Editors’ Note: USY, we’re coming to you as the year comes to a close to share with you about who your future leaders will be. For all of 2020, six of these people will lead you to soar to new heights and reach to fabulous places. We think it is important for you to know each and every one of these people and we hope you take your USY Constitutional civic duties seriously and responsibly. Please read carefully and pay attention. Thank you for your time.
Name? My name is Emma Grungold, but it’s actually spelled Emma Grüngold and pronounced Emma Greengold if you want to get fancy.
Grade? It’s senior season!!!
Chapter? BAUSY Bees, let me hear you buzz!
Region? We are HaNegev, we are Hanegev . . . you know the rest 🙂 (Editors’ Note: Blog Coordinators conferred and decidedly did not know the rest, oops, guess we’ll learn it eventually ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
Position you’re running for? I am running for International President of USY, which is the organization for Unapologetically Superior Yachtsmen. Oops sorry, stupid auto-correct, I meant United Synagogue Youth.
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? Ruach – Stephen Bartell’s version of Eileh Chamda Libi. Sloach – Adam Rosen and Elyssa Ronik’s version of Atah Horeita – IC Dream 2018.
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? When I was younger, I watched The Lion King seven times in a row. I have no doubt that I would be able to watch it for 48 hours straight.
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) To get away from the person asking, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Through research, a woodchuck could chuck about 700 pounds of wood. However, I believe that a woodchuck can chuck as much wood as it pushes itself to chuck. Accomplish your dreams, woodchuck!
Name? Austin “Powers” “Danger” “Wait For It” “Swagadigi” “Irresistible” “How Much Does the Polar Bear Weigh” David Kaufman
Grade? 12th Grade
Chapter? I’m from CBI Tustin which stands for Compassionate Bubbly Individuals… just kidding, it stands for Congregation B’nai Israel in Tustin, California (near Disneyland). But it is the greatest chapter in USY, no questions asked.
Region? From the Albuquerque to the Waikiki, Far West is the region for me!!
Position you’re running for? I am running for International President!!
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? My favorite sloach song is definitely Hamalach Hagoel for countless reasons. The main one that comes to mind is that the chorus is one of the first things I learned when I joined USY. Every time I belt it at the top of my lungs (but in a peaceful, respectful sloach/slow ruach way, not like heavy metal hahaha,) I flash through all of the times I have sung it and all of the fantastic memories at Chapter events, Regional Kinnusim, Fall Boards Weekends, and International Conventions and have a huge smile on my face.
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? I would have to say The Prince of Egypt… just kidding, it is more of a Passover movie and not a watch for 48 hours straight in December kind of movie. I’d have to say Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. It is a hilarious movie and I am a huge comedy fan so it is the perfect match. Also the main character’s name is Austin, which doesn’t hurt.
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) To get to the mensch’s house? Knock knock… (who’s there?)… THE CHICKEN. *hold for applause* I can see you blushing because you just realized that YOU are the mensch.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I think you should CHUCK this question out the window, but if I had to guess I WOODN’T say a lot. Maybe in the future they would eat trees and just like USY, it would BRANCH out. Once they are done they WOOD say “done,” but it would not be a BARK because they are not dogs. Just remember that you must always TREEt others the way you want to be TREEted. Now that I have those puns out of my system, it is my time to LEAF. I can’t wait to see you at IC!!
Name? Morgan Isbitts
Grade? 12
Chapter? B’nai Aviv USY (BAUSY)
Region? HaNegev
Position you’re running for? Israel Affairs Vice President
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? Eili Eili/Yerushalyim Shel Zahav
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? Legally Blonde. Elle Woods taught me to never let other peoples’ opinions put me down. And that’s on law school.
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) The chicken was in a rush because he had a 9:00 date at his girlfriend, the hen’s house. She was cooking a vegetarian lasagna for which the chicken, who keeps Kosher, was very grateful. The chicken could have walked on the sidewalk the entire way to the hen’s house, but the road was a shortcut and there were no cars coming. He took the road less traveled, which allowed him to make it to the hen’s house on time. The chicken proposed to the hen that night. She said yes!
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? It’s funny because my friend is a woodchuck, and we were literally having this discussion last week. She basically told me it’s hard to specify a quantity because woodchucks don’t have the paw structure or strength (no matter how hard they work out) to lift and chuck wood, especially heavy wood. However, woodchucks can carry soil, as they need to in order to build burrows. So theoretically, if I were to chop a block of wood into many microscopic pieces, a woodchuck could probably chuck that wood, because it’s a similar consistency to soil. But only small amounts.
