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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

Talia Rotenberg, Advertising Editor

Junior Talia Rotenberg is a transfer student who crossed over from the dark side after her freshman year. She has since worked on layout and is now the most successful advertising editor for a single issue of the Boiling Point. She hopes one day to be an editor for a fashion magazine and to even to start a magazine of her own. Outside of the newspaper office, Talia is the secretary of the Community Service Committee, co-chair of the Israel Action Committee and a member of the AIPAC Committee. She is currently rehearsing for her third production with Shalhevet Drama, she is Ms. Croncoli's T.A., is a student ambassador for the Admissions office. Talia also has been a volunteer for the Friendship Circle for the past three years.  Her hobbies include going shopping, burning incense with Zev Hurwitz, and learning a great deal from Nathaniel Kukurudz.

All content by Talia Rotenberg

Alumni Dvar Torah: Returning to our Hearts, and to Israel

By Josh Meisel
September 15, 2012

BS”D Parshat Nitzavim By Josh Meisel, '12 This week's Parsha contains the concept of teshuva in it. The Rambam actually...

Color War opened with drug-testing ruse

By Leila Miller, Editor in Chief
June 29, 2012

In a new twist to Color War breakout, the Student Activities Committee spread a fake story among the student body saying that...

PLAYING: Young Haredi boys grow their payot long and their tzitzit out.

HAREDI: Behind the label is a world apart

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
June 14, 2012

Many girls at Bais Yaakov – an all-girls Haredi high school in West Hollywood – don’t know who Brad Pitt or Justin Bieber...

HAREDI: From Beit Shemesh, a spark that exposed a simmering fire

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
June 14, 2012

Last fall, an insular community that does its best to separate itself from the outside world was thrust into the spotlight after...

Haredi Dating: Rabbis, research, resumes and a look into the soul

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
June 12, 2012

Although students at Shalhevet may start dating before girls at Bais Yaakov, they’re probably farther away from marriage. Most...

Shalhevet seniors celebrate Yom Yerushalayim in Lancut, Poland

May 23, 2012

Scroll down to see the video of students singing and dancing in the Lancut Synagogue in Lancut, Poland.  The synagogue was built...

Milken’s Jason Ablin to blend Judaic, General Studies here

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
April 2, 2012

After successfully implementing a vision of integrated Judaic and General Studies curricula at Milken Community High School,...

Building a Winter Day Outfit

By Talia Rotenberg, Fashion Columnist
March 30, 2012

When you wake up in the morning to a gloomy day and realize you have 10 minutes before you have to run out the door, follow this...

Rabbi Leubitz leaving next year to be head of Oakland Hebrew Day School

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
March 26, 2012

Judaic Studies principal Rabbi Ari Leubitz is leaving Shalhevet at the end of the school year to be Head of School at Oakland...

Fairness Committee votes 6-5 not to block Facebook

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-chief
March 21, 2012

According to Fairness co-chair David Fletcher, Acting General Studies Principal Mr. Roy Danovitch lost the Fairness case he brought...

Shalhevet Drama finds an unexpected mirror In ‘Pride and Prejudice’

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
December 23, 2011

This story is a National Winner in the Features Story category of Quill and Scroll’s 2012 International Writing and Photo Contest,...

New Sephardic minyan lets students feel at home

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
December 22, 2011

Their voices rolling with a North African lilt, students in the two-month old Sephardic minyan sing to a different melody than...

Hallway mania: Students watch live streaming of Houston basketball tournament

Hallway mania: Students watch live streaming of Houston basketball tournament

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
November 21, 2011

Shouts, whoops, groans and clapping filled the halls today as for the first time ever students in school could watch online live...

What we’re wearing: Sleep decides when ‘comfy’ becomes ‘lazy’

By Talia Rotenberg, Staff Columnist
November 7, 2011

As Shalhevet students, do we care about how we look? We all want to feel comfortable, but have we blurred the line between comfy-and-cute...

Four national awards for the Boiling Point

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
November 7, 2011

The Boiling Point has won four awards, including its first-ever prize for page design, in two of the country’s most prestigious...

D’var Torah: The power of wine

By Josh Meisel, 12th Grade
November 1, 2011

With Rosh Hashanah and Simchat Torah, we marked the beginning of both the new year and the start of the Torah once again. In the...

All in the family as Jewish reggae comes to L.A.

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
October 31, 2011

Matisyahu’s fans are usually combat-boot clad, Afro-sporting, tattoed rockers, and in fact, quite a few of them turned up to...

As readers and as writers, students brave the blogosphere

As readers and as writers, students brave the blogosphere

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
October 31, 2011

Blogging,” like “Tweeting,” “Facebooking,” and “Googling,” is a web phenomenon so popular that it’s turned...

