. because I like having everything I need at hand,” said AP Psychology teacher Mrs. Tove Sunshine. “I am trying to be do more things,” said sophomore Hanopen-minded so I can learn to use many green, and orange classroom hallway is being shared by General Studies PrinNoam Weissman and Mr. Jason Feld, Jewish History teacher and Coordinator of Education Technology and Curricular Integration.
Page design by Margo Feuer
to access the pool.” are excited about changing the atmosphere. “I think that it’s an adjustment,” said junior Micah Gill. “That being said, it’s the perfect option for Shalhevet for it’s location, and the tight corners just add to the exciting ambiance on which Shalhevet prides itself.”
The Boiling Point
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Opinion
September 2014
Opinion
UNSIGNED EDITORIALS
Complaining will not get us to the Promised Land By the BP Editorial Board
sides to living in the desert, and those ancient Israelites sure weren’t going to let anyone forget it. Passerbys in Moses’ camp would often hear -
Thirty-seven-thousand square feet, three stories, the Promised Building. We want it as badly as Mashiach. If the new building is the Land of Milk and Honey, the JCC is the Sinai Desert. It’s hot, it’s
For constantly kvetching about the desert, our
ished to spend a few more decades wandering it. So, unless you want to spend a lifetime in the JCC, don’t bug Rabbi Segal guessed we were going to bring this
natural defenses against roving Amalekite tribes. Under Moses, it took a whole 40 years to emerge from these kinds of conditions. Under Rabbi Segal, thank God, it’s only supposed to take one. We admit, this comparison is a little absurd. lesson to be learned from our desert-wandering ancestors that we Shalhevetians should take to heart.
Basically, the ancient Israelites were pros at this new skill. All this complaining didn’t help them get what they wanted. God was sort of doing we Israelites a big favor by leading us to a pretty Land, and He expected gratitude, not attitude. A
invention of kvetching. There were a lot of down-
administrators really are trying their best to make our temporary stay in the JCC as comfortable as possible, and hostile We need to avoid the pitfalls of the blamegame. So come on everyone -- let’s stay constructive. Instead of attacking the administration for taking us to the Sinai desert for a year, let’s thank them for doing what it takes to bring us to the Promised
only diminished God’s natural desire to help them.
BP Drawomg by Michaela Bieda
We would love to hear the police’s side of the story By the BP Editorial Board Plastered on the side of every LAPD police car is a motto: “To Protect and to Serve.” It’s a promise that the Los Angeles Police Department makes to us, and one we trust them to follow through on. The expectation is that they will keep utes to respond in person to an emergency call from 18-year-old alumna Annie Asch, who had locked herself in a bedroom closet as two burglars pillaged her gency. They sent a helicopter right away, but police on the ground were apparently not authorized to use sirens to get there faster.
quickly shift their operations and address a crime that’s out of the way. Certainly we owe them a tremendous gratitude for the massive decrease in crime they’ve achieved in the past couple decades by focusing on higher-crime areas. But they can’t let those of us who don’t live in South Central or downtown fall through the cracks. intruders could have seriously hurt someone in her position. If it had been a The LAPD should revise its procedures to keep things like this from happening. First and foremost, it needs to reevaluate its emergency coding system, which in its current state apparently labeled Annie’s danger-
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long to respond to an emergency that’s this immediate, then we’re all at risk, particularly in areas where police are spread thin. Maybe sirens should be allowed more easily if a police car starts farther from the scene. they need to answer our questions and identify
department’s leisurely response to a crime-in-progress that clearly needed police presence as quickly as possible. Almost anyone would agree that leaving an 18-year-old girl trapped in a house with two intruding criminals to fend for herself is a bad idea. The LAPD might have a good explanation for the long time they took to arrive at Annie’s house, but if they do they’re not telling us. Though we called an
Relations should not be anonymous. He also should release public records to the public, and not discriminate on the basis of age or status.
school newspaper.
at the scene of the crime with enough time to save us. Knowing what delayed their response to Annie, whether or not it needs changing, would let us all breathe a little easier. That, too, is part of what it means to protect and serve.
Second,
BP Drawing by Sara Sobolev
THE BOILING POINT National Scholastic Press Association
Editor-in-Chief Alexa Fishman
Executive Editor Goldie Fields
Community Editor Rose Lipner
Managing Editor Margo Feuer
Opinion Editor Daniel Steinberg
Chief Layout Editor Rachel Spronz
Sports Editor Mati Hurwitz
Layout Editor Michelle Hirschhorn
Torah Editor Noah Rothman
Photography Editor Jordan Levine
Features Editor Eric Bazak
Advertising Editor Shoshi Miller
Outside News Editor Jonah Gill
Technology Artist Gabe Silverstein
Arts & Culture Editor Maayan Waldman
Illustrations Editor Michaela Bieda
Faculty Advisor Mrs. Joelle Keene
Website Editor-in-Chief Nicole Feder
Pacemaker Finalist 2012
Know it when we do.