Name? Rebecca Shifra Raush, but you can call me Becca
Grade? 12
Chapter? Beth El Voorhees
Region? The Mighty Mizrach
Position you’re running for? Israel Affairs VP 🇮🇱
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? Ruach: El HaMaayan, Sloach: Al Kol Eileh (and now it’s stuck in my head!)
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot is the exact kind of inspirational content I aspire to.)
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) He did not want to get eaten on Shabbat!
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood. (Read this out loud, I dare you.)
Name? Ethan Rogers
Grade? 12
Chapter? Midway Jewish Center (MUSY!)
Region? METNY USY
Position you’re running for? Religion/Education Vice President
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? Ruach: Baruch HaGever // Slow Ruach: D’ror Yikra
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? Billy Madison
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) Obviously to reach the Shabbas dinner table.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I’m not exactly sure, but probably a Rel/Ediculously insane amount.
Name? My name is Harris Andrew Jayson. Yes, I do have three first names. Yes, everyone who first meets me ask if my name is backwards. And no, my name is not Harrison, just Harris.
Grade? I am a senior (shout out to the USY Class of 2020) at Cherry Hill High School West in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Chapter? I am a member of the recently resurrected Temple Beth Sholom USY chapter of…
Region? MIZRACH!!! The small but mightiest region in all of USY. Mizrach ay Mizrach ay, we’re the best in the USA!
Position you’re running for? I am a candidate for the office of Social Action/Tikun Olam Vice President (the best position in USY).
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? My favorite Sloach song is the slow version of Adon Olam, specifically led by Noah Kamens, current Hagalil Rel/Ed (if you are reading this Noah, wassup homie!)
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? If I were to watch a movie on repeat for 48 hours straight, it would have to be “Bruce Almighty.” Like come on, who doesn’t love Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman??
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) The chicken crossed the road to fight the cow standing in front of the Chick-Fil-A holding signs reading, “Eat Mor Chikin!”
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Based on my calculations, I couldn’t tell you. The real question is how many seashells did Sally sell by the seashore? When you have an answer let me know at IC. I can’t wait to meet you!
Name? Michael Pincus
Grade? 11
Chapter? Beach USY
Region? HaNegev (HUSY Camel is my favorite mammal!!!)
Position you’re running for? I am running for Social Action/Tikun Olam Vice President.
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? My favorite Ruach song is Kol Ha’Olam Kulo. The bridge is just so darn narrow, it’s crazy. My favorite Sloach song is either B’shem Hashem or the slow Adon Olam, but Sloach is just amazing in general… emotional Jewish Boy hours :’)
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? This answer took a lot of soul-searching, but ultimately I determined that the movie I could watch on repeat for 48 hours straight is Radio Rebel, starring the incredibly talented and acclaimed actress Debby Ryan. I personally resonated with the shy girl character becoming a secret DJ, because I think inside we’re all Debby Ryan—we want to come out of our shells and be proud of our voices. Although I don’t recommend making up a secret identity, I think the moral lessons of Radio Rebel are timeless, nuanced, and thought-provoking.
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) The chicken was in line for a ride at Disney World with her family, which comprised of her, her rooster husband, and their seven chicks (big family, huh?). Her chicks wanted to ride Space Mountain, but our heroine chicken was worried that she might pop out an egg at the wrong moment during the ride and it could crack from the high velocities. Her youngest chick, Ralph, was not having it. Out of nowhere, Ralph bolted full speed away from his parents, toward Space Mountain. Momma chicken yelled, “Ralph!” and hurried across the road to catch up to Ralph.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? There are 9 letters in the word “woodchuck,” which is important because September is the 9th month and on 9/9/1776, Congress renamed the colonies the “United States.” “Woodchuck” is another name for groundhog, the animal celebrated on a holiday invented by the American government to distract us from the truth: that BiRdS aReN’t rEaL—they were replaced with robot replicas. Robins and chickadees, two types of “birds,” emit warning calls the woodchuck recognizes, prompting it to run for cover. Thus, the amount of wood a woodchuck could chuck depends on the current activity of the “bird” drones.
Name? Sam Bloch, also known as Samuel Edward Bloch, that kid who doesn’t stop smiling, and the human giraffe.