New music group forms — just don’t call it a band

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
October 31, 2011

What do you get when you cross a toy piano, acoustic and electric guitars, a ukulele, a harmonica, and tambourines with some very...

Poland-Israel trip moved back to May

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
October 4, 2011

Previously scheduled vacations, co-curricular conflicts, AP exams, and fundraising and teaching schedules caused Rabbi Segal to...

You can be yourself in shades of beige

By Talia Rotenberg, Staff Columnist
August 29, 2011

This fall as we settle back into our school routines, the weather is changing and so is the fashion. We are lucky because for...

For Eli Schiff, an eight-week dash to remodel

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
August 27, 2011

Whether by carrying heavy boxes, wheeling carts through the hallway or staying until 9 p.m., Eli Schiff was going to have school...

Coach of a different ‘Flava’

Coach of a different ‘Flava’

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
August 26, 2011

When Coach Ronnie Winbush was younger, he always did things a bit differently – with a different “flavor,” one could say....

E-mailed schedules incorrect, school starts at eight

By Leila Miller, Editor-in-Chief
August 21, 2011

Personalized e-mails sent out Aug. 8 gave students their class schedules before school started. But the times of the class meeting...

Principal Tranchi taught, led, inspired students

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
June 29, 2011

When General Studies Principal Phu Tranchi moves out of his well-organized office next month, he will leave behind deep bonds...

Four new Judaic teachers have wide range of educational backgrounds

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
June 29, 2011

Three rabbis and one rebbetzin,  whose backgrounds include studies at Harvard, Columbia, Yeshiva University, Stern College and...

Spirit, spunk and a nudge toward the gap year

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
June 29, 2011

Known for hosting Friday night onegs for her classes, shopping with students online and infectious energy when advising SAC events,...

Where weeds once grew

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
June 29, 2011

aaaaaaa   VEGGIE CREW: Maintenance worker Javier Sanchez waters the new vegetable garden outside the Music and...

Warmth and ruach that got students on their feet

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
June 29, 2011

“You have to rely on the administration,” school founder Dr. Jerry Friedman told The Boiling Point a few hours after students...

Smiles and laughter, served with math

By Talia Rotenberg, Staff Writer
June 29, 2011

“I am just naturally always talking with my hands, never standing still, have high energy and enthusiasm, etcetera,” Mr....

Business class guru will head day school in Pa.

By Talia Rotenberg, Staff Writer
June 29, 2011

He arrived as a fulltime administrator and leaves as a part-time teacher of a popular new elective – but in his new position...

Sophomore wins Israel scholarship in art contest

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
June 29, 2011

Sophomore Emilie Benyowitz has won third place in the Jewish Federation’s city-wide The Future is Now art contest, earning a...

Two Boiling Points of View: Good Strategy

By Justin Brandt-Sarif, Staff Writer
June 5, 2011

As “Hail to the Chief” played on loudspeakers, President Barak Obama was met with cold applause as he took the stage to address...

There’s something special about studying on Shavuot night

By Josh Meisel, 11th Grade
June 3, 2011

Everyone knows about Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Passover, but many don’t know about the true beauty of Shavuot. As we all...

Student-organized Sunday picnic forges Muslim-Jewish friendships

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
June 3, 2011

"Is that some kind of religious thing?" a fellow 16-year-old asked junior Josh Meisel, who was wearing his tzitzit hanging outside...

Nakba Day protests breach Israel’s borders

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
June 3, 2011

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor Protestors crossed the borders from Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank into Israel...

Girls Chorus: New singers, more songs, no boys

Girls’ Chorus: New singers, more songs, no boys

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
June 3, 2011

Ever since choir president Ariella Benji announced at Town Hall that the energetic singing group was in grave danger of being...

Israel’s borders breached in Nakba Day protests

By Leila Miller, Acting Editor-in-Chief
May 15, 2011

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor Protestors crossed the borders from Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank into Israel...

14 awards at Penn Model Congress

By Deanna Grunfeld, Staff Writer
April 20, 2011

After of running into numerous logistical and mechanical difficulties during a five-day excursion to the University of Pennsylvania,...

Teachers share a talent for thrift

By Talia Rotenberg, Fashion Columnist
April 20, 2011

Fall and winter are finally on their way out and it’s time to welcome spring and summer! With the warm seasons approaching,...

Jewish community of Japan works fast to offer quake aid

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
April 18, 2011

Despite its small size, Japan’s Jewish community of 2,000 organized unique relief-efforts when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and...

A Jewish teen’s account of the earthquake

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
April 18, 2011

It was during a game of floor hockey in P.E. when the gym floor in  Tokyo’s American School in Japan began shifting sideways....

