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Shalhevet news online: When we know it, you'll know it

The Boiling Point
Shalhevet news online: When we know it, you'll know it

The Boiling Point
Shalhevet news online: When we know it, you'll know it

The Boiling Point
Alex Rubel

Alex Rubel, Senior Editor

Alex joined the Boiling Point as a staff writer in his sophomore year, rose to Sports Editor in his junior year and is serving as both Sports Editor and Senior Editor this year. Aside from journalism, Alex loves playing and watching sports, flying planes and following the stock market.

All content by Alex Rubel
DIFFERENT: Seniors and a few faculty drove down Cresta Drive in the Yom Haatzmaut car parade April 29. A total of 46 vehicles joined the line, which zig-zagged for 4.9 miles.

A blue-and-white parade of cars celebrates Israel Independence Day in the age of Covid

By Molly Litvak and Alex Rubel
May 7, 2020

Throughout Pico-Robertson and Beverlywood last Thursday, Shalhevet families, alumni and others stood outside their homes carrying...

ADJUST: Kosher meat cases were empty at Ralph's on LaBrea March 15 as consumers rushed to buy products before countywide stay-at-home orders were issued, though workers had assured shoppers they would be restocked the next day.

Schedule change hopes to restore more normal hustle and bustle to online school day

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
March 24, 2020

As the school started its second week of online-only learning, administrators announced changes to the schedule that they hoped...

CANCELLED: Firehawk girls flag football players stretched before their 30-2 rout of the YULA Panthers Sept. 16 at the Glendale Sports Complex. All athletics at Shalhevet -- practices and games -- have been postponed indefinitely.

Remer: All school sports shut down to contain coronavirus

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
March 13, 2020

Athletics at Shalhevet have been suspended indefinitely, in response to the intensifying coronavirus outbreak, Athletic Coordinator...

HIGHLIGHT: Attending the annual Red Sarachek Tournament is a big event not only for Shalhevet players but for their fans, many of whom fly to New York for the event.  Above, Firehawk then-captain and MVP Zack Muller leapt over rival YULA players in YU’s Max Stern Athletic Center in 2018.

Sarachek Tournament cancelled as coronavirus outbreak closes YU

By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks and Alex Rubel
March 4, 2020

UPDATED MARCH 5: Next week’s Red Sarachek Basketball Tournament at Yeshiva University has been cancelled due to fears of the...

SHOT: Firehawk guard Maital Hiller completes a fade-away jumper in the Shalhevet loss to Campbell Hall 66-63 in overtime Feb. 18. It’s the second year in a row that Firehawks were sent home from the CIF playoffs in overtime. 

Overtime loss eliminates Firehawk girls from CIF playoffs

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
February 23, 2020

A rollercoaster thriller fell out of reach in overtime for the Firehawk girls Wednesday night Feb. 18, when they lost to the Campbell...

BOARD: Senior center Elianna Kupferman secures an offensive rebound in the Firehawks’ 64-28 over the Cal Lutheran C-Hawks Feb. 13. Shalhevet has advanced to the second round of the CIF Division 4A playoffs, and will face off against Mary Star of the Sea on Monday night at the Shalhevet gym.

Firehawks girls beat Cal Lutheran in a Hawks-vs-Hawks playoff opener

By Alex Rubel and Caleb Fishman
February 17, 2020

The Firehawk girls basketball team powered to a comfortable victory Thursday night over California Lutheran High School,...

FIGHT: Firehawk and Bulldog players scramble for ball possession at the opening game of the CIF Southern Section playoffs Feb.12. Shalhevet prevailed 68-59 against Buena, a team that beat them by 14 in December.

Boys basketball team advances in CIF playoffs

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
February 13, 2020

The Firehawks came to play in the opening round of this year’s CIF playoffs, beating the Bulldogs of Buena High School in Ventura...

PURSUIT: Freshman forward Vivienne Schlussel charges the ball as a YULA defender trails her. The Firehawks went on an offensive tirade last week, beating the Panthers 8-0 ahead of their playoff game versus Buckley tomorrow.

