Upcoming Events

• Motzei Shabbat, November 18, 2023 - ICGC Ice Skating 6:45pm-10pm

• December 1-2, 2023 - Senior Shabbaton

Please let us know if you know any families in the Chicago area where a parent left to fight in the war and could use some support from ICJA students (babysitting, playtime, homework help, etc.). Click here and complete the form; we will contact the family to see how we can help.

Over 100 ICJA students marched for Israel in Washington, DC Tuesday.

On Tuesday, over 100 ICJA students, parents and faculty - including the entire senior class - joined with nearly 300,000 fellow Jews on the National Mall in Washington DC to be part of the national March for Israel.

At this historic event, our students demonstrated our commitment for continued US support for Israel and demanded that our representatives free Hamas' hostages and fight antisemitism.

They were inspired by Natan Sharansky who said "we will win because we are one Jewish family," by Sen. Chuck Schumer, who declared "Am Yisrael Chai," by US Envoy to Monitor and Counter Antisemitism Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, by a concert by Ishai Ribo, and by and many other speakers and participants.

Thank you to the students and staff members and generous sponsors who enabled so many of our students to attend this historic event.

Pictured above: senior Ilana Schwartz and junior Lea Ackerman with Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman

Pictured above: seniors Ilana Schwartz and Rotem Levi with Utah Senator Mitt Romney

While many rallied in Washington on Rosh Chodesh, students back at school celebrated Rosh Chodesh Kislev.

Students celebrated Rosh Chodesh with special davening and doughnuts.

Pictured above: sophomores Jonah Strahlberg, Daniel Allswang, and Noam Hellman

Pictured above: Ayelet Klein, Meira Schultz, and Baila Laber

Sophomores in Mrs. Ayala Zimmerman's honors Navi class are discussing the life of Shaul.

Sophomores in Mrs. Ayala Zimmerman's honors Navi class are learning about the eventful life of Shaul. Students discussed mefarshim on the Sefer and kept journals from the point of view of Shaul depicting the many phases of his life.

Pictured above: Miriam Falk

Pictured above: Rivki Belsh

Pictured above: Caley Gordon

Students watched and discussed a popular Israeli comedy show - all in Hebrew.

Juniors in Mrs. Dana Rubin's Hebrew class (pictured here) enjoyed a treat this week: watching the Israeli comedy show קופה ראשית in Hebrew.

קופה ראשית is about life in an Israeli supermarket; students joked about and discussed the show in Hebrew, broadening their Hebrew skills and comfort with colloquial converstion.



How do Rashi's and Ramban's views of Moshe differ?

Freshmen in Rabbi Shlomo Rosen's Chumash class are learning Sefer Shemot (pictured here).

This week they discussed Rashi's and Ramban's views of how Moshe brought makkot on Egypt, noting the different ways they approach the text and their differing conclusions.

Pictured above: Oren Goizman and Yitzy Ebert

Pictured above: Bentzion Beiles and Asher Gadd

On Wednesday Evening, ICJA welcomed over 100 prospective students and their families.

On Wednesday night, over 100 prospective students and their families attended ICJA's Open House. Guests attended shiurim and mini classes, heard from Rabbi Matanky and other administrators and teachers, asked ICJA students what it's like to go to school here, toured our school, and watched our new Admissions Video.

Thank you to the students, teachers, administrators, and Director of Admissions Mrs. Suzy Nussbaum for organizing this event.

Watch our brand new Open House video

for prospective students - and share it with people you know who'd like to learn more about ICJA!

On Thursday, students gained skills in discussing Israel.

On Thursday, Israel Advocacy Club hosted an informative meeting with Ms. Hailey Stern, StandWithUs Midwest High School Regional Manager, who led a discussion about "Navigating Difficult Conversations About Israel."

Students gained skills in advocating for Israel, and practiced conversational techniques to help diffuse tense discussions and counter disinformation.

Students read and analyzed a powerful WWI poem.

Freshmen in Mrs. Heather Hobbie's English class took a break from The Odyssey this week to read the poem In Flander's Fields by John McRae. Students discussed the meaning and symbols in this powerful WWI work.

Pictured above: Nathan Rothner

Pictured above: Mia Saltzman and Eliana Frankel

Pictured above:Ayden Mishkin

Students applied fractions and decimals to problems.

Students in Mrs. Marlene Wasserstrom's Concepts Algebra I class practiced solving algebra problems involving fractions and decimals this week.

Pictured above: freshman Aidan Itzhaki working with Mrs. Wasserstrom

Pictured above: freshman Sarah Cherney

Pictured above: freshmen Dalia Cohen and Talia Bielak working with Mrs. Wasserstrom

On Monday, students gave 5 presentations at Hope Academy, reaching 125 students.

On Monday, while most ICJA students had a day off, Student Student presenters traveled to Hope Academy on the near West Side to talk about Jewish life an what it's like to be a Jewish teen today.

Pictured above: seniors Benjy Baronofsky and Evan Comrov explaining Jewish ritual items

Pictured above: senior Ella Perlman explaining the rituals of a Jewish wedding

On Thursday, the community shopped for Shabbat at ICJA's "Shuk" with all proceeds going to Israeli charities.

On Thursday night, ICJA was transformed into an Israeli-style shuk. Community members shopped from dozens of items provided by local kosher vendors, with all proceeds donated to Israeli charities.

