September 16, 2016
13 Elul 5776

Parshat Ki Teitzei

Candle Lighting at 7:05 PM

Restoring Jewish Knowledge, Gaining Ownership of Torah

The Torah, in this week's parsha, instructs us to perform the mitzvah of hashavat aveida, to return lost objects to their rightful owners. The Rambam explains that the obligation of a doctor to heal the sick is part of this mitzvah. Doctors are obligated to "return" one's good health to him. The Chafetz Chaim in his commentary on Sefer Shemot expands the mitzvah even further; not only are we obligated to return lost objects, and health, to their rightful owners, we are also obligated to return one's spiritual heritage to him. The mitzvah of hashavat aveida demands of us to restore Jewish knowledge to those who do not have it. In this remarkable comment, the Chafetz Chaim teaches a critical lesson about education. When we teach children Torah, we should see ourselves not as trying to change our students, but as returning to them what is rightfully theirs. Our students should also be encouraged to see the the process of education as one that empowers them with a sense of ownership over their Torah and allows them to become who they really should be.

Thank you to the Highlites staff for putting together another great glimpse into the exciting life at Katz Yeshiva High School of South Florida.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Jonathan Kroll
Head of School

Upcoming Events

Mon. Sept. 19

Parent Meeting at KYHS

Tue. Sept. 20
Parent Meeting at Young Israel of Hollywood

Sat. Sept. 24
Selichot Program

Good and Welfare

Engagements

Rachel Muller ('09) to Ben Biran

Rachel Danis ('10) to Avi Ginsburg

Faculty Mazel Tovs

Mrs. Ora Lee & Dr. Michael Kanner on the birth of a grandson

Mrs. Dina & Dr. Jonathan Dobkowski on the birth of a girl, Zelda Leba

Condolences

Rabbi Moshe Schochet on the passing of his father, Stuart Schochet

Sarit Lasry on the passing of her mother Naomi bat Sham'eh Shoshanah

Club Period

New Wednesday Block Enables Students to Participate in Clubs in a More Meaningful Way

Graphic by Aaron Senfeld ('17)

Interview by Matthew A. Samilow ('17)

KYHS has recently introduced a club period on Wednesdays in order to provide additional time for club and other activities to convene. I sat down with Rabbi Kroll to talk about the logistics and goals of the club period.

Matthew A. Samilow: How exactly was the time found for the club period. After all, 35 minutes has to come from somewhere?

Rabbi Jonathan Kroll: We created the time by shortening classes from 39 to 37 minutes and reducing the time allotted for lunch from 40 minutes to 30 minutes. We made these concessions because we believe that the advantages of the club period outweigh having to modify the schedule.

MAS: What are the goals of this period and why is it an improvement over meeting at lunch?

RJK: To answer the second part of your question, a lot of students and faculty felt that the time at lunch was insufficient to have truly productive and meaningful club meetings. By the time students got their lunