This semester, Scheck Hillel Community School features the writing of 2013-2014 Jaime and Raquel Gilinski
Hillel Ambassadors through Erev Shabbat reflections about school: where global citizenship and Jewish identity and values come together. Gilinski Hillel Ambassadors serve as school ambassadors to the extended community, bringing
to life the Scheck Hillel mission through accomplishment and talent, whether in the classroom, on the field, on stage, or in the community. For more information, please visit eHillel.org/Gilinski.
Would You Be an Up-Stander?
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Lior Barhai wrote the following essay as a description of the video he directed and edited for the 2014 NCSY JUMP Conference, which required participants to lead four activities surrounding messages about Israel, Holocaust, chessed and anti-bullying. This piece was submitted as Scheck Hillel’s anti-bullying program. The actors are fellow Gilinski Hillel Ambassadors.
With our lenses up and ready, and our plan written in stone, we set out on a mission to unmask society’s heroes. While heroes hate the thought of being unmasked, these heroes are unlike regular spotlight-shining saviors. These are up-standers. Up-standers who stand up for what's right. Who unwillingly become the change in our community.
The great Gandhi once said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Up-standers are the backbone to Gandhi’s wise words. So in our experiment, we decided to show the world what a true hero looks like. To secretly shine the spotlight of good on the deserving people who don't need to shine to perform great acts ofkindness.
The idea of unveiling these heroes derived from the renowned TV show “What Would You Do?” The experiment began by setting up the camera far enough so that it wouldn't be detected, but close enough to achieve a good quality video. The two actors went in, one as an innocent teenager and another as the bully, andthey began to act out a scene of a helpless kid being harassed by a relentless bully. Many people realized what was going on around them but decided to turn a blind eye, but we were persistent and continued filming. Once someone stepped in to control the situation, we decided to move to a different area in order to give other people the opportunity to be up-standers. Although there were many bystanders, we were still able to find the true heroes, up-standers, in our community and thus “Would You Be an Up-stander?” was born.
Lior Barhai has been playing football his whole life. Ever since he was first introduced to the sport in first grade, he has always loved it. Lior’s leadership and sportsmanship are displayed as co-captain of Scheck Hillel Community School’s varsity football team. Though he is passionate and dedicated when it comes to sports, he appreciates balance, ever-committed to excelling in academics, a requirement and core value of the school’s athletics department. Lior, Grade 11, has attended Scheck Hillel since he was two years old and plans to graduate in 2015 with honor. He is proud and thankful to serve as a Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Hillel Ambassador.