Dr. Steven Nasatir, Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, met with CJHS juniors recently as they culminated their Jewish Communal Leadership seminar. The course, taught by Mr. Harvey Gross and Rabbi Scott Aaron, introduced CJHS juniors to the structures of the Jewish community and leadership models for its continuity and growth. As a final project, the students worked in teams to draft mock grant proposals aimed at improving the Jewish community.

Mr. Gross and Rabbi Aaron invited Dr. Nasatir to meet with the students, comment on their proposals, and begin a dialogue with them on issues of leadership and tzedakah in the Chicago Jewish community. It was a rare and welcome opportunity for future leaders of the Jewish community to meet with one of today's national Jewish leaders and discuss trends, directions, and problems of mutual concern. CJHS thanks Dr. Nasatir for taking the time to meet with students.

Four CJHS students gave presentations on Tikkun Olam projects to more than 150 sixth graders from religious schools throughout the Chicagoland area at the Jewish Educators Assembly's Mitzvah Live program on January 21 at B'nai Tikvah. The goal of Mitzvah Live is for the sixth graders to learn about projects that they can do for their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.

Ruthie Eisenberg, Va'ad Tikkun Olam Co-Chair, spoke about visiting the elderly. Rosie Kiken talked about taking care of the environment. Esther Bier described the program she initiated at CJHS to crochet hats for children with cancer, and Lea Sarris talked about volunteering at Café ARK.

Seniors enrolled in the Middle Eastern Studies and the History of Israel culminated the semester course with an intensive research paper focusing on Iran. Students approached the paper through an inquiry-based method commonly used in the social sciences. Students were required to base their papers on primary sources and journal articles. They spent many hours working with CJHS librarian Mrs. Sharon Chefitz to learn how to access databases at CJHS and public libraries.

"The papers were extremely compelling and covered a wide range of topics," says history teacher Ms. Sharna Marcus. Yoni Solomon submitted a paper on the difficulties women face in Iran and how their status has fluctuated since the Revolution. Alexandra Sakols discussed the effect of the Iran hostage crisis on the 1980 election. Adva Mir presented the nuclear threat Iran currently poses and the history of the country's nuclear program. Aaron Gore detailed the human rights abuses of the Shah and his secret service agency, the SAVAK. Brian Pogrund described the history of student activism in Iran and suggested that the way to improve or begin diplomatic relations with the country was through engaging Iranian universities.

During second semester, the 20 remaining seniors will take this course and also complete a research assignment.

Forty CJHS students woke up early on Monday morning (Semester Break Day) to travel to the hills of Wisconsin for CJHS's 3rd Annual Ski Trip. After tefillah, the students and four chaperones boarded a coach bus and drove to Devil's Head Resort, where the slopes were nearly empty because it was a weekday. Students and teachers skied and snowboarded for several hours and had a fabulous time.

"The ski trip was awesome," says senior Adva Mir. "The jumps were fantastic!"

Thank you to the Va'ad for coordinating the ski trip and to Ms. Laura Blumenthal, Mr. Ron Urick, Coach Rob Davis, and Ms. Caroline Musin for chaperoning the trip.

Mark your calendars now for CJHS's Spring Musical, Into the Woods, which will be performed on March 25 and 26 at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park.

Into the Woods weaves many familiar fairy tales with an original story of a childless Baker and his Wife, who attempt to reverse a curse on their family in order to have a child.

The CJHS Spring Musical is an excellent opportunity for students to participate in a character-driven piece. There are nearly 20 speaking/singing roles and several dancing and non-singing roles. CJHS welcomes student involvement in the technical aspects of the production, including set design, costuming, makeup, and stage crew.

Auditions continue on January 30 during lunch. To audition, sign up on the Fine Arts bulletin board. Several copies of the CD are available at school so that you may familiarize yourself with the music before auditions. Listen to the music online.

Rehearsals will be Tuesdays and Thursdays after school from 4:45-6:00 p.m., as well as several Sunday rehearsals from 2:00-5:00 p.m. Rehearsals are broken down by scenes, so it will not be necessary for every cast member to attend every rehearsal. Please contact Ms. Dori Robinson if you have any questions.

The next time you enter CJHS, look at the walls in the entrance area. Mrs. Marla Snyder has just hung the self-study projects made by the students in her first semester photography class. These are the same photographs that were on exhibit at the Devon Bank in December and January. Student photographers featured include Rachel Karp, Josh Weintraub, Chapman Bark-Huss, Ari Frankel, and Jacob Stoehr.

Ann Levinson, Science Chair, attended the meeting of the High School Division of the American Chemical Society on Thursday, January 25 in Skokie.

During our winter recess, Teddy Kollek, former mayor of Jerusalem, passed away. Rabbi Robyn Fryer's article about this man's extraordinary life can be found on www.shebrew.com. May his memory be for a blessing.

The Jewish Theological Seminar presents the Dina and Eli Field Family Endowed Lecture, featuring Chancellor-Elect Arnold Eisen's introductory address to the Chicago Jewish Community. The lecture will take place on Thursday, March 8, 2007, at 8:00 p.m. at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park.

This week, Seth Berkman, Hannah Rosenbaum, Eli Miller, Elli Cohn, Matthew Levin, Avra Shapiro, Esther Lowe, Rabbi Fryer, and Jeremy Hulkower led tefillah. Eli Miller and Naseem Parsa read Torah.

Yasher koach to Jenn Hipps, who gave a Dvar Torah this morning connecting the plagues in Parashat Bo to awareness of a modern-day plague, AIDS.

Minyan Noar
Minyan Noar (or The Teen Minyan of Skokie) is a Shabbat morning minyan for teens by teens. The teens daven using Siddur Sim Shalom and follow a Conservative-style davening. Afterward, there is a light Kiddush lunch (sponsored by one or many of the participants). Minyan Noar takes place on the fourth Shabbat morning of every month. The first Minyan Noar will take place on Shabbat morning, January 27, at 9:45 a.m. Minyan Noar takes place at Temple Beth Israel, 3601 Dempster Street in Skokie. If you are interested in learning more about Minyan Noar, please contact Aaron Weinberg via email or at school. You can also check out our website at http://minyanoar.blogspot.com/ for more information and updates.

Israel-Related Events
CJHS encourages the community to attend the JUF's annual Israel Experience Day, to be held January 28, 2007 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at Ezra Habonim Niles Township Jewish Congregation, 4500 W. Dempster St. in Skokie. Learn more about Israel Experience Day and Programs.

Design the t-shirt everyone will wear—submit your entry today for the Israel Solidarity Day T-shirt Contest. Learn more at http://www.juf.org/pdf/isd_tshirt.pdf.

Melava Malka at Spertus
Spertus warmly invites Chicago families to a Melava Malka (farewell to the Sabbath queen) on Saturday, February 3, 2007 from 6:01–8:30 p.m. This free event for individuals of all ages will feature a song-filled Havdalah led by Ruth Seidner, Music Director at Emanuel Congregation, followed by a spectacular performance by Chicago Chamber Musicians' award-winning ensemble-in-residence, Quintet Attacca. The evening will also include crafts programs led by museum educators, Sand Art Creations with Gloria Katz, food, games, movies, and more. The program is made possible by the generosity of Larry (CJHS Vice President) and Sheila Gerber. For reservations, call Anne Bustamante at 312.322.1729 or email abustamante@spertus.edu.

This week's parashah is Bo. Read the parashah, haftarah, and a JTS commentary online.

Candlelighting is at 4:40 p.m. today. Shabbat shalom!