Graphic by Ariella Mayer ('23)

The second of our double פרשיות this week is פרשת קדושים, a פרשה replete with מצוות. These commandments run the gamut from not gossiping and not bearing a grudge to מצוות regarding leaving parts of the harvest for the poor and not wearing wool and linen together. In fact, פרשת קדושים boasts a total of 51 מצוות.

Of all 51 מצוות in this פרשה, there are two which seem difficult, perhaps even impossible to achieve. The תורה commands us״וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י ה׳״ ׃ -- Love your neighbor as yourself:I am the LORD (Vayikra 19:18) and כְּאֶזְרָ֣ח מִכֶּם֩ יִהְיֶ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם״ ״הַגֵּ֣ר הַגָּ֣ר אִתְּכֶ֗ם וְאָהַבְתָּ֥ לוֹ֙ כָּמ֔וֹךָ -- The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself (Vayikra 19:34). How can there be מצוות which dictate our emotions? While we may not understand the rationale behind the prohibition of wearing wool and linen together, we can still fairly easily fulfill this commandment. But how can we obey a commandment which requires us to feel love towards our fellow man and love towards the convert? How can we be commanded to feel a certain way?

Perhaps we can answer this question by an explanation offered by the Sefer Hachinuch. One of the laws regarding the Korban Pesach is that it’s bones may not be broken, ״וְעֶ֖צֶם לֹ֥א תִשְׁבְּרוּ־בֽוֹ״ (Shemot 12:46). The Sefer Hachinuch suggests that the reason one may not break the bones of the Korban Pesach is because אדם נפל כפי פעולותיו -- man follows his actions. If someone breaks the bones of the sacrifice, he will be a man of callus character, and this mitzvah requires one to act in a royal fashion. Simply put, our actions shape and define our character. Perhaps the מצוות beseeching us to love our neighbors and to love the converts who live amongst us is a call for us to act as if we love these individuals. To be kind to them, to treat them as we wish to be treated. Perhaps then we will actually come to feel a love for them. 

May we all merit to act with love towards our fellow man and come to ultimately feel it. 

Good Shabbos,
Mrs. Goldenberg
When You Give KYHS
a Cookie...

COLOR WAR BREAKS OUT!!!
Graphic by Abby Rosenthal ('23)
Highlites Color War Edition
Color War Extravaganza
Graphics by Olivia Kahane ('23), Aaron Newman ('24), Elie Loberfeld ('22), Mikalia Shandler ('22), Rebecca Aler ('23), Orly Dimont ('23),
Rivka Reich ('24), Chantal Newman ('22), and Naomi Reichenberg ('22)



Color War broke out last Thursday on Yom Haatzmaut. With Israel as its theme, this years’ Color War was definitely one for the books! Even in this Covid-dominated world, we were still able to safely enjoy tons of exciting competitions, including volleyball, soccer, and rock-paper-scissors, a favorite among students, by separating each activity by grade. Additionally, each grade was tasked with performing either the team song, slam poetry, stomp, or dvar Torah. Gavi Melnitsky (‘23), a member of the blue team, remarked that, “Color War was actually very normal and enjoyable, and we were lucky to have some sense of normalcy.” 

Though some students worried that they would miss the unity and ruach from having all the grades together, our teachers and administration worked very hard to rectify that. The team captains also put in a lot of effort to increase their teams’ school spirit.

Hila Blanca (‘23), a captain of the blue team, commented that, “many teachers were focused on making sure that the activities ran smoothly, so it was really up to us captains to invoke that sense of ruach.”

Aliza Billet (‘21), a member of the orange team, added that she is “super grateful to the administration, especially Mrs. Hochner and Rabbi Wolk, who helped organize and run Color War. I think they did an outstanding job given the circumstances.”

Jonah Schenker (‘23), a captain of the blue team, agrees and noted that “[Color War] was amazing for a Covid year. Teachers did a great job making the best out of a bad situation and we are incredibly appreciative that they were able to get this done.” 

The student body as a whole is very grateful to the teachers and administration for making the best of this pandemic and providing an amazing Color War experience. The orange team ultimately emerged victorious, but fun memories were made all around. 

Article by Hannah Shapiro ('23)
Highlites Staff