Grade? Senior
Chapter? Providence USY
Region? HaNer USY
Position you’re running for? Membership/Kadima Vice President
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? Yom Ze Mechubad or Erev Shel Shoshanim
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? The Benchwarmers
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) Because he’s trying to find his sheep! 🙂
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Enough to build a bridge to Ontario, CA so he didn’t have to pay for his flight.
Name? Jacob Kline
Grade? Senior in High School (Grade 12)
Chapter? Anshe Emet USY (SHMUSY)
Region? Chicago USY (CHUSY)
Position you’re running for? Membership/Kadima Vice President
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? My favorite Ruach song has got to be Ana B’koach because it’s one of the first ones that I learned, and the very first one that I stood up and led the convention in. In CHUSY, the tune we sing is one where a small group of people sings it, and then sit down and another group sings it, and then sits down and so on and so on. I really love it specifically because it’s a great one to get people who may not know any Ruach songs involved.
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? Oh boy. A movie for 2 days?!?! Well I would say that me and my close friend, Marc Luban, could watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for 2 days straight, but I don’t know what I want to choose that one because after 2 days I’m not sure I could look at a Harry Potter anything without crying :).
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) Because the FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20-meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. [beep] A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. [ding] Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Well now obviously a woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. Writing that sentence was a mental gymnastics routine and I’m embarrassed to say that my 3rd-grade spelling abilities were really challenged there…
Name? Avi Shapiro
Grade? I am a Senior
Chapter? I from SUSY (Sacramento USY) aka the best, the biggest, the baddest chapter in…
Region? New Frontier USY!!
Position you’re running for? I am running for International Communications Vice President.
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? Despite my time most recently being at Ramah in the Rockies and Ramah Galim, I grew up at Ramah Ojai, and learned my first Sloach song there. Beshem Hashem is and will always be my favorite song to sing with USY.
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? After some mental preparation, I have decided I would spend 48 hours watching Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray, because first, that movie is in incredible. But more importantly, the movie is 1.42 hours long, which means that in the 48 hours, I could watch it 27.4386 times. Within the movie, it is said that Phil relives Groundhog Day enough times to have lived for 12,395 days, or just under 34 years. With that math and the 48 hours I would have, I could watch Bill Murray live to be 338877.497 days or about 931 years old.
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) The chicken, having just got out of fifth period, heads to the gym locker for sixth period PE, its least favorite class. It is so confused why it, a chicken, has to participate in human physical education. It’s a chicken for goodness sakes!! Shaking its head, it changes into its PE clothes and heads outside to the closed road where the rest of the humans are gathering. The chicken can hear its PE teacher explaining the workout. Everyone gets into a line at one side of the road. Suddenly, it hears “The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage…”
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? According to a study in 2001 done by Australian researchers out of Sydney, a woodchuck would chuck wood only as far as its arms can chuck the wood. Therefore, as the study shows, the woodchucks who do more weights are able to throw the wood farther. However, the real outliers in the study, called “Woodchuckers: The New Shot-Put,” were the woodchucks that didn’t hibernate and instead spent their winters at the local gym doing bench presses to get ready for their annual Woodchuck Wood Chucking World Cup.
Name? Hey there! My name is Evan Siegel.
Grade? I am currently a senior at Staples High School.
Chapter? I belong to the best chapter in the nation… Westport USY. And yeah, you’re right, you have heard that name before–we won Chapter of the Year in 2018 at IC!
Region? Fun Fact, I actually serve on the first-ever board for HaNer USY. I am the Communications Vice President.
Position you’re running for? I am running for International Communications Vice President! I think it’s because I like to take pictures…
Favorite Ruach/Sloach song? My favorite song to sing is Nachamu. It will forever be my favorite and nothing will ever change that. When I sing that song it puts me in my feels!
What movie could you watch on repeat for 48 hours straight? If I had the time to do this, I would watch Harry Potter continuously. Every movie, only getting up for snacks and to use the bathroom. Gryffindor people where ya at?!
Why did the chicken cross the road? (wrong answers only please) Because 7, 8, 9 hahaha get it? Ya, neither do I. Yikes…
How much could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? “New York state wildlife expert Richard Thomas found that a woodchuck could (and does) chuck around 35 cubic feet of dirt in the course of digging a burrow. Thomas reasoned that if a woodchuck could chuck wood, he would chuck an amount equivalent to the weight of the dirt, or 700 pounds.” This is all a lie, the answer is 52, no more, no less. I don’t know why, but it just has to be.
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