Volume 66, Issue 2 (November 2021)

The Rampage The Newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School

New York • Volume 66 • Issue 2 • November 2021 • Kislev 5782 • the-rampage.org

Club Fair: Organized Chaos Rebecca Kalimi ‘23

Every year, Ramaz holds Club Fair to present all its clubs to freshmen and to any students who want to expand their co-curricular experience.

Teachers and students spoke about their experiences with the return to a live club fair.

Mr. Deutsch is a faculty advisor for four clubs. Depending on the club, he likes to stay very involved in club meetings but tries to push the student leaders to be more active. Due to Club Fair being right after chag this year, Mr. Deutsch frantically sent out emails the night before to make sure people would be representing his clubs to the new students. Mr. Deutsch acknowledged that the real way he gets the word out about his club meetings or the details of his club is by posting on Schoology, and once students join, he makes Schoology groups to make sure involved students see all the details needed. At Club Fair, he likes for each of his clubs to have a poster with a description and for people to only sign up if they’re actually interested. Ideally, there would be more descriptive paraphernalia and more visuals for each student to get a more accurate feel of the club. Thinking back to last year, when Club Fair was online and each club had a five-minute slot to present on Zoom, although it might’ve been efficient, the presentations were missing the social aspect. Being online loses the informality of the event and discourages questions to club leaders.

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The students who are most interested in these clubs will ask questions at Club Fair, but being isolated on Zoom and all eyes on one person is a lot of pressure for something as informal as Club Fair normally is.

Ms. Brachot is also a faculty advisor for a few clubs. She is involved in Breakthrough, the

science publication, leadership in STEM, and will be helping Dr. Rotenberg oversee robotics this year.

She agrees with Mr. Deutsch in that the amount of her involvement mostly depends on how much work students leaders and even club members are putting in. For publications, if student leaders aren’t working fast enough to get out the publication, then she has to intervene to make sure they make a dead-

line. She contacts her club members through email.

Depending on whether the club is like a publication, where only students who are more consistent writers are on the email list, or it’s a club that meets less often, she thinks emailing smaller groups of kids is more effective. Before Club Fair, she’ll have some time to prep her student leaders for how to address students interested in the clubs. This year she just checked in with student leaders in the morning to make sure someone would be at the stand. She agrees that Club Fair isn’t really about publicizing clubs and that every club makes an appearance on Schoology at least at the beginning of the year for people to hear what it’s about. She also thinks that a reason why club fair is inefficient is because of how crowded and loud the room is when everyone is trying to hear information- she didn’t even go this year! Although she does agree that a Zoom option may be more effective, she thinks that it’s much more helpful to talk with someone one-on-one about all your concerns before joining a club, and it’s easiest to do that in person.

Samara Blatt '22 is a student leader of two clubs and a founder of one. She was able to organize shifts with other club leaders to make sure that there was always someone at the stands. But she does agree that Club Fair is more of a social event to see friends and to see new captains of each club, Continued On Page 3

Mask Mandate: Enforcement of the “Grey Area” Rebecca Silber ‘23

The ability of the administration to enforce school rules can be much more intricate than expected. There are some school rules that are extremely clear cut: they are easily enforced, clearly understood, and widely accepted by everyone in the community.

However, not all school rules are so black and white.

In fact, there is a wide grey area of rules that exist in our Ramaz community. School rules like these tend to be much blurrier in the eyes of the student body, and enforcing them is an everlasting challenge that the administration continues to face.

When it comes to the school’s grading system, the rules are obvious to the Ramaz community: receiving a 95 will give you an A, an 85 will give you a B, etc. With the grading system, there’s no ambiguity -- everyone knows the rules, and the majority will adhere to them. A student who averages an 85 won’t ask a teacher why they received a B on their report card, because the answer is obvious: according to the school rule, an 85 gives you a B. Similarly, the school’s policy regarding lateness is clearly understood by the students. At the start of each year, the school’s strike and detention system is reinforced by the administration and reintroduced to the students. If a student taps in late to school, he or she can expect a strike -- two more, and he or she will get detention. Two more detentions, and he or she will earn Social Probation. This consistent, simple

No masks for pictures?

system of action and consequence is just as easily enforceable by the administration as it is understandable by the students. Ms. Krupka explains that when it

comes to these types of “black and white rules, there’s an immediate consequence. Black and white rules are when it is so obvious that breaking a rule is a poor choice, and the exact result of doing so will be an unfavorable outcome for the student.”

Not all Ramaz policies are so easily enforced.

Take the dress code, for example. Most girls in Ramaz are well aware of the fact that skirts are required to approach the knee, but many girls do not follow this rule. Sophie Schwartz 23’ explains that she knows that her skirt length is technically not in accordance with the school rule, but she has “never actually been told to change her skirt.” Most boys are well aware of the kippah mandate, requiring kippot to be worn at all times during school, yet some boys’ kippot find their way from the students’ heads and into their pockets.

While the Ramaz community clearly understands the expectations of the dress code itself, not all follow it, since the administration has a hard time enforcing this more ambiguous policy.

Similarly, the mask mandate is a very complex and difficult policy to enforce. Walking through the hallways of Ramaz, one can notice students whose masks are secured tightly above their nose, drooping beneath their nose, hanging beneath their chin, or whose masks are nowhere to be found.

Continued on Page 4

Inside this issue...

Pink Day Recap p.

2

Ramaz Open House p.

3

Mental Health At Ramaz p.

4

Mishmar? p.

5

News 2

School on Sukkot?

The Rampage

November 2021/Kislev 5782

Aviva Schilowitz ‘24

Many students look forward to an extended Sukkot break each year. Some families wish to take a family trip to Israel for the holiday; others want to enjoy the annual Chol Hamoed rain-fest at Six Flags Great Adventure. And many Ramaz students just want to hang out at home with their families in the Sukkah. However, Ramaz students this year had to commute to the building on 79th street and sit through a full day of classes on Chol Hamoed Sukkot. Ramaz is one of the few local Modern Orthodox schools that hold sessions on Chol Hamoed Sukkot each year.

According to Rabbi Schiowitz, Ramaz Upper School’s Director of Judaic Studies and Religious Life, Ramaz’s practice of having school on Chol Hamoed is “so old that it is hard to know the original purpose.”

That said, he ventured to guess there are several reasons for it. First, Ramaz caters to city residents, many of whom do not have access to outdoor space to build a Sukkah. In contrast, Ramaz has a “really nice, large

sukkah, and many city families do have easy access to a Sukkah.” Rabbi Schiowitz pointed out that this is less of a problem for suburban schools that teach students with their own Sukkot at home. Ms. Miriam Krupka, the Dean of Faculty, agrees that school on Sukkot is uniquely valuable at Ramaz. “We stand alone in the Yeshiva League in terms of the percentage of students who don’t have access to a Sukkah. Now they have access.”

Additionally, Rabbi Schiowitz feels that Sukkot is an important educational opportunity for students. Having school on Sukkot allows students to learn about the holiday in a hands-on way. Students “have the opportunity to learn about Sukkot in the Judaic Studies classes and to say the Tefillot and Hallel with lulavim.” He noted an important practical consideration: school helps with childcare for Lower School students. Many parents have to work on Chol Hamoed. Not having school is a hardship for those with younger children.

Mrs. Krupka explained that Ramaz’s approach to Chol Hamoed schooling is a balance between Simcha and school work. While there are days,

like Yom Ha’atzmaut, when the school is fully engaged in Simcha, Chol Hamoed are days when Ramaz tries to incorporate both. In other words, Ramaz includes regular academic classes in the schedule, but also tries to make the days more exciting than normal.

For example, Ramaz Upper School students look forward to special breakfasts and lunches in the Sukkah, as well as games and fun activities.

Hannah Moskowitz (’24) expressed mixed feelings about not having a break on Chol Hamoed. “I wish I was in my Sukkah with my family but at the same time I enjoyed my friends’ company. I just wish I had my leisure time.”

Ultimately, Rabbi Schiowitz finds the tradeoffs worth it. “I personally find it inconvenient to go to work on Sukkot while my family is on vacation, [but] the feeling in the air on Sukkot at Ramaz and especially in the Sukkah is really special.”

Daniel Kalimi ’23

interests spark debates.” He continued saying that, “one of the reasons I love Ramaz is that even at the end of our long school days, students have the energy to think and analyze.” Also, the less contextual nature of mishmar learning makes it a very different experience than learning in school. Rabbi Hass believes that although, “some people like textual learning, the problem with textual learning is that you are using your brain to analyze and think without giving your brain time to absorb the information.” When thinking of what to teach for mishmar, Rabbi Hass relates his classes to that week’s parsha or approaching holiday. His reasoning is that he thinks “it is important for the Jewish mind to be in sync with the Jewish time of the year.”

The question of in person versus zoom mishmar was addressed at a mishmar meeting. In this meeting, Rabbi Hass advocated for mishmar on zoom because it is better to have more students join the learning, but the other teachers were adamant about

having it in person this year. The main argument in favor of in person mishmar is that “there are less distractions in person, which contributes to a better environment to learn Torah.”

Now, it seems that mishmar is going to continue in person which, although possibly inconvenient, comes with a lot of pros.

For starters, in person mishmar means food. Learning Torah with a slice of pizza or a schnitzel sandwich is undoubtedly a better experience than learning Torah through zoom on an empty stomach. Also, in person mishmar inspires more lively discussions. Even though more people joined the mishmars on zoom, there are many distractions when at home whereas in school students are more inclined to listen, which causes better discussion and a more enjoyable learning experience. With mishmar held everyday, it is definitely worth it to stop by for some Torah, food, and a couple quick points.

What’s Up With Mishmar?

Torah, food, and up to ten extra points in Tanakh and Talmud class: what could be better than that? Every day, the school gives an opportunity for students to listen to either Rabbi Manu on Mondays, Rabbi Mizrahi on Thursdays, Rabbi Weiser on Wednesdays, or one of the school’s Judaic studies teachers on Tuesdays give a dvar Torah. Last year, mishmar on zoom made it very easy for people to participate, but with a switch to in person mishmar, there has been a decrease in participation. This lack of involvement raises a big question: should mishmar continue in person or on zoom?

Rabbi Immanual Hass, known as “Manu” by Ramaz students, shared his thoughts on the significance of mishmar saying that “learning Torah without thinking about grades reflects a stronger commitment to learning. It changes the quality of the learning because it is not forced upon you and you made the choice to be there.” Rabbi Hass believes that one of the reasons mishmar is so successful at Ramaz is because, “students are intellectually curious and their

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink Sarah Ginsberg ‘22

On October 9, Ramaz wore pink.

The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The G.O., Rabbi Dov Pianko, and Ms. Haas all worked together to take a day to raise awareness. They planned this day throughout September. Ms. Haas explained in an interview that they decided to have Pink Day at the beginning of the month because there are going to be different events during this month to spread awareness. They wanted to set the tone for how students are going to interact with social media posts regarding breast cancer and the opportunities the school will be offering. The G.O. wanted to do something special this year. In a meeting, they discussed that they wanted to order different sorts of (pink) merchandise, sell them to students, and donate the money to an organization. With much back and forth, they decided to order pink bows, bandanas, necklaces, bracelets, kippas, and tutus for

the entire student government. They purchased these items to boost school spirit as well as raising money for Sharsheret. Sharsheret is a national non-profit

Jewish organization that services women and men, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who suffer or have increased genetic risk for breast cancer or ovarian cancer.

Sharsheret provides both emotional and

physical support and utilizes social workers to assist those who need the service. They do a lot of work in prevention and save lives through their education outreach. Ms. Haas explained that they are in the process of developing a curriculum in schools as a mini-course for people to learn about helping their bodies, early detection, and how to help their family members. The reason breast cancer gets so much attention is because for many people it is preventable.

Ramaz had an amazing turnout and almost everyone wore pink. The boys were wearing the kippahs and the girls were wearing bows. But, just as Norma Mattout ‘22, Associate Vice President of Student Life, said, “Although the whole day was fun and exciting, its real purpose was to raise awareness for the people around us that this day means so much more.”

“Breast Cancer awareness is the more noise we make about it, the more lives that will be saved,” said Ms. Haas.

November 2021/Kislev 5782

The Rampage Ramaz Upper School

New York • Volume 66 • Issue 2 • Novmber 2021 • the-rampage.org

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Sydney Eisenstein ’22 Julia Feit ’22 Nicole Hirschkorn ’22 LAYOUT EDITORS Rachel Freilich ’22 Sarah Ginsberg ’22 BROADCAST EDITORS Eric Kalimi ’22 Ethan Davidovitch ’22 PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Eitan Goldberg ’22 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rachel Abelson ’24 Ashley Behm ’24 Romi Chaovat ’24 Lindsay Chubak ’24 Ethan Davidovitch ’22 Eliana Davidson ’23 Morris Dweck ’25 Sarah Ginsberg ’22 David Gitelman ’22 Juliette Goodstein Alexa Gribetz ’23 Nicole Hirschkorn ’22 Rebecca Kalimi ’23 Daniel Kalimi ’23 Rae Kaplan ’24 Hallie Kopel ’24 Danielle Nakash ’24 Sylvie Pagovich Ilan Puterman ’23 Orli Rabbani ’25 Clemi Roth ’22 Julius Rubinstein ’22 Aviva Schilowitz ’24 Eve Schizer ’22 Rebecca Silber ’23 Sarah Silverman ’24 Andrew Spielfogel ’23 Rachel Buller ’25 Emily Vayner ’23

The Rampage is the student newspaper of the Ramaz Upper School. It is published on a monthly basis. Letters to the editors may be submitted to rampage@ramaz.org. Letters must be signed and may be edited to conform to The Rampage style and format.