Town Hall, election tackle fundraising dispute

By Leona Fallas, Staff Writer
April 18, 2011

Competition over fundraising has sparked animosity between the juniors and seniors of Shalhevet. The Agenda Committee proposed...

Unleash some attitude

By Talia Rotenberg, Fashion Columnist
March 12, 2011

I cannot believe we are already halfway into the school year. We have our friendships established, no more nerves about new teachers...

REGGAE: The latest Jewish sound is Rasta

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
March 11, 2011

When I think of Jewish music, I think of Uncle Moishy, or the niggunim my family sings at the Shabbat table. But there’s a new...

Online from afar, LA Muslim teens back Egyptian protests

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
March 11, 2011

A 16-year-old girl’s hand, painted in the colors of the Egyptian flag with the Arabic word “enough,” can go a long way on...

A Just Community milestone: Dr. J’s 500th Town Hall is March 24

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
March 11, 2011

Dr. Jill Beerman doesn’t actually remember that first Town Hall in the fall of 1994, but she has a pretty good idea what it...

Basketball almost wins in first CIF quarterfinals

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
March 10, 2011

Shalhevet’s Boys’ Basketball team suffered a gut-wrenching 64–62 loss at its first-ever CIF quarterfinal playoff game Feb....

Wave of recognitions supports a state of ‘Palestine’

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
March 10, 2011

Athough usually attuned to news about Israel, most students didn’t notice when eight South American countries recognized a state...

Firehawks fight through two overtime periods, fall to Bishop Garcia in first-ever quarterfinal playoff effort

Firehawks fight through two overtime periods, fall to Bishop Garcia in first-ever quarterfinal playoff effort

By Leona Fallas, Senior Staff Writer
March 9, 2011

Shalhevet's Boys' Basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 64–62 loss March 7 against the Bishop Diego Cardinals in Santa Barbara,...

Cruise the news contest

By Talia Rotenberg, Advertising Editor
February 10, 2011

Email your answers to [email protected]. First three people to answer all six questions correctly will win a $5...

L.A. Muslim teens juggle Islam and school while fighting misconceptions

L.A. Muslim teens juggle Islam and school while fighting misconceptions

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
January 6, 2011

Most teenagers don’t have to explain to their classmates that they aren’t terrorists and are not related to Osama Bin Laden,...

Rabbis of the three leading Modern Orthodox shuls shared a light moment during an otherwise intense discussion of issues ranging from how to treat gays to skateboards on Shabbat. From left, Rabbi Elazar Muskin of Young Israel of Century City; Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky of Bnai David-Judea; and Rabbi Kalman Topp of Beth Jacob.

Local rabbis apply Modern Orthodoxy to tough issues

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
January 2, 2011

At a first-ever school Modern Orthodoxy symposium, three rabbis who lead shuls that are home to many Shalhevet families captured...

A new piano: smooth, clear and lush to hear

By Leona Fallas, Arts Editor
December 31, 2010

Smooth, crisp music flows through the Beit Midrash, capturing the attention of anyone within earshot. The notes dance from black...

Boys’ basketball knocks out host Wildcats for the first time, taking fourth place at Milken Classic

By Leona Fallas, Arts Editor
December 31, 2010

Adding to an exciting fourth-place finish at the Milken Classic, the Firehawk boys’ basketball team conquered the Milken Wildcats...

BP wins NSPA Multimedia Story of the Year, 1st Place

BP wins NSPA Multimedia Story of the Year, 1st Place

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
November 15, 2010

With screams of delight and high-fives, Boiling Point staff learned last Saturday that coverage of Rabbi Weinbach's resignation...

U.S. official in Mexico says bond is close, strong

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
November 1, 2010

“Good fences make good neighbors,” wrote the American poet Robert Frost in “The Mending Wall.” However, this statement...

Israeli team saves Gazan baby in acclaimed new film

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
November 1, 2010

In a room in Tel HaShomer Hospital near Tel Aviv, just a two-hour drive from the Erez checkpoint on the Israel-Gaza border, a...

Jewish teens in Mexico respond to drug violence

Jewish teens in Mexico respond to drug violence

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
October 31, 2010

In Mexico, a country plagued by violence for decades – most recently in its ongoing drug war  – people learn to adapt. “We...

In concert, Miley won’t be tamed by Hannah Montana

By Leona Fallas, Arts Editor
August 30, 2010

Two air guitars blast “dun-dun-dun-danana” as the curtains open to flurry of black leather and biker boots. It’s so loud...

What does Miley Cyrus have in common with Shalhevet students?

By Leona Fallas, Arts Editor
August 30, 2010

“Where are you?” “On my way to the Miley Cyrus concert.” “I just lost all respect for you.” Surprisingly,...

