|
November 2, 2018
24th of Cheshvan, 5779
|
|
Candle Lighting at 6:20 PM
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Who Are We Really?
Avraham's servant creates a
middot
test to determine who is the right bride for Yitzchak. If he asks a girl for water and she generously offers water to him and his camels, then he'll know that she is the one for Yitzchak. The Torah tells us that when Avraham's servant sees Rivkah approach the well, he runs toward her. Why does he run? Rashi cites a midrash that says that
when Rivkah approached the well, the water miraculously rose toward her. Upon seeing this, Avraham's servant ran toward her.
The Modzhitzer Rebbe asks a sharp question: Once Avraham's servant saw the miracle that God performed for Rivkah, why did he need to go through with the
middot
test he had planned? Isn't the fact that God performs miracles for Rivkah enough to prove that she's "the one"? The Modzhitzer Rebbe delivers an even sharper answer: Miracles show us the greatness of Hashem.
Middot
show us the greatness of a person. Miracles are great but
middot
are better.
This has been a really hard week in the life of our school. With the horrific massacre of eleven holy Jews in Pittsburgh and the tragic death of Mrs. Dannie Grajower, our student body has cried together and supported each other. The outpouring of support and love that our students have demonstrated in these challenging times gives me confidence that they, too, would pass the
middot
test.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Jonathan Kroll
Head of School
|
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events
|
Freshman parent Melava Malka
Collage Financial Aid Workshop
Election Day -No Classes
Staff Professional Development
|
|
Good and Welfare
|
Births
Josh ('04) and Tali Levy on the birth of their son, Henry Samson
Marriages
Naftali Simon ('09) to
Nechama Beitler
Faculty Mazel Tovs
KYHS Principal Mrs. Ora Lee Kanner and Dr. Michael Kanner on the bar mitzvah of their grandson, Yoni Oppenheimer
Condolences
Leah Mahn on the passing of her beloved father, Shlomo Kolt.
Shari Hirth on the passing of her beloved mother, Helen Samowitz.
Rabbi Josh Grajower, KYHS faculty member, on the passing of his beloved wife, Dannie Grajower.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A Tough Week
KYHS Community And The Jewish People At Large Come Together to Deal With Tragedy
Graphic by Akiva Stadlan ('22)
Article by Aleksandra Shapiro ('21)
This past weekend, our family of Jewish people and our local community endured two heart-wrenching occurrences: the shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the passing of the beloved Mrs. Dannie Grajower z"l. On Monday morning, we all davened in a unified minyan so that we would not be alone with our grief. At the end of davening, Rabbi Kroll delivered a speech about how important Jewish unity is. Rabbi Wolk highlighted the middot of Mrs. Grajower through a meaningful personal story. Chani Kaminetsky then described the impact of Mrs. Dannie Grajower's lasting impact on her students and the mark she left on the world. Mrs. Grajower's smile and sense of sarcasm will forever be remembered. May we all lean on each other in this hard time.
|
Students And Rav Kimche Head To AIPAC Summit
Graphic by Benny Keehn ('22) and Akiva Groman ('19)
Article by Jacqueline Zimmerman ('19)
As a Zionist school, one of the most crucial elements of our school culture is the students' love of Israel. This past week, students from all over the nation joined together in Washington D.C. for the annual Schusterman AIPAC High School Summit, and a group of our very own students, led by Rabbi Dovid Kimche, was privileged to attend. Students enhanced their knowledge of the US-Israel relationship and learned how to effectively lobby members of Congress for Israel support through hands on experience. Yakirah Rosen ('19) describes her experience by saying, "I learned about the issues pertaining to the Middle East and gained new skills for lobbying." As always, the few days at AIPAC High School Summit successfully educated students from all over the nation.
|
Breaking The Digital Ceiling
Girls Who Code Club Attends Unbound Miami Tech Conference
Graphic by Justin Isaacs ('19)
Article by Adina Hirsch ('19)
With today's women only owning 5 percent of startups, the
Girls Who Code
club is determined to change these horrifying statistics. This past Wednesday, 10 KYHS girls attended the
Unbound Miami tech conference
lead by Batsheva Shekhter. Unbound conferences are intended to connect corporations with start-ups and the cutting edge technology that they offer. The conference contained 5,000 innovators and innovation seekers, over 200 emerging technologies, more than 100 speakers, and networks with more than 500 brands from across the Americas this October.
At the conference, the girls had the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs from startups in South Florida and South America and hear about the changing effects of technology in the workplace. The girls were privileged to learn about new strategies large companies, such as Uber, are implementing to help more people. "It was really interesting to see different companies who were impacted by new technology. Even if you don't think you want to pursue a career in technology, every industry will be based off of technology in the future," commented Girls who Code member Yaffa Shekhter. Proud of these girls for pursuing further tech knowledge, KYHS looks forward to watching all their future endeavors!
|
Delicious Ice Cream Arrives, Bringing Treats Galore
G
raphic by Naomi Reichenberg ('22) and Chana Schandelson ('22)
|
Sara's Scoop: Are You A Team Player?
