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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

Molly Litvak

Molly Litvak, Editor-In-Chief Emeritus

Molly is studying at Midreshet Torah v'Avodah seminary in Jerusalem and will attend Columbia University in New York next year.

All content by Molly Litvak
WINNER: Jack Sanders, right, led Town Hall, April 23. Jack was elected next years Agenda Chair Friday.

Jack Sanders is elected Agenda Chair, Henry Fried and Talia Tizabi will lead Fairness

By Molly Litvak, Editor in Chief
May 3, 2021

Jack Sanders, who promised to make the most of his experience working with his predecessors David Edwards and Kate Orlanski, was...

BOTH: Rabbi Jonathan Perry of Chabad said it is a struggle to be seen as fully Jewish and fully Black. At top, from left, Town Hall was led by Agenda Chair Kate Orlanski, who interviewed Shalhevet teachers Ms. Valencia Wilson and Mr. Fred Leach, and Mrs. Chava Shervington of the Orthodox organization Kamochah.

Town Hall offers view of what it’s like to be Orthodox Jews who are Black

By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief
March 16, 2021

  Racism against Black Americans exists in the Jewish community too, according to four Black panelists -- two of whom...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Covid Tracker – February 23-24

By Benjamin Gamson, Eli Weiss, and Molly Litvak
March 5, 2021

This week, percentages of “yes” answers increased across all six questions in the Boiling Point’s bi-weekly survey of how...

TREATS: On Monday and Wednesday, the first two days of two grades on campus, there was a free fruit cart on the roof and an ice cream truck in the parking lot.

On-campus school expands to two days a week and two grades a day

By Benjamin Gamson and Molly Litvak
February 14, 2021

For the first time since last March, two grades at a time of students learned on campus this week, each for two days in a row....

Covid Tracker – February 9-10

Covid Tracker – February 9-10

By Benjamin Gamson, Eli Weiss, and Molly Litvak
February 12, 2021

This week, the percentage of students and staff who said that they had ever tested positive for Covid-19 rose, from 6.6% in the...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Covid Tracker – January 26-27

By Benjamin Gamson, Eli Weiss, and Molly Litvak
January 30, 2021

This week, the number of students and staff who said that they had ever tested positive for Covid-19 went down —  from 11 in...

RAIN: Covid tests went on as planned Thursday evening in spite of heavy rain. All students who plan to come to school next week were required to get the test.

Covid tests will be required for all students who want to attend in-person next week

By Molly Litvak and Benjamin Gamson
January 28, 2021

For the first time this year, all Shalhevet students will have to be tested for Covid-19 this week if they wish to attend in-person...

SYMPTOMS: A Shalhevet student who tested positive for Covid-19 told the Boiling Point having the virus felt like a bad cold.

First confirmed Covid case in Shalhevet student this year is contained

By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief
January 19, 2021

Shalhevet’s first confirmed Covid-19 case of the school year was announced in an email sent out Oct. 19 by Chief Operating Officer...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Covid Tracker – January 5-6

By Benjamin Gamson, Molly Litvak, and Eli Weiss
January 15, 2021

This week, the number of students and staff who said that they had ever tested positive for Covid-19 went up —  from three...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Covid Tracker – December 15-16

By Benjamin Gamson, Eli Weiss, and Molly Litvak
December 19, 2020

The Boiling Point is conducting a Covid-19 tracking project to watch how Covid cases are progressing not only at school but among...

BACK: Rabbi Block taught his senior Advanced Jewish Philosophy class in person for the first time Dec. 1, in the ‘Sarah’ tent outside the Beit Midrash on the third floor.  Outdoor temperatures that day were in the upper 60s.

Exciting, live and ‘weird,’ in-person school reopens outside in tents

By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief
December 13, 2020

In the thousands of years that Jews have studied in chevruta, probably never before have partners been forced to learn from six...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Covid Tracker – December 1-2

By Benjamin Gamson, Molly Litvak, and Eli Weiss
December 4, 2020

The Boiling Point is conducting a Covid-19 tracking project to watch how Covid cases are progressing not only at school but among...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Covid Tracker – November 24-26

By Benjamin Gamson, Eli Weiss, and Molly Litvak
November 28, 2020

The Boiling Point is conducting a Covid-19 tracking project to watch how Covid cases are progressing not only at school but among...

