BATTLE OF THE GRADES

By Daniella Wilner '14

As all four grades of the high school piled into the auditorium on February 25, for a Shushan Purim assembly, there were many rumors that the assembly would mark the opening of this year's Battle of the Grades. After a hilarious Purim shpiel, Hillel Rapp, the Dean of Students, took the microphone and put an end to all of the speculation as he announced that there was "one more thing; it's Color War!" The auditorium burst into cheer.

First, each of the four grades was given a name related to this year's theme, the sages of Jewish  history. The ninth graders were Neviim (Prophets), the tenth graders ChaZaL (rabbis of the Talmudic era), the eleventh graders Rishonim (sages of the 11^th-15^th Century), and the seniors Acharonim (contemporary scholars). Then four generals from each grade were called up. The job of the generals was, essentially, to organize the grades. The generals made sure their grade was where it was supposed to be and that all of the necessary tasks were completed. More importantly, their job was to fill the grade with enthusiasm and spirit. "When I heard my name being called, I was shocked, yet proud and really excited!" said Stephanie Felder '14, on finding out she was general.

Battle of the Grades lasted for two days and consisted of sports, relay races, trivia and a variety of other exciting competitions and games. At the finale, each grade presented a video, banner, one Hebrew song, one English song, and a stomp, a percussion piece that uses everyday objects. "Both days were so much fun! It was such a nice break from working and it truly united my grade! My favorite part was definitely writing and performing the songs," said Sheli Fouzailoff '16.

As the dismissal bell rang on the last day, Rabbi Eli Slomnicki, coordinator of Battle of the Grades, announced that the top two teams were sophomores and seniors. The school was expecting the seniors to win as they have for the past four years; however, ChaZal, the sophomores, came in first place. Everyone was extremely shocked, but when the news sank in, the tenth grade screamed for joy. The class of 2014 is hoping that it can win next year's Battle of the Grades. 

Esther Issever '14

On Tuesday, March 5, the Ramaz Upper School congregated for its annual Beit Café. The event celebrates Israeli culture in a café-type environment where the meltzarim (waiters) speak only Hebrew, and performances consist of Israeli songs, dance, and humor. Although many Ramazniks find the Hebrew-only rule challenging, it is this aspect that makes the event quite unique. "I was a waiter myself," explained Daphna Ash '16, "and although my level of Hebrew made it more difficult for me to communicate, I think that aspect of the event is valuable to the guests and also the waiters themselves, who get to apply their Hebrew outside the classroom."  

The evening featured different types of acts, such as Israeli songs sung by participants of the Ramaz Choir and played by the Ramaz Band, dance performed by the Ramaz Dance Ensemble, and other short skits. One particular act that really stood out was the performance of Im Yesh Gan Eden by Jeremy David '15,and Celia Eydeland '13. "Their performance was so heartfelt that I was honestly brought to tears," said Tal-Or Baron '13. The evening had many humorous moments too, such as the skit performed by Upper School faculty members Dana Barak, Ada Maccabee, Rachel Weinstein, Amanda Newman, Rami Yadid, and Daniel Henkin, who acted out a scene as though they were at a support group for people trying to give up smoking. "I never knew my teachers could be so funny," commented Cyril Putzer '14. "I was laughing out loud!"

In addition to the excellent performances, the evening highlighted Israeli culture in many other ways. In the lobby before entering the Café was a shuk, or marketplace, which was a replica of the many shuks found in Israel, in cities such as Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. The shuk offered different products and consisted of a spice station, nut station, tee shirts and tzedakah managed by students. Moreover, the evening's Mediterranean food was created to reproduce Israeli cuisine, with appetizers such as hummus and Israeli desserts. "The food and marketplace, as well as the performances, remarkably reminded me of my visits to Israel, although I hadn't at all expected them to," said Jeremy Gruen '16. At the end of the evening, the crowd looked exceptionally pleased, having joined together and enjoyed the aromas of the ancient marketplace, savored the tastes of the Mediterranean and reveled in the language and music of Israel.

Following Mr. Stephens's thought-provoking commentary, students listened to a band play Egyptian music and saw some Egyptian dancing. A very interesting Book Day concluded with a dialogue between Imam Khalid Latif and Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, both religious leaders at NYU, mincha, and a performance by the dance team.

THE TIKVAH GROUP

Nine seniors are in the Tikvah class, which meets at least once per week during lunch to examine the development and treatment of the Other in western society, particularly in relation to the Jew in a gentile world. They follow the trajectory of "Jewish Otherness" both historically and philosophically using classic Rabbinic and general texts. The group is led by Dr. Jon Jucovy, Rabbi Ilan Schimmel and Rabbi Yigal Sklarin.

Recently... 

Dr. Jane Gerber, a professor of Jewish history and the director of the Institute for Sephardic Studies at City University of New York (and grandmother of Rachel Huebner '13), led students in the Tikvah Group on a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's new Islamic wing where they looked at Islamic culture, while considering the place of the Jews in the world of Islam.

They then discussed Islam and the Jews in pre-modern times (i.e. Muhammad, the Pact of Umar, and what was the "Golden Age" of Muslim-Jewish relations). The topic was approached through textual discussions and questions on Jewish familiarity with Islam and Islamic familiarity with Judaism were raised. The discussion included our comfort level in the Islamic environment and whether Jews need to live in an interesting environment in order to be culturally creative. The discussion was posed to flesh out the challenging notion that there can be cultural symbiosis at the same time that there is political fragility.

VISHNIAC REDISCOVERED

Tikvah students went to The International Center for Photography (ICP) and toured the new exhibitions including one of the work of the famous photographer Roman Vishniac, who was sent in the 1930s to document Jewish life in Eastern Europe.  Ms. Maya Benton, who organized the exhibit, guided the students.