Welcome to the February Seaboarder!
~ Can You Feel The Love Tonight ~
KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR...
  • Get To Know the Seaboard USY Staff
  • Half Way Check In with Sami and Judith
  • The Life of a Chapter President by Julia Eckard
Favorites:
  • Israel Updates by Ben Rosenthal
  • #ThrowbackThursday #TorahAura by Levi Price
  • Chapter Spotlight
  • Upcoming Events
Get To Know the Seaboard USY Staff
Kyra Schuster, Rabbi Josh Rabin and Averyl Edwards
Seaboard USY Staff
What was your USY Staff Moment?
Hard to pick just one over 24 years! My first big USY staff moment was at Spring Convention 1997 during my second year as staff. My weekend started at the bus stop with my chapter USYers & their parents surprising me with a birthday gift (best sleeping bag ever - still use it!). Then, throughout the weekend our tiny chapter of less than 10 members, won awards in just about every programming category. Our goal that year was to win Most Improved Chapter. So we were pretty psyched when we were recognized as a Chapter of Excellence. We didn't win Most Improved - instead we won Chapter of the Year! On top of all of that, Mike and I got engaged that weekend during Kabbalat Shabbat. The Regional Director made the announcement to everyone before Shabbat dinner started which led to an incredible spontaneous ruach session. I certainly came home from camp that year with a lot to celebrate! 
Nothing makes me happier than seeing someone who was my USYer in Seaboard become a staff member and become someone that current USYers love and respect.  It's interesting: I was regional president, and everyone assumed that I would become a staff member, which I did.  But there are so many amazing staff members in Seaboard USY who were not in the front of the room as USYers, but found their voice as staff members and help this community reach new heights.
At Encampment 2018, I really got the chance to connect with the bunk I was staffing, the Junior girls. Almost every night I found myself part of a late night conversation full of tea-spilling and soul-baring. I loved the fact that I was bonding with my USYers as friends, but at the back of my head, I worried that being friends with them would hurt them seeing me as an authority figure. Then one night, our bunk got "un-cleared" because Myles heard people talking through the open window, and my co-staff Sarah Dickstein and I had to be really firm about people being quiet and going to bed, and to my surprise everyone listened to us right away. When we checked in with people in the morning about it, someone said, "well we listened to you because we know you respect us so when you ask us to do something, we take it seriously." That's always been something that has guided me as a staff: it doesn't take a lot of skill to yell at people to be quiet, but it does take a lot to earn (and be worthy of) the respect that makes people actually listen to you when you ask.
What is one thing that USYers might not know about you?
My full time job can be very serious, so when it's not baseball season, I love to unwind and watch reality competition TV shows: Project Runway, Top Chef, RuPaul's Drag Race, Amazing Race, all the various international versions of Bake Off. My all time favorite though is Survivor. I've watched every season since it first debuted and even have an autographed Buff signed by Jeff Probst. I'm also obsessed with fonts. (But not Comic Sans. Never Comic Sans.)
I want to be the official Rabbi of Fantasy Football.  I literally wrote ESPN asking for this position, and my letter got read on the air.
I love archaeology! For the last three years I've participated in an excavation of a 5th century synagogue in the north of Israel called Huqoq. It's a lot of fun and I'm a total nerd about it :)
Since Valentines Day has just passed, what is your funniest date story?
It's actually a date that ended up not happening. A few months after we started dating, Mike and I were on our way out to dinner and were talking about USY stuff as we waited for the elevator. I knew he went on USY on Wheels the summer I had gone on Israel Pilgrimage/Poland Seminar, but I asked why he didn't go on Pilgrimage. He explained that he went to CESJDS and they went to Israel their senior year, and because of that, he returned the Israel Trivia contest scholarship he won at IC our senior year. I said "Wait - you won the trivia contest? That's in the Convention video!" He asked how I knew, and I explained that my youth director gave me his copy because my Pilgrimage friends and I are featured in the video. Instead of going out, we returned to my apartment, popped in the videotape and watched it with my cousin who was staying with me that summer who had also been active in USY. The three of us had a good time making fun of ourselves and our friends. It's on YouTube now, so once a year (usually around IC) Mike & I will watch parts of it to embarrass each other.
I met a girl on USY Pilgrimage that I really liked, and I think she liked me.  On the final night of Pilgrimage, I had to decide what kind of outfit I could wear to impress her. I decide to wear a pair of brass elephant overalls that I bought in the  shuk . She was not impressed, but it was totally worth it =).
When I was in 9th grade, I was getting ready to go on my very first date ever: dinner and a movie. I told my dad when and where to drop me off, and he asked me if it was going to be just me and my boyfriend. I replied that yes, Dad, that's what a date is, and he started freaking out that I was going to be alone with some strange boy and that he couldn't in good conscience let me go alone. So I started frantically texting my best friend (who was dating the best friend of my boyfriend lol) about going on a last-minute double date, but she was busy. After a tense negotiation on the way to the restaurant, a compromise was reluctantly reached: my dad would come along. And because he couldn't leave my younger brother home alone, he would come too. So they BOTH accompanied me on my date. Following 10 feet behind me the entire time. And sitting in the ROW BEHIND ME at the movie theater. I was so so so embarrassed, I don't remember a single thing from that movie!
Israel Updates!!
By: Ben Rosenthal
Class of 2021, CuBsEy Communications VP, IA Committee
Netanyahu attended a conference to further peace talks in the Middle East, and meanwhile, Hezbollah provokes the IDF to keep peace from happening. Read on for more in depth information.

