Alumni Monthly 2008 11.Qxd

Kol Bogrei Rambam November 2008 ~ Cheshvan/Kislev 5769 Page 1 of 3 CONNECTING MAIMONIDES ALUMNI WORLDWIDE Kol Bogrei Rambam is the Alumni Council’s monthly e-newsletter for and about Maimonides School graduates. Each month we share information on individual graduates’ ventures and accomplishments, as well as general news notes, all reflecting the school’s mission of preparing educated, obser- vant Jews to be contributing members of society. We invite your information, ideas and feedback—educational, professional or personal achieve- ments, new business ventures, interesting or unusual experiences, insights on Jewish living and learning, or just greetings. Please contact us at [email protected]. 1982 Graduate Finds Himself in the Spotlight as “Rahm Emanuel’s Rabbi” Rabbi Asher Lopatin ’82 of Chicago’s that maybe I had fulfilled my father’s students; I have had Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel synagogue vision of having a global impact. to write a defense of was thrust into the national news my definition of “However, with each day, the earlier this month after the pikuach nefesh to the bailout—while still critical—seems to appointment of a member of his shul, rabbinics class at have less and less of an ability to save U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, as chief of Yeshiva University; our economy, at least on its own. On staff for the new administration of and some blogs have the other hand, my decision to allow President-Elect Barack Obama. Here gone absolutely Rahm Emanuel to participate in a are some of his thoughts on “being berserk in discussing conference call on Rosh Hashanah by Rahm Emanuel’s rabbi:” this issue. Even the deeming the bailout bill pikuach New Yorker has “My father, of blessed memory, was nefesh—saving lives of millions, mentioned my Rabbi Asher always wary of me becoming a pulpit perhaps, throughout the developing Lopatin '82. pikuach nefesh decision rabbi; he was more excited about my world who might starve or not get in its ‘Talk of the Town’ going into government to have more medical treatment due to world column. So the lesson for me in all of of an impact on the world. So I was financial collapse—seems to have this is: stick to being the best rabbi I thrilled that when my congregant, the had more of a religious impact each can be, and take pride in teaching Hon. Rahm Emanuel, asked me a day. Torah and trying to give people she’eilah, which involved me in some “I have gotten calls from day schools meaning in their Judaism—whether way in the passage of the $700 billion to explain pikuach nefesh to their it gets on CNN or not.” bailout of the financial system, I felt Elementary School Dramatics Are Previews of Coming Attractions Michael Brecher ’81 remembers to be released on DVD this month. His Michael also served as artistic director writing the script for a play and trying other film credits include the role of of Adventure Theatre-in-Schools to produce it in Lois Silver’s fourth the ventriloquist in another movie in Players, and founder and artistic grade class, and dramatizing Poe’s the horror genre, The Costumers. director of Milkshakespeare, which “The Tell-Tale Heart”for his presents Shakespearean plays to “I have been doing ‘dramatics’ and Maimonides classmates the following middle school students. Acting has ‘theatrics’ since age five, and my first year. been his bread and butter,“whether involvement in a ‘full-on’ production indirectly—dramatics in the Those were previews of coming was in ninth grade as Ed in Moss and classroom as a tool for teaching—or attractions for the suburban Hart’s You Can’t Take It with You,” in the two feature films and countless Washington resident, who continues Michael says. He acted in several productions I’ve done since college,” to pursue a professional career in film productions while an undergraduate he says. and on stage. Most recently, he at Yeshiva University and has worked appeared in a feature-length horror with several community theatre movie film called Two Front Teeth, due groups in Greater Washington. Kol Bogrei Rambam November 2008 ~ Cheshvan/Kislev 5769 Page 2 of 3 CONNECTING MAIMONIDES ALUMNI WORLDWIDE Alumnus Recalls “Varied and Exciting”Experiences as an IDF Officer Lazar Berman ’99 is living in “I was fortunate to have a varied and suburban Washington and working exciting three-and-a-half years in the toward a master’s in Security Studies army,”Lazar reflected.“I served in at Georgetown University. Gaza before, during, and after the disengagement, an episode I’ve It must seem like a million kilometers struggled to make peace with no less from his days as an officer in the than Israeli society as a whole.” Israeli Defense Force, in the Bedouin Scout Battalion, which he describes as “My final eight months in the army “a unit unique among Western were spent commanding the Shaked militaries. It is composed of Israeli Battalion’s mortar platoon, stationed Bedouins and Muslim and Christian just outside the northern Gaza Strip,” Arabs. My time there as a platoon he continued.