The opinions expressed in The Rampage are of the author’s alone, and do not represent the views or opinions of Ramaz, The Rampage, or its editors.

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Ramaz Open House Rebecca Kalimi ‘23

This is the second year the Open House was virtual, and since we have all become more comfortable with the online aspect of life, the transition to Zoom was even smoother than last year's.

Last year, the Open House included a collection of pre-recorded interviews and speakers, and an in-person Q&A. This year had the same format, except the in-person Q&A will be broadcasted in one room instead of each student standing in a separate room.

The most exciting part of the admissions process this year is that half-days are happening again! The Open House was a great way for the school to meet applicants and get a feel for next year’s freshmen, which we did not have last year. Half-days will be a helpful addition to the open house because it will allow for current students to speak to applicants about their concerns and address their questions.

Although half-day visits are an exciting step towards normalcy, the school will take some health precautions. For instance, every student coming in for a halfday will have to be an applicant to Ramaz. This has never been a requirement before, but this rule will narrow down the number of students entering the building.

Additionally, all half-day students will need to be vaccinated. Ramaz wanted

to institute this regulation to protect their students and faculty.

Aviva Leiber, the Assistant Director of Admissions at Ramaz, commented on both mediums of the Open House: in-person and virtual. She concedes that a virtual open house is much easier to coordinate. By the night of the open house, her work is done and she can merely watch

the show unfold. During in-person Open Houses in the past, she would run around the school to ensure that the night runs smoothly. She admits that the energy in the school at the in-person Open House in-person is unmatched and is eager for another in-person Open House. The admissions committee is planning on keeping virtual interviews in the Open House.

Ms. Lieber revealed that these interviews were successful because they were during the program at night and could be administered at home, which fits better with students’ and teachers’ schedules.

Another aspect of the online Open

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House that is sticking around is PanoRAMa week. This program was developed last year in place of half-day classes that students would normally attend in person.

PanoRAMa classes are in place of the mock classes that prospective students would attend at the Open House to give students a feel of what real Ramaz classes are like.

Aside from the technicalities of the program, Rabbi Dov Pianko is in charge of the “afterparty” of the Open House.

This year’s “host” of The Ramaz Show was EJ Singer ‘22. Rabbi Dov picked him after reviewing the programs, clubs, and activities he has been involved in throughout high school. Rabbi Dov believes that EJ’s involvement in those activities gives him unique stories and experiences that might be important for prospective students to hear. Overall, the Open House this year was very similar to that of last year, with minor changes to display the friendly atmosphere of the school, along with other changes to ensure there is enough interaction between current and prospective students.

“The Open House was a great success,” said Rabbi Dov. “It was amazing. I led the Q&A and it was great to interact with students and hear their thoughts about Ramaz.”

EJ Singer ‘22 agreed with Dov. “I had a great time, and overall it was just really fun.”

Freshman Orientation

Lindsey Chubak ‘25

One thing is guaranteed for the beginning of every school year at Ramaz: the arrival of a new batch of students, freshmen with knowledge-hungry eyes and confused faces. And with each incoming class, there is orientation, a normally two-day extravaganza which welcomes the new students and shows just how thrilling High School can be.

But, this year the experience was cut down to one-half-day, a Friday, limiting the number of activities time would allow, leaving the Freshman yearning for information not given due to the cuts, and the rest of the school wondering why this year's class wouldn’t get the same orientation they did.

From an in-and-out of school scavenger hunt to get to know your grade Bingo, the shortened day definitely hit the nail on the head on the fun part, but the real question is whether they were or were not able to properly prepare the freshmen for the year to come.

A random assortment of twenty freshmen were polled on their views of

orientation. Four said it was very helpful, five said it wasn't, and eleven said it was moderately helpful, giving them some insight, but not enough.

However, a shortened orientation not only limits the amount of information the freshmen get, but also limits the time the new class has to meet one another. One of the focal points of this day is to meet the kids who will make up your grade, who will become your friends, your classmates, and with the abbreviated day they were left without the sufficient amount of time to do so.

Despite this, the day didn’t completely fall flat.

The students had enormous grins on their faces, got a tour of the school and the area around them, and had a delicious breakfast and social time.

Out of the four main activities, breakfast was overwhelmingly popular. While students loved bingo, the scavenger hunt, and their advisory meetings, the general consensus was that breakfast, where the grade got to interact for the first time, was the best part of the day.

All in all, things were definitely lost by the shortened orientation, but it was still an experience Ramaz’s newest grade is unlikely to forget.

Club Fair Continued From Page 1

-but she does think it’s really important to get a “vibe” of the club and of the students involved, especially since joining a club isn’t just about what the club does, but it’s about meeting new people. Samara believes that subjecting each club to only five minutes on a Zoom would be really robotic and defeat the aspect of Club Fair where a person can understand the types of kids who sign up for these clubs. Also, not many people would go to Club Fair after freshman year if it’s just on Zoom, especially if it’s outside of school hours. She doesn’t even remember going to Club Fair last year because she probably felt it wasn’t necessary.

Ron Alweiss '22 is involved in eleven different clubs, including Choir, Chamber Choir, Model

UN, Volleyball, Engineering, Music Production and Songwriting, Guitar Ensemble, and he is the Media Editor of Parallax. As he is involved in the leadership teams of eight different clubs, he did not have enough time to be at every stand, but worked on delegating his clubs to different leaders he works with. He knows that he is the only leader of Music Production and Songwriting, so he had to take care of that and he delegated other clubs to other leaders. He agrees with Samara that although Club Fair isn’t very efficient as is, we shouldn’t move to Zoom because we’d lose the personal touch of Club Fair, along with meeting captains and getting a feel for club members.

Sarah Kalimi '25 and Yaakov Rabiei '25 are both Freshmen who attended Club Fair this year.

They each signed up for around ten clubs. Most clubs they joined because they knew a bit about what they were but also because people were screaming at them

to sign up, meaning that even though some of their choices had valid reasoning behind them, they were also persuaded to join clubs with no information and will probably never attend a club meeting. However, they tried to make sure they didn’t sign up for clubs they knew for sure they didn’t want to be a part of.

They also only based whether or not they signed up solely on the name of the club, considering most clubs didn’t have any descriptions near their stands. They tried asking the leaders at the stand, but if there was no one there to represent, they just wouldn’t sign up.

But they find comfort in knowing that even if they didn’t see a club at Club Fair, they are seeing all the same clubs they saw plus more on Schoology. Both Kalimi and Rabiei are planning on attending Club Fair next year for the last time to finalize clubs they’re in and to make sure they see all possibilities.

News 4

Mask Enforcement Continued From Page 1

One can notice some teachers reprimanding students for wearing their masks incorrectly, and others who are not wearing masks themselves. Clearly, the enforcement of the mask mandate is a nearly impossible task. The question is why.

Why is it that certain school rules are more easily enforced than others? What causes students to view certain rules as being categorized in this “grey area” as opposed to being so called “black and white?”

The answers to these questions boil down to a couple of defining factors in terms of how rules are sculpted and enforced, including consistency, prioritization, consequences, and accessibility. To begin with, a school policy which is consistently reinforced every school year will be taken much more seriously by the students than one that is not. Not only has Ramaz’s lateness policy remained consistent within the past couple of years, but the administration’s strictness level in terms of enforcing it has also remained constant. Never has the administration randomly decided to test out how the school year would go if strikes were not accounted for. And when it comes to exceptions to the lateness rule, the school has also remained consistent -- only students who arrive late due to commuting on a school bus are exempt from receiving a strike. The same thing goes for the grading system: the school

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has always been consistent in its method of calculating students’ semester grades. Never has a student’s overall average of 85 given him/her a B one year, but a C the next year. Due to their clear-cut consistency, these policies, along with many others, have become like muscle memory to the student body.

In addition, the way in which the school prioritizes certain policies can also cause them to be more or less accepted by the Ramaz community. The Ramaz administration takes its grading system very seriously, ensuring that teachers properly account for all their students’ scores before report cards come out.

The administration’s prioritization of grades causes

November 2021/Kislev 5782

both the teachers and students to prioritize them as well.

Additionally, a clear and proper system of action and consequence will cause any school policy to be much more feared and respected within the Ramaz community. Take the lateness policy, for example.

Every student knows that the consequence of tapping in late to school is a strike. Knowing this, students try to avoid receiving a strike, and ultimately detention, by coming to school on time. By fearing the consequence of breaking a school policy, students are much more likely to obey it. “When it comes to rules in the ambiguous grey area, students are not going to receive an immediate consequence for their actions,” says Ms. Krupka.

And finally, the only logical way for the administration to enforce any policy is by having proper access to any given student's response and adherence to the rule. In other words, the administration must be able to physically see and account for those who do or do not follow a given rule.

This is why ambiguous rules such as masks and dress code are physically difficult to enforce -- because there is no attendance sheet or grade point average that can account for each student whose skirt is too short or whose mask is below their nose.

How is Ramaz Supporting Students' Mental Health?

Ashley Behm ’24

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.” With the often rigorous work schedules at school it is likely that students may have trouble managing academic stress coupled with outside stressors.

Coronavirus has added another layer of mental stress on students and teachers alike.

Ms. Bernfeld and Dr. Zeitchik are working on ways to have conversations with students that emotionally resonate with them. Dr. Zeitchik emphasized that, “what we have been through has created an opportunity for us to think about new ways to be supportive of students and their families and the unique experience we’ve had. We, as a student body and faculty, need to continuously collaborate so that we are in touch with the real emotional needs of the school community”.

One way Ramaz supports the students’ mental health is the advisory program. Unlike last year, however, advisory is no longer meeting weekly – rather advisories will meet about ten times over the course of this year. Each grade will be doing, and discussing different things. For example, juniors will hear from different speakers about important topics and then have discussions afterwards in their respective advisory groups.

Dr. Zeitchik, who runs the advisory program alongside Ms. Bernfeld, told The Rampage that the goal of advisory is for, “students and teachers to have conversations about matters of substance, but with a light touch.” In advisory students are encouraged to have open discussions about specific topics in a small, relaxed environment. Dr. Zeitchik added that, “we

want to use the advisories to address serious topics, but we also sometimes want to take students to the park so they can breathe. It is signaling to students that we want them to be able to just enjoy each other’s company within the context of school.”

This year the school reintroduced health class for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Each class will meet once a week and learn about matters relat-

ing to health – including mental, physical and spiritual health. It is also another space where students are encouraged to engage in honest conversations and ask questions. Dr. Zeitchik pointed out that having health class built into students’ schedules, “gives you a framework on a constant basis where kids are talking.

It signals to students that it is a priority of the school.”

Dr. Zeitchik and Ms. Bernfeld hope for the advisory program to work in tandem with health class. They hope for advisory and health class to collaborate and

discuss topics that can not be covered in just one of the two forums.

This school year feels considerably tougher than last year to most students; the longer daily schedule means spending more time in the building. When asked how the school will help students manage their stress caused by academic load, Dr. Zeitchik answered, “If you sense that as a grade, or an individual is really feeling under siege, like it’s just too much, then you have to figure out how to help them manage it. Maybe something needs to be moved. Maybe it needs more flexibility. You also don’t want to create an environment where any time a kid is stressed about a test, it is perceived as a crisis and something has to be canceled. So it’s a balance. It’s a balance between taking kids’ communication seriously about when they feel stressed, either as an individual or as a group. On the other hand, trying to not reinforce students avoiding reality, and recognizing that taking on responsibilities and expectations is stressful yet part of cultivating resilience and mature coping skills.”

Mental health is an ongoing topic of discussion at school and is just the beginning of the conversation. Dr. Zeitchik added, “The discussion should be a catalyst for students coming forward to us with issues that they think are important for us to be sensitive to, and to collaborate on working together, to support the student body”. The school is working to support the mental health and emotional well-being of its students. Dr. Zeitchik also feels that besides advisory group meetings, advisors also want to connect with kids individually to be supportive in any way that they can.

November 2021/Kislev 5782

The Rampage

Tefillah Remains Second Period Rebecca Kalimi ’23

Ramaz has a new procedure for tefillah this year: tefillah is during second period instead of first period. This was, at first, considered one of the changes exclusively for hybrid schooling, but many Ramaz students were surprised to hear that this change would be sticking around.

Although some Ramaz students have very strong opinions opposing this change, Ramaz rabbis emphatically support the administration's decision to keep tefillah second period. Rabbi Albo, Rabbi Schiowitz, Rabbi Schimmel, and Rabbi Gober all recognize the negative effects of the new scheduling, but feel that the benefits outweigh the deficits.

Rabbi Albo, the rabbi of the Sephardic minyan, points out that logistically, having tefillah during second period adds an element of seriousness to tefillah because students are finally arriving on time. Contrary to the idea that any type of learning before davening is halachically incorrect, Rabbi Albo noted that the Gemara talks about how a person should transition into davening from learning, which is why we have korban or in our siddurim before beginning tefillah. This is the idea of Mechayil Lechayil. We learn some type of Torah on our way to daven to elevate ourselves spiritually before entering a conversation with God.

In this ideal situation, there seems to be no halachic problem with having tefillah after first period, but it is practically impossible to create a schedule where each student in the whole school has a Judaic studies class first period; this is where a problem arises. Halachically, going to a general studies class in the morning before davening is considered a distraction

from davening which should be a person’s first focus of the day. Mia Denti ‘22 finds it, “difficult to transition from my first period class to tefillah. Tefillah requires a focused mindset and it is difficult to reach that level of concentration when I am fixated on the material I learned in class.”