On Tuesday evening Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled to Poland for a US-Polish conference in the Middle East focusing on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Press says Netanyahu will be hoping to network with other Arab leaders to further peace talks. According to Kan one of many public broadcasters, while attempts have been made, no meetings have been scheduled as of yet. The Arab countries sending officials at this time are Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Kuwait, and Morocco. Hopefully the meetings will be scheduled soon, as Israel and the rest of the Middle East will finally be able to achieve some peace.

On February 12th, there were sightings of signs put up along the Lebanese border by the terrorist group Hezbollah . The signs were meant to mock and provoke IDF troops. The signs were written in both Arabic and Hebrew making claims of preparation for war and criticism of IDF forces. Tensions along the border with Lebanon have increased in the past months. The IDF has made many efforts to keep the threat at bay. Only time will tell to see what efforts are done to keep peace.
Half Way Check In
By: Sami Weston and Judith Altneu
BSOUSY Communications VP, Photographer / BIUSY Mem/Kad VP
Seaboarder Editors
Hi friends! Sami here with a CrAzy eDiTOr uPDatE. As Hannah would say, this is an update on my ā€œjibā€/ job. No seriously, being an editor for the Seaboarder is SO much fun! Getting to know USYers is amazing. Becoming closer with Judith and Hannah is definitely a plus, but my favorite part by far is seeing it all put together on our send out dates. Seeing the notification that the Seaboarder came out, being able to share others stories gives a certain rush of adrenaline. Donā€™t forget to stay updated! - Sami Weston
Hi everyone! I hope that everyone is really enjoying reading the Seaboarder! I know Iā€™m really enjoying planning the outline and reading your articles! One of my favorite parts of being an editor is my monthly Google Hangout calls with Sami and Hannah! The calls are really fun because we jokingly make fun of our mistakes and get to catch up with each other! I really feel like I have become better friends with Hannah and Sami over the course of the year! I also love brainstorming ideas for themes, articles and writers! - Judith Altneu
#ThrowbackThursday #TorahAura
By: Levi Price
Class of 2020,
Bā€™shallah starts out with Moses and the Israelites being chased by Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh wanted to round up the Jews, to bring them back into servitude. Moses and the Jews reached a dead end, which was in fact the red sea. This dead end wasnā€™t exactly dead, as Moses shouts how if the Jews believe in God, the sea would part. The sea parts and the Jews go through the passage Then the waters crash down on the Egyptians as soon as the Israelites pass through. The Jews rejoice. The Jews wander around in the desert, starving, thirsty and complaining. God provides, as manna falls from the sky. The Jews are instructed to gather single portions on Sunday through Thursday, and a double portion on Friday, as they would not get food on Saturday. Moses also hits a rock, so the Jews can drink water too.

Over the past few weeks, certain unreal events have happened across the midwest. As some people got to experience the thrill of hot water freezing in front of their eyes while others feared for their lives as the local temperatures in Milwaukee were below the current temperature in Antarctica. Although experiencing these events are fun, these events could have real side effects. I cannot help see similarities between the winter storm and when the waters closed in over the Egyptians. Although we may celebrate these events of nature we accidentally leave out the ones who are suffering.

My request to you, the reader, is think about someone who may not fully go along with the USY programming the way you do. Think about the person who might not be having as much fun as you. Include them, and maybe they will be kind to you in return.
Chapter Spotlight
Agudas Achim
It's finally time to decide the most important question of the ages - which Oreo flavor is the best? We'll be tasting and voting tournament bracket style to determine the winner of Agudas Achim USY's 2019 Munch Madness! Will it be Double Stuff? Classic? Golden? Red Velvet? Peanut Butter? Mint? Cinnamon? Birthday Cake? Or some other random flavor yet to be discovered? We'll provide the Oreos, you provide the votes.
Join us at Agudas on Saturday, March 2nd, from 7:30p-9pm to find out.
RSVP to Kyra at:
Any questions, just let me know!
Want your chapter's events to highlighted in the Seaboarder? We want to highlight it! Contact our Seaboarder editors for more information on how your chapter's events can get shout outs here!
The Life of a Chapter President
By: Julia Eckard
Class of 2020, BIOM Chapter President
Hey Seaboard! As most know, Iā€™m the Chapter President of the amazing Beth Israel Owings Mills (BIOM). Something I LOVE about being chapter president is the whole planning process, and when it comes time to see the end result of an event.The experience of getting to work with many different people and collaborate on ideas is so fun. I basically knew all of the responsibilities of President because I had been on board the previous year and my sister was chapter president for 2 years. Being chapter president is honestly an amazing opportunity and great time if you are willing to put in all the time and effort into something you love and are passionate about, which for me is USY. I love talking to everyone about the amazing family I have found and how I think they should join USY, and I think sharing my presidency can do that!
Make your summer #myUSYSummer!
For more than 55 years USY Summer Experience has provided life-changing summer travel opportunities...

Our trip destinations include North America, Israel, Europe, and beyond, opening participants eyes to new places, experiences, and different cultures all over the globe.

Now it's your turn, see where it takes you!
Upcoming Events
  • Grades 6-12
  • Sundays in January - March 2018
  • Frost Middle School, Rockville, MD
  • Check out the schedule HERE!
Purim Ball
  • 9th-12th
  • Saturday, March 16th, from 8:30 to 11:00 pm at Congregation Olam Tikvah
  • Registration open now at regpacks.com/Seaboard1819!