ROLE: Yoetzet Halacha Atara Segal will continue to be Shalhevet’s Israel gap-year advisor for the class of 2021.

Yoetzet Segal moves to Israel, will keep some roles at Shalhevet

By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief
November 22, 2020

Yoetzet Halacha Atara Segal may have moved to Israel this summer, but she is still continuing her work with the Shalhevet community.  The...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Covid Tracker – November 17-18

By Benjamin Gamson, Eli Weiss, and Molly Litvak
November 20, 2020

The Boiling Point is conducting a Covid-19 tracking project to watch how Covid cases are progressing not only at school but among...

PAUSED: New tents in the parking lot last Thursday night waited for students who would have started on-campus Judaic Studies classes yesterday if not for a last-minute cancellation.

Partial reopening of in-person school is cancelled after LA Covid cases spike

By Molly Litvak and Benjamin Gamson
November 18, 2020

At a meeting that lasted less than an hour, school officials decided Sunday to cancel yesterday’s scheduled reopening of on-campus...

VIDEO: Local Businesses Board Up For Election Day

By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief
November 4, 2020

Just a few months after some George Floyd demonstrations turned violent last June, stores and businesses in Shalhevet neighborhoods...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Covid Tracker – October 20-28

By Molly Litvak and Eli Weiss
November 3, 2020

The Boiling Point conducting a Covid-19 tracking project to watch how Covid cases are progressing not only at school but among...

GIFT: At the end of a divisive presidential campaign, Rabbi Yosef Kanesfky told his congregation that from a religious perspective, democracy is a gift that we have been empowered with “to impact and affect the lives of other human beings.”

‘Holy conduct’: How to be Jewish during a hard election season

By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief
October 30, 2020

In an email to his congregation last Tuesday, Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky of B’nai David-Judea Congregation in Pico-Robertson said...

MUSIC: There may be no live music at school, but that hasnt kept students from listening, or being moved by what they hear.

MY LIFE IN A SONG: Middle school carpool opened door to classic rock

By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief
October 23, 2020

‘My Life In A Song’ will be a recurring column about music in the lives of Shalhevet students.  We invite any student to...

POLL: View a slideshow of poll results by clicking through the Gallery box below.

Poll shows only two Covid cases so far among Shalhevet extended community

By Molly Litvak and Benjamin Gamson
October 19, 2020

On Oct. 13, the Boiling Point began a Covid-19 tracking project to watch how Covid cases are progressing not only at school but...

SMILES: President Trump (center) was applauded at the White House Aug. 13 after announcing agreements to normalize diplomatic relations  between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, with (from left), Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

UAE and Bahrain treaties could signal new era, Israel Consul-General says

By Molly Litvak, Editor-in-Chief
October 5, 2020

New treaties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain -- only the third and fourth Arab countries to normalize diplomatic...

UNITED: People of all ages and races converged on the Hall of Justice near City Hall downtown yesterday to protest police brutality against African-Americans. Seniors Maia Lefferman and Avital Jacobson were part of the crowd, which media reports estimated at more than 3,000 people.

George Floyd protests, both peaceful and violent, reach Shalhevet neighborhoods

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
June 4, 2020

In a weeklong outburst of frustration, protest and fear that reached into the heart of Shalhevet neighborhoods, Americans...

MINCHA: An outdoor minyan observed strict social distancing March 18 in Hancock Park. Officials say that is not permitted in California or Los Angeles, although it will soon be allowed in New York.

New York allowing minyans, Los Angeles not yet

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
May 21, 2020

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that religious gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted there starting...

Vote moved up to Thursday after Town Hall shows support for new constitution

Vote moved up to Thursday after Town Hall shows support for new constitution

By Benjamin Gamson and Molly Litvak
May 14, 2020

Drafters of the proposed new Just Community constitution decided late Wednesday that they would try to move up the vote to Thursday,...

BROADER: Framers of the new constitution proposal this week changed the membership of the Judicial Review Subcommittee they are proposing. Along with the Head of School, it now includes leaders of Fairness and Agenda and an elected faculty representative, instead of just Fairness co-chairs and the Fairness Adviser.

Constitution vote, set for Friday, may turn on whether new document gives students more or less influence than original

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
May 13, 2020

After weeks of debate over whether a newly proposed constitution would give students more or less power than they have now, the...

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...