Another problem we could encounter is related to the timing of Kriyat Shema. The concern

is missing the time to say the correct Brachot surrounding shema. Rabbi Schimmel notes that when the clocks change for daylight savings, we will miss the time for Kriyat Shema. Theoretically every student could combat this problem by saying shema in the morning before class, but the school and teachers would not be able to monitor that system. The only solution to this problem is to educate Ramaz students on the correct time to daven and say Shema.

In addition to learning general studies before tefillah and missing the time for Kriyat Shema, a

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significant problem Rabbi Albo sees with this change is that people are supposed to eat after davening.

Two years ago, Ramaz students would eat breakfast promptly after davening. Now, students need to wait until after first period and davening to eat breakfast at 10 am. Rabbi Gober adds that while it is not ideal for students to eat breakfast at 10 am, there are benefits to having tefillah second period. In accordance with the other Rabbis, Rabbi Gober is happy that the new scheduling allows for students to arrive on time to tefillah.

Despite some flaws in the new schedule, Rabbi Albo is satisfied with the countless benefits surrounding this schedule. Most importantly, students are not showing up to tefillah directly after long bus rides or after sprinting to school. He acknowledged that he has noticed many students have wanted to daven in the past but have been too tired to try. Now, thanks to the period buffer between students’ commutes and davening, students are able to pay more attention in tefillah.

Rabbi Schiowitz agrees with Rabbi Albo, Rabbi Schimmel, and Rabbi Gober.

He adds that according to the Rambam, it is best to make tefillah a person’s primary focus in the morning. We should refrain from making other activities our priorities and doing them first thing in the morning, especially if these activities expend large amounts of time.

Although the Rabbis acknowledge the issues of having tefillah during second period, they believe that there are many advantages to this system. They hope that this schedule will enhance the overall respect and seriousness of tefillah.

New Teacher Spotlights We are so excited to welcome our new teachers for the 2021-2022 school year!

Below are interviews with them to allow students to get to know the new faculty members better. We wish them luck during their time at Ramaz!

Q&A: Getting to Know Mr. Ari Witkes, Athletics Director Julius Rubinstein ‘22

Ari Witkes is the new Athletic Director for Ramaz. Ari is well known throughout yeshiva league athletics through his broadcasting of HAFTR games, the Satran Tournament, and yeshiva league playoffs.

Last year, he started a popular podcast covering the yeshiva league called Tip Off. He is also the founder of Lions Den, a fitness program, and he worked at Camp Morasha this summer as the fitness pro. I sat down with Ari to hear what he had to say about his first month at Ramaz and the year ahead.

Julius Rubenstein: First things first. You live in Woodmere. How has it been commuting so far?

Mr. Ari Witkes: It’s definitely not the greatest part about being at Ramaz, but it’s what I have to do to get here and I actually look forward to it every day. It gives me time to think and make the calls I have to make.

JR: What have been some of the challenges you have faced so far?

AW: There are a lot of different interests and teams and we only have one gym so coordinating everything is probably the biggest challenge.

JR: Thoughts on the world famous Ramaz lunch?

AW: The cookies are out of this world! The salad bar is great and the pizza is wonderful. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised.

JR: Which Ramaz team has the best shot of bringing home a trophy this year.

AW: Obviously, Girls Volleyball.

JR: You are famous for your yeshiva league broadcasts. Some call you the Marv Albert of the yeshiva league. How did you get started with broadcasting yeshiva league games?

AW: Mostly by watching a lot of sports and thinking I was going to be in the NBA one day like most kids do, but then I quickly realized that wasn’t happening so the next best thing was calling the games. It’s been a lot of fun over the years and I’ve gotten to see a lot of great games and players.

JR: Now that you are with Ramaz, are you still planning on broadcasting the Satran tournament this year?

AW: That’s in the hands of my agents but chances are good.

JR: Can you tell us what the current plans for yeshiva league sports are?

AW: As of now, there are sports but they are not allowing any fans, although fans will be allowed at the Glouberman Tournament in California. They are hoping to allow fans at some point later in the season.

Lots of silent cheering in the gym.

JR: What are the plans for broadcasting games then?

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Mr. Ari Witkes Continued From Page 5

JR: Ready for the speed round?

AW: We are working with the administration on the live-stream to be able to broadcast as many home games as we can.

AW: Let’s do it.

JR: Any plans for social media?

AW: Jordan.

AW: We hope to use the Ramaz accounts to keep everyone updated and entertained. Who knows, maybe there will even be a few TikToks.

JR: Favorite food?

JR: Rumor has it that you played for JEC when you were in high school, were they as bad then as they are now?

JR: That’s boring. Favorite movie?

AW: The rumor is true, but my senior year we actually made it to the semi-finals.

JR: Solid choice. Favorite tv show?

JR: Jordan, Lebron or Kobe?

AW: Salad.

AW: Jerry Maguire.

AW: NBA TV.

JR: Not sure that counts. Favorite historical figure?

AW: Barney.

JR: This is going in a strange direction. Favorite sports teams?

AW: Celtics, Bruins, North Carolina Tar heels, Yankees.

JR: Interesting mix. Any final words?

AW: I’m very excited to be here and I think it’s going to be a very exciting year ahead for the Ramaz Rams.

JR: Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day. Everyone is really happy you are here and excited for the year ahead.

Q&A: Getting to Know Ms. Daniella Eson, Science

Sarah Ginsberg ’22

The Rampage welcomes Ms. Eson to the Ramaz community! Ms. Eson is the new Biology teacher at Ramaz, tecahing both a freshamn class and AP class. Ms. Eson also teaches the Genetic Diseases elective at Ramaz. The Rampage interviewed her to learn more about who she is.

DE: One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest.

Sarah Ginsberg: Hi Ms. Eson, thank you for meeting with me! Where did you grow up?

SG: What is your favorite food?

Ms. Daniella Eson: I grew up in Florida.

SG: What were your favorite and least favorite subjects in school?

DE: My least favorite subject was always math. My favorite subjects were science and music.

SG:What’s your favorite type of music? Who’s your favorite singer?

DE: Pop music is my favorite type of music. Mordechai Shapiro is my favorite artist but Sam Smith is a close second.

DE: Pulled brisket.

SG: Are you more of a breakfast, lunch, or dinner person?

DE: I was always fascinated by science in school, particularly biology. I find biology really interesting because our bodies are so complex and it is fun to learn about all of its small intricacies.

SG: If you were not a biology teacher, what would you be?

DE:A music teacher.

SG: What is your dream vacation?

DE: Hawaii.

SG: Thank you, Ms. Eson!

DE: Lunch, for sure.

SG: What is your favorite holiday?

SG: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

DE: I enjoy playing piano, going to spin classes, hanging out with friends, and going to broadway shows (Something Rotten is my favorite show).

DE: Succot, it’s as long as Pesach but you can eat whatever you want.

SG: If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?

DE: Travel the world.

DE: I love getting to know my students and seeing how they learn. The best feeling is when I adjust my teaching styles for them and get to witness how my adjustment improves their understanding.

SG: What is your favorite book?

SG: What made you interested in teaching biology?

SG: What is your favorite part of your career?

Q&A: Getting to Know Mr. Ethan Fuld, TEC Sarah Silverman ‘24

Mr. Ethan Fuld is no Ramaz newbie. As a previous Ramaz high school student, Mr. Fuld has had plenty of the iconic Ramaz teachers including Dr. Jucovy, Rabbi Shiowitz, and Ms. Brachot. He is excited to replace Mr. Vovsha as the TEC and Coding teacher.

In addition to Mr. Vovsha’s role, he is also the instructor for the newly offered 10th grade Web Design Elective and faculty advisor to the Coding Club.

Sarah Silverman: Where are you from?

Mr. Ethan Fuld: I am from Englewood, New Jersey.

I was a Ramaz commuter student, and went to both high school and middle school here. I actually had a bunch of the teachers you guys have now. I had Ms. Litwack for English and Mr. Deutsch for History.

SS: Does it feel weird to work with staff members

who were once your teachers?

teacher. Talmud was my least favorite class.

EF: It was weird for like two weeks, and then I got used to it. It’s something you will all see when you become adults which is that the age gaps don’t matter as much anymore. When you’re younger the difference between a sixth-grader and an eighth-grader or a freshman and senior is huge. Later in life, you can become friends with people twenty years older than you and it makes no difference. I was also a goody-goody in high school, so my teachers liked me so when I came back they were excited to see me.

SS: Why did you want to teach in high school? What jobs did you have before this?

SS: What were your favorite and least favorite subjects in school?

EF: My favorite subjects were Math and Science.

Specifically, I loved Chemistry and Calculus. I was looking forward to coming back and having Ms. Brachot as my boss since I loved her as my chemistry

EF: I have always liked teaching. I knew in college I wanted to teach eventually, but I wanted to work in the industry first to get experience. I have been a software engineer for the last six years. I was the first front-end engineer at Revel, the company that makes the blue mopeds you see on the street. I wrote the code that helped all the internal people fix the bikes.

And while I was good at it, it was really just writing code for eight hours a day. On a whim, I looked up Ramaz and wanted to see if they had any job openings, and they did so I interviewed and got the job.

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Mr. Ethan Fuld Continued From Page 6 SS: Why are you passionate about coding? Why did you want to teach this subject?

wood. My favorite movie is The Grand Budapest Hotel. I am a fan of Wes Anderson movies. In college, I was a video

EF: It’s funny I didn’t know I was interested in this until my senior year of high school when I took AP Computer Science. I only took it cause my siblings told me I should. They were like, this is the future and you are gonna be good at it. From the second I started I realized how awesome it was. The world is more and more relying on technology so it’s best to be at the forefront.

SS: What do you enjoy doing in your free time? What kind of interesting things did you do in college?

EF: I am a part-time personal trainer. I love cooking, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and sewing. I have a sewing machine. I make art, mostly sculpture and

SS: What do you say to kids who struggle with TEC or Coding? What advice do you have for them?

EF: My advice is to keep at it. Learning technical skills is more like training a muscle than learning math. It requires way more practice and a lot less study. The more you try things out the better you become. You never have to relearn it, you will know how to do it.

SS: Is there anything you want to say to Ramaz students?

game minor, so I liked creating those. I also sang in an Acapella group. I helped out in the creative and art department and helped put on musicals.

EF: I am pretty friendly so if you see me in the hallway say hi. If you ever want to learn anything in TEC just opt into my class. I am looking forward to a great year!

Q&A: Getting to Know Ms. Deeni Hass, Student Activities

Clemi Roth ’22

The Rampage welcomes Deeni Hass to the Ramaz community! I interviewed Deeni to learn more about her and what she plans to bring to Ramaz.

Clemi Roth: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where did you do before coming to Ramaz, and where are you from originally?

Ms. Deeni Hass: I’m originally from Cedarhurst, in the Five Towns, but I now live on the Upper East Side with my husband Manu and son Ezra. Before working at Ramaz I worked at NCSY, Yeshiva University, and the American Society for Yad Vashem. Currently, I work at Ramaz and I’m also the director of JYC, the Hebrew School hosted at KJ. CR: How would you describe DeeDee Benel’s legacy?

How are you going to help Ramaz honor Deedee Benel’s legacy?

DH: I don’t think there are words to describe DeeDee’s legacy and do her justice, and if there are I am probably not the best person for the job. What I can say is that when I took this job and told one of last year’s seniors, his immediate reply was “So you’re never going to sleep again?” and I think that says it all. DeeDee was the ultimate energizer bunny when it came to doing anything to make the world a better place. She was someone who truly woke up every morning thinking, “what can I do today to leave the world a better place than it was yesterday?” All I can do is try to learn from her through the many binders she kept, stories from students and faculty and connecting with the organizations she had relationships with. The hardest part of my job so far has been when I connect with someone at an organization and I have to be the one to share the news of her passing. I hope she knew what a huge impact she had on every per-

son she interacted with. I will do my best in every way to honor her legacy through chesed opportunities and programs at the school and do my best to help instill the true value of chesed in our students not just for their time within the walls of Ramaz, but as a middah they will carry for the rest of their lives.

CR: How are you planning on getting Ramaz students more involved in chesed within and outside of our community?

DH: The first component of getting students more involved in chesed has been expanding the requirements to 11th and 12th grades along with 10th. It is important to us as an institution, thinking both in terms of the values of Ramaz and in honoring DeeDee’s legacy, to make it clear that chesed is a core part of our curriculum because we believe so deeply that it is the foundation of your life as a Jewish person. In a new world where volunteering in person still isn’t as simple as it was pre-Covid, a lot of creativity will come into play when working to get students more involved. There are pros and cons to the way we need to do things; even though it is sometimes harder to coordinate the opportunities, it’s often because we are finding a way to make it the most accessible to students. I hope having more opportunities within the school building as well as virtually will drive students to get more involved beyond their required hours.

CR: If you could only teach your students one thing, what would it be? What do you want your students to take away from your chesed initiatives?

DH: If I could teach my students one thing in regards to chesed, it’s that chesed isn’t just something you do, it’s part of who you are. I truly believe that it’s an inherent Middah that can be learned even if someone isn’t naturally chesed-oriented.

CR: What are you most excited to do/ see/be a part of at Ramaz?