Critique Service First Place Award with Marks of Distinction 2011, 2013 All-American 2009, 2012
Simon J. Rockower Awards 2013, 2014
Gold Crown Award 2013, 2014
International First Place Award 2012, 2011 First Place Awards in Jewish Scholastic Journalism
Gold Circle Awards 2011-2013 Columbia Scholastic Press Association
National Award Winner 2007-2014
www. shalhevet boilingpoint. com
2013 Inaugural Convention
Letters to the Editor
When we know it, you’ll know it.
The Boiling Point
September 2014
Opinion
9
TWO BOILING POINTS OF VIEW:
The new co-curricular ‘point’ system
Finally, a system that makes sense By Avishai Rabin, 12th grade
By Sigal Spitzer, Senior Staff Writer “Fair isn’t equal, fair is when everyone gets what they need in order to be successful.” That is a quote I learned from my supervisor this past summer at sleep-away The new system of co-curricular “points” at Shalhevet does not treat the student body fairly and does not give each student what he or she needs in order to be successful. Co-curriculars have been a vital part of a Shalhevet student’s life since its founding. The addition of many more options – along with more advanced courses –has increased the stress and pressure for some students in recent years. But the new point system does not tackle the root of the average student’s problem. Firstly, if Shalhevet wants to create a system to monitor time spent on activities outside of the classroom, it must be an all-encompassing list. The new point system only includes certain co-curriculars. For example, the Finance Club, Girls Learn International group, Student Activities Committee, Fairness Committee and the Dungeons and Dragons club are all awarded no points – a student could be on all those clubs and receive no points for any of them. Second, the system does not count any of the outside-of-school activities Shalhevet students are involved in, such as volunteering at Friendship Circle, helping in the kids group at a local shul or working in a community shop. They, too, add to a student’s repertoire of activities and can create problems with time management. Not counting them punishes students who give their all to Shalhevet, while awarding unlimited
created a system that proactively and accurately limits how many co-curricular activities a student can take to a reasonable number. drama script, choir notes, debate speech, and 17 other assignments from classes and cocurricular activities, only to discover later that their grades are falling and they’re now time. Mr. Buck-
ley’s new paradigm solves these problems in advance. Past systems waited to restrict students’ activities until they had a C or lower in at least one class, or were involved in too many activities from one department (e.g., sports teams with overlapping game or practice schedules). The new system ties that demand the most time and lets them choose from a menu while staying under a preset limit. dents, especially compared to these past methods. For co-curricular teachers, however, the process was complicated – they looked carefully at how much time each activity demands and also on in it, because some clubs and sports may meet more than others but require less from each how much work each activity takes and thus prevents students from overburdening themselves. The new policy will also increase Shalhevet students’ dedication towards the activities that they do choose. By being limited to a few clubs
chesed groups. Third, those school clubs that do receive points are assigned with arbitrary numbers. Choir, which meets twice a week for less Baseball, which meets three to four times a week including practices and games, is only given 6 points. Also, except for Boiling Point and Drama, the point system fails to count extra time for leadership positions, which do take extra time. And fourth, even classes are handled unequally. There are no points awarded for the new Judaic class, the Advanced Gemara Shiur (AGS), but CIJE
BP Photo by Goldie Fields
day. Still, the bottom line is that students are overworked and overstressed. Now more than ever, both the Judaic and General Studies curricula require intense work and studying. AP classes and honors classes – not considered in the point system at all – require an exorbitant amount of time. While one may argue that something needs to be changed, the current point system is not the answer. Shalhevet prides itself on providing each student with what he or she needs. We tion. Rabbi Segal constantly says that we deal with problems on a “case-by-case case basis.” If we abide by this philosophy in a formal academic setting, why enforce the exact opposite in the informal arena? Each student should take on however much he or she can handle, while maintaining academic excellence. Some students will be on more clubs and sports teams and some students will take more honors and AP classes. For some sophomores 18 points involved. At the end of the day, Shalhevet strives to provide each student with individualized attention and care. No two students learn in the same fashion in the classroom and no two students get involved in the same way outside of the classroom. Academically Shalhevet provides options and co-curricularly we are known for having the most dynamic program imaginable. child b’darko,” according to his way. Let us keep sparking the spirit of Shalhevet in every single student and provide everyone with an opportunity to maximize his or her potential – whatever that may be.