HUSSLE: Right after being picked to be part of an alliance with the top two ranked teams, Firehawks Robotics fixed up their robot for quarter-finals, with the help of teams from Las Vegas and Culver City.

Shalhevet’s robot ‘Chaya Leia’ advances to national championship in Houston, but coronavirus cancels the event

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
March 27, 2020

As part of a trio with two other teams, the Shalhevet Robotics Team won the Los Angeles Regional “For Inspiration and Recognition...

TOGETHER: These years Best Picture nominees are (left to right) Little Women, 1917, Ford v Ferrari, Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story

The Nine: Short reviews of the 2020 Best Picture nominees

Below are short reviews of all nine movies nominated in the Best Picture category of this year’s Academy Awards, by Boiling...

VANDALIZED: Several posters of famous authors and playwrights, including Tennessee Williams, were vandalized in Ms. Nagels and Ms. Crincolis rooms.

Fairness Committee may ban students from empty classrooms after teacher files complaint over food mess and poster vandalism

Responding to food left in classrooms after lunch and vandalism against posters, the Fairness Committee is considering a two-week-long...

REVISE: Fairness Co-Chair Evan Rubel, senior Sabrina Jahan and Agenda Chair David Edwards shared a light moment at a meeting on proposed updates to the constitution.  Considered the start of an ongoing constitutional convention, the meeting took place Nov. 20 in room 304.

Move to revise Just Community constitution debates who should decide what’s debatable

By Molly Litvak and Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks
December 17, 2019

After being talked about by Agenda committees and chair candidates since 2016, a proposed rewriting of Shalhevet’s constitution...

POSITIVE: Future Head of School Rabbi David Block is known for having great relationships with students, who reacted positively to news of his appointment.

Rabbi Block to be Head of School starting next year

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
November 26, 2019

Musical, close to students and known for both humility and a sharp mind, Head of School-designate Rabbi David Block hopes to make...

HONOR:  Rabbi Abraham Lieberman, who has been teaching for over four decades, accepted the Jewish Educator Award from Mr. Richard Sandler, executive vice president of the Milken Family Foundation.

Rabbi Lieberman wins $15,000 Milken Jewish Educator Award

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor 
November 4, 2019

Students were already wondering why a last-minute special schedule had been posted when Rabbi Segal announced on Schoology that...

REVIEW: Making violence funny in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

REVIEW: Making violence funny in Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
October 13, 2019

Comic relief is a popular way of alleviating pain or lightening the intensity of violence in films. But generating laughter while...

LITERATURE:   Mr. Reynolds, a lover of great literature and the arts, hosted poetry seminars for students and faculty during his time at Shalhevet.

Nat Reynolds, former Head of School, teacher, mentor, has died

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
October 7, 2019

Mr. Nathan Reynolds, who founded Shalhevet’s General Studies department, recruited the first student body and years later left...

MORNING: Freshman Madeleine Bollag scans in to the main minyan at Shacharit during the second week of school. The fob, which she carries on her key chain, transmits her identity to a computer program that takes attendance and shares the information with teachers who need to know.

School installs new scanner system to track who’s in tefillah

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
September 25, 2019

Before grabbing a siddur and picking a seat, Shalhevet students now must scan themselves into davening by pressing a small blue...

WRITER:   Mr. Forrester is teaching American Literature this year.

New English teacher brings a worldwide upbringing and a passion for playwriting

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
September 23, 2019

He may teach English, but new Shalhevet teacher Mr. Brian Forrester has a passion for theater, or more specifically, playwriting....

FAIR: Senior Joseph Klores, one of three co-chairs of the Fairness Committee this year, told Tuesdays Town Hall why his committee should help oversee Just Community elections.

Town Hall vote puts Fairness Committee in charge of Just Community elections

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
September 13, 2019

After years of dilemmas, complications and mistakes in the running of elections, the Shalhevet community voted this week to appoint...

LEAVING:   Rabbi Segal and his family plan to make aliyah to Israel next summer, something they’ve said for years that they wanted to do. The head of school gave a news conference to BP editors last April in his office.

Rabbi Segal to make gradual departure for Israel beginning next year

By Molly Litvak, Community Editor
August 12, 2019

Rabbi Ari Segal, who transformed Shalhevet from an idealistic but financially struggling school housed in a former hospital to...

TRENDY: Like many other students, freshmen Eva Brous-Light and Danielle Finn wear scrunchies, a popular hair accessory from the ‘80s, to school -- and not always in their hair.