Peace talks have started between Israel and Palestinian Authority

Peace talks have started between Israel and Palestinian Authority

By Leila Miller, Outside News Editor
August 30, 2010

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian authority resumed Sept. 20 after 20 months, after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham...

New school year, new styles

By Leona Fallas, Arts Editor
August 26, 2010

We’re all sad to leave the sunshine for school, but the end of August does have a bright side: back-to-school shopping! I’m...

The new schedule: Keeping us focused

By Justin Brandt-Sarif, 11th Grade
August 26, 2010

Every student who has ever attended a Town Hall knows that when the bell rings and the topic ends, a rift in the day is formed....

Choir concert reaches high notes in funky sneakers

Choir concert reaches high notes in funky sneakers

By Leona Fallas, Photo Editor
July 1, 2010

Shalhevet’s energetic and rambunctious choir, led by an enthusiastic Mrs. Joelle Keene in purple striped socks, performed its...

Where Romeo and Juliet are Celtics and Lakers

Where Romeo and Juliet are Celtics and Lakers

By Deanna Grunfeld, Staff Writer
June 30, 2010

The Celtics and the Lakers got into a heated fight last week -- in the Wildfire Theater at Shalhevet.  NBA Commissioner David...

Argentine film paints torn relationships, elusive justice

Argentine film paints torn relationships, elusive justice

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
June 30, 2010

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor In The Secret in Their Eyes, an Argentine movie that won Best Foreign-Language Film at this year’s...

A boost for teens, trees and water conservation

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
May 23, 2010

Rachel Lester’s platform, which she posted on the SoRo website before her election to the  South Roberstson...

Rachel Lester elected to SoRo neighborhood panel

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
May 23, 2010

In her black Shalhevet jacket with its blazing red letters, sophomore Rachel Lester assertively approached one of the desk clerks...

Color War: A day of fun and bonding

Color War: A day of fun and bonding

By Deanna Grunfeld, 10th Grade
May 23, 2010

“One, we are the orange team, two, a little louder, three, I still can’t hear you four more more more”! Today is Color War...

Kol Sasson teaches Shalhevet choir new techniques

Kol Sasson teaches Shalhevet choir new techniques

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
May 23, 2010

Standing in a circle, the Shalhevet choir and Kol Sasson, the University of Maryland’s Jewish a capella group, started off chanting...

Scenes from childhood become ‘Collective Memory’ in dramas One-Act Festival

Scenes from childhood become ‘Collective Memory’ in drama’s One-Act Festival

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
May 23, 2010

Young people, especially teenagers, sometimes find it hard to identify with older generations, and vice versa. Collective Memory,...

Shomer Negiah keeps our school a comfortable place

Shomer Negiah keeps our school a comfortable place

By Leona Fallas, Photo editor
March 18, 2010

During lunch at a public school, students can be found strewn throughout hallways and courtyards, interlocked in public displays...

The  moment when science and religion went to war

The moment when science and religion went to war

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
March 18, 2010

Few people can claim to have “killed God,” but in a scene from the British film Creation, T.H Huxley, a colleague of Darwin’s,...

Student entrepreneurs get down to business

Student entrepreneurs get down to business

By Leona Fallas, Photo Editor
March 18, 2010

The room is abuzz as 15 aspiring entrepreneurs click frantically on their laptops. In groups of four, they research their potential...

UPSCALE: The city of Talca, 65 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter, suffered damage to even its well-built structures.

Jewish teens reach out to help Chile cope

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
March 18, 2010

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile on Feb. 27 left the world stunned, especially after Haiti. But the Jewish community there,...

Photos of Poland-Israel trips bring back memories

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
March 18, 2010

“It’s important to capture the moment,” says Eddie Friedman, who photographed Shalhevet’s annual Poland-Israel trips from...

Turning heads with locks of lavender

By Leona Fallas, Photo Editor
March 18, 2010

Shalhevet girls have always had a flair for eye-catching color, and lately, it  affects even their hair. In recent weeks, girls...

Hawks soar, defeating YULA in soccer match-up

By Deanna Grunfeld, Staff Writer
March 18, 2010

On a brightly lit outdoor soccer field in Glendale, the Shalhevet Firehawks finally accomplished what they hadn’t in two years:...

Prop lists and perfectionism: Taking A Shayna Maidel from the page to the stage

Prop lists and perfectionism: Taking ‘A Shayna Maidel’ from the page to the stage

By Leila Miller, Arts Editor
January 5, 2010

"It’s the most stressful thing ever,” said junior Nathaniel Kukurudz, who played the father role of Mordechai Weiss in this...

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