to perform better than ever. If someone chooses Choir, Boiling Point and AIPAC, for example, he or she will perform better in all three because of the extra attention they can give to each without Drama and Volleyball also weighing down their workload. It’s true that Mr. Buckley’s system is blind towards activities outside of school, and some student-run clubs. Out-of-school activities are ignored
student-run clubs aren’t listed because a student doesn’t need to deliver timeconsuming, high-quality work. Members of the Baseball team and Basketball teams are responsible towards each other, as are Drama, Choir, Debate and Boiling Point members. But Bo’s Barista Bar is only responsible to Bo’s Barista Bar. In the past, I’ve seen Shalhevet students overwhelmed with their schoolwork compensate by dropping classes or moving down from an honors track to a regular one. They refuse to acknowledge they are overburdened with extra-curriculars, so their teammates Psych. The system is also blind towards schoolwork -- because classes have always run on weaker than it should be by warning you of the most obvious consequence: your grade. Co-curricular activities are absolutely “extra,” and aren’t graded. The Advanced Gemara shiur and Honors Judaic Studies track assign extra work but take place during school, while CIJE and Model Congress meet after school and don’t have the same deterrence for submitting poor work as classes have. Of course there are students who can balance all of their extra-curricular activities process where Mr. Buckley, Mr. Feld, and Ms. Walls will decide if they may assume the responsibilities of more clubs and sports. If a student had no trouble in the past maintaining many activities, then the appeal process will most likely permit them to continue their membership in all of them. themselves cursing their workload at one in the morning as they balance an essay for an AP class with a revision of their article for the Boiling Point.
Need help writing your college essay? Want to perfect your supplementary essays? Looking to improve your writing skills? Lynn Rohatiner 310.562.7778 zalissue@gmail.com
10 HTTP://WWW.SHALHEVETBOILINGPOINT.COM/ W PStockTalk -CONTENT/UPL O A D S /2013/10/ SCREEN-SHOT2013-10-08- AT 2.52.17-PM.PNG
Sell Rosh, buy Yom...?
By Boaz Willis, Staff Columnist As I was rummaging through my mind to think of something to write about to start the school year, I wondered whether there could be any direct ties between Wall Street and Jewish life and traditions. My attention turned to the High “Stock picks for Rosh Hashanah.” To my surprise, two out of the three top articles that appeared tied Rosh Hashanah to investing. What did I learn? There is a phrase thrown around here and there as the High Holidays come around on Wall Street: “Sell Rosh, buy Yom.” And in fact, those might be the very words that investors think about when the S&P is dropping during the Yamim Noraim, or 10 Days of Awe, spanning from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. It turns out that one Art Cashin, director of company UBS, wrote an article about this at High Holiday season in 2012. This article has been quoted dozens of times all over the internet. “The way I learned it,” Mr. Cashin stated in his column for the online newsletter UBS Wealth Management, “you sell on Rosh Hashanah and buy back on Yom Kippur. The thesis, I was told, was that you wished to be free as much as possible of the distraction of worldly goods during a period of So is this just a tradition that resides on Wall Street, or is it a legitimately smart move for one’s portfolio? According to research done by Bespoke Investment Group and quoted in Mr. Cashin’s column, there is legitimacy to this position. From 2000 to 2012, the S&P 500 has averaged a negative 1.43 percent return during the span of the 10 days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. down in 2008, following this tradition could have saved you from the 17.76 percent loss that the S&P experienced during these days. While I’d like to think that these losses occurred because we Jews control the money supply and we really are buying less during a period of Yom Kippur tend to fall in the month of September, which historically doesn’t perform well for the markets. Since 1950 the S&P has declined an average of 0.7 percent during the month of September, and customarily springs higher during the months of December and January. My advice to you is not to necessarily participate in this trend, but perhaps to refrain from monitoring the markets so closely during the 10 days – to be, as Mr. Cashin said, “free of the distraction of worldly goods.” Wishing everyone a Shana Tovah and easy fast. STOCKTALK UPDATE: Last June, this column noted that investors should invest in GMCR, otherwise known as Keurig, when it was priced at $112: “I believe GMCR will continue to grow and prosper because it spends time making money and cutting deals to propel itself along.” On Aug. 22, GMCR announced that it had made its single-serving brewing machines. The sale went through and as of Sept. 3, GMCR was trading at $133.96, which is 10.94 percent higher than when this column announced GMCR as a buy.