Bohemian is Back

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
June 6, 2019

Did Freddie Mercury know that his music would not only still be popular but be the focus of a world-renowned movie in 2018? Did...

PROTECTION: Workers from 911 Restoration put on protective clothing before heading downstairs to the work area. According to Mr. Albert Garcia, those working in the area must wear protective clothing to avoid being exposed to any of the contaminants.

Basement flood repairs will take all summer, officials say

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
May 28, 2019

Shalhevet basement classrooms will be closed for the remainder of the school year because flood repairs may take all summer to...

FIRST: Students in Room 308 this morning heard junior Gilad Spitzer argue against the school election results in the first-ever Fairness case to discuss overturning school election results.

Fairness Committee overturns result of election for next year’s Fairness chairs, committee to have three next year

Shalhevet’s Fairness Committee will have three co-chairs next year, after a Fairness deliberation changed the result of a Just...

THOUGHT: Voters considered how to rank candidates in last Tuesday’s Just Community elections in the gym.  Races with more than two candidates were tallied according to an “instant runoff” system.

Open Fairness hearing Friday morning will consider possible change to Fairness Chair election outcome

The Fairness Committee will hold an open hearing this morning to decide whether to change the outcome of this week’s election...

SUBMERGED: Water in Room B101 was about 3 inches deep at 1:30 p.m. today.

FLOOD: All basement classrooms under inches of water after city main breaks

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
April 2, 2019

A huge gush of water from a burst city pipe poured through a basement wall and into a storage room early this morning, overflowing...

President Bush remembered

President Bush remembered

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
March 10, 2019

“We are a nation of communities... a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful...

PERSISTENCE:   Students and teachers at Laces High School protest through heavy rain to reach their goals in the LAUSD teacher strike. 
 BP Photo by Maia Lefferman

First LA Teacher Strike in Decades Ends With Smaller Classes, Bigger Paychecks

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
February 28, 2019

Days of intermittent downpour didn’t stop teachers from the Los Angeles Unified School District from picketing and marching...

 BP Photo Illustration by Gilad Spitzer

The Eight: Short reviews of the 2019 Best Picture nominees

Below are short reviews of all eight movies nominated in the Best Picture category of this year’s Academy Awards. They were...

SPACE:   Farm animals sold as food in California, including chickens, lambs, pigs and cows, will have had more space to roam during their lives under Proposition 12, passed by California voters Nov. 8.

Prop. 12 passes, giving more space to hens, pigs and calves

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
December 7, 2018

Should ethics affect what you eat? For years, Californian animal rights activists have been advocating for state-wide cage-free...

MICHIGAN:  The University of Michigan’s Haven Hall, where the American Culture Department has its offices. The department adopted a BDS statement but does not require professors to follow its recommendations.

Michigan professors open new front in academic boycott of Israel

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
December 4, 2018

Unlike most acts of Israel boycotting on college campuses, which are led by student groups, two students at University of Michigan...

SCHOOL:    The Ilan Ramon Jewish Day School, a K-5 progressive school in Agoura Hills, was in flames Friday afternoon.  News reporters on the scene said separate buildings in the back of the school were still intact at 3:30 pm.

Ilan Ramon Jewish day School burns in Woolsey Fire

An Agoura Hills Jewish day school named after the Israeli astronaut who died in the 2003 explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia...

Anti-gentrification protests challenge Boyle Heights kosher restaurant

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
September 27, 2018

It would have been news anyway: last spring, a new kosher restaurant opened in Los Angeles -- not in Pico-Robertson or North Hollywood,...

To save the oceans: No more plastic straws?

To save the oceans: No more plastic straws?

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
September 23, 2018

It may be time to start carrying around a reusable straw. More and more cities and restaurants have declared a ban on...

BERETS:   IDF Private Rachel Lester, Shalhevet class of 2012, posed with her camera at sunrise at the end of the Nahal Beret March last summer. The recruits later received their green berets.  Photo by Samantha Sharpe.

From fact-checks to Facebook, Shalhevet alum helps IDF tell its story

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
September 7, 2018

Imagine you’re watching gruesome raw footage of people running with weapons, setting fire to wide swathes of land and threatening...

 BUSY:  Mr. St. Germaine will teach Algebra, Chemistry and two kinds of Physics (five classes in all) and has two small children at home and another on the way.  BP photo Alyssa Wallack.

