Koleinu

Students attend lecture by physicist Dr. Paul Davies as part of the On the Brink Science Series

On Thursday evening, April 15, twelve SAR students accompanied by Ms. Brandriss and Mr. Goodman attended a most interesting presentation by Paul Davies, an internationally renown theoretical physicist and cosmologist currently at Arizona State University. In addition to his many scientific awards, Dr. Davies is the recipient of the 1995 Templeton Prize for his work on science and religion. He is the author of more than 20 books, including The Mind of God, About Time, The Goldilocks Enigma, and most recently, The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence. He also chairs the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Post-Detection Committee and, on this 50th anniversary of the founding of SETI, was invited to the On the Brink series to offer new insights for imagining what alternative life forms may exist.

We were most fortunate that Dr. Davies sat at our table during the pre-lecture dinner and that our students were able to speak with him one on one. Upon hearing of his association with CERN, and his first hand knowledge of the new Hadron particle accelerator, the students eagerly asked him about his take on Angels and Demons and were thrilled to hear him describe all the mistakes in that book of fiction. On a more serious note, they asked for his view of the Big Bang and whether he saw a connection with the Torah's account of creation. Dr. Davies addressed these questions and others.

The students were intrigued to learn that while his field of study is physics, Dr. Davies has been asked by the National Cancer Institute to head the cancer center based at Arizona State because of the 'fresh ideas' he will bring to cancer studies.

In the lecture hall itself, Dr. Davies somewhat surprised the audience by discussing his skepticism that any form of intelligent life will be found elsewhere in the universe at all. He explained the reasons for his skepticism and the current research that he is overseeing in his role at SETI. The evening was fascinating and most thought provoking to all of us.

Tobie Brandriss
Bob Goodman

Soviet Refusnik Yosef Begun Addresses 11th and 12th Grade

Last week, 11th and 12th graders were honored to have Yosef Begun speak to us. Yosef Begun was a major Soviet refusnik who after a nearly 20 year struggle with the Soviet government was allowed to immigrate with his wife to the State of Israel.

Prior to Mr. Begun's visit to the school, Ms. Neugroschl spoke to the 11th grade in order to develop the context for the struggle for freedom of Soviet Jews. Many students were unaware of this period in history. But, as a result of this program, students were able to talk with teachers and parents who relayed their personal involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement. It was also pointed out that this began essentially as a student movement that used protests and grassroots political activism to galvanize the Jewish community to bring the issue to the US government's attention.

Mr. Begun told us how he became connected to his Jewish identity, about his four imprisonments, and his eventual path toward freedom. He told two stories that captured the students' attention.

The first story was about a young man, eighteen or so, who was imprisoned because of a petty theft. Yosef told Bible stories to the group of prisoners, which inspired this young man to draw pictures depicting the scenes of these stories. When the young man was about to be released, Yosef gave him a contact numbers for Jews who were involved secretly in furthering their Jewish education. That was the last contact the two had until many years later when the young man was one of the people who greeted Mr. Begun at Ben Gurion airport upon his arrival as a free man.

A second story began with Mr. Begun telling the students how appreciative he was of American Jews and the American government for putting pressure on the Soviet government to "Let our People Go."

He told a story of meeting President Reagan when he traveled to Washington DC from Israel a short while after he was freed. President Reagan was truly pleased to see Mr. Begun, and presented him with a bracelet which read "Free Yosef Begun, Prisoner of Zion." This bracelet was given to the President by American Jews working for the freedom of Soviet Jews, and rested on the President's desk reminding him of their plight and America's responsibility to pressure the Soviet Union.

At this point in his talk Mr. Begun turned to Ms. Lerea, who hosted him for the morning, and presented her with a freedom bracelet exactly like the one the President kept on his desk, engraved "Iosif Begun."

Hearing Yosef Begun speak about the 'refusniks' difficult struggles to lay claim to their Jewish Identity, to speak Hebrew, and to create Jewish lives for themselves, highlighted the extraordinary freedoms we have as Jews in the 21st century.