The Boiling Point
September 2014
Opinion
Common ground: Shalhevet and Muslim teens want chance for peace By Daniel Steinberg, Marwa Abdelghani, Margo Feuer, and Mona Ghannoum
the same intense emotions in each of us. Pain, frustration, anger, fear. Perhaps we are such attractive targets because we We are teenagers on summer vacation. Some of us are tend to be vulnerable. Perhaps our naivete makes us easy religious Jews and some of us are religious Muslims. We prey: we are often too idealistic to recognize those with malicious intent. Twisted people target us because we are We are your future. And four quite like us -- Naftali an easy way to get at our families, our nations, our tribes, Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer, Eyal Yifrach, and Mohammed Abu our humanity. Khdeir – were recently killed in a war they didn't choose But while the extremists’ intent in killing teenagers is or try to join. to perpetuate war and violence, their recent actions have These four only brought the two teenagers were not sides closer together. militants any more Rational people on than we are, and both sides feel comnow their lives are pelled to make these over and their fudeaths worth something. Naftali, Gilad, Though we may not BP Photo Illustration by Gabe Silverstein and Eyal were on agree on other things, their way home we all agree that these senseless murders are not helping from school when they were abducted and murdered by anyone. Now, we must strive to come out of this tragedy extremists. When radicals burned him to death, Mohamed a little bit closer to a solution than when we started. was on his way to a suhoor breakfast, the early morning Perhaps our youth and vulnerability create the pospre-fast meal before the sun rises on Ramadan. We too go to school, we eat, and we observe our college dorms and youth groups, some of us are getting to cultural and reknow one another. ligious holidays. Previous generations have not been able to secure the We have friends We must strive to come out of dreams of either side. Don’t kill us before we even have and family living this tragedy a little bit closer to near where these the chance to try. a solution than when we started teenagers lived. DANIEL STEINBERG and MARGO FEUER are the BoilSome of us have ing Point’s Opinion Editor and even been there MONA GHANNOUM and MARWA ABDELGHANI are ourselves. members of the Islamic Center of Southern California. Mona We come from all sides of the religious and political just graduated from Arcadia High School and Marwa is a spectrums and carry many perspectives, some of which sophomore at UC Irvine. seem unreconcilable. But across all those divergent perThis article was also published in The Jewish Journal on spectives, the deaths of these four boys have awakened July 23. 2014 .
We’ve got that summertime Jew-ness By Rina Katzovitz, Staff Writer
At the end of every class I was faced with a dilemma: chow down with the rest of the students or watch as my peers consumed the delicacies I labored to create. Each day I made the same choice, to abstain from eating. The academy I studied at was not kosher. All the pans, ramekins and serving dishes once had held prosciutto or some other food prohibited by Jewish law. All the utensils we used to prepare the food were treif. So again and again, I decided to not eat any of the food I created – a choice that I do not face at home, in my neighborhood or at Shalhevet. Other students made similar choices throughout the summer -- to wake up early to pray in the morning, to keep Shabbat though their family doesn’t, to attend a pro-Israel demonstration, or say tehillim (psalms) once a week
The crash of waves against the sand and rock music blasting from speakers at a party are not the only sounds of summer for a Shalhevet student. Many students over the summer hear the raucous Shabbos songs of summer camp, or the lecturing of a Rebbi. Many become more personally connected with Judaism in ways that they aren’t able to at school. This past summer, more than 30 Shalhevet students went to Israel, either on programs or with their families, and in spite of the war that This summer even watching raged there for 50 days. At school the news was a way for student to we can take pride in showing our connect. We saw the war through a solidarity with Israel, but in the summer we can to go and express it. Again and again, I decided to not eat Other students become closer to Judaism in more any of the food I created - a choice subtle ways, because they that I do not face at home, in my venture out into the world neighborhood or at Shalhevet. where they begin to face choices and challenges. For example, this summer I took a cooking class at Jewish lens. Many of us knew people a culinary academy. I made citrus miso chicken and various other gourmet dishes.
knew people from the community
So though most students didn’t go to Jewish programs, they connected to Judaism in their own unique way. Some students worked as counselors and advisors at Jewish summer camps. Teaching kids Jewish songs and laws gives students a whole new perspective on their meaning and importance. Senior Max Helfand said “seeing the process from an outside perspective gave me a unique appreciation for when I get to partake in religious activities and daven myself.” Then there were those who took week seminar on Jewish Law in New York, and senior Margo Feuer went to a specialized Jewish program at Yale. Margo said she was “able to connect with issues, form my own opinions, and then debate them with others who cared about them as well.” The program also gave her the chance to study with great Jewish scholars like Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, and – as she put it -- “peers as interested as I am in the Jewish future.” Shalhevet students connect with their faith over the summer in a way that they don’t have time to do over the course of the school year. They have time to check the Israeli newspapers, say psalms and mentor Jewish youth -- and abstain from eating prosciutto-laden quiches. It gives a whole new meaning to the term religious freedom.
The Boiling Point thanks Robyn Lewis, Manny Fernandez, Jose Flores, Ruben Merino, Yossie Frankel, Ivan Donadic, Lili Einalhori, Claire Benyowitz, Stacey Enoch and David Keene for to the JCC ...and elsewhere.