DH: I am most excited to be back in a position of working with students to help them find what they are passionate about. Chesed is for everyone, individuals just need to find what they love to do and share with others. As part of Ramaz, I just love being back in a school building and seeing students every day. And of course, working with Dov again!

CR: Can you tell us another fun fact about yourself?

DH: Fun facts are always really hard!

But fun fact: I worked for Dov on an NCSY summer program in 2017.

CR: Finally, do you think that chocolates, like Twix or KitKats, are candy?

DH: NO! Chocolate is its own category.

We are so excited to continue to get to know Deeni and collaborate with her in her Chesed initiatives!

Q&A: Getting to Know Mr. Chayim Goldberg, Science Morris Dweck ‘24

While Mr. Goldberg takes academics very seriously, you may see an explosion in class. “On purpose or by accident?” you may ask. I guess we’ll never know.

Morris Dweck: Where are you from?

Mr. Chaim Goldberg: The Bronx.

MD: Why did you choose to work at Ramaz?

CG: In Ramaz, the academics are taken seriously and the school’s environment is great.

MD: What made you become a science teacher?

CG: When I first started out I imagined myself going into biotech but then I realized I liked working with

kids and adults. I always enjoyed studying science and I was doing research in grad-school and realized I liked teaching what I know rather than sitting working in a lab. And I especially chose high school students because that’s when I started really getting excited about science.

MD: What are some hobbies you enjoy outside of science?

Continued on page 8

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Mr. Chayim Goldberg, Science Continued From Page 7 CG:I enjoy the outdoors, hiking, biking, and I’m also a shochet.

MD: What is your go-to karaoke song?

CG: Love Shack by B-52’s MD: If the Ramaz genie was granting you three wishes for upgrades/additions to your science lab what would they be?

CG:A human skeleton would be cool to have. I’d also

November 2021/Kislev 5782

like to have a full dissection table with tools, and a selection of animals to dissect.

MD: Have you ever caused an explosion in your lab?

Mr. Chaim Goldberg: Yes, many. For instance; in one of the previous schools I worked at, I thought I would be helping everyone by putting in more sodium and water to make a nice bigger reaction but I didn’t think it would actually explode. But it did. Thank God everyone is ok.

We are so happy to have Mr. Goldberg, an amazing science teacher, as a new addition to the Ramaz family.

Q&A: Getting to Know Mr. Tucker Kuman, English Daniel Kalimi ‘23

After We are excited to welcome Mr. Kuman to Ramaz! Following Dr. Gaylord’s departure, Mr. Kuman is joining the English department.

Daniel Kalimi: Where are you originally from?

Mr. Tucker Kuman: I’m from Long Island’s North Shore — which is auspicious enough for someone who was a self-acknowledged English major long before college. New York is full of shrines to literature. As a middle schooler, I had to make several (compulsory, at least at the time) pilgrimages to Walt Whitman’s birthplace. It was a few years later, after I moved to the city, that I learned how many authors made their names, or else their homes, here. It’s a place for those who are drunk on books.

DK: What did you do before you came to teach at

Ramaz?

curriculum at Ramaz?

TK: I graduated with my BA from Columbia and worked for a few years as a research assistant in a lab studying choice psychology at the Columbia Business School. After that I went on to study and teach literature at the University of Virginia, where I’m finishing up my doctorate.

TK: I have no problems with anything on the curriculum, but the question is how can we make it even better.

DK: Who is your favorite author and why?

DK: Why did you choose to come work at Ramaz?

TK: Ramaz students are famous around the world for their excellence. I should know, since I went to school with so many Ramaz alumni!

DK: What do you like most about working at Ramaz?

TK: All of Ramaz’s brilliant, hardworking students!

TK: This kind of question always catches me off guard. I don’t like to deal in lists or hierarchies when it comes to literature — there’s always something left off or overlooked. I prefer to think in terms of whose writing is resonating with me at any given moment.

Some authors I’ve read and loved in the last year: Karl Ove Knausgaard (one of the great comic writers of this century), Jhumpa Lahiri, and the great crime fiction writer Dorothy B. Hughes.

DK: What is your favorite piece of writing?

TK: I return to certain books with feverish persistence. Yukio Mishima’s Sea of Fertility tetralogy (a series of four novels) is a work I haven’t been able to get out of my mind.

DK: What are your thoughts on the current English

Q&A: Getting to Know Mr. Natan Ovshey, Math Sarah Silverman ‘24

Mr. Natan Ovshey, a new addition to the Math department, joined the Ramaz Upper School in a year of transition. Many long-time Ramaz faculty have left the school, including Mr. Rodger Jaffe, who Mr. Ovshey is replacing. He is excited to join the Ramaz community and is looking forward to sharing his knowledge with his students.

SS: Were you a good student in high school? What were your favorite and least favorite subjects?

NO: I was a decent student but I didn’t have very good study skills, I would say. I guess it’s cliche but my

SS: What do you like to do in your free time?

Sarah Silverman: Where are you from?

NO: I enjoy being outdoors and fishing. Over the summer, I spent a good amount of time in upstate New York with my family. I like teaching my sixand-a-half-year-old son to fish. I got him into it when he was very small. We usually go together.

Mr. Natan Ovshey: I was actually born in a country in the USSR, which does not exist anymore. In a city called Kyiv, which is in modern-day Ukraine. When I was eight years old my family moved to south Brooklyn and have been living there ever since.

SS: What schools did you attend growing up?

NO: For middle school, I went to an all-boys yeshiva in south Brooklyn. It used to be known as Sherith Israel, but now they changed its name and moved to a new location. It was actually for immigrant kids like myself. For my freshman year of high school, I went to Bronx Science and then transferred to Stuyvesant.

Afterward, I attended Cornell University and have both an undergraduate and graduate degree in theoretical math.

the tutoring center at Hunter College. I enjoy working with people and seeing them understand a concept.

I’m not the best at public speaking but when I’m in front of a class, I’m pretty comfortable. I decided to try out high school since I needed a change, and I am happy to be here!

favorite subject was Math and my least favorite was English.

SS: Why did you want to become a teacher? Where have you taught before?

NO: This is my first time teaching high school. Before this, I taught at the New York City College of Technology for ten years. My first experience teaching was at

SS: How was the experience of interviewing for the Math teacher position compared to normal years? Due to COVID-19 and Zoom, there must have been differences in the interview process.

NO: It wasn’t that different. When I was asked to interview, I met with Dr. Nironi, who’s the head of the Math department, for a Zoom call. I had actually already been interviewed before the pandemic, Continued on page 9

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Mr. Natan Ovshey

Continued From Page 8 and due to the chaos of what happened, never heard back. This June, Dr. Nironi contacted me and I came in for a mock lesson. Other than wearing masks, there was really no change between now and before the pandemic.

SS: Do you have a favorite book or movie?

The Rampage

NO: I haven’t read a novel in a while, but I discovered Diary of a Wimpy Kid with my son and we enjoy reading that together. I like short stories and recently read a collection of them by Anton Chekhov. The 2012 movie Lincoln by Steven Spielberg would probably be my favorite movie. I’m a history fan and it was just incredible.

SS: What classes and clubs are you helping out/teach-

New Teachers 9

ing this year?

NO: I am teaching 9th-grade Accelerated Geometry and Honors Algebra II in addition to 10th grade Honors Algebra II and Accelerated Algebra II, as well as an 11th-grade Pre-calculus class. I will also be involved with the Math Team, which is a great experience for those who want to learn skills outside the classroom and solve challenging puzzles. Everyone should sign up!

Q&A: Getting to Know Ms. Claire Maussion, World Languages Juliette Goodstein ’25

Ms. Claire Maussion is the newest faculty member to join the world languages department. Ms. Maussion teaches first, second, and third year French to the ninth, tenth and eleventh grades. She loves spending time with her daughter, swimming, and watching Netflix. She is excited to be teaching in person this year and being able to interact with students again.

Juliette Goodstein: Where are you from?

Ms. Claire Maussion: I’m from Paris.

JG: Is French your first language?

CM: Yes. JG: How long have you been living in New York?

CM: It will be seven years in January. So, almost seven years.

JG: Tell me about your family.

CM:Well, I’m married and I have a daughter who is

going to be one at the end of October. I live with them in New York. And the rest of my family is living in France. I have two sisters, one brother, and my parents who all live in the Paris region.

JG: What did you study in college?

CM: I studied French literature and comparative literature.

JG: How did you decide to become a teacher?

CM: I love to transmit my passion for the French language and French literature to students so that’s why I chose to become a teacher.

JG: What is your favorite part about teaching?

CM: I like having students who really love French and it’s very rewarding when they are able to actually interact in French. I love when they go to France or when they meet French people, and then they come

back and tell me “I was able to talk to a friend I made in France” – that’s just very rewarding.

JG: What did you do before you came to Ramaz? Did you teach anywhere else?

CM: For the past few years I was teaching French for a non-profit that teaches French to kids in New York Public schools.

JG: What is one fun fact about yourself?

CM: I can juggle with fire. I’m not an expert but I did it once.

JG: What do you hope to bring to Ramaz?

CM: I hope to bring a little bit of the French culture to Ramaz; a little bit of the French touch.

JG: What are you most excited for this year?

CM: I am excited about teaching in-person because there is nothing like interacting directly with the students.

Q&A: Getting to Know Rabbi Dani Ritholtz, Talmud/Tanakh Hallie Kopel ‘24 and Danielle Nakash ‘24

We are excited to welcome Rabbi Ritholtz to Ramaz! Rabbi Ritholtz is the newest member of the Judaic studies department!

Danielle Nakash + Hallie Kopel: Where did you attend high school, and what was that experience like?

Rabbi Dani Ritholtz: I went to TABC, an all-boys yeshiva. High school was one of my favorite times. I loved it. I wasn’t the strongest student, but I worked at it, and had teachers and friends who helped me become a better student.

DN+HK: What made you want to become a teacher?

RR: I chose to become a teacher because I went through a difficult period in my life during my senior year of high school. My interactions with teachers, mentors, and rabbis really helped me. I want to make the same contributions to those who also might need guidance.

DN+HK: At what point did you know you wanted to become a Rabbi, and what made you do so?

RR: After high school, I went to Yeshivat Ha-Kotel, and began giving shiurim/classes. I really enjoyed teaching there, and felt successful after receiving positive feedback. At that point, I realized that I was not only passionate about teaching, but I excelled at it.

DN+HK: Was there a specific person who inspired you to become a Rabbi/teacher?

RR: My mentor Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter inspired me to become a teacher. He is a Rabbi at Yeshiva University who has a Ph.D. from Harvard.

Rabbi Schacter embodies the idea of “Torah Mada” (the idea that Torah and secular studies go hand in hand, but Torah is still superior). He is an engaging teacher who values kindness. Rabbi Schacter is extremely caring, and was very generous to me and my family during a difficult period. When we shared meals, he displayed such humility by cleaning his own dishes for us. Rabbi Schacter helped my family through our most vulnerable times and demonstrated to me what it means to be a thoughtful Jew. DN+HK: Why did you decide to teach at Ramaz, and do you like it so far?

RR: I really like Ramaz! I joined the Ramaz com-

munity because I have some friends who are Ramaz alumni who are really impressive. Apart from being smart, they are empathetic, considerate, and well-rounded people. They especially have an authenticity with Judaism. When I received an opportunity to come to Ramaz, I did not hesitate and was eager to contribute to the making of a Ramaz student! I think it is excellent how the students and faculty really strive to connect both Judaic and Secular studies. Lastly, I really love Ramaz’s values. I especially appreciate that boys and girls are treated equally in Torah because that is not the case at many other schools. Ramaz also has great academics. Although there is supremacy to Torah, I love learning about secularism and modern topics of the world.

DN+HK: What do you love most about Talmud, and what gives you joy from it?

RR: My favorite part about teaching Talmud is seeing an idea click with a student. It is a huge excitement for me to see an idea register with a student because it shows me that I am being clear. I have felt this excitement as a student and teacher, and that exhilaration is a huge high for me!

DN+HK: Lastly, what is your favorite Masechet?

RR: Masechet Yonah is my favorite because my grandfather passed away on Yom Kippur, which led me to learn it every summer for several years.

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November 2021/Kislev 5782

Q&A: Getting To Know Rabbi Zachary Schwartz, Talmud Sylvie Pagovich ’25

Sylvie Pagovich: Where are you from?

Rabbi Zachary Schwartz: I’m from Sydney, Australia.

SP: What did you do before coming to teach at Ramaz?.

RS: Before teaching at Ramaz I used to work at Haftr in the five towns.

SP: What made you want to teach at Ramaz?

RS: Teaching at a high school has always been my dream job. I love working with teens – it’s like I’m talking to adults, pretty much. I enjoy high schoolers way better than middle schoolers, that’s for sure.

SP: Why did you want to teach Talmud?

RS: I love learning Torah. Torah is the best, you know, nothing better than Gemara.

SP: What is your proudest moment as a teacher?

RS: I have a lot of them everyday. I even had one two days ago when a student from my class approached me and said that until this point, they’d never enjoyed learning Gemara in their entire life. But now, they enjoy it. So that’s very meaningful to me.

SP: What would you do if you had a day off from teaching?

RS: A day off from teaching, that’d be great. I would probably wake up at 5:40 AM. I’d slowly daven, have a nice long chevruta, and go for a nice stroll in the park.

And then I’d probably count down until the next time I’m at Ramaz.

RS: Anywhere. I love traveling everywhere. I grew up camping and had a lot of awesome vacations growing up. Place me in a beautiful Bungalow or in Hawaii and I’d be in Gan Eden.