“We engaged mainly in commander gave me an interesting operations designed to counter the window into Arab and Bedouin threats of Qassam rockets and culture.” terrorist infiltration. I was inside the Strip when Hamas began its bloody Lazar made aliyah in July 2003, just coup to kick Fatah out of Gaza.” weeks after graduating from Boston University. He was drafted into the “All in all, it was a simultaneously March 2004 class of the legendary exciting, frustrating, and oftentimes Givati Brigade. stunningly tedious service in the Lazar Berman ’99 Israeli infantry.” “The IDF has its own culture and language, and it is certainly a world Lazar, who has a 20-year Reserve my ability to navigate the difficulties apart from the Hebrew I learned at commitment, was a varsity baseball of military service in Israel,”he said. Maimonides,”he observed.“The army player as an undergraduate, and literally speaks another language, and praises his Maimonides baseball He expects to complete work on his I spent much of my first months in coaches (Brian Fox, Craig Genualdo master’s in 2010, then pursue a Ph.D. the army wandering around trying to and Sean Kennedy) with having in the same field, followed by figure out what was going on.” “profound influences on the person I “teaching, writing, and advising in Ultimately, however, he was accepted turned out to be. I learned hard work, both Israel and America.” into officers’ school, emerged with a respect, and toughness from my time commission, and finished his active playing baseball under those service as a first lieutenant. coaches, values that were crucial to Kol Bogrei Rambam November 2008 ~ Cheshvan/Kislev 5769 Page 3 of 3 CONNECTING MAIMONIDES ALUMNI WORLDWIDE The Red Sox may have been dethroned as World Champions, but Lenny Eisenberg ’68, Maimonides School’s photographer of record through the 1970s,‘80s and ‘90s, is offering an original collage of scenes from the 2007 championship season. Details, including a similar project he designed on the 2004 championship team, are available at www.lennyeisenbergart.com.Prices range from $25 to $90, and 10 percent of all proceeds are designated for Maimonides School.“These are not mass quantity posters,”he said.“All are limited edition signed giclee prints.”Lenny can be contacted at (617) 510-6047 or [email protected]. Maimonides Graduates Here and There… Casey Anis ’06 co-hosts a sports talk State University to become a veterinary the Covenant Foundation. She has a program on the student-run radio pathologist. Lisa graduated summa B.A. in History and Women’s Studies station at the University of Maryland, cum laude from the University of from Harvard University, and has where he is a sophomore.The program Pennsylvania School of Veterinary studied at the Drisha Institute, runs from 11 p.m. to midnight on Medicine in May. Her husband, Dr. Midreshet Lindenbaum, and Yeshivat WMUC, and it can be monitored via the Jordan Booty, is doing a general Hadar. She says she will be writing Internet on www.wmucsports.com. internship this year and is scheduled every five weeks or so. Readers can “I got started simply by attending for a residency in radiology next year. subscribe to the commentaries at an information session at the radio They live in Columbus. www.ajws.org/parshah or download station and then asking if my friend a weekly podcast at Adina Gerver ‘97 is one of six 5769 and I could have a talk show,”he www.ajws.org/podcast. recipients of the American Jewish reports.“We cover all major sports World Service Dvar Tzedek Torah Penticon has won its third consecutive news from the previous week with a Commentary Lisa Goldberg Memorial Israel Softball Association fall focus on Major League Baseball and Writers’ Fellowship.The Dvar Tzedek is a tournament, thanks in part to center University of Maryland football, weekly Torah commentary highlighting fielder Sam Goldberg ’88. According basketball, and baseball.We take global justice teachings that are rooted to the account on haaretz.com,“Sam listener calls the entire show as well. I in Jewish text. Goldberg made a sliding catch on his love doing it and I think it’s a great Adina, a freelance writer and editor, knees for the final out.”Penticon’s CEO experience for anyone who’s ever is studying at the Advanced Scholars and first baseman, Howie Hirsch, is the wanted to try their hand at either Program of the Pardes Institute in husband of Renee Blechner Hirsch sports broadcasting or radio.” Jerusalem.

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