The Boiling Point
September 2014
Torah & Sports
11
Sports THE BOILING POINT
SEPTEMBER 2014
Not quite a home court, but PE gets a gym at JCC By Mati Hurwitz, Sports Editor PE classes will use an indoor gym and athletic court this year indoor gym classes since it was last housed in the JCC building in the mid-1990s. This gym is a familiar sight for rivalry games every year between
Under Shalhevet’s lease agreement with the JCC, the school gets according to PE coach Raelyn Bieda. Any additional hours, such as games, events and practices, must be paid for and reserved through the JCC separately. As in previous years, YULA has reserved it for practice after school this year. According to Shalhevet Ath-
and volleyball. But in an ironic twist, the YULA Panthers – not the Fire-
ing Shalhevet wouldn’t have gym
Shalhevet team practices will once again this year be held at Ohr Eliyahu, located near the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Beverly Boulevard.
the JCC. “We use Ohr Eliyahu because it has more consistent availability Volleyball and Boys Varsity Bas-
Torah THE BOILING POINT
SEPTEMBER 2014
already started practicing in the JCC after Shalhevet’s designated hours are over. There was no gym at all in the old building at San Vicente and Fairfax. For the last several years, PE was on the Sport Court; lot. Toward the end of last year – after the Sport Court was demolished – PE consisted of a jog around the Fairfax - San Vicente neighborhood. Some days people Now, students have the chance to run, play and exercise on the coated wooden surface of the “It’s a much better surface for
No one had to be there, and there were no grades. Everyone on the program wanted to learn. There were 20 students on the Dr. Beth Sammuels Drisha Summer High School program, which brings girls from all over the world to the Upper West Side of Manhattan in order to study Jewish texts for
rabbis had gone to great lengths in order to prevent people from being declared mamzers. In fact, some rabbis went so far as to say that babies born to a mother who has been away from her husband for 12 months are not considered mamzers, because babies may linger in the womb for three months. Though this seems silly and is scien-
Philosophy. One of the most interesting mamzer in Jewish law. A mamzer is a child who is born out of ship. This is a particularly painful topic in Judaism because the mamzer is not allowed to marry another Jew despite the fact that he did not do anything wrong the topic because of the perceived injustice. I was convinced that the rabbis’ deci-
New luxuries aside, the gym is not air conditioned. There are two huge fans located on opposite sides of the room that cool it down.In case of too much heat outside or even inside, Coach Rae the location of PE classes might be changed. Also, Rabbi Segal sent out an email Sept. 2 advising
hoops and volleyball court. Along with additions to the program, Shalhevet PE students will still run for 10 minutes at the beginning of class, Coach Rae said. Also, she said they may still run outside, around the neighborhood surrounding the JCC.
“We have placed water coolers throughout the school and STRONGLY encourage you to wrote to the entire Shalhevet community.
A summer of learning for girls
sions were just cruel and uncaring.
Shalhevet students to attend the program in nine years. I had never been in such a purely learn-
push-ups and sit-ups than other surfaces before,” Coach Rae told the Boiling Point. That, she said, means a chance to mix up a broader range of PE class activities. “I have more freedom to do more things,” Coach Rae said, including playing more team sports
Drisha:
By Anna Gordon, Staff Writer
They had come from Israel, England, Canada and throughout the U.S. Sopho-
BP Photo by Goldie Fields
feel a new sense of respect towards the rabbis whom I had previously considered class ended up teaching me just how much compassion goes into the process of creating Jewish law. It wasn’t what I’d expected to learn, Sometimes while I was at Drisha I thought about how amazing it is that we are able to study and comprehend this daily lives as Orthodox Jews. Reading the Gemara and connecting with the Rabbis who lived over a thousand years ago is a fascinating experience. Most girls don’t get the opportunity to learn Gemara and other Jewish texts in such a concentrated way, though it’s
Photo Courtesy of Anna Gordon
SACRED: Twenty girls studied Tanakh, Gemara and other religious texts at the Drisha institute in New York last summer. One was senior Anna Gordon, right.
normal in the Orthodox community for boys. The program lasted from June 29 to August 1. portunity out there for girls is important,
So spread the word. Drisha gives girls a chance to enjoy something rewarding and unexpected.
12
Arts & Culture
THE BOILING POINT
SEPTEMBER 2014
Arts department turns challenge into creativity By Maayan Waldman, Arts & Culture Editor Moving to the Westside Jewish Community Center has posed particular challenges for Shalhevet’s arts departments, but teachers say the change of scenery will allow for more creativity. Since the JCC does not have an art studio or theater, art classes will be in a room shared with three other departments, and Drama productions will be in rented out professional theaters, according to Co-curricular chair Mr. Chris Buckley. The shift won’t have much of an affect on drama programming, according to Drama teacher Ms. Emily Chase. That’s because it always changing based on student interests and feedback, she said. pending on who wants to do drama, what they’re interested in, what type of play we’re going to do,” Ms. Chase said. “So I feel like this is just another form theater.” Ms. Chase predicts that the kids will enjoy working with a professional theater for the fall play. When Shalhevet was at the JCC in the early 1990s, rehearsals were held in Berch Hall and there would be a week of technical and dress rehearsals in a rented-out professional theater before opening night at that venue. This year, Drama practice will be in the JCC’s Founders Room, and again students this year will have a limited time performing on set. Ms. Chase said this is actually comparable to the professional acting world, where actors only practice for one or two weeks in the play’s actual set. was always available to host practices and performance. “We had a very unique situation where we could re-
hearse in the same place we’re performing” Ms. Chase said. “Even professional actors don’t get to do that.” For the annual student-created spring production, Ms. the theme of the play. For instance, The Manor, a popu-
This is actually a blessing in disguise, because it allows me to try new things. --Ms. Roen Salem, art teacher “I want to pick a really interesting place that the students are interested in,” Chase said, “and take advantage of the fact that we don’t have the space and be as innovative as possible.” Meanwhile in the Art department, art teacher Mrs. Roen Sathe Math department and classes taught by Atara Segal and William Reusch. It has no sink and therefore no place to wash brushes, Ms. Salem said, but the room has windows and lots of storage. “It will be a challenge for everybody,” Ms. Salem said, “but it
lar murder mystery, is performed at the Greystone Manor. way stations and empty malls, for example.