Thank you to Mrs. Suzy Nussbaum for organizing this major event, and to Ida Crown Girls' Club (ICGC) for helping run the shuk. ICGC is generously sponsored by a grant from the Walder Foundation.

ICJA students and their fathers davened at the Skokie Kollel last Sunday morning.

Many Sunday mornings, ICJA's freshmen boys' rebbe, Rabbi Louis Fliegelman, arranges for students and their fathers (or grandfathers or other relatives) to meet at a different Chicago-area shul to daven Shacharit together and enjoy breakfast and learning.

Last Sunday, some members of the ICJA family, including students, fathers, and other relatives, davened at the Skokie Kollel, then shared breakfast, divrei Torah, and conversation with each other.

For more information about the Veshinantam Levanecha program, email Rabbi Louis Fliegelman at lfliegelman@icja.org.

This week, we caught up with ICJA Talmud teacher and 9th Grade Rebbe Rabbi Louis Fliegelman and asked him a few questions about herself.

This week we asked Rabbi Louis Fliegelman, ICJA's 9th grade Rebbe and Talmud teacher, about himself.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

I grew up in the Bronx. I attended Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem in New York. Today, I live in West Rogers Park with my wife Suzanne.

How did you decide to go into Jewish education?

I enjoy sharing my love of Torah. In 1980, my wife was very excited to work in a new school that was just starting in Dallas, Akiva Yavneh Academy. She'd grown up in a small Jewish community in Phoenix, and it was important to her to help develop a school in another small Jewish community. We both worked there, teaching limudei kodesh. (See the picture below.)

I spent a year in 1982 working at Goldman Sachs in New York. I worked on the commodities desk, trading gold, palladium, platinum and silver. After that, I was happy to go back to teaching Torah.

In 1990, we moved to Chicago so that our kids - Yael, Aliza, Elliot and Avigayil - could go to a Jewish high school. That year, I began teaching at Ida Crown.

What do you love about working at Ida Crown?

It feels like a family here. I enjoy learning with and learning from my students and parents.

Can you name a favorite ICJA memory?

I enjoy seeing students again after they graduate; I'm proud of what our school has been able to accomplish, with graduates who are successful both professionally and in Torah.

Do you have any hobbies?

I enjoy learning and teaching Torah, and I enjoy chesed. This past summer, I worked with the Chicago Mitzvah Campaign, eating lunch with senior citizens.

Is there anything that most people don't know about you that you'd like to share here?

Yes - I used to compete in weightlifting competitions! I once lost to the mayor of Lincolnwood in a competition at the JCC. We were bench-pressing about 300 lbs. and he beat me by about 5 lbs.

Pictured above: Rabbi Fliegelman and his class in Dallas in 1985

This week's Learning Dedications include the following:

Tuesday, the 1st of Kislev, 5784, November 14, 2023, by the ICJA Staff, in loving memory of Sheila Brown, z"l, mother of ICJA staff member Carol Nylund

Thursday, the 3rd of Kislev, 5784, November 16, 2023, by Teila (Fefferman) and Heshey Lichtman, commemorating the 45th yahrtzeit of Rabbi Harold Fefferman z"l, who taught Jewish History, Tanach and Talmud for 30 years at the Ida Crown Jewish Academy and the Girls' Branch.

If you would like to sponsor a Day of Learning for a different soldier, please contact our Director of Development, Deva Zwelling, at (773) 973-1450 ext. 115, or dzwelling@icja.org.

In addition to many thousands of physical books and journals, ICJA's Learning Commons contains tens of thousands of online books, journal articles and other resources, including subscriptions to newspapers such as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and more. Students are able to access these resources through our portal.

Please stop by our librarian Mrs. Steinberg's desk in the Learning Commons or email her at  librarian@icja.org her to pick up your updated passwords to access our online material. ICJA's subscriptions are available at icja.libguides.com/home.

Do you have school-related news you'd like to see in this newsletter? Let us know!

If you have exciting ICJA-related news to share about classes, sports, clubs, or other projects, please tell us! Send news items and/or photos to Dr. Yvette Miller, Director of Communications at ymiller@icja.org. Your items can enhance our newsletter and ICJA's social media presence.

Thank you to all those who donated to our Rosh Hashana Appeal. 5784 is off to a great start for Ida Crown and we are so grateful for our generous community members who support our Annual Scholarship Fund.

We are still hoping to achieve 100% parent involvement; if you have not already donated, please use the link below to give. Your contribution helps ensure no child is denied a Jewish education due to lack of funds.

Calling all 3^rd – 12^th grade students attending an ATT school! It’s time for the Pogrund Family Essay and Judaic Artwork contests! Demonstrate your writing and/or art skills as you explore a Judaic topic. Winners receive a $50.00 check. Deadline for art/essay submission is Wednesday, January 17, 2024. FOR ESSAY/ARTWORK RULES AND GUIDELINES, visit www.att.org → For Students or call ATT at 773-973-2828.

Last summer, ICJA gave its Class of '22 alumni the second edition of our directory listing ICJA alumni who live in Israel and have graciously offered to open their homes to recent ICJA grads who are currently spending a gap year in Israel.

Thank you to the many alumni who have reached out to us, offering to host.

The directory was sent out to the emails of '22 grads that we have on file. If you have any questions or would like to update our contact information to help recent ICJA grads obtain a copy, please contact Dr. Yvette Miller, ICJA Director of Communications, at ymiller@icja.org.

We are still taking submissions from alumni who are willing to host, to include in future copies of this directory. Please contact Dr. Miller to be included.