Graphic by Aaron Newman ('24)

This week’s parsha opens up with: “וַיִּהְיוּ֙ חַיֵּ֣י שָׂרָ֔ה מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְשֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים שְׁנֵ֖י חַיֵּ֥י שָׂרָֽה”. The pasuk tells us that Sarah lived for “one hundred and twenty and seven” years. There are a few anomalies with the way the pasuk is written– most notably that the years are divided into groups: 100, 20, and 7 as opposed to simply saying 127. Another peculiarity with the verbiage of the pasuk is that it says “מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה” and “עֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה” but “שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים.” The Kli Yakar explains that this teaches us that the last seven years of Sarah’s life were full, that each and every moment was optimized. Most people, when they reach the end of their life, stop trying to learn and grow, but the pasuk indicates that Sarah did the opposite. She continued growing until the very end. 

The midrash says that one day Rabbi Akiva was teaching his students and noticed them dozing off, so he shook up his lesson a bit and instead taught “what was it that Queen Esther saw that made her choose to rule over 127 provinces?” It was that Esther was a spiritual heir of Sarah, who lived for 127 years. There are many commentaries that try to explain the midrash, but the sefer M’baer Haparsha that I learn with Mrs. Stein explains that each year that Sarah lived corresponded to one province that Esther ruled over, each month corresponds to a county, each week to a city, and each moment to a road, etc. Sarah didn't just spend every year of her life making good choices and growing; every single moment was spent in growth mode. The importance of always striving to do one’s best and be one’s best is what Esther learned from, and gave her zechut. 

This is such an important lesson, particularly in today's world where we waste so much precious time on nonsense. If we only understood the value of a moment, and what we could achieve in each moment we would be much more reluctant to squander it. May we learn from Sarah just as Queen Esther did, and spend our time to its fullest, always growing to be the best version of ourselves.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs. Zisquit

Kristallnacht

85 Years Later and the Glass is Still Broken

Graphic by Esti Distenfeld ('26)

In commemoration of Kristallnacht, the seniors had the amazing opportunity to hear from a KYHS student’s uncle, Mr. Neuman. Mr. Neuman brought a new perspective about "The Night of Broken Glass” that many people do not know about.

In commemoration of Kristallnacht, the seniors had the amazing opportunity to hear from Ezra Dimont's ('25) uncle, Mr. Neuman. Mr. Neuman brought a new perspective about "The Night of Broken Glass” that many people do not know about.

Usually people view Kristallnacht as a spontaneous riot, but Mr. Neuman explained how, really, it was secretly planned by Nazi Chief Propagandist, Joseph Goebbels. Although he never gave explicit orders to destroy jewish property, he would hint it with messages like, “The Führer has decided that … demonstrations should not be prepared or organized by the Party, but insofar as they erupt spontaneously, they are not to be hampered.” 

The seniors were also shown a recently discovered film roll that showed SS officers actively participating in Kristallnacht. For example, there was a clip of an officer and fireman setting fire to a shul after stealing its rimonim. The pictures and documents the seniors were shown proved how Kristallnacht really was planned by the Reich, and undoubtedly deliberate. 

The program was a meaningful way to memorialize Kristallnacht. The Holocaust is an important event in Jewish history, and Kristallnacht was one of the first major political mobilizations of violence and destruction intended for hurting Jews, which made it apparent to the whole country what the Jewish status was. Knowing that changes how most people view Kristallnacht. It was not just relevant for one night, but set the tone for the whole war. It is essential that history is remembered accurately, which is why our senior class was so privileged to hear a reliable retelling of the atrocities committed on November 9th, 1938, 85 years later.

Article by Anna Rudensky ('24)

30 Days Later, We Continue to Mourn

Davening That Everyone Comes Home Safely

Graphic by Joshua Reich ('25)

Just over a month ago, Hamas ruthlessly invaded Israel, slaughtering over one thousand Israelis in the largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. In the days that followed, many students were shocked as well as heartbroken by the news. This past Monday, KYHS commemorated the tragedy with a short program at the beginning of the school-day.

The day started off with all students entering the Beit Midrash to pray together in the merit of those killed on October 7. After the beautiful davening, the school heard inspiring words from Rabbi Nachbar, who informed the students about the 30 days after a death which is a period of time called shloshim, the second stage of Jewish mourning. He explained how this day marked the fulfillment of shloshim, albeit an extremely unique one, and that students should hopefully begin a period of rebounding from such a loss. To further emphasize the melancholic tone of the day, Shimmie Kaminetsky read one of the traditional tefillot for a time of mourning, Kel Malei Rachamim. After the ceremony, students had the opportunity to light a candle in honor of a citizen killed in the October 7 attacks.

Like other tragedies and losses, this pain that many students feel may never go away; but, as the school has shown this past Monday, we must remove ourselves from this period of shloshim and direct it towards something positive. Already, many KYHS students and alumni have, for the past 30 days, jumped at the opportunity to organize rallies, donate supplies for soldiers, speak out against rising anti-semitism, and help their brothers and sisters in Israel in countless other ways. The program this past Monday served as a way to honor those lost in the attacks while also bringing students into a new, brighter period of recovery and positivity. 