program.” Ms. Salem plans to incorporate more classical drawing lessons, art history, and perspective -- subjects that were not emphasized in past years because her classes did more paper-mache and painting, which require clean up that will come as a challenge in the JCC. BP Photo By Goldie Fields “This is actually a blessing in disguise,” Mrs. Salem said, “because it allows me to try new things.” She also plans to take her 10th grade class to LACMA more often than in past years, and to request outdoor art classes at the JCC so her students can paint when not working in sketchbooks.
Wait - my Tanakh teacher is a singing astronaut? By: Maayan Waldman, Arts & Culture Editor A member of the Maccabeats -- the famous Yeshiva University singing group -- is working part-time at Shalhevet this year while he creates his own solo music album in Los Angeles. Noah Jacobson -- known to many as the “astronaut” in the Maccabeats’ breakout video “Candlelight” -- will teach an 11th-grade Tanach class, work on recruiting in the Admissions department, and be communications assistant to Head of School Rabbi Ari Segal. He will also help run two of Shalhevet’s alternative the “Explanatory Davening.” While many would-be performing artists take day jobs such as waiting tables so they can write music or screenplays at night, Mr. Jacobson said in an interview that he feels lucky to be a part of Shalhevet. “It’s really a special opportunity to have the time to do music but also to be working at a school that I think is really awesome,” said Mr. Jacobson, a graduate of the Robert M. Beren Hebrew Academy in Houston, where Rabbi Segal was head of school before coming to Shalhevet in 2011. Rabbi Segal said he brought Mr. Jacobson to Shalhevet because of the kind of person he is. “I think he serves as a role model of everything that Shalhevet stands for,” Segal said. “He is a thoughtful, cre-
Mr. Jacobson said he would give the same advice to any musician or musical group: never be afraid to be too prolific.
ative, passionate, authentic, nuanced and talented young man.” Mr. Jacobson left Beren after 11th grade-- he explained that this was the norm at his school then -- and attended the Shalavim yeshiva in Israel for two years. He then studied English at Yeshiva University for three years and went on to work at YU for an additional two years after graduating.
20 million hits on the internet, Mr. Jacobson said. Though he has not yet heard Shalhevet’s choir, the Choirhawks, Mr. Jacobson said he would give the same advice to any musician or musical group: never be
YU President Richard Joel as part of the university’s Presidential Scholars program. He decided to spend a second year, this past, working at YU as Manager of Communications for the president. As he is still part of the Maccabeats, Mr. Jacobson plans
“Our story is a testament to the fact that sometimes the factors align and something special can come out of something you never expected would be big,” Mr. Jacobson said. In spite of all his music activities, Mr. Jacobson considers himself
evenings and to return in time for class at Shalhevet Monday morning. The vocal group practices once a week for two hours in New York, in addition to several practices before shows and on tour, but Mr. Jacobson said he would not be attending practice regularly this year. “Everyone in the group is doing something else more primary -- doctors, lawyers, businessmen, etcetera,” Mr. Jacobson said. “But we keep doing it because we love it. The moment it’s not fun anymore we’ll probably throw in the towel.” Mr. Jacobson tried out for the Maccabeats -- a small became famous and traveled with the Maccabeats to the including China, England and New Zealand. This onset of touring was sparked by the release of “Candlelight,” the Maccabeats’ Chanukah video, which they made as a joke but which ended up receiving over
Opinions Editor for the YU Commentator, and plans to experiment more with writing in Los Angeles, possibly writing a screenplay or starting a novel. BP Photo By Goldie Fields Though Mr. Jacobson has no teaching experience, he has been involved in education through YU and in camp settings. At YU, Mr. Jacobson was a member of the Center for the Jewish Future, which sends YU students and rabbis out for shabbatonim or to give classes. Mr. Jacobson ran a summer camp for underprivileged teens in Kiryat Gat, Israel, in 2013. He said he looks forward to developing relationships with students and teaching the curriculum. But he doesn’t plan on going into education long term. “It’s a little nerve-racking,” Mr. Jacobson said, “but I’m mostly excited to teach because the material and the questions we’ll be exploring are very interesting to me.”