Scuba-diving enthusiast is newest addition to Science Department

By Molly Litvak, Outside News Editor
September 4, 2018

  Swimming with fish the size of small cars, circling shipwrecks and diving 100 feet down in the ocean are just some of...

 BRAID:   Ms. Yona Nadelman, second from right, described her Holocaust experiences while making bread with students in the Wildfire Theater May 17. The event was sponsored by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and led by Shalhevet sophomore Noa Nelson.

‘La Dough Va Dough’ event weaves challah and history

By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer
May 25, 2018

Holocaust survivors and high school students braided challah together in the Shalhevet theater last week, sharing the life-changing...

WIN: The Firehawks celebrated a victory against YULA at Schnitzly.

Soccer team defeats YULA for the first time in nearly a decade

By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer
May 18, 2018
Short and sweet, Shalhevet’s soccer season lasted from the first game on Nov. 21 to Feb. 9, and ended in five losses, one tie, and six wins - including beating YULA, something that hasn’t happened in 7 years, according to Coach Ryan Coleman.
 OLD: Most flu vaccines today are grown inside eggs, taking about six months. New egg-less method will take only two.

New DNA production method may mean a much more helpful flu vaccine

By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer
May 8, 2018

This year’s influenza vaccine might have been a bust, but a new faster vaccine-manufacturing technology may soon make it possible...

BETTER: In an effort to secure a room without a lock, students in Mr. Smiths English class barricaded glass doors with furniture.

[Photo] Lights out, desks up and if possible, lock the door

By Tyler Ekaireb, Outside News Editor
April 24, 2018

BETTER: In an effort to secure a room without a lock, students in Mr. Smith's English class barricaded glass doors with furniture....

SAFE: Members of the Red and Green teams ran to their partners laps as they tried to stay in the game.

COLOR WAR: Disputed call gave ‘Coke – Pepsi’ game to the seniors; juniors still have not conceded

By Molly Litvak and Lucy Fried
April 3, 2018
The stakes were high as a sea of students, each grade wearing a different color, flooded into the gym for the last event of the first day of Color War. The whole school was there, some 250 students and about 50 staff. Seniors wore purple, juniors wore red, sophomores wore green and freshman wore black.
BETTER: Science teacher Dr. Elizabeth Basheer received this years flu shot and got a mild case of the illness. It wasnt super bad, she said, but it wasn’t apples and sunrises and, you know, candy.”

It’s not too late for a flu shot — here’s why you might want one

By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer
March 21, 2018

The flu season, although it has already peaked, is still active, and the illness is still circulating through the country with...

CELEBRATE: Students, teachers and parents mingled over sushi and salads on the roof Jan. 30 surrounded by platters of fresh fruit. It was the Green Team clubs first event.

Under twinkling lights, Green Team offers learning, food from garden and live performances for Tu B’Shvat

By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer
February 3, 2018

“The mishnah of Rosh Hashanah says that Tu B’shevat is really a technical day, the day that marks the new year for trees,”...

The gradual Zionist: Yahya Mahamid of Stand With Us tells lunchtime audience how he became pro-Israel

The gradual Zionist: Yahya Mahamid of Stand With Us tells lunchtime audience how he became pro-Israel

By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer
January 26, 2018
The Jewish people have a right to have a country in their homeland, according to a well-known Arab Zionist who spoke during lunch Dec. 6.
RIPENING: tomatoes growing on the third floor were planted Sept. 21

I’ll have the caprese: New student-tended rooftop garden offers herbs to pick, vegetables for sale

By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer
January 3, 2018
Ashley Evins usually eats caprese salads as a treat, and rarely has the opportunity to use fresh basil.  But since the planting of a new flower and vegetable garden on the roof, members of the Shalhevet community now have the opportunity to stop by and pick fresh herbs of their liking.
CHEMICALS: Freshmen in Dr. Basheers biology classes began their lab by adding murky, brown artificial vomit to test tubes. Soon, they added other substances to form a solution that would turn the liquid other colors, depending on whether it was a carb, protein, or lipid.

Whodunnit? Biology class analyzes ‘artificial vomit’ to solve murder mystery

By Molly Litvak, Staff Writer
October 19, 2017
Holding the test tube as far away as possible, freshman Evy Rosenkranz crossed the classroom hoping that the chunky, brown and smelly mixture wouldn't spill.
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