Author: aqivy

​On November 9, the Frisch students who volunteered on Kol Hanearim this past summer held a bake sale to raise money for the Israeli group homes they stayed at. Kol Hanearim alumni volunteers gathered in the cafeteria and, with Chef Gary’s supervision, baked cookies, cakes, and other desserts. Through fifth, sixth, and seventh period, students from all grades bought the desserts, raising hundreds of dollars to send directly to the group homes in Israel. Kol Hanearim is a program that sends Jewish teens from around the world to help orphans and at-risk teens in Israel. Aidan Cohnen ‘24, who volunteered this past summer on Kol Hanearim, said, “Our Israeli friends are struggling during the hard times in Israel right now, and we want to help them.”

In preparation for the rally in Washington DC, Rabbi Ciner emailed the entire student body and their parents about the trip’s logistics on November 8th. Students were told that they would meet at Yeshivat Frisch at 6 a.m. and return at 9 p.m. Frisch was not going to provide breakfast or lunch but would give each student a sandwich for dinner. Classes were to be canceled for Tuesday, November 14th, and students were expected to come to the rally unless there are extenuating circumstances. This trip did not cost any amount on the part of the student but the email included a link allowing people to make a donation to help cover the cost of the trip. ​

On Thursday night immediately following mishmar, there was a GNO (Girls Night Out) challah bake in the front of the cafeteria. Rabbanit Shani Taragin joined from Israel through WhatsApp video to give a shiur about this week’s parsha. The challah bake was in the merit for all the hostages in Gaza to be released, and so each student was given a small paper with the name of a hostage and they davened for that person during the challah bake. It was also for the safety of the soldiers in the IDF and of the citizens of Israel.  According to senior Beth Singer ‘24, about 130 girls total attended from all grades, and it was led by the GNO representatives from each grade. Faculty members Randi Wartelsky and Toby Moses helped out with the baking and organization of the program.

​On Wednesday, November 8, Rabbi Schulman flew to Michigan to visit Frisch alumni at University of Michigan. He said that he wanted to visit the students at a time when being Jewish might feel isolating on a college campus. At UMich, there are 10 Frisch alumni and Rabbi Schulman was able to spend time with 7 of them, as the other 3 had either midterms or other reasons they couldn’t get together with him. Rabbi Schulman walked around the campus with the students while they talked about their lives in college. They also went to dinner, which Rabbi Schulman said was “very nice”. Reflecting on the trip, Rabbi Schulman remarked that it was “energizing for me to go visit and see everyone in their element.  The community in Michigan seems like a really close knit and warm one which made it a pleasure to join them for even a few hours.”

​Dr. Sclar’s Honors Research Seminar and the Philosophy Club, forty students in total, chaperoned by Dr. Sclar and Mrs. Cohen, went to the Yeshiva University Museum on November 7th. The trip was planned to see the Rambam exhibition curated by Dr. Sclar. At the exhibition, half the group had a philosophical conversation led by Mrs. Cohen based on Rambam’s teachings. The other half was led on a detailed tour of the exhibition by Dr. Sclar himself. The groups then switched places so all participants experienced both of the elements of the presentation. They then went to Washington Square Park for lunch. Frisch senior Beth Singer, ‘24 said, “The exhibition was enlightening, the thought and energy put into it was truly extraordinary.”

Last Thursday, Moshe Kinderlehrer, the co-founder of The Jewish Link, visited Yeshivat Frisch to speak to Rabbi Rosen’s Journalism class. Rabbi Kinderlehrer discussed the various decisions he has made including his business strategies, story and photograph selection, and how he deals with errors. Journalism student, and managing editor of Frisch Off the Press, Avi Friedman ‘24, said “I learned [from Rabbi Kinderlehrer] how to make corrections, why certain articles shouldn’t be published, and how to be a better editor…overall it was very interesting!” ​

​Throughout the past two weeks, 8th graders have been coming into Frisch for their half day visits. Mrs. Katie Brown, an coordinator in the Frisch Admissions office states that as an optional part of the admissions process, prospective students join our yeshivah for shacharit, two Judaic classes, two secular classes, a specialty track class, and lunch. There are a number of dates available for prospective students with a cap of 30 on visitors on each date. Each 8th grader is paired up with a 9th grader who guides the student and helps him or her make the most of the experience of their day.

​Dr. Norman Blumenthal, Director of Trauma at the Zachter Family Ohel National Trauma Center, spoke to Frisch faculty on Friday in the Beit Midrash as part of the professional development programming. Rabbi Wald states that Dr. Blumenthal spoke about how we process trauma, and how to handle the ongoing situation in Israel, advising the faculty not only as educators, but as adults. Dr. Blumenthal spoke about how to handle antisemitism and trauma on a personal level and as a community.  The balance of the day’s meetings were to prepare teachers for the open house and work within departments on other pressing issues.