The Boiling Point
September 2014
Special Report
Summer of SPECIAL SECTION: Opera!on Prote"ive Edge and the Shalhevet community
B1
war
READY: In the hours before they walked into Gaza, First Sgt. Kevin Orenshein stood with his unit in the staging area preparing for a mission destroying tunnels built by Hamas. Photo by Guy Danziger
By Jonah Gill, Outside News Editor ~ It wasn’t exactly summer vacation this year for members of the
Shalhevet community, both inside and outside of Israel. From juniors on their long-awaited Israel summer programs to alumni serving in the Israel Defense Forces - and everyone else, it seemed - June and July were spent chained
to iPhone news apps, following the latest reports of rockets and troop mobilizations and arguments in cyberspace over who was to blame. ~ Operation Protective Edge, the IDF’s 50-day response to rocket attacks and tunnel incursions from Gaza, was the story of the summer of 2014. ~ More than 30 Shalhevet students spent all or part of the summer in Israel, and almost all of them heard the sirens of incoming rockets didn’t keep us away, but we just had to run to a Large group trips such as Ramah Seminar and Mach juniors -- cancelled legs of the trips in Israel’s South, and put everyone in the Galilee region for much longer than planned. the Israeli families who normally host the group were busy with the war. concerns raised by the State Department and in consider-
munity were alumni and former students serving in the IDF in Gaza, along with their immediate family members
whose older brother Guy ’08 served in Gaza in an armored
brother Kevin, who spent his freshman and sophomore gade.
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Both Kevin and Guy agreed to be interviewed when the war was over. until the previous day discovered a tunnel near the Rafah rorist blew himself up and killed three of Kevin’s friends: my friend Liel shot him, but he still blew himself up. If we
community, everyone seemed to know and be praying for someone in Gaza. low events in Israel more closely than I follow events in past summer, the events in Israel really put into focus the Jewish plight across the globe and the events felt extreme-
For six months before the war, his unit had been guardprotecting the border fence and making sure no terrorists jump in and out of tunnels placing bombs and all that
Continued on Page B3
The Boiling Point
B2
September 2014
Special Report
a Su m m e r de f i n e d by wa r
In Israel, alumni fou
Law leans toward defense and guarding innocents
Photo: Israel Defense Forces
-- they’re grasping at traditional
tion Protective Edge, whi
about Jewish ethics of war, but almost all agree that the source material is scant.”
into towns of Israel’s sout ~ MILCHAMET MITZ RY” WAR
David-Judea Congregation, however, says that halacha is absolutely applicable to the situation today. “The most relevant piece of halachic consideration is the law of the siege,” said Rabbi Kanef-
obligatory war, either aga naanite nations – now con
“The halacha requires that when a Jewish army lays siege, that they leave one side open so in the state of warfare, anyone who wants to not be involved has to have the opportunity to get out and to escape the
“The underlying idea is that the halacha recognizes that there are people who are caught in the situation and they are not simply fair game.” “In Gaza, there was no posDEFENSE: This page, above, the Iron Dome missile system, above, intercepted nearly every Hamas missile heading for Israeli towns and made sirens more inconvenient than scary. Below, Shalhevet alumnus Guy Harel ‘08, brother of sophomore Ben Harel, near the sibility of this,” he continued, adding that this did not release Gaza border in July. He made aliyah in 2012. Israel from its obligation. That is how the IDF came to create miliBy Noah Rothman, Torah Editor, Israel to wage war against adversaries. tary plans protecting civilians. and Mati Hurwitz, Sports Editor According to Judaic Studies teacher Rabbi Ari “The IDF drew up military plans and actions Schwarzberg, none of this, however, can really rom its earliest days, the state of Israel has operated with the spirit of Jewish ethics ish law. The problem is that there is no real hala- said, “and civilian deaths that are inevitable are weighed heavily against the strategic value of the in mind. But what about Jewish law? Is halacha even appropriate to defend military ac- years when Israel was stateless. There’s no tractions? Can Jewish law provide a legitimate expla- tate about war the way there is, for example, about proportionality.” Some other examples of halachic principles involving war are described below. But Mr. Feld said a time of war? “It’s not easy to extract ethics of modern warInterviews with rabbis and faculty revealed a diversity of opinion as to how closely Jewish norms could be tied to Israel’s actions in war, which this religious principles – especially the IDF. Rather,
F
apparently not involved in combat during Operation Protective Edge. The trail leads from the IDF
The halacha requires that when a Jewish army lays siege, they leave one side open so that anyone who wants to flee can flee. -- Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky
every practical context, not only the proper conactions may have on the physical well-being and spiritual integrity and dignity of others,” states Ruach Tzahal, the Code of Ethics of the IDF, which new soldiers study in detail. “The purpose of the IDF is to protect the existence of the State of Israel, its independence, and the security of its citizens and residents.” So the code requires soldiers to do their best to protect human life, and it also is in consonance case of self-defense. In fact, the Torah commands
profound regret. IGHT TO RETALIATE. Devarim Chapter
R
then thou shalt besiege it.”