Girls soccer team demolishes Panthers, will advance to CIF playoffs Thursday

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
February 13, 2020

An already impressive season came to a strong finish last Thursday night when Shalhevet’s girls soccer team routed their rival...

2020: Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, where the Nets play, displayed a tribute on its swooping courtyard for former Laker star Kobe Bryant in the hours after he died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash. Mourning for Kobe has reached far beyond Los Angeles.

Shalhevet remembers growing up with Kobe

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
January 27, 2020

Kobe Bryant, the five-time NBA champion who spent all 20 years of his basketball career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a...

FRIENDS: Shalhevet and YULA players high-five each other after the Firehawk defeated the Panthers 3-2 Jan. 11. It was the second Firehawk victory over YULA in boys soccer since 2011.

Firehawks beat Panthers 3-2 in heated rivalry matchup

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
January 12, 2020

In their annual rivalry matchup Jan. 11, the Shalhevet Firehawks (3-2-2) beat the YULA Panthers (5-6-1) 3-2 in a game that players...

CHAMPIONS: The Firehawk girls take a team photo with their championship trophy after beating Notre Dame 60-48 Dec. 12. After making some halftime adjustments, the Firehawks played an explosive second half to power to a comfortable victory.

Firehawk girls win their first-ever Milken basketball championship

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
January 6, 2020

For the first time in school history, the Shalhevet Firehawks have won the annual Milken Classic Basketball Tournament, beating...

BOOM: Sophomore Joel Asheghian attempts a lay-up in the Firehawks 53-35 win over the HAFTR Hawks Nov 7. The Firehawks boys are set to play the SAR Sting at 1:30 p.m today after the girls play the YULA Panthers at noon.

Day two brings two more wins for Firehawks

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
November 8, 2019

For the second day in a row, both Shalhevet basketball teams cruised to victory in the seeding round of the Fifth Annual Steve...

BOOM: Firehawk senior Jacob Benezra performs his second slam-dunk of the night as the Firehawks beat the Ramaz Rams 50-44 in the opening game of the Fifth Annual Steve Glouberman Tournament in the Reich Family Gymnasium. Afterwards, the Firehawk girls took on their Ramaz counterparts and trounced them 59-20.

Both Firehawk teams dominate on opening day at Glouberman

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor 
November 7, 2019

So far, so good.  It was a successful start for both Firehawk basketball teams as they completed a back-to-back sweep...

SLAM: Sophomore Jonah Ackerman spikes the ball during today’s dunk contest in the gym, held to rouse Firehawk fans ahead of the fifth annual Steve Glouberman Basketball Tournament, which opens at 3 p.m. tomorrow. The tournament will now end on Saturday night as opposed to Sunday morning last year.

‘Midnight madness’ planned for championship games as Glouberman gears up for Wednesday start

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
November 5, 2019

With this year’s Fifth Annual Steve Glouberman Tournament set for tip-off on Wednesday night, not much has changed. As always,...

PROGRESS: Jose Flores Jr. worked last month on what will be Room B104, a new digital media center. When finished, there will be five basement classrooms in all.

Basement is back, along with new bleachers and a larger robotics lab

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
October 24, 2019

While students and faculty were away for the summer, Shalhevet’s maintenance crew of expanded the robotics lab, added...

PRACTICE: New JV boys coach Alex Plax leads a drill during practice on Sept. 24 Coach Ryan Coleman will be taking over the varsity basketball program this year, while Athletic Coordinator Coach Jeff Remer will have oversight on the JV program.

Coleman now leads varsity girls and boys, Remer coaches JV

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
October 7, 2019

Coach Ryan Coleman, who has been the head coach of the Firehawk boys varsity basketball team for the past five seasons and led...

RUSH: Firehawks quarterback Maital Hiller runs the ball as her teammates block the defenders in the Firehawk victory over YULA Sept. 16.