Article by Samuel Jacobs ('25)

KYHS Open House

Opening the Door to Another Generation

Graphic by Technical Staff

The Open House for incoming students was held this past Sunday morning at school. Upon entering the building, the students and their parents were welcomed with warm smiles, hype music, and easygoing laughter from the members of student council and other student ambassadors. The programming started off with a presentation by members of the administration and a speech from Student Council President, Aaron Newman (‘24). After that, the group was split into classrooms for model lessons, which allowed the students and their parents to see an example of the incredible teachers and classes at KYHS. Following the model lessons, the incoming students had the chance to view the gym, STEM room, and science lab along with the rest of our beautiful building to see what they can participate in outside of the classroom. 

The curious young students were then encouraged by the student ambassadors to join extracurricular activities and also had a Q & A panel with the members of the KYHS Student Council. There they were able to ask questions and vocalize any concerns they had about entering into the new and scary era of high school. The student leaders reassured the mostly eighth graders that they should have no fears and that this will be the beginning of the best four years ever at KYHS. 

The last part of the program was a promotional video that highlighted all the amazing things that our school has to offer, with emphasis from seniors on the highlights of their time in high school. The Open House was a huge success in presenting our amazing school with its inspiring teachers, diverse student body, and all-in-all an extraordinary environment. 

Click Here for the Open House Video

Article by Miriam Wolk ('26)

It's Not Soccer, It's Not Golf, It's FootGolf

The Senior Class Spends Their Grade Night Playing FootGolf

Graphic by Danielle Zaretsky ('24)

Last Monday night, the seniors enjoyed a grade night out which was hosted in Hollywood! The outing began with delicious pizza and french fries. Following this, seniors had an amazing time playing foot golf. Foot golf is very similar to soccer, but it includes some rules from golf. Essentially, you kick the soccer ball from the tee and down the fairway to get it into the golf hole at the end. This was right before daylight savings time, so the weather was picture perfect and the timing was great. The seniors were able to enjoy the breeze and the scenery as the sun was setting. They had the opportunity to soak in the sun and have a good time outside together. Hannah Markovitch (‘24) remarked, “It was such a special opportunity to be with our grade and teachers in a non-school setting and to do a fun activity where we can really bond during our last year at KYHS.”

This was an amazing opportunity for the seniors to spend time together. Next year they are all going their own way, so they are cherishing these final moments as a class. This was a fun and unifying experience, and the seniors look forward to more activities where they can make new friendships and solidify old ones. The seniors are so grateful to the student council for planning this incredibly fun grade night! 

Article by Miriam Marcus ('25)

Bella’s Un-Bella-Ievable News

Searching for a Smile

Graphic by Technical Staff



During this incredibly painful time, it is important that we all open our hearts a little wider to let in some happiness. Everyone needs a bit more faith in humanity now, and I hope to provide some. Therefore, I went on a scavenger hunt for all the good things surrounding me.

I asked a few students about a time this week that they felt genuinely happy, and here were their responses:

• “When my SAT was over, I felt so relieved and accomplished that I had to smile.”
• “I blew up air mattresses with my friends in the rotunda during the free period and I took the best nap in my life.”
• “It really raised my spirits when the school showed us videos of the Israeli soldiers dancing—it gave me hope and it made me feel connected to other Jews.”
• “When I asked Rabbi Wolk if I could have a lollipop and he said yes.”
• “I was feeling really down at the beginning of the week, but my friend gave me some of her chocolate and that simple action literally turned my whole week around.”
• “I don't know why, but I got so excited when Emily Wilson came out with a new translation for The Iliad.”



We need to remember that there are still positive things in the world—that we can still smile. As much as we need to stay aware of what is happening in Israel, help in the ways we can, and empathize with our strong soldiers, we also need to stay happy for them. They thrive off our ability to remain b'simcha.

Article by Bella Srugo ('24)

Scrambling Up Some Torah

Group of Students Celebrate Second Siyum

Graphic by Josh Haik ('24)

On October 23rd the KYHS siyum program commenced with encouragement to learn during these difficult times from Rabbi Horowitz. The siyum included everyone in the KYHS family having the possibility to learn because of a spectacular website called sefaria. There was no reason a student or even a teacher could say no to this particular learning because of this incredible source. One of the positives of technology is that it allows torah learning, or in this case the Mishnah, to be more accessible. 

It was very inspiring to see the student body unite and all coming together as one because of Torah. Josh Haik ('24) was the voice behind this initiative and took it upon himself to coordinate this siyum. He was there for everyone who had questions or needed help with a particular Daf. Josh explained that he “wanted to spread Torah learning in our school and help expose people who haven’t made a siyum before, or even have the opportunity to. [He] figured the best way would be to show how simple and easy it is to learn the Mishnayot and make a siyum!” Josh continues that “Hashem wants us to learn his Torah and spread it.” The learning started on October 23rd and the siyum took place on November 8th, this means that the students only had three weeks to achieve their goal! Their accomplishment was rewarded by the extraordinary feeling of connecting to Hashem and a delectable lunch. 

Our part in fighting this war is learning Torah and growing closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu; therefore, the learning will be B’Zechut the Hatzlacha and Refuah of a different Chayal every day. Right now, in Chutz Laaretz, we are in a dark hole. It feels as though we are stuck sitting in America and awaiting news about our brothers and sisters in Israel. We can walk through the darkness and into the light and warmth by learning Torah, having good middos, and doing chesed. This remarkable opportunity of studying our holy Mishnah brought the students back into the light. 

Article by Gabriella Asher ('25)