A secondary but crucial message that resonated with our students was the power of conviction on both the side of the refusniks who never gave up, and on the part of the American Jewish youth who marched, screamed and petitioned, and whose voices reached the desk of the President of the United States.

Freshman Leah Slaten Earns Gold Medal at the Greater Metropolitan NY Math Fair

Freshman Leah Slaten earned a Gold Medal at Round Two of the Greater Metropolitan NY Math Fair this month. Although we have had medalists at past fairs, Leah is the first SAR HS female to win a medal at the competition.

Leah's paper, "Investigation into Days and Dates," was a result of her guided independent study project. She discovered mathematical ways of determining the day of the week any date falls on, the frequency of Friday the 13th, as well as other interesting facts. You can read a condensed version of her work in our forthcoming edition of the Math Magazine.

A record number of SAR HS students submitted papers to this year's math fair. Sophomores William Frenkel and Jenna Reich were also invited to present their work at Round One. Only one-third of the more than 600 entrants were selected for Round One. About half of that number earned medals after Round Two.

Speaking of the Math Mag, we are once again appealing to our entire SAR HS family to help support this award-winning publication by sponsoring ads. Click here for an ad blank, which should be submitted by May 7. Prices begin at $25.

Deborah Stepelman

Daniel Tratt Speaks to Grades 9-11

On Tuesday, April 13, Daniel Tratt spoke to SAR High School students in grades 9-11. Daniel is a special education teacher in a Bronx public high school. He is also a motivational speaker who speaks to middle and high school students about alcohol abuse and overcoming adversity.

Daniel shared his personal story with the students about when he was a high school student, and began drinking alcohol socially and casually for most of the same reasons that teenagers today do. He also described his increasing abuse of alcohol during his senior year of high school and into college, reflecting on a number of alcohol-related incidents during that time that should have alerted him and his friends to the mounting danger of their risky behavior. During one such incident, Daniel suffered physical and cognitive injuries that required extensive rehabilitation and left him without the use of his legs.

Daniel urged the students to learn from his story. He focused on the importance of acknowledging the risks involved in even casual alcohol use by teenagers. He also stressed the importance of recognizing when someone needs help, encouraging students to always err on the side of caution and not let fear or avoidance stop them from seeking help for themselves or a friend.

Daniel described his despair and gradual recovery after the life-changing incident, and he encouraged the students to remember that adversity comes in many forms.

Students reported that they found Daniel to be down-to-earth and relatable, his message compelling. Since the 12th graders were not in school on the day of Daniel's visit, we plan to invite him back before the end of the school year.

Yom Hashoah

The Yom Hashoah commemoration was a moving and thought provoking experience for all. Run by senior Sarah Sichel, the morning's program focused on the overwhelming destruction of the Shoah and offered students the opportunity to reflect on how they understand and process this event.

The program began with readings highlighting some of the historical aspects of the Shoah. The choir performed, setting a somber mood for the day. Six candles were lit by members of the school community in commemoration of lives lost in their family, including Ms. Elbogen, Matanya Landes, Noah Adelsberg, Ariella Weinberger, Sarah and Shuli Just-Michael and Rachel Belfer. Kel Maleh Rachamim was led by Tal Fortgang.

Rabbi Harcsztark addressed the entire school community by focusing on the lives of two individuals, one who was killed in the Shoah, Bruno Schulz, and one who survived, Abraham Sutzkever. Schulz was a renowned author and artist gunned down in 1942. Sutzkever was considered to be one of the greatest Yiddish poets. Abraham Sutzkever died earlier this year after a life of great contributions to the Jewish people and man-kind in general. Rabbi Harcsztark emphasized that a critical aspect of the tragedy of the Shoah is not just the loss of lives but the loss of the potential contributions of the six million to their families, the Jewish people and humanity.

Students were amazed by the stories of both tragedy and miracles that Mrs. Helga Luden (grandmother of 10th grader Cory Greenbaum) described. Mrs. Luden told of her escape in the middle of the night from a concentration camp, her survival in the woods, and her eventual reunion with her parents as they made their way to the Dominican Republic and later to the US.