Hiller fills the scorecard as Firehawk girls dominate Panthers in flag football

By Alex Rubel, Senior Editor
October 6, 2019

Shalhevet's Girls Flag Football team walloped their rival YULA Panthers’ 30-2 led by Firehawk quarterback Maital Hiller’s...

TRAVEL: Zev Kupferman and Maital Hiller read stories at the Pardes Jewish Day School in Phoenix on the junior chesed trip. Students received 25 hours of chesed credit.

New student-led committee will approve chesed hours

By Alex Rubel and Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Community Editor
June 13, 2019

A proposal to reform the school’s chesed, or community service, policy was approved 55 to 45 percent at the last Town Hall of...

ACTION: Leading his first Town Hall, newly elected Agenda Chair David Edwards introduced an Agenda Committee proposal for four different voting systems. A vote immediately after chose Ranked Voting as the new system.

‘Ranked Choice’ replaces ‘Instant Runoff’ as new election format in first Just Community decision this year

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
May 23, 2019

In the first Town Hall led by the newly elected Agenda Committee, the community voted May 15 to institute a new “ranked choice”...

RIVALRY: Firehawk and Wolfpack players fought for position to get a rebound in the Firehawks’ 55-41 victory over the Wolfpack on the opening night of the Glouberman Tournament last fall. Following Shalhevet’s CIF quarterfinal loss 56-48 to Palm Springs in February, allegations surfaced that the Valley Torah coach gave the Palm Springs coach information about Shalhevet prior to the game, though Valley Torah denies any “malicious” encounter.

Shalhevet announces it has suspended play against Valley Torah in basketball

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
May 13, 2019

Shalhevet will refuse to play Valley Torah in boys’ basketball until the school’s head coach is replaced, because of help...

CHANGES: Then-juniors Eitan Remer (third from left) and Jonathan Fishman (fourth from left) wrote a proposal last year that allowed boys to wear non-collared shirts provided they are wearing tzitzit that are visible. Rabbi Schwarzberg says boys have not been following this rule.

Administration asks for more compliance with dress code

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
March 21, 2019

A boys dress code leniency was put on probation in January after administration officials said it was being violated too often....

ATTACK: ATTACK: Firehawk forward and Sarachek MVP Asher Dauer goes for a lay-up as junior A.J. Bennett tries to block it in the Firehawks’ 60-41 win over the DRS Wildcats Mar. 17. The Firehawks became only the second team ever to win YU’s Sarachek tournament two years in a row.

At Sarachek, reigning champion Firehawks win it again

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
March 19, 2019

They had already won the Glouberman title in November. They had already made a historic CIF run in February. And then, for...

LEAP: Above, senior Jeremy Ashegian scores on a layup as Shalhevet beats YULA 46-38 in the first round of the Sarachek tournament Friday at Yeshiva University in New York. The Firehawks went on to defeat the DRS Wildcats on Sunday and will face Mogen David of Brooklyn in the championship game today.

Aiming to break records, Firehawks headed to Sarachek championship game for fourth straight year

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
March 18, 2019

For the fourth year in a row, the Shalhevet Firehawks have advanced to the Red Sarachek Tournament Tier I championship game, which...

CONTROL: Firehawks and Panthers fight for ball possession at midfield Feb. 2 in Santa Monica. Played during on-and-off rain, the annual Saturday night rivalry game ended in a 1-1 tie.

No winner, no loser as Firehawks and Panthers battle it out in rivalry soccer showdown

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
February 4, 2019

A month after the Firehawk girls soccer team routed rival YULA Panthers 6-0, the two rivals’ boys teams squared off on the same...

WINNERS: No. 2 Ze’ev Remer aims for the basket during the close game between the Firehawks and the Panthers Dec. 20. At the end of the fourth quarter, it was Ze'ev who made the game-winning shot, from that same spot on the court.

In new YULA gym, Firehawks topple Panthers with buzzer-beating shot

By Alex Rubel, Caleb Fishman, and Adam Tizabi
December 23, 2018

It was the shortest day of the year but a long road to victory Thursday night for the Shalhevet Firehawks, who defeated the rival...

