Hillel Happenings

Interview with Mrs. Levari

This past week, Reb Shaw sat down with trusted colleague Mrs. Yikara Levari. In addition to serving as a talented administrator and programmatic expert within the Girls High School, Mrs. Levari is a source of sagacious wisdom regarding Tanakh. This was made apparent to Reb Shaw after Mrs. Levari correctly recalled each of Caleb ben Yefune's children as listed in the second perek of the first sefer of Divrei Hayamim. Over the course of their conversation, Reb Shaw discovered that not only does Mrs. Levari possess an uncanny knowledge of Tanakh, but she's also a frequent shopper at Costco. For the benefit of our readers, these details, and other excerpts from Reb Shaw and Mrs. Levari's conversation, have been provided below:

Reb Shaw: Mrs. Levari, on behalf of all of Hillel nation, thank you so much for meeting with me today. First question is how long have you worked at Hillel Academy?

Mrs. Levari: This is my sixth glorious year.

Reb Shaw: Wow, other than Ms. Oz, your tenure at Hillel Academy outlasts any other member of the Hillel Academy Administrative team; any thoughts as to your successful longevity?

Mrs. Levari: First of all, I must correct you - Mrs. Langer has worked here longer than me. But that said, there are indeed plenty of administrative and programming meetings which I attend where I am the administrator that has worked at the school the longest....and coincidentally, I am also the youngest. Hmmm....but then again, half of the administrators came to Hillel as students so that must count for something! I definitely attribute my successful longevity to our amazing high school girls and the wonderful staff here at Hillel Academy!

Reb Shaw: Your office now has a splendid view of the new green and tan playground; has this made your day more productive?

Mrs. Levari: Again, I must correct you. My direct view is of a blank wall and the huge flat screen computer monitor I just scored from Rabbi Sacks! But, when I am holding meetings and teaching classes, I do look out at the playground longingly and wish that I too could hold a cool walkie-talkie like Reb Shaw and Mrs. Kirk.

Reb Shaw: You and Mrs. Langer are a one-two-punch. Speaking of boxing, would you rather train with Apollo Creed or Ivan Drago?

Mrs. Levari: I would have to go with Apollo Creed. But ideally, I would want to train with Rocky Balboa himself and learn how to sprint up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in my home town of the City of Brotherly Love. Hmmm....that gives me an idea for a girls high school x-period activity.....

Reb Shaw: I had coffee with Mike C this week and he mentioned that he is in the process of remodeling your house. Where are your designs inspired from?

Mrs. Levari: Kitchen Stadium from Iron Chef of America. I am a Food Network junkie.

Reb Shaw: The high school girls have reported that you're a huge video game addict. Better Sega game: Sonic the Hedgehog or Mad Dog McCree?

Mrs. Levari: First of all, don't believe everything (or rather anything) that you hear from a high school girl. But, I would have to go with Sonic the Hedgehog. But, really I would want to play Super Mario Brothers or Duck Hunt. My brother was the first on our block to get Nintendo when we were kids - and our house was the place to be! I spent many the hour "shooting" flying clay discs....(that might not be information that I should share with the public...)

Reb Shaw: This year, the Girls High School production features The Wizard of Oz. In an artistic re-imagining of the script and a reintroduction of a new wizard, are you more likely to replace The Great and Powerful Oz with either Merlin or Gandalf?

Mrs. Levari: Leah Fuhrman is cast as Oz - she strikes me more as a Merlin type. But, maybe the Hillel Happenings team can take a survey.

Reb Shaw: In addition to your administrative responsibilities, what classes do you teach?

Mrs. Levari: I teach Level 2 Chumash in the Girls High School as part of our new and improved Chumash department. I am finishing up teaching Parshat Noach and have thoroughly enjoyed preparing for and teaching the course. I also have become quite the master at using the SMART Board to map out Rashis and Rambans - though nothing compares to Mrs. Langer's SMART Board skills! I also teach a second Navi course to the 11th grade girls. We are studying Sefer Shoftim and are currently learning about Devorah the Judge. I am hoping the girls will take away inspiring lessons and pointers from her and become strong leaders themselves!

Reb Shaw: You're a master programmer who injects incredible creativity to our weekly program meetings. Along these lines, you've designed amazing programs to accompany each of the chagim. The Mishna in Rosh Hashana records a dispute between the Tanna Kamma, Rebbi Elazar, and Rebbi Shimon as to the date of maaser behaima. Even though maaser behaima is listed as a holiday, Wikipedia claims that it is no longer observed. With this information in mind, how do you plan on introducing this subject to the students of the Girls High School?

Mrs. Levari: Well, my first thought would be to invite PETA, but maybe we should just pass this program onto Rabbi Nim.

Reb Shaw: Who's the last person you shared a Google Doc with?

Mrs. Levari: The last doc I shared was my lesson plans to Mrs. Langer and Rabbi Sacks. Though, through the course of the day, I have collaborated on many Google Docs, spanning from a programming spreadsheet for Grandparents Day with Rabbi Nim, a list of costumes for the play with Traci Levine, and GHS attendance spreadsheets with Rabbi Sacks.

Reb Shaw: Last week, Cantor Taube delivered an incredible performance before several hundred attendees at Shaare Torah. I've seen you watching portions of the concert on YouTube. I didn't know that you were such a huge fan.

Mrs. Levari: I am sorry I couldn't make it to the concert. I was partying that night at the Hillel Academy Family Chanuka Chagiga.

Reb Shaw: What should be on next month's Rosh Chodesh Lunch menu?

Mrs. Levari: Its a toss up between sushi or prime rib.

Reb Shaw: If you won the $4,000 raffle at Wednesday night's Awards Night would you be more likely to use the money as a down-payment towards a seat on the Galactic Spaceliner (the world's first spaceline) or the construction of a custom yacht?

Mrs. Levari: How about it go towards my new kitchen?

Reb Shaw: What's your favorite thing about the Hillel Happenings?

Mrs. Levari: The interviews of course.

Reb Shaw: Squirrel Hill Trivia (because our readers love this stuff): What was the previous vehicle driven by the Squirrel Hill Locksmith?

Mrs. Levari: A squirrel?

Reb Shaw: If I borrowed your iPod, which song would I be most surprised to hear?

Mrs. Levari: My father records himself singing songs for my children - so you might hear some of his songs in his smash hit, "Zaydie sings to Shoshana, Miriam, and Yosef." Maybe he should join Rabbi Sack's oneg next time he comes to town.

Reb Shaw: Last week, I saw you at Costco wearing the display glasses for the 3-D TV. I don't know if you decided to buy them or not, but are you a bigger fan of the Costco Veggie Straws or Veggie Crisps?

Mrs. Levari: I don't care for either, but my kids seem to like the Veggie Straws. And stop spreading rumors about me.

Reb Shaw: How do I score an invite to Yosef's bar mitzvah?

Mrs. Levari: Well, nothing would make us happier than having him play on a soccer team like his daddy. So Coach Shaw, how about making a soccer team in the Middle School with cool uniforms and matching Kippas? Then we can talk.