The program finished with a powerful selection from the documentary footage taken by the British army as they liberated concentration camps at the end of the war. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it was only recently completed. The shock of the soldiers upon realizing the horror of what had been taking place was coupled with their pride in fighting for justice. The images of the suffering were difficult to watch but effectively presented reality.

Following the program, students proceeded to paired advisories for discussion. For the rest of the day, at the top of each hour, we read aloud the names of students' family members who perished during this tragic time.

Yom Hazikaron

This years's commemoration of Yom Hazikaron was a moving tribute to the soldiers of Tzahal who died defending Israel, and to the lies of those who have died as victims of terror. Seniors David Arbit and Arielle Gurin hosted the event, coordinated by our Kollel Torah Mitzion Israeli fellows- Gil Feldman, Yaacovi Hellinger and David Segal. The program combined the reading of poetry, the performance of music and the multimedia presentation of film clips which highlighted particular wars and particular soldiers whose lives were lost defending Israel.

Two fellows, Yisrael Klitsner and Gil Feldman, spoke about their personal experiences of loss in the army. The performances by the band (Tamara Sastow, Judah Levy, Ben Eidman, Zach Dicker and Matthew Parker), along with the performance by Jackie Cohen accompanied by Gavi Rawson guitar, were extraordinarily moving. There were very few dry eyes in the auditorium at the conclusion of the program, which closed with Shara Zierler-Feit leading the entire school in singing Hatkvah. All students and staff felt that the program captured the emotion and intensity of Yom Hazikaron.

Yom Haatzmaut
Y"H Ceremony

Yom Haatzmaut was awesome again this year at SAR. The day began with the entire school davening a tefila chagigit together in the gym. Rabbi Harcsztark led the tzibur with a spirited Hallel and Rav Gordin read the special reading from the Nevuah of the 11th Perek of Yishayahu. After breakfast, the entire school poured into the auditorium for a lively and emotional program celebrating the 62nd year of Israeli independence.

Reuvi Pinon hosted the program. Following Hatikvah led by Isaac Stein, Yaov Gaffney recited the Nevuah of Yechezkel describing the revival of the dry bones. In that spirit we then watched newsreel clips of the UN vote on November 29, 1947 which resulted in the adoption of a Jewish State, followed by Ben Gurion's historic Declaration of independence on May 14, 1948- 5 Iyyar. Rabbi Harcsztark addressed the school, speaking about the courage and foresight of one individual who worked tirelessly to facilitate our redemption.

Rav Yehuda Alcalai was troubled by a simple problem. How are all of the Jews from different countries going to be able to talk to each other when eventually Kibutz Galuyot takes place? To address this problem, Rav Alcalai began to revive Hebrew as a spoken language.

As has become our custom, we closed the program by asking several members of the school community to light a torch in honor of their special connection to the state of Israel. This year, the Israeli fellows lit one torch, followed by Rav Gordin. Seniors, Sam Fragin, David Abadie, Lotem Atzmon and Shiran Vashdi who will be serving in either Tzahal or Shierut Leumi next year, lit the next candle. The fourth candle was lit by senior Ariel Lavi who is making aliyah by himself this summer. He spoke movingly about his dream to make aliyah. The final torch was lit by Rabbi Freedman who will be making aliyah as well this summer.

After the program we had a wild, enthusiastic and rocking chagigah which was followed by a series of very well received elective classes focusing on issues related to the State of Israel. The 17 classes included a wide range of ideas and activities including discussion of the poetry of Yehuda Amichai, an analysis of Hatikvah, a discussion about nuclear weapons in Israel and a sing along session for classic Israeli songs with Rabbi Birnabum and Ms. Lerea. At the conclusion of the elective classes we all went to Pelham Bay Park for a lovely picnic and sports activities. The weather was magnificent and everyone had a wonderful time enjoying each others' company in beautiful surroundings and celebrating the miracle that is the State of Israel.

Yom Hatzmaut