December 30, 2015

27 Tevet 5776
 



  

 
     Parshat Shemot
Candle Lighting at 5:22 PM
 
Truth and Experience
 
When called upon by God to lead the Jews out of Egypt, Moshe demurs and claims that he is not the right man for the job because he is not a man of words as he is כבד פה וכבד לשון. Most commentaries understand this to mean that Moshe has some sort of speech impediment. What is the significance of this speech impediment?The Derashot HaRan explains that Moshe was not chosen by God despite his speech impediment, but precisely because of it. Moshe was not silver tongued. He was not a smooth talker. This weakness though is actually a strength.  When the Jewish people accept the Torah, no one will be able to claim that they were duped by a smooth-talking snake oil salesman. The Jews' acceptance of the Torah is clearly based on the truth of the Torah and the powerful experience of God's revelation at Sinai. The medium is not the message; the message is the message.
The most powerful educational message that our students experience is through the truth of the Torah itself and a richly authentic Jewish experience. The role of the teacher is merely to deliver that message to our students and expose them to the beauty of the Torah. Our shabbaton this past weekend in Tampa was a powerful application of this experience. Singing together, davening together, dancing together, learning together, talking together and enjoying each other's company while experiencing Shabbat together was a thrilling religious experience. I want to thank the entire student body and our staff for contributing to the success of the magnificent shabbaton. I especially want to thank our Student Activities team, headed by Shira Englander and Rabbi Danny Kroll, for their strong and understated leadership which delivered the powerful message that the beauty and truth of the Torah is best understood through the experience of the Torah itself.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Jonathan Kroll
Head of School
Upcoming Events
Dec. 31- Jan. 3
New Years Break 
No Classes

Jan. 4
Varsity Basketball Teams Games at American Airlines Arena

Wed. Jan. 6

Girls Musical
Good and Welfare
Marriages
Gaby Markovitch ('09) to Elie Gabay

Talia Len ('12) to Yaniv Frenkiel

Samara Dennis ('11) to David Goldrich

Faculty Mazel Tovs
Rabbi Avi and Rebecca Hochman on the birth of their son

Condolences
Bonnie Betesh on the loss of her father, Abe Saada, z"l.

Rafe Gross on the loss of his mother, Donna Gross, z"l.

Thank yous
Larry and the staff at Asia for generously donating the refreshments for the Freshmen Parent Melave Malka
 
Two
Remembering Ezra Schwartz

Graphic by Shara Saketkhou ('16), Efraim Shachter ('16), and Noa Markovitz ('19)
Article by Highlites Staff

  On Monday, December 21, YHS students, along with students from over 40 Orthodox high schools throughout North America, participated in a shloshim memorial service for Ezra Schwartz, z"l, which was simulcast in all of the participating schools.  YHS students gathered in the main sanctuary of Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS), where we heard inspirational speeches from Rabbi Gotch Yudin, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ashreinu and Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of BRS.  The schools joined together to make a siyum on Shas Mishnayot, which they had collectively learned in the month following Ezra's murder in a terrorist attack in Gush Etzion.  Students from the various schools were led in song by renowned musician Eitan Katz and the morning was capped off by the emotional words of Ezra's mother, Mrs. Ruth Schwartz.
 
Graphic by Gabi Frohlich ('17)
Article by Highlites Staff
    This past Friday, YHS students boarded buses headed for Tampa for iOS3, the all school Shabbaton at the Marriott Tampa Airport.  The theme of this year's Shabbaton was, "Technology, Social Media and You as a Jew."  After a Friday night meal filled with zemirot and ruach, students and teachers explored the impact of technology and social media on relationships and identity, along with the impact of the information age on our lives. Friday night was capped off by a tisch and an opportunity for students to hang out and bond in the comforts of the hotel.
    After kiddush on Shabbat morning students attended one of fifteen sessions offered by teachers (see below for a full list of the shiurim) ranging from Rabbi Sugerman and Rabbi Lanner's shiurim on the halachot of online gambling to Mrs. Hochner and Mrs. Horowitz's discussion on Fertility Treatments and Technology.  Hilarity ensued during lunch when seniors Adina Allswang and Yael Frank ran a game that had the entire room falling out of their seats in laughter.  Late in the afternoon students bonded during activities by grade and Shabbat came to an end with Seudah Shlishit followed by an unforgettable havdallah led by Efraim Shachter ('16) and Shimmie Kaminetsky along with Jacob Katz ('16) on guitar.
   
Saturday night students gathered in teams to play a rip roaring version of Panoply, an intense, interactive trivia game.  On Sunday morning students headed for a day of fun at Busch Gardens and finally headed back south for home, late Sunday night.  Perhaps the experience of the weekend was best summed up by Ethan Lasko ('17) who said, "I had the time of my life!  This was by far the best Shabbaton I've ever been on." 

Two
Tech and Torah
Sessions Explore the Impact of
Technology and Social Media 
Graphic by Ariel Schneider ('17) and Bailey Frohlich ('16)  

Playing Panoply
Interactive Trivia Game Highlights Saturday Night
Graphic by Tamar Ciment ('16)
Two
Bonding at Busch Gardens
Trip to Amusement Park Caps Off Shabbaton
Graphic by Alec Gelman ('17)

Shabbaton Recap 
Please Click on the Images Below to View the Shabbaton Slideshow and Video, Respectively

This Week in Pictures

The Yeshiva Highlites Staff