SAFETY: School security leaders spoke during the first half of Town Hall Wednesday in the gym.

Security team announces lockdown drill Thursday

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
December 20, 2018

Even though it will overlap with the Shalhevet Blood Drive, a lockdown drill is scheduled some time during the school day tomorrow,...

DOMINANT: Asher Dauer, No. 33, jumped for a bucket in the closing minutes of Sunday's championship game against the SAR Sting. The Firehawks led the entire game and won the boys' tournament easily, with 11 points their smallest margin of victory over four games.

In Glouberman’s 4th year, Firehawk boys and SAR girls dominate

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
November 26, 2018

Shalhevet’s very own Firehawk boys brought the school its first-ever Glouberman Tournament boys championship title, though...

DOMINANT: Asher Dauer, No. 33, jumped for a bucket in the closing minutes of Sunday's championship game against the SAR Sting. The Firehawks led the entire game and won the boys' tournament easily, with 11 points their smallest margin of victory over four games.

FIREHAWK BOYS CRUISE TO THEIR FIRST-EVER GLOUBERMAN CHAMPIONSHIP

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
November 5, 2018

For the first time in school history, the Shalhevet Firehawks boys team have won the championship of the tournament their own...

AFTERMATH: Red Sox players meet the news media in Dodger Stadium after winning the World Series four games to one Oct. 29. The stands above them, which had been a sea of blue and white, had mostly emptied out -- except for Boston fans, dressed in red.

World Series loss saddens most – but not all – Shalhevet baseball fans

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
October 31, 2018

UPDATED Nov. 11, 2018 The drought continues. With the Dodgers coming fresh out of a critical,...

CELEBRATE: Dodgers celebrated on the field in Milwaukee after their division-winning defeat of the Brewers Oct. 20.

Excitement, optimism at Shalhevet as Dodgers advance to World Series

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
October 23, 2018

Special festivities are planned at Shalhevet to celebrate the Dodgers making the World Series and to cheer them on, but most will...

CONTROVERSY: Town Hall Oct. 17 started with a student-made video about Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings. The discussion afterward was respectful and opinion leaned in favor of the nominee, who had been confirmed 10 days earlier.

Town Hall mostly defends Justice Kavanaugh as conversation stays civil

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
October 22, 2018

A recent Town Hall discussing the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court turned out to be a serious and dignified...

FANS: The Lakers have not had a big star since Kobe Bryant retired in 2016. “In my perspective, it will restore the credibility and legitimacy of the Lakers,” said junior and Firehawk girls basketball star Kiku Shaw. (Ty Nowell/Los Angeles Lakers)

‘LA-BRON!’ Blockbuster deal thrills Laker fans

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
October 17, 2018

When former Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, who is widely believed to be the best basketball player of his time,...

NEIGHBORS: Firehawk and Panther flag football players, many of whom grew up together and attended the same elementary schools, congratulated one another after a contentious game Sept. 16 at Woodley Park in Van Nuys.

Go-ahead touchdown late in fourth quarter propels Firehawks past rival YULA Panthers

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
October 8, 2018

A nail-biting rivalry matchup between the Shalhevet Firehawks (1-0) and the YULA Panthers (0-2) could have gone either way, but...

ART: Ms. Ortal Klyman comes to Shalhevet with a love of art and 18 years of teaching experience. BP photo by Zoey Botnick

New Hebrew teacher brings color to the classroom

By Alex Rubel, Sports Editor
September 6, 2018

  Israeli native and IDF veteran Ms. Ortal Klyman, now armed with 18 years of teaching experience and a recently completed...

Slumbering in the sukkah?

Slumbering in the sukkah?

By Alex Rubel, Staff Writer
October 11, 2017

The Gemara in Masechet Sukkah (Sukkah 28b) explains that the requirement to dwell in the sukkah during Sukkot is to make it a...

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