Graphic by Josh Bernten ('20)
Article by Sara Deichman ('19)
As my days as a student athlete are coming to a close in conjunction with the Cross Country season, I am caused to evaluate if being on a sports team really did elevate my KYHS experience. Many students will tell you that being on a sports team is their favorite part of school, but this leaves me begging the question: are sports really that paramount? What about the drama kids, and the residents of the MakerSpace? I spent this week pondering and investigating the true value of being a KYHS athlete.
To begin, I sat down with goalie and Storm-Spirit club founder Kayla Bensmihen ('19), who gave me an interesting outlook on extracurriculars. She recalled, "Being on the KYHS soccer team and seeing all the fans has helped me realize the importance of all spectators and how they also contribute to the game." Kayla's love of soccer caused her to create a club aimed at making the sport-spectator environment fun and involving. Club projects include poster-making and dress-up days, all aimed at supporting players. This take elucidates the connection between many athletes and extracurriculars. Whether Kayla is playing or not,
Storm Spirit
ensures that someone is always there to pump up the crowd and make watching (almost) as fun as playing. Kayla's willingness to involve all students regardless of athletic background certainly proves her outlook on sports as supreme in school culture.
School President Dovid Zak voiced his opinion on extracurriculars as well. Though Dovid spends a lot of time planning events with the rest of the student council, he explained that sports can cause amalgamation like nothing else. He noted, "Although many of the extracurriculars in school are important, sports are definitely the most important. No other extracurricular unites the school in the way sports do...a sense of family is obtained that no other extracurricular can parallel."
I continued to converse with students and was capable of concluding that even spectators value the environment sports brings out in school. Of course, other extracurriculars surely provide students with skills that may not be gained in a tennis match. It proves true that there will always be shining stars in our school plays to steal the show and captains of Model UN team to deliver a killer position paper. But everyone can find their place in athletics, perhaps as an athlete. Perhaps you're an artistic student waiting all afternoon to hold up your sign at the big game, or you're showing off your BBQ skills at the grill during the tailgate. Though every extracurricular inherently adds value, I'd like to propose that athletics not only make athletes into a team, but combine the whole school into one massive team.
But as this is an opinion piece, I must say, "to each his own," and offer the King of Highlites's contribution that, "Sports is just a bunch of cavemen attacking each other. Come join Highlites." Thanks Akiva.
|
Rabbi Uri Pilichowski Regales The Wonders Of Aliyah In A Non-Aliyah Aliyah Speech
Graphic by Justin Isaacs ('19)
Article by Elana Silkin ('19)
As Rabbi Pilichowski travelled through the state, the seniors were lucky enough to warrant a stop from the amazing Israel advocate. In his JED talk, Rabbi Pilichowski explained his journey from Boca Raton to making Aliyah. He spoke about how he once visited a warehouse of lost luggage in Alabama and ended up saving seven pairs of lost tefillin! With the use of social media, Rabbi Pilichowski and his family were able to return them to their owners. This story strengthened Rabbi Pilichowski's point about the power of the Jewish people. Rabbi Pilichowski received many phone calls and interview requests, and everyone asked, "Why are you going to move to Israel in the middle of the war?" He responded, with the words of his wife, "I am going home." Rabbi Pilichowski conveyed that Israel is our true home and we should never be afraid of living in the very place where
Tanach
took place and miracles continue to occur. Every senior was filled with a sense of longing for the land of Israel and it was truly an honor to hear from Rabbi Uri Pilichowski.
|
Political Pro Visits KYHS
Dr. David Luchins, Prominent Political Activist, Speaks To Students About Trump, America, And Israel
Graphic by Benny Keehn ('22)
Article by Al Dimont ('20)
It is an annual honor for students of KYHS to hear from Dr. David Luchins. This past Tuesday, Dr. David Luchins came in with a powerful message to tell the eleventh and twelfth grade. He spoke about unity and combating hate in the wake of the Pittsburgh Massacre. Thousands of people who don't know anything about Jews mourned the loss of life at the Tree of Life Synagogue. For example, The First Baptist Church of Jeffersontown, a predominately African American church, mourned with our Jewish community and said, "When one feels pain, we all feel pain." Luchins went on to explain how to dispute this hate through our own kindness and tolerance. We should always give everyone else the benefit of the doubt and use empathy to see others' plights. After speaking about the terrible massacre, Luchins spoke about the moving of the Israeli Embassy. He praised Trump for his move of the embassy to Jerusalem, and noted that while other presidents had claimed that they were going to do it, they never did. "Regardless of if I agree with all of his policies," said Luchins, "I appreciate his fulfillment of the promise made to us decades ago." Luchins went on to speak about his life and his own career immersed in politics. He helped other senators and representatives and was in the very room when certain bills were made laws. He recalled knowing minority leader, Nancy Pelosi and told a story of how her father had helped Jews back in the 40s. Nancy Pelosi, he said, was one to fight for Jewish freedoms. In the end, his bipartisan speech struck many as both inspiring and informative.
|
 |
 |
This Week in Pictures
|
The Yeshiva Highlites Staff
|
|
|
