SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL 910 S Fairfax Avenue Los Angeles, CA October 2021 • Cheshvan 5782 Vol. 22 • Issue 1 shalhevetboilingpoint.com
Photo courtesy of Rabbi David Becker
CONNECTED: Jewish service members join together to engage in prayer while deployed in Afghanistan in 2018. U.S. Army chaplain Rabbi David Becker, left, led services for the soldiers, including U.S. Army Maj. Moses Scheinfeld, second from left; both live in Los Angeles. “I try to lift them up,” said Rabbi Becker, who taught at Shalhevet. “It’s a very difficult time in a soldier’s or military member’s life to be deployed so far from home and everything they know.”
Pride mixed with heartbreak for Jewish army officers who served in Afghanistan as US departs By Keira Beller, Features Editor Watching with the rest of America as the Taliban swiftly took over Afghanistan last month were two members of Los Angeles’s Orthodox Jewish community who are currently on active duty in the U.S. Army. Major Moses Scheinfeld and Army chaplain Rabbi David Becker were stationed in Afghanistan during 2018 and 2019, as U.S. forces worked for 20 years to strengthen the Afghani military to protect their country against terrorist groups. Watching in Los Angeles, Maj. Scheinfeld, who served as Chief of Operations, said the Americans would have needed more time to help the Afghan
military prevail against the Taliban on their own. “We had hoped that we’d done enough to allow the Afghans to defend their own country, but apparently it was not enough, so that’s a tragedy for everyone,” said Major Scheinfeld on Aug. 30. “And that was our hope -- that they would be able to stand on their own feet.” The United States went to war in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks in 2001, executed by al Qaeda terrorists based in Afghanistan who were being harbored and protected by the Taliban government. In 2002, President George W. Bush called for a new plan of action: restabilization of the country under democratic rule. To do so, the U.S. provided military support and guidance so Afghanistan’s
new democratic government could eventually attain control on its own -- without U.S. help. Two years later, the first democratic elections were held. The American military campaign lasted another 18 years. But when the final U.S. troops departed in July and August, the government collapsed. The Taliban overtook the capital city of Kabul Aug. 15. Rabbi Becker -- who taught Jewish History, Gemara, Tanach, and Halacha at Shalhevet from 2000 to 2006 -- is worried about the dangers Afghani people now face. “We tried our best, we did what we could,” said Rabbi Becker in an interview Sept. 1. “I met Continued on page 7
Vaccines and distancing optional, masks required as school begins third Covid-affected year By Benjamin Gamson, Editor-in-Chief Citing lack of full FDA approval for students ages 12 to 15, Shalhevet officials have for now decided not to require Covid vaccination this year as a condition of enrollment, though all students are now old enough to be eligible for a vaccine under the Pfizer shot’s Emergency Use Authorization. School officials said that whether to mandate vaccines is a topic that is being revisited regularly, but for now it is not being required. “Originally, the vaccine was not FDA-approved at all,” said
Head of School Rabbi David Block. “Since, the vaccine has been approved for those above 16, and while that’s a significant step forward, it does not apply to a significant portion of our students. “Requiring something that doesn’t have that approval -- especially for children and adolescents -- is complex.” On Sept. 9, the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to require vaccination for eligible students -- anyone 12 and older -- in order to attend in-person school. Culver City schools also require vaccination for in-person attendance. In New York, SAR and Charles E. Smith high schools require Continued on page 2
‘A lot of emotion on this team’ Coach Ryan reflects on record-breaking season that wasn’t supposed to happen By Benjamin Gamson, Editor-in-chief
“But due to Covid, Northern California did not have a basketball season this year,” said Coach Remer. “So the championship game was the final Southern Section game.” That made for an unexpected finish to what had been an unexpected season -- in fact, a season that, due to Covid, hadn’t really been expected at all. In the leadup to the Southern California championship, Shalhevet was the Continued on page 15
By Tali Liebenthal, Staff Writer Hashkama Minyan, an early-morning daily prayer service that began at 7:20 a.m and was offered to all students beginning in 2015, has now been made exclusive to students in AGS (Advanced Gemara Studies) and BMT (Beit Midrash Track), and held only on days that they have class. In previous years, along with Hashkama students were given a variety of choices for Shacharit, the morning prayer service. During 2019-20, the 9 a.m. “main” minyan was complemented with three electives: Explanatory Minyan, Girls Singing Minyan, and Meditation Minyan. These electives also have been discontinued.Now, the options have been reduced to Ashkenazic and Sephardic, which follow the traditions of Northern Europe (Ashkenazic) or Southern Europe, Africa and the Middle East (Sephardic). The new davening policy was announced as a change to the Student Handbook on Aug. 4. A schoolwide email about the change said it was because officials liked the more unified davening that resulted from last year’s Covid regulations. “Based on the success of our daily minyanim during the past school year, all students will be davening together every morning in one of two ‘main’ minyanim (one Ashkenazi and one Sephardic) after first period,” stated the email. “This will allow us to continue building a beautiful culture of b’rov am hadrat melech (there is greater honor in a large congregation) by having all of our students daven together each morning.” Rabbi David Stein, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Judaic Studies, said the decision was made jointly by Head of School Rabbi David Block, Chief Operating Officer Sarah Emerson, Principal Mr. Daniel Weslow and Rabbi Stein. “Pretty straightforward in terms of the rationale,” Rabbi Stein said, “which was that we did it last year where we didn’t have the electives, and we all had two minyanim. And everyone was davening in them every day, and we really said we want to have our school together, we want to have everybody at the same time.” But Dean of Students Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg offered an additional reason. He said some students used the existence of Hashkama to avoid going to morning prayers altogether. “Now granted that was a very small percentage,” Rabbi Schwarzberg said. “But what it did is that it created something where faculty needed to do more police work, rather than do what faculty should do, which means davening and educating and forming relationships with our students.” Meanwhile, he said, Hashkama had become so popular that the 9 a.m. main minyans became too small. “Our regular minyan ended up being a little bit schvach [bland or weak] because it was just a very small minyan,” Rabbi Schwarzberg said. Student reactions ranged from disappointment to grudging support. Before Covid, nearly half the school would attend. The rooms were packed and it could be a struggle to find a chair. Senior Talia Namvar was hesitant to Continued on page 3 Rabbi David Stein
BP photo by Evan Beller
When Shalhevet lost to the Marina Vikings in the CIF Southern Section Division 3A semi-finals on June 4, most people thought the Firehawks’ basketball season was over. But it wasn’t. Because they’d made it all the way to the finals in the Southern Section playoffs, Shalhevet’s boys varsity team was automatically entered into the race for the state championship -- or, in the
case of last year because of Covid, the championship for the entire Southern California region. All teams that reach semi-final games in their divisions are invited to the state playoffs whether they win or lose. Last year was the first year that Shalhevet had qualified. Athletic Coordinator Jeff Remer explained that usually the winner of Southern California would play the Northern California winner, for a true statewide title.
Hashkama Minyan is ended as admin seeks prayer unity