tween war and murder, which would be forbidden under the Sixth Commandment. Because this is in the context of self-defense, there would be no violation of lo tirzach. -
fare from Jewish literature,” said Rabbi Schwarzson Feld last year to come up with a curriculum on the topic, which was taught to last year’s juniors. “There’s ample discussion about war in Jewish literature,” Rabbi Schwarzberg said, “but it doesn’t necessarily parallel with the scenarios that the contemporary state of Noah Rothman, Torah Editor Israel faces.” Issues that have surfaced BEERSHEVA, Aug. 1 since the founding of the modern state, he said, are behit closer to home. ing studied by rabbis, scholI was part of a four-day simars and institutions now. ulation in which I was treated “These are issues that only as if I was a soldier. I wore the surfaced in ancient times army uniform and learned to
Josh Horwatt, Shalhe Support and a former me
often during his service. “Although there are m about war, one of the mo is quoted in Rambam’s Hi Horwatt. “The Kohen [priest] i who are girded and ready -- and I am summarizing
The purpose of the I existence of the State pendence, and the se and residents.
-- Ruach Tzah
expel thoughts of their strengthen their hearts fo their fear does not overco
soldiers feel.” ~ ACCIDENTAL KILL
they should evacuate. “Destruction of the inf that really goes into expe
which actions are going t the country. “If it is the case that
tinued. “On the other h structure was simply grat
of halacha and of IDF rule ~ KILLING TO PREV DER. Halacha defends th
the rodef, which literally
Where the real meets the surreal
years,” Rabbi Schwarzberg said. “It’s been a project that
Page design by Margo Feuer
shoot the very gun that our soldiers are currently using to dethe Gaza Strip. The fact that I was learning to shoot the same weapon as the soldiers made the whole situation more surreal. I was treating the weapon as a toy; they are using it to
much as we on Ramah Seminar The next experience that has made this situation more surreal was learning about deaths of the soldiers and who they male commander at our army Another one of those soldiers, Max Steinberg z”l, was a lone soldier from Los Angeles – just soon, along with many others
of my counselor from last same operation.
soldiers there are so many I feel a connection with a
one is connected to these diers in one way or anothe A few nights ago I hear
didn’t feel scared at all. Dome and the shelters made these missiles just an er part of the surreal.
The Boiling Point
September 2014
Special Report
B3
ught in Gaza while students dodged missiles and their families prayed.
Keeping kids calm in Netanya Goldie Fields, Executive Editor NETANYA, Israel, July 14 —
ich began as a response to
ZVAH, THE “OBLIGATO-
Though Netanya is not considered
a milchemet mitzvah, or
dren whose parents cannot ad
because a ro
ilchot Melachim,
those who are
Though it turned out to be a
“Jewish
IDF is to protect the e of Israel, its indeecurity of its citizens
hal, the IDF Code of Ethics
and
condones
“There is a cat aggressive and exists to expand
BP Photo by Goldie Fields
WARTIME: This page, top, Kevin Orenshein with his unit near Gaza. Above, ping-pong replaced day trips at the Beit Elazraki home for underprivileged kids in Netanya. Below right, a soldier on leave from Gaza talks with American high school students, including several from Shalhevet, in Jerusalem in mid-July. milchemat reshut
“A milchemat mitzvah
rockets — we have added that supporting the thing it does, in war or
LING IN WAR.
requires is that we take a step back and review what
E
BP Photo by Jonah Gill
VENT DEATH OR MURContinued from Page B1
constitutes situations: one who in
who is trying opposed to us… and this way no one in the sur
The Boiling Point
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For Arab teens, a similar summer but with more death
September 2014
Special Report
By Alec Fields, Staff Writer -
the region.
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By Jonah Gill, Outside News Editor For members of the Muslim community in Los Angemore grieving. Muslim teens who’ve met with Shalhevet
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CONFLICT: Actor Seth Rogen, left, signed a letter in support of Israel. Shalhevet parent Fred Toczek said more than 100 others said no. NBA star Dwight Howard, right, tweeted #freepalestine before apologizing for the post.
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rying about family in the war zone. “Gaza gave us all heart
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my stomach with worry
worry about our family liv-
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Johaina wrote in an e-mail
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an interview.
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with various websites. Courtesy of Marwa Abdelghani
OPINION: Marwa Abdelghani is a sophomore at UC Irvine and opposes the actions of both Israel and Hamas.
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war.
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Gaza gave us all heart attacks and I was sick to my stomach with worry every day. It’s so hard.
names. about religion, it’s about humanity – -
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