SP: What’s your favorite book?

RS: I read Harry Potter in Hebrew – that was great.

SP: What was your favorite subject growing up?

RS:I used to love English and loved to read. Honestly, as a student I hated Gemara or anything related to it. It took me years and years to enjoy Gemara. And now what do you know? Here I am teaching Gemara!

SP: What made you enjoy Gemara?

RS: It took me years in Yeshiva. At first, I thought the language was just so difficult to understand, and the kind of logic was very difficult. But I think once I got past those barriers and really got into the discussion and depth, I really enjoyed it. I found Gemara very meaningful. Just I’d enjoyed English, which is very creative and expressive, I found those qualities in Gemara as well.

SP:Is there any place you like to travel to?

SP: Who inspires you?

RS: Well, obviously, that’s an easy one. Definitely my ninth grade class. But beyond that, I get a lot of inspiration from my teachers. Teachers inspire me to be a better person: a little bit more angelic, a little bit less selfish. Seeing students who are struggling but working towards becoming better people after learning the text, also definitely inspires me.

SP: Are there any TV shows you like to watch?

RS:I’m in the middle of Master Chef. I love all cooking shows – you name it I’ve watched it!

SP:What’s your favorite food?

RS: A good steak with the proper seasoning – nothing better than good steak with fries.

Q&A: Getting to Know Rabbi Yehoshua Segal, Student Activities Rachel Abelson ‘24

Rabbi Segal has joined the Ramaz staff this year as a Student Activities Coordinator. He is a 10th grade advisor this year and has an office up on the 7th floor right next to the music room. Rabbi Segal works closely with Rabbi Dov to make all of our activities and trips such as the grade-wide Shabbatons.

pandemic.

RA: Any upcoming events/trips planned?

YS: Yes! Freshmen are heading out this week to

Rabbi Yehoshua Segal: I grew up on the Lower East Side.

RA: How did you become involved in student activities?

RA: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

YS: I’m a big sports fan so I go to and watch lots of games. It’s been tough as a New York sports fan recently but hopefully, the Yankees and Nets could win a championship while the Jets continue to improve!

Additionally, I enjoy learning new things so I try to read a lot and listen to podcasts on a variety of topics.

YS: I got into student activities because of my background in the informal education world. I currently spend and have spent many summers at Camp Mesorah where I’m the head counselor and I’ve worked for New York NCSY for a couple of years at this point as their Advisor Coordinator.

RA: What new programming do you want to bring to school this year?

RA: Where were you before coming to Ramaz?

RA: What brought you to Ramaz?

YS: Through the interview process, I noticed a few things that really made Ramaz the place I wanted to be. There was a great vibe among the faculty, the students loved Ramaz as an institution, everyone was excited to accomplish and innovate exciting events and opportunities within the student activities department after over a year of being limited because of the

YS: At this point, I don’t think covid will impact so much of what we want to do. I hope that’s not a jinx!

RA: What is your role as a student advisor? What does your advisory do during the time they spend with you?

YS: To support the students in any way they need!

We’ve only had one advisory at this point but in the future, they’ll be a combination of fun and making it worthwhile for everyone involved!

Rachel Abelson: Where did you grow up?

YS: I was at Yeshiva University and working for NCSY.

RA: How do you see COVID-19 impacting student activities?

the Adventure Park Ropes Course and plans are in the works for every grade to be on a trip in the near future!

RA: Do you think we are going to have color war this year?

YS: That’s the big question everyone is asking... I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

YS: Shabbatonim! It’s awesome to get to spend time with students outside the classroom in a more relaxed setting while celebrating Shabbat together!

In terms of specifics, that is yet to be decided but the goal is to give the students a memorable experience outside of the classroom as well!

RA: What is one fun fact about you?

YS: I’m a triplet! Also, I once won an organized Rock/Paper/Scissors tournament with about 100 players!

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Q&A: Getting to Know Dr. Aaron Tugendhaft, History Emily Vayner ’23

Emily Vayner: Where did you grow up? Describe your cultural background. Did it impact your career choice in any way?

Dr. Aaron Tugendhaft: I grew up on the Upper East Side, a block away from the Ramaz Lower School and seven blocks from the Upper School – there was no Middle School at the time. That means, I also grew up a few blocks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I worked part time for several years toward the end of high school. I think walking through those galleries which gathered material from so many cultures and time periods, and especially browsing in the bookshop (which was far more extensively stocked than it is now) really sparked my curiosity and made me want to understand it all --- and not in the way that a physicist might understand the whole abstractly, by means of underlying laws, but by means of the particular, with all its historical and cultural specificity. As a result, it’s been nearly impossible for me to specialize in the way that is currently expected in academia. I tried for a while (as an Ugaritologist) but it didn’t stick. Teaching at Ramaz gives me more freedom to indulge my catholic curiosity.

EV: What are you passionate about? Any obscure hobbies or favorite pastimes?

AT: I’m passionate about teaching and I spend a lot of time thinking about what it would mean to do it well.

As for hobbies and pastimes, when I was a student at Ramaz I fell in love with opera. I went regularly with two classmates, Ben Lebwohl and Emil Kleinhaus.

Now that I am back in New York, the three of us have a subscription to the Met Opera again.

EV: Do you have any fun facts about yourself or talents?

AT: Not really. I can throw a decent dinner party.

EV: What inspired you to write your book “The Idols of ISIS”?

AT: I was an art history major and then got my doctorate in ancient Near Eastern Studies. Along the way, I also spent a lot of time learning the history of religion, medieval political philosophy, and a bunch of other seemingly unrelated things. When I saw the ISIS video of antiquities destruction in Iraq’s Mosul Museum in 2015, I realized that many of these disparate things I’d been studying over the years could be

brought together if I were to write about the video. I’d finally have a chance to bring all the strands together.

And so, I wrote the book.

much more profound than the works of contemporary theory that we were being assigned to read. So I dropped IR and started learning ancient Greek.

EV: Did you enjoy your experience at Ramaz as a student? How would you describe your past self as a student?

EV: How would you describe your experience now, on the flip side, as a teacher? Did your student experience shape the way you teach?

AT: By high school, I had discovered the joy of reading books.

I wasn’t a reader as a child; I think Dr. Jucovy’s eighth grade history class sparked my interest in learning.

Between the books I was reading outside of class and the cultural events I started attending in the city, I didn’t always have time to do my schoolwork. Luckily, my parents let me be.

I didn’t get perfect grades, but they were good enough to get into a good college. I do regret not having put more effort into Talmud class, though, as I’ve since become deeply interested in Jewish Thought and I would have benefited from the skills I could have learned had I tried harder.

Maybe one of the Talmud teachers will let me sit in on a class now that I’m back.

EV: Was your favorite subject History/ Politics, if not what was it? Did you know you would choose your current career choice when you attended the Upper School?

AT: History was definitely my favorite subject, along with English. I was lucky to have excellent teachers in both subjects (even if my senior year coincided with the year Dr. Jucovy decided to abandon us for Dalton). As I was finishing high school, I think I was already beginning to consider an academic life for my future, but not exclusively. I had been involved in Model UN at Ramaz and was also considering a career in the foreign service. When I took the standard introduction to International Relations my freshman year of college, though, I reconsidered. Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War was clearly so

AT: It’s only been a month, but so far, I’m loving it. My students have really been showing a lot of enthusiasm for learning. If only they could show that enthusiasm a bit less loudly.

The decibel level seems to be the main difference between teaching high school and college students.

EV: Who were some figures of inspiration when choosing your career?

How would you like to inspire Ramaz students?

AT: I’ve been blessed with wonderful teachers, from high school through college and graduate school, who regularly serve as models for my own teaching.

Herodotus, Socrates, and Rambam are other inspirational figures, though I never managed to meet them personally.

EV: What do you hope to add to the Ramaz History/ Politics curriculum?

AT: I’m happy to be inheriting a history curriculum that is already incredibly strong. I would like to see more attention paid to non-Ashkenazi Jewish history, and perhaps use the range of Jewish settlement as a way to expand our global coverage generally. I also wouldn’t mind finding ways to make more curricular use of my own expertise in cuneiform culture. But one has to be careful, because for everything that’s added something must be removed. It’s a delicate balance that requires careful consideration. The core history curriculum aside, I’m thrilled that Ramaz has welcomed my desire to offer courses on philosophy that weren’t available when I was a student. It seems the students are happy about this too.

Q&A: Getting To Know Mr. Ezra Gershman, Administrative Assistant Rebecca Silber ’23

Rebecca Silber: Where are you from?

Mr. Ezra Gershman: I’m originally from Maryland, and my family currently lives right outside of DC. I graduated from Brandeis University this past year.

RS: What brought you to the city?

EG: I knew that I wanted to live in the city for a few years after I graduated college in order to explore new possibilities in life, and to find out who I am. Luckily, I found a job here at Ramaz once I moved.

RS: What exactly is your job here at Ramaz?

EG: My official title is “Administrative Assistant.” I basically do everything that the administration needs me to do in order for the school day to function. For example, I have been ringing the bells for the past few weeks while the bell system was down. I take care of attendance sheets, help proctor tests, organize the test schedule, and arrange fire drills as well.

RS: What made you choose to come to the Ramaz Upper School?

EG: I just graduated from college, and I saw that the job was available. I have heard good things about Ramaz in the past, and so I decided to look into it. Also, I have always valued jewish education, and decided that working in a Jewish institution would be a great way to start off my career.

RS: What do you enjoy about Ramaz so far? What do you dislike? Why? EG: I really like the social diversity of Ramaz. There are so many different types of people here, and it’s been wonderful getting to know all the teachers and students of Ramaz.

RS: Which administrators and/or students do you engage with most on a daily basis?

EG: I spend most of my day with the administrators who work in the 6th floor office, such as Ms. Chechik.

I am very grateful to work with such great people each

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Mr. Ezra Gershman Continued From Page 11 and every day. With regard to students, I try my best to engage with them. Since I give out most of the late notes and early dismissal notes, many students know me and tend to stop by every now and then. In fact, I was out sick last Thursday, and a bunch of freshman girls came to check on me to see if I was okay, which made me feel really good.

RS: What are the most enjoyable and challenging parts of your job?

EG: The most challenging part of my job is being able to go with the flow, because there have been tons of last minute changes this year, which can be hard to keep up with. The most enjoyable part of my

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job is simply being a part of the Ramaz community -- I can tell that it is very special.

RS: Do you have any hobbies or facts about yourself that you’d like to share?

EG: I enjoy playing video games, I like to read, and I love singing. In fact, I was in an acapella group throughout college.

RS: What do you anticipate for the rest of the year?

EG: I am very excited for the new schedule to come out -- I would love to see how it affects the students as well as the overall flow of the day.

Q&A: Getting To Know Mr. Jacob Doft, Business Management Elective Ilan Puterman ‘23

Ilan Puterman: Tell us about yourself.

Mr. Jacob Doft: I am the CEO of a money management firm called Highline Capital. I am an alumnus of Ramaz class of 1987. My children are either all alumni or students at Ramaz, so I feel very much part of our Ramaz community. I also have very long standing close friendships with many of the teachers some of whom taught me in high school.

IP: Why did you choose to become a business teacher at Ramaz?

JD: Dr. Jucovy shared with me that Ramaz was starting a business elective course and he was talking about the curriculum for it. I disagreed with the focus of the elective so I protested. I told him that I want a class that's about disruption and innovation and how business works now and in the future, as a result of new technologies and changes in behavior. He took my comments into consideration and convinced me to teach this elective.

IP: What is your approach to teaching students?

JD: I don't believe in lecturing. I think that my job is to get the students to figure stuff out on their own.

I may lead a conversation, but my goal is always to speak in the minority, and to let the students figure stuff out right there in the class. From my limited experience this year, I believe that this teaching method

is a good way of getting students to figure stuff out on their own and to enable them to learn additional things in the future. So, my style is just to facilitate a discovery process in the classroom. The great part about that is it doesn't require homework. It doesn't require any preparation in advance, and it doesn't require any testing. I've noticed that almost every single person in the class is engaged and interested in the conversation.

IP: What is your greatest challenge when teaching?

JD: I teach my class before lunchtime, and I have real sympathy for the fact that the students are tired and hungry; they've sat in five classes in a row and are probably mentally fried. So, I try to bring a lot of energy and sometimes even bring food to the classroom. I think teaching the class before lunchtime is definitely a challenge, but it can be combated with energy and enthusiasm.

IP: Why do you believe it is essential for high school students to gain an immersive understanding of business?

JD: It's important to understand how the world

works, because we're interacting with all these businesses. It's helpful to consider how these organizations operate, and how they can operate better over time. If they don't operate better, you can see how they might lose function and get replaced.

That’s what I'm trying to get people to think. We teach all the enabling technologies, and then piece them together to see how the technologies construct new business models today. Students will gain the ability to tangibly understand how enabling technologies might contribute to society. Students will learn how electricity enables a new generation of automobiles and how broadband enables certain kinds of products to work wirelessly.

IP: As a Ramaz alumni, how did Ramaz shape your personality and impact your success?

JD: I think everyone would agree that it's the friends you make as a student; that's the best thing that you keep for the rest of your life. I see that for my children and I certainly benefited from it myself. I've always taken Ramaz’s mission statement seriously and there's a lot of ways to interpret the word menschlichkeit. My interpretation is helping others and lifting other people up. I find that to be a very satisfying part of life.

Q&A: Getting to Know Ms. Adelina Yankova, Journalism Elective Nicole Hirschkorn ’22 Nicole Hirschkorn: Where are you from?

Ms. Adelina Yankova: I lived in Bulgaria until I was 10 and then moved to Wisconsin. I studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and I also focused on Gender and Women's Studies and Digital Studies. And now I’m pursuing my Ph.D. at Columbia University.

NH: What brought you to Ramaz?

AY: So, at Colombia for my Ph.D., I'm researching how young people produce the news and consume the news. I'm specifically looking at college newspa-

pers, at the moment, though also interested in high school. You hear that a lot of local newspapers are shutting down and you’ve probably heard the term news desert, meaning, there's no news and nobody is covering a particular area, so you get all the national news but you don't know what's happening on the ground.

Well, a lot of young people, including high school students and definitely college students are filling that gap, so I'm sort of interested in talking to them and seeing what it is that they think about the future

of Journalism. To me, it's really important that young people have media literacy so that they can distinguish credible sources from less credible ones, they can see bias in the news, they know how to navigate those things, and so it's important for me to teach that.

NH: Let's say, for a second, that there were journalists that write for The Rampage in your class, or just Rampage journalists in general. What tips would you give them when writing articles for the newspaper?

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Ms. Adelina Yankova Continued from page 12 AY: I would say do no harm, have a commitment to the truth. Keep digging, make sure that you're presenting all sides to the extent that you can. I think the important thing is journalism ethics, for people who are writing at any level, and in addition to that for people who are readers, because they can spot when someone isn't following that code of ethics.

NH: What would you say your favorite aspect of journalism is?

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AY: Interviewing. I like talking to people and I like hearing people's stories. It's getting to know aspects of people’s story, just getting to learn so much about experiences that aren't your own.

NH: What do you hope to achieve during your time at Ramaz?

AY: I would love to have students walk away with a better sense of media literacy so when they do read an article, they can analyze it. I think sometimes if you don't agree with the article, it's really easy to say, “Well this is just bad and it's just biased and it's fake

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news,” and that's not always the case. Getting students to know what critical sources, and what a balanced story looks like, getting them interested in the news.

Getting them to be more engaged citizens through the ways that they interact with journalism.

NH: And to wrap up, what's a fun fact about yourself?

AY: I play the flute. It's been a while, but I recently bought a flute. I played through college and then it's been a few years. I played for ten years, something like that. So. I'm trying to get back into it.

Q&A: Getting To Know Ms. Rebecca Dreisinger, Health Alexa Gribetz ‘23 and Eliana Davidson ‘23 Alexa Gribetz and Eliana Davidson: What made you decide to teach Health?

Ms. Rebecca Dreisinger: For the past 20 years that I have been a school counselor, I have loved teaching the Health curriculum that is composed of all the topics that become so relevant in high school. These topics, that pertain to wellness and health include: stress, nutrition, substance use/abuse and sexual health.

AG and ED: Did Judaism influence your decision to teach Health?

RD: Nope. It was more a natural outgrowth of being a school counselor; I wanted to be able to teach the topics before students get to the place where they need to fix something.

AG and ED: Are there any specific areas that you think students need to improve in?

RD: This is a huge focus area for our student body.

We are learning techniques and approaches that may be able to help students think about stress in a different way or use techniques that can help them address stress.

AG and ED: Share an experience when you applied new technology or information to your job. How did it help?

RD: I came here with technology being not one of my strengths and I have learned so much from many amazing colleagues (particularly the math department!). There are always new studies and new insights. That's what makes it dynamic and exciting.

AG and ED: Do you feel that sometimes Judaism clashes with the concepts that you teach?

RD: No. I think that we have a principle in Judaim ‘Ushmartem Meod Et Nafshoteichem’ which means

that you should guard your soul carefully.

AG and ED: What is your teaching philosophy?

RD: My goal is for students to take what they learn and apply it to their life, not merely to memorize content for the test.

AG and ED: As you know, Ramaz has not had a Health teacher in a few years. How did you plan to teach kids who have never learned Health before? Did you have to do things differently than you normally would have?

RD: I am trying to interject small sidebars or discussions that will address some of the topics that are covered in previous years.” Unfortunately, not every topic can be covered in depth. However, many of the topics are interrelated, so I often touch on one topic when learning about another.

The Highs and Lows of Type 1 Diabetes Eve Schizer ‘22 In honor of November, Diabetes awareness month.

Over the years, some of you surely have had questions about me, such as: How come I obsessively check my Apple watch?

Why does my phone emit strange beeping noises?

What’s the deal with those two phones?

Why am I permitted to use my phone in class?

How come I’m allowed to eat in class?

At long last, your questions will be answered. The bottom line is that I have Type 1 Diabetes. But, what is that? It’s an autoimmune disorder, meaning it’s a result of genetics, rather than lifestyle choices (which are the main causes of the other kind, Type 2 Diabetes).

So what does Type 1 Diabetes mean for people who have it? It requires constant planning, guesswork, and pre-emptive action. Personally, I feel like it takes up something like 20 percent of my brain capacity. I need to think about when to eat, what I’ll be eating, whether I will exercise before or after eating, how much insulin I need, and when I need it. For example, while writing this article, I had to stop to give myself insulin and get some water in order to lower

my blood glucose levels.

Now, the science-y stuff! In T1D, the immune system decides to attack the pancreas, the organ that produces a hormone called insulin. (Unfortunately, said auto-immune disorder makes me, and others with

Type 1, immunocompromised).

But what does that mean? Well, let’s start with some basics; when a person eats, the body breaks the

food down into glucose, also known as sugar. This is the body’s fuel. Insulin is what allows the body to utilize this glucose. Without insulin, the sugar builds up in the blood rather than being utilized. If left untreated, this can make the blood acidic (which can cause long-term damage).

It also means that you aren’t getting the energy from the food you consumed.

Most Type 1 diabetics experience various symptoms before diagnosis, such as thirst, increased appetite, and severe weight loss. Many get their diagnoses after being hospitalized because of incredibly high blood glucose (BG) levels.

The treatment for Type 1 involves insulin and food, depending on whether BG levels are high or low. Since Type 1 Diabetics don’t produce insulin naturally, we need to use synthetic insulin. (Fun fact!

Before synthetic insulin was created in 1978, diabetics used pig insulin.)

Insulin can be delivered using injections or devices called insulin pumps.

(Said pumps tend to beep when doing their thing; hence my accompanying “soundtrack.”) Insulin pumps are devices that attach to the body, with a cannula that remains in the skin.

Insulin dosages are calculated based on the number of carbohydrates at a meal.

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Type 1 Diabetes Continued From Page 13 In order to determine these dosages, diabetics measure their food using detailed mathematical equations and give inslin ever-y time they eat. (Hence my “second phone”; it’s actually a “personal diabetes manager” or PDM, and it controls my insulin pump wirelessly. WIRELESSLY! I love technology.)

But the pancreas doesn’t just produce insulin. It also produces a hormone called glucagon that raises blood glucose levels (rather than decreases them the way insulin does). This means that, sometimes, we also need to eat because our blood glucose levels go low. This can lead to shaking hands, hunger, dizziness, difficulty focusing, and other symptoms that vary depending on the person. (Blood sugars can drop very rapidly, so

fast-acting sugar like juice or candy are often required when BGs are low or falling [chocolate is a particular favorite of mine], and if left without treatment, can result in a coma—hence the eating in class.)

Many diabetics (both Type 1 and Type 2) use Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) in order to track BG levels. These are medical devices that can send readings to your phone every few minutes. This method is much more convenient than “finger sticks” which involve drawing small amounts of blood from a finger and testing it with a meter. With modern technology, the CGM readings can also get sent directly to my Apple Watch. (Hence my obsessive checking of my watch; I’m actually checking to see what my blood sugar level is and whether it will require me to treat a high or low blood sugar with insulin or sugar, respec-

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tively. But sometimes the watch just doesn’t connect... you know, technology… so I have to check my actual phone.)

While advances in medical technology have made living with T1D much easier, scientists are still working to understand the root causes of the disease and to create a cure. This research benefits some pretty cool people! Famous Type 1 Diabetics include Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor; Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers; former Chicago Bears quarterback, Jay Culter; Broadway and film actor, Victor Garber; and Theresa May, the former Prime Minister of England.

If you’re interested in learning more about T1D, JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) has some great resources!

Squid Game: My Take Emily Vayner '23

Since its release in September this year, Squid Game has become one of the most popular series on Netflix. In less than a month, the show amassed over 111 million viewers, making it the single largest release on the streaming platform. This South Korean horror fiction and survival drama is now worth $900 million USD. Presenting a story and experience that is truly unique, Squid Game captivated American audiences.

The show involves a contest involving a series of children's games turned deadly in which the winners continue towards a massive sum of prize money and the losers are killed. Through the characters, the show explores the complexity of human nature and the ways people behave in high pressure situations.

One of my favorite elements of the show are the characters. Each one represents a different side of humanity which is explored through their motivations, actions, and relationships. This show will make you fall in love with some of the characters, while you actively root for the death of some others. The characters are well-developed with insights about their background, morals, and capabilities. Most of the

players are in the contest because they are in debt due in some part to poor decisions and the challenges of escaping poverty. While some characters are devious, cruel, and ruthless, some maintain their humanity in spite of pressures that put them to the test. For example, Ali, a Pakistani immigrant, stands out among the

characters because he is kind, trusting, and generally good-hearted. His addition to the show is incredibly valuable, as watching him navigate a game in which players are rewarded for ruthlessness builds tension and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The relationships and friendships that develop on the show also contribute to the moral weight of the players choices while lifting the stakes even higher.

While watching the show, I could not help but see the parallels between the events in the Squid Game and atrocities of the holocaust. The way in

which players are assigned numbers and stripped of their individual identities is one such example. In addition, those who participate in the games are not informed about the stakes and are tricked. This is similar to the gradual shift towards brutality during the Holocaust. The violence and horrors of the concentration camps were obscured by lies and cover-ups that led the world to believe they were not as bad as they were in reality.

Similarly, the relative isolation of the concentration camps was mirrored by the seclusion of the place in which the games occurred. The show also demonstrated the callous cruelty that can result from people in uniform given power and authority.

Overall, I would highly recommend this show. It is beautifully shot and produced; the colorful sets, the costumes, and the music all contribute to creating an intense and creepy atmosphere. The performances by the actors are phenomenal and make the show the masterpiece that it is. While it starts off a little slow in the first episode, it really picks up and maintains the momentum for the majority of the show. As an avid viewer I have never seen a show like this before. If you can stick through the first episode and are not squeamish around blood or violence in television, then I guarantee you will love it.

The Book Review of the Month: Mistborn: The Final Empire Jem Hanan '23

The increasingly cold weather reminds students that winter is imminent, and students have been receiving an influx of work as they longingly await Thanksgiving break. What better way to destress than with a good book? This month’s book recommendation is a fantasy novel that’s sure to get you hooked within its first five pages (trust me on this one).

Magic, action, mystery, romance, and a heist all come together in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn: The Final Empire to create a novel that you will not be able to put down.

In a world where ash falls from the sky, thick mists come out at night, and greenery has ceased to exist, there are two classes of people: the skaa and the nobility. They have all been ruled by the Lord Ruler for a thousand years, and he has kept an iron grip on his empire through careful maneuvering of

government, economy, and most importantly, magic.

Kelsier, a Mistborn thief, rounds up his old crew in order to pull off his most dangerous job yet. What on the surface seems like a high-risk high-reward heist is revealed to be a plot to overthrow the final empire through collapsing its economy and feudal system.

One of the main players of this plan is our protagonist, Vin, a 16 year old orphan trying to survive the streets of the capital city of Luthadel using what she calls her ‘Luck’. However, when Kelsier encounters her, he

knows there’s more to her than meets the eye.

An aspect of Mistborn that’s one of the most interesting is its magic system. Right from the get-go, the rules of the main magic system, allomancy, are laid out for the reader. Although this might not seem like a big deal, it makes the novel a more compelling and fun read because rather than thinking “how will they magic their way out of this one?” we instead wonder “how will the characters use the magic within the bounds of the pre-established rules in order to solve

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Mistborn: The Final Empire Continued From Page 13 this conflict?” It’s intriguing to see how different characters utilize allomancy in creative ways to solve their problems, and how other characters respond to that. In other words, the plot becomes more character-reliant than magic-reliant which is a good marker for any fantasy book. Also the action scenes with said magic are so well done. It’s like a movie in your mind.

Speaking of characters, Mistborn does those really well. Although there is a varied cast, none of them feel like caricatures. Of course, some are more multifaceted than others, but even the minor characters have motivations and unique personalities.

Everyone feels like a real person despite the fact that the story takes place in a made-up world. The relationships between characters and how they develop over the course of the novel feel natural, which allows the reader to be more invested in each one. And yes,“enemies to lovers” is included in the aforementioned relationships.

One of my favorite things about the book is the balance between the different plot threads. Because of the nature of the narrative, the reader is able to see both the skaa and nobility lives of the citizens of Luthadel. We get balls and palaces in addition to street fights and heists. Sanderson does a masterful job switching between the two, and I found that when

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one part began to drag, it would switch to the other, and I’d be excited to see what was going to happen all over again.

I can go on all day about Mistborn, but then I would be revealing too much and the entire mystery aspect would be undermined, so I’ll stop here. If you haven’t realized it yet, I love this book and the entire trilogy (you can easily read just the first if you’re not a series kind of person). I physically cannot stop talking about it. It’s a great book if you want to try to get into fantasy or if you’re an avid fantasy fan and want something you can read in one sitting. Basically, anyone can and should read Mistborn: The Final Empire.

The Silverman Report: "Only Eight" - Parody Sarah Silverman ’24

Disclaimer: this article is satire. We don't actually like taking the stairs.

Ramaz has a pandemic on its hands and not the one that requires you to wear masks. It's been spotted by the teachers, administrators, and that annoying group of seniors who kick lowerclassmen out of the fourthfloor lounge.

It's called disrespect.

In response to the rudeness displayed by the younger grades David Tarrab ’22 said “these students don't know how to behave themselves, the sophomores are still freshies and the freshmen don't get the respect of being called freshies, they are too low on the totem pole for that, you can't just sit down wherever you want, there are orders in place.”

One of the new policies enacted by the administration this year is the eight-person elevator rule. Even though Ramaz is staying true to its mission of keeping students safe from COVID-19, as shown by the 25 percent of teachers who consistently wear their masks, students have been cramming into the elevators, going against CDC guidelines and taking the risk of the elevator breaking down and leaving students stranded inside. Many teachers have been strictly enforcing this new policy.

“I say the elevators are Avodah Zarah,” says Rabbi Schiowitz, after kicking everyone out of the elevator in the lobby, riding up to the second floor, and walking back down to do it all again. “I do not make enough money to be the elevator security man, and worst of all this issue makes kids never go to the correct mincha room. Do I know how it's all connected? No, but one day I will find out.” Other teachers, including one who hosts the best Friday tisches and would rather stay anonymous, turn a blind eye to the number of kids in the elevator.

“Chevra, you are not all here, but if you are here and I just can't see you, this would be the perfect opportunity for some shteiging and a quick mincha.

Do we have a minyan? Yes, yes good.”

Besides going against Ramaz's sacred

COVID-19 guidelines, the elevators have consistently been breaking down, causing students to be late to classes. When requesting a comment from a freshman, the child looked at me, with tear-stained eyes and a morose complexion, saying that they heard from a certain Rabbi that a golem lived in the elevator

and that they wanted to make it to double Gemara alive.

“I have never been in the elevator before, but I know my friends who have been are never the same.

Their bags were so smushed together so that you would need the jaws of life to get them out.”

Many teachers, including Ms. Cohen, argue that the elevators should not be in use at all. “Kids these days need to exercise, they can't just be on their phones all day and start playing spikeball when I don't make it to the gym on time. If we shut all the elevators off, you know, except for the secret teacher one we use, it would make kids get off their tukases.”

Romi Chaovat ’24, a student whose schedule

miraculously shifts every period between the second and seventh floor says that “our elevators take more days off than we do for chagim, and that snails move faster than the elevators do.”

I propose many innovative ideas to solve the elevator issue. For one, let's turn the stairs into escalators! This way no one will need the elevators and kids will have no problems with the new system since a) they get to class even later and b) what teacher wants to be stuck in awkward silence with a student while the "phrum" of the escalator is humming away. This will let the students talk amongst themselves and not be worried about being overheard. When asked for a comment on this groundbreaking idea the administration said that they would be "thrilled" to support it as long as they were not involved in any way shape or form and had no part in its construction or supervision. In any case, exciting news. And remember: eight in an elevator, any more and you might get the coronavirus, which we are, like your skirt lengths, deeply concerned about.

Due to recent developments in the student body’s (freshman) behavior, the administration has decided to allow the student body the opportunity to use the stairways to their full advantage, by closing off complete access to the elevator.

Surprisingly, many dislike this great addition to our physical health curriculum, with echoes and murmurs floating through the halls including a particular group of seniors shouting, "From staircase A to staircase B, the elevators will be free!" However, it seems that Ramaz students have behaved so well that the stairway fitness program has been enacted. A particular underclassman, who would like to stay anonymous for fear of being trampled on, commented that they are excited to get this amount of exercise. "I love how the administration cares about pushing us to our limits, first with the homework and now with our physical health.

The four-minute in-between class shifts really drive us to exceed our potential. On my application to Yale, I won't forget to write 'star staircase climber.' These skills matter to the college admissions board."

This athlete, as we know, is in the majority. And this program leaves many wondering about the need for gym classes at all. But a class is a class, and a stairwell is a stairwell, and what would high school even be without a puny freshman being stepped on by a group of seniors.

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The Rampage

November 2021/Kislev 5782

Thanksgiving Plans With a Twist Rachel Buller ’25

This Thanksgiving will be unlike any other Thanksgiving as a result of new challenges while adjusting to our “new normal”. Although some people have a strong desire to revert to our “pre-COVID” traditions, others believe that precautionary measures are still a necessity. While spending time with family is such an important aspect of Thanksgiving, many students’ plans with relatives have been altered because of COVID-19. Some, however, believe that seeing family is more important than taking extra safety precautions.

Serena Olshin ’25 explained that she and her family aren’t planning on going to their grandparents’ house like usual. However, their change in location is unrelated to the pandemic.

“It's the same family, just usually we go to my Bubbie’s. This year for some reason because my grandparents are in the process of moving, we are not going to their house or going to my cousin's house instead,” she said.

However, unlike Serena, Ari Goralnick ’24 says that his family will be taking precautionary measures

when spending time with extended family. “They’re making me get a covid test,” he explained.

Additionally, Gabrielle Silverberg’s ’25 holiday plans have also been altered due to covid as a result of a family member who is sick with the virus. She says, “It's going to be my whole entire family, except my uncle actually has covid currently, so he's probably not going to be attending the dinner because we want to take precautions.”

For some people, this Thanksgiving is going to be their most exciting. Leila Sakhai ’25 is going on a vacation this year. This will be her first time going away for Thanksgiving; usually, she stays home and spends time with her cousins.

“I'm going away to London. I'm going with my immediate family and then I have family in there to visit as well.” Similar to Leila, Ben Yazdi ’22 also plans to

go on vacation for the holiday, as he plans to visit his family in St. Louis, Missouri. He has not had much of a chance to visit since he moved from Missouri to New York just over two years ago.

Another way to celebrate Thanksgiving is by just staying home with one’s family. Ozzie Kramer ’22 is an example of someone who isn't traveling or seeing extended family.

He says, “I usually stay with my family, sometimes I go to a friend or two, but they're always family friends anyway.

So it's very close.” Ozzie explains that this is not a change due to COVID-19, but rather just a preference. It seems as if there is a wide range of Thanksgiving plans throughout the student body.

students are found using an elevator, they will receive a detention. In a Schoology post, Ms. Krupka explained that students weren’t following the eight-person per elevator rule and that overcrowded elevators prevented students and teachers from exiting the elevators. Elevators will be opened up again once students adhere to guidelines and follow the schools’ expectations. Only a student with an elevator pass from the nurse may use the elevator.

I agree with this policy in that students should be taking the stairs more often.

After all, almost every student has had an experience in the elevator where it stopped at every floor, some students only using it to get to one floor above or below.

However, this policy that completely bans elevators for students is very extreme and should be tweaked.

Though many of my teachers do not mind if students are one to two minutes late to class, some expect students to arrive on time to class every day. If a student is late almost every day, it can be a detriment to his or her grade.

When I have Math in room SC-SEM in the gym three days a week, it is very difficult for me and my peers to pack our bags when the bell rings, walk

up a countless number of stairs to a high floor, and be marked on time to the next class-- all within the short time span of four minutes. While I agree with the elevator policy in that it is pointless for students to cram into elevators to travel one floor, I think there should be an exception where students can take the elevator from the gym. This policy might be abused, but I think it is worth testing out since many students including myself can easily receive a lateness mark from having to walk up 10 flights of stairs from the gym.

Additionally, I think that students should be allowed to take the elevator coming from the lunch-

Bring Back Elevators Andrew Spielfogel ’23

I did not know if I was going to make it back to school on time because seventh period was in four minutes. I had eight seconds to cross Park Avenue before the light changed to red.

As I was speeding across the double-avenue, I slipped and scraped my knee, face down on the island between the crosswalks. Limping back to school, I tapped into the building just as the bell rang. My instincts begged me to take the elevator to math class which was taking place in SC-SEM, but I knew that the new school policy forbids students from using the elevator.

With my very sore leg, I barely made it down the stairs to the gym— I knew at that moment I could have gone to the nurse to get an elevator pass which I did get later that day, but the clock was ticking and I was missing my review period for my upcoming Math exam. I made it to class just a few minutes late, sat down, and began taking notes as if nothing had happened.

After this experience, I came to the conclusion that the new elevator policy was irritating and had to be revised.

On November 8th, the administration implemented a new policy banning the use of elevators during school hours for students, but not teachers. If

room carrying a plate of food. The day before I have a test, I usually study in the library during lunch with my friends, bringing my lunch with me. There are also many students who meet with teachers during lunch in their offices and can no longer take the elevator to get there; this is especially difficult for students when they are carrying a full plate of food. Therefore, students should have the ability to ride the elevators if they are coming from the lunchroom carrying a plate of food as it is difficult to carry one’s lunch up and down the stairs without dropping anything.

I agree with the elevator policy in that students should walk more to prevent laziness and dangerously overcrowded elevators, but I do think that some exceptions should be added to this policy.

Though my add-ons to the strict elevator policy might be broken, I think it would be a compelling experiment to test out.

November 2021/Kislev 5782

The Rampage

To Enforce or Not to Enforce? A Question of Traditional Expectations Emily Vayner ’23

The rules and regulations dictating how students are permitted to appear during school are important. In many ways, they demonstrate the economic principle of opportunity cost; while some potential gain may be lost when choosing to attend a religious institution like The Ramaz School, there are numerous other benefits, like a strong dual curriculum and a tight-knit student body. As a private school, Ramaz reserves the right to require students to forfeit some privileges to remain in compliance with the school’s guidelines. The dress code by which we abide at Ramaz is one such example. While some restrictions are important and justified, some of these restrictions do little to uphold the principles they claim to. Specifically, the enforcement of restrictions on artificially colored hair dye and body modifications such as piercings. Our institution claims its restrictions on these avenues of self-expression are guided

by Tznius principles of upholding modesty. If that is the validation, why does the foundation for Jewish law, the Torah, dictate otherwise?

Do restrictions on the use of artificial hair dye preserve modesty? As stated in the dress code: “At its root, [the concept of modesty] calls for introspection regarding one’s entire posture and personality; externals are merely the outward manifestation of internal values and ideals.” What internal values are revealed when an individual chooses to color their hair? Coloring hair is a function of self-expression like any other fashion choice. Yet, if it is to be argued that dyed hair is indicative of negative values internally, and as such, deemed inappropriate, what values exactly is the code alluding to? In the Jewish faith, there is no evil quality associated with the color blue, or red, or pink, for that matter. With this understanding, it seems possible that the decision to ban colorful hair is based on assumptions, stereotypes, and biases towards

Opinions 15

groups of people with artificially dyed hair.

The code goes on to state that its intention is to “create an environment in which tzniut values and ideals can be expressed or pursued by both men and women in ways that all can be made to feel comfortable.” When restrictions are enforced upon students’ ability to express themselves, the exploration of identity can be stifled. Worse, policies that attempt to limit how we present natural parts of our bodies have a history of unfairly targeting marginalized communities that use hair as cultural markers and expressions of identity. This is one of the major problems with including hair in rules dictating social convention and etiquette. Further, the insinuation that artificial hair color detracts from the goal of “respect and dignity” in the learning process carries weight for those whose identities are inextricably tied to expression through hair. Why should someone else’s hair color make another uncomfortable? The most significant source of discomfort results from limiting self expression. The treatment of alternate hair color as a negative manifestation of internal values reveals a lack of respect for students’ preferred appearance. In this way, the aspects contradict themselves.

While enforcing students’ dress code is reasonable for religious and modest purposes, these policies begin to surpass their purpose when they exert control over our body parts. In the boys’ section of the Dress Code Policy it states, “Facial hair growth in the form of beards and mustaches is not permitted.”

Requiring the removal of natural hair growth takes away students’ bodily autonomy and furthers the

stigma surrounding hair deemed inappropriate for the workplace. Additionally, the prohibition on body modifications, like piercings, has no basis in the Torah or modesty.

Body piercings for aesthetic reasons were the stigma surrounding hair deemed inappropriate for the workplace. Additionally, the prohibition on body modifications, like piercings, has no basis in the Torah or modesty. Body piercings for aesthetic reasons were actually practiced in the Torah. For example, Eliezer gifts a nose ring to Rivka. As mentioned in the Talmud, and during the time of the Golden Calf, Aaron tells the Israelites to bring their wives, sons, and daughters golden earrings to him, implying that men and women wore piercings at the time. It is also a common misconception that body modifications, especially tattoos, prohibit Jews from a burial in a Jewish cemetery.

Despite Ramaz’s position as a private Yeshiva that has the autonomy to dictate any dress code decided, the rationale supporting the aforementioned policies seems aimless and incongruous, as well as constraining and repressive. In this way, some of the aspects informing our dress code do not serve their intended purposes. When it comes to choices regarding hair styling and body modifications, there is an over-reliance on abstract ideas, which, when applied to material circumstances, become problematic. By eliminating these restrictions, we can ensure an environment in which respect, dignity, and comfort for all is maintained.

the Holocaust. In alignment with Ramaz’s teaching trends, students should learn about their community’s current vulnerability in America.

There have been a myriad of antisemetic attacks throughout the past decade, including the Etz Chayim synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, the Hanukkah stabbing in Monsey, and the vandilizations of other synagogues.

Ramaz students need to be taught about the horrible hate crimes affecting Jews in the world. According to the Anti Defamation League’s (ADL) Tracker of Anti-Semitic Incidents, there have been 299 antisemetic incidents in 2021 alone.

Unfortunately, Ramaz students have not been properly informed about these events.

As high schoolers, it is important that we build habits that we will continue after high school.

Therefore, it is crucial that Ramaz students are properly informed about antisemitism. While the neglect of Jews continues to grow, Ramaz students should learn about the current antisemetic attacks.

Many of the freshmen agree that we need to

learn more about modern antisemitism. After taking a survey, asking if Ramaz has taught them enough about antisemitism, the majority of freshmen reported that they wished they could learn more. In the responses, students said that they wanted to be more informed so they would not be shocked if they were a victim of antisemitism, would know how to deal with the situation, and could respond to it appropriately.

Students should be able to defend themselves, their families, their friends, and other Jews from being either mentally or physically affected by antisemitism.

However, Ramaz students are unprepared to take on that responsibility due to the lack of teachings about antisemitism at Ramaz.

The risks of teaching students about anitsemitic attacks are clear: teaching students about the horrifying world that we live in brews fear of being Jewish. Additionally, Ramaz might be reluctant to teach about antisemitism because the teachings might cause parents to feel unsure of their childrens’ safety.

Some parents may be afraid to let their children take public transportation whilst wearing a kippah and tzitzit. Hateful comments on social media also contribute to parents’ nervousness about their childrens’ safety.

Nonetheless, hate should not stand in the way of love for Jewish culture, religion, and our home in Eretz Israel. The only thing that stands in the way of our love for Judaism is not teaching our students about all of the intricacies of current antisemitism.

Ramaz students must be properly informed about current events that have to do with Jewish livelihood so they can deal with and comprehend current issues.

Ramaz Needs to Spread Awareness About Antisemitism Orli Rabbani ‘25

As American Jews in the twenty-first century, we are incredibly lucky to be alive at a time where Jews finally have a home in Eretz Israel. Despite that blessing, we also have to deal with incendiary antisemitism.

Antisemitism, of course, is not a new term. For as long as Jews have been around, antisemitism has been like a noose around our necks, slowly but surely getting tighter and tighter.

While most students at Ramaz are tuned into current events and are well aware of the situation for Jews in America, their knowledge stems from personal teachings outside of school.

Since last May’s Hamas rocket attacks at Israel, there has been a dramatic uptick in both overt and covert antisemitic acts. Social media has exploded with both anti- and pro-Israel commentary, with the anti-Israel voices being more abundant and violent. Ramaz students, like myself, view these facts at home, not in school.

Ramaz does an incredible job teaching about historical ostracisms and discriminations, such as the diasporas after the destructions of the first and second temples, slavery in America followed by the civil rights movement, antisemitism in Europe, and

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18

The Rampage

Defund the Iron Dome?

David Gitelman ’22

On September 23, 2021 the House of Representatives passed H.R 5323, a piece of legislation that would provide $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

The Iron Dome is a high-tech missile defense system which intercepts the thousands of rockets which the Hamas terrorist group sporadically attempts to launch across the Israeli border from Gaza. The bill had massive bipartisan support and was passed by a wide margin of 420 to 9.

However, some House progressives were not so pleased with the bill. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) argued passionately on the House floor against giving the funding to Israel. Rep. Alexandria Occasio-Cortez (D-NY), who voted ‘present’ on the bill was spotted crying on the House floor after the vote had passed. Occasio-Cortez has previously labelled Israel an “apartheid state” and has recently called for an end to the “occupation of Palestine.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) accused Israel of “terrrorism” and in a tweet for which she was formally condemned by the House of Representatives, she once said that “Israel has hypnotized the world.

May Allah awaken the people and let them see the evil doings of Israel.” Tlaib also has a long history of espousing anti-zionist views and uttering anti-semitic dogwhistles. In her speech opposing Iron Dome funding, she accused Israel of operating under a “violent apartheid system” committing “war crimes, human rights abuses, and violence” and of “promoting racism and dehumanization.” Recently, during a speech in October, she claimed that certain people “behind the curtains” are “making money” by oppressing people “from Gaza to Detroit.” The accusation, which alluded to various anti-semitic tropes, would have felt more in place coming from the mouth of the Ayatollah or a Neo-Nazi than a sitting member of the House of Representatives.

Media coverage of this outrageous incident was virtually non-existent.

However, Tlaib did draw the ire of fellow Democrat party member Rep. Ted Deutsch (D-FL) upon her refusal to vote for the Iron Dome funding. “I cannot allow one of my colleagues to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and label the Jewish democratic state of Israel an apartheid state,” said Deutsch. “If you believe in human rights, if you believe in saving lives, Israeli lives, and Palestinian lives… then vote for the funding.” Deutch condemned Tlaib, saying she had “besmirched our ally” and “falsely characterized the state of Israel.” “When there’s no place on the map for one Jewish state, that’s antisemitism,” he concluded.

Both the mainstream Democrat and Republican parties were widely supportive of this bill. Consequently, Tlaib and other House progressives were handily outvoted by their colleagues in spite of their attempts to hold up funding for the Iron Dome. But why did they want to hold it up in the first place? Perhaps progressives in the House did not want to fund the

offensive capabilities of the imperialistic Israeli army against the poor, downtrodden Palestinian people. I view this argument as misguided, but at the very least understandable. Yet the Iron Dome literally cannot be used to harm Palestinians since it’s only practical function is shooting incoming missiles out of the sky to protect Israeli civilians. It is as inoffensive a device as possible.

The only outcome that could possibly come from defunding the Iron Dome would be the deaths

November 2021/Kislev 5782

Hamas, which shoots rockets into civilian areas in the hopes of slaughtering innocents, Israel does not target civilians. Just the opposite, Israel sends knock-bombs and leaflets to warn Palestinian civilians to leave targets which they will soon destroy. Hamas is known for hiding their command posts, weapons caches, rocketpads, and even their military headquarters in schools, hospitals, and other Gazan civilian areas. This is a deliberate strategy which results in unfortunate non-combatant casualties within Gaza and are then used by Hamas to garner international sympathy.

Meanwhile, Israel does not suffer as many non-combatant of Israeli citizens who wouldn’t be able to protect casualties thanks to the Iron Dome. This clever themselves. Perhaps then, the progressives believe tactic makes Israel appear as the callous aggresin a libertarian-style attitude towards reducing all sor since civilian deaths in Gaza are higher. This foreign aid in general? This does not seem to be is ironic, since Israel takes special care not to the case, as these same progressive members of harm Gazan civilians whereas Hamas specifically Congress have also often advocated extensively targets Israeli civilians. Israel does not wish for on behalf of large foreign aid packages going to Gazan deaths. From a purely strategic standpoint, the Palestinian Authority and all manner of other Israel is put under intense international scrutiforeign governments in the past. Their fixation ny during its conflicts with Palestine and every on decreasing foreign aid seems to begin and end single civilian death within Gaza, no matter how with Israel. unavoidable, is held up as an example of Israeli

Perhaps Tlaib and her friends in congress brutality and Palestinian genocide. If Israel did not have the Iron Dome, they would not have the security to engage in careful actions meant to minimize non-combatant casualties.

Israel would be forced to retaliate much more brutally to eliminate the threat of rockets being fired indiscriminately into its vulnerable interior. The Israeli military would be forced to destroy Hamas installations more quickly and ruthlessly, without giving any prior warnings, and with much less caution. This would obviously lead to the deaths of more Palestinians.

Why some congressmen would oppose defending the lives of (overwhelmingly Jewish) innocent civilians against the predations of evil anti-semitic terrorists is beyond me.

Not only that, it would save lives in a way that would not even advance Israeli offensive capabilities. Furthermore, it is a solution that would not cost Hamas a single casualty and would also inadvertently save the lives of the innocent Palestinians whom these congressmen claim to champion. I choose in this case to apply the old adage of Hanlon’s Razor: “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” I do not have been too blinded by their hatred of Israel to think progressive congressmen understand the realize that this funding towards the Iron Dome full ramifications of defunding the Iron Dome. I would most likely save Palestinian lives. Rocket do not believe they are in favor of the wholesale attacks by Hamas are aimed indiscriminately toslaughter of innocent Jews; I just think they are wards random civilian centers in Israel, and many misinformed idealogues. They most likely view Israeli citizens are Arabs. Jews would certainly the issue of funding the Iron Dome as a binary not be the only victims of defunding the Iron conflict between poor, oppressed Palestine innoDome. Secondly, if it were not for the Iron Dome, cents in their struggle against the evil, imperialisIsrael would have to be a lot less meticulous in tic zionist war machine. I hope they will come to their attempts at minimizing Gazan casualties realize that H.R 5325 had absolutely nothing to while destroying Hamas military targets. Unlike do with any of those things.

November 2021/Kislev 5782

The Rampage

Opinions 19

Abolish the Chemistry Quizzing System Sarah Silverman ’24

Ramaz students' lives and academics can be summed up into one word: busy. We are busy people, who have tons of clubs piled onto our abundance of homework.

And due to this overload, we tend to focus our studying time on impending tests and homework.

I think I speak on behalf of all students in saying that after an exam in a class, we may space out and prioritize other work. Especially since we will not be tested on the material in that said class until a later date.

If I have math right before a Talmud test, you best believe that the equations on the board are not full frontal in my mind. And this is ok, as long as I catch up, by reviewing the material at a later date or going to clinic there is no problem with a little spacing out. In fact, it can help solve overload and give a student a clear head before walking into a test. What I believe is unfair is the next day, the math teacher giving a pop quiz on the material. Assigned test times provide students with a window period where they can meet with a teacher and go over material. How

is a struggling student supposed to know when they have to understand the material if they are not told?

They can’t, and this provides an unfair advantage to those who grasp concepts quickly.

For example, let’s take two students, student A who does not require outside assistance and student B who does. Both, in a normal testing system would receive an A. While student A only has to go to class and understands the material instantly, Student B has to meet with their teacher, go to clinic every week and study in their free time. Concepts don’t come quickly to them but they are passionate about the subject and want to receive a good grade.

In the Chemistry system, student B would do worse, since they would have no grasp of when they would be tested and time to plan and since there is no clinic every day, would be unable to get help in due time, in addition to the fact that Chemistry is not their only class and has other subjects with tests on the horizon. Now one might argue that student B does not deserve to be in the class; if they can’t understand the material when it’s taught maybe they shouldn’t be at that level. Well, I think that’s unfair, not every student is Einstein and those with learning disabilities are hit hardest by this system. We all have our good days and bad. Maybe during Friday class last period a kid is thinking about their weekend plans. We should not be expected to be 100 percent

all the time. We are not robots.

The purpose of high school is to prepare us for college. The chemistry grading system, which consists of random pop quizzes judging us on our knowledge on a day to day basis, is not used by any major university and no other classes at Ramaz.

Having this system in a science class, which is part of our GPA and significant for college admissions, is not beneficial for the students it’s trying to help. If the Ramaz administration wants to use this technique then it should be implemented in ALL classes. Then, students wouldn’t have to juggle tremendous loads of information for a test with reviewing every night for chemistry. It would just be a daily quiz system, which I agree would be beneficial to students' stress. But until then, keep the regular system. If it’s not broken

don’t fix it. And deciding to choose one of the most important classes to experiment with is a recipe for disaster.

Flaws in the New Schedule Orli Rabbani ’25

Ramaz, at its heart, is a prestigious academic institution. Through the four years of our high school experience, students are being given the opportunity to have one of the best co-curriculum educations in the country, an exciting school spirit, and a wide variety of co-curricular clubs.

We are coming from far and near to get the golden experience of being a Ramaz student.

And this requires sacrifices as well as effort and maturity.

At the beginning of this school year, the administration received emails from parents of commuters, asking for a change in the school day’s start time. This would give commuters time when arriving at school. However, in past years, davening was first period, giving commuting students leeway when they were late. They didn’t miss any class, taking a huge weight off their shoulders. This year, it’s been all messed up. Davening is after first period to ensure everyone’s timely arrival. Nonetheless, commuting

students cannot control the traffic nor their arrival time.

I think the school’s first mistake was not putting davening first. It gives the commuters time to get here and not miss any valuable class time. It’s not okay for

commuting students to miss class just because they have no control over the traffic.

Many alumni, including teachers and parents, have said that when they were students, at eight-fifteen in the morning exactly, late notes were given, and the number of notes went on your transcript. It was a simple system that has worked for years. There is no

need to change that.

Instead of starting the school day later, the administration decided to cut our day shorter. This did not benefit the students at all. Shaving fifteen minutes off of our day is pointless if most students are staying late for co-curricular activities. Cutting a minute off of every class benefits us in no way if we’re still chasing the late bus. It is the same in the morning; expecting the students to arrive at the exact time listed is not reasonable.

Of course, students must factor in the commute when choosing a school.

Whether you live on the Upper East Side or in Connecticut, you made the decision to come to Ramaz and live with the fact that you’re commuting every day. If the commute is too hard for you, you made the wrong decision. It’s as simple as that. But Ramaz shouldn’t make commuters’ lives harder.

puzzles

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The Rampage

CROSSWORD

WORD SEARCH Directions: Instead of a word box, the words you need to find are the last names of the new teachers featured in this edition. There are 15 names; two will be missing. Good luck!

Solutions to the puzzle are posted online at www.the-rampage.org Solve the puzzle?

Send a photo to rampage@ramaz.org to be featured on our Instagram

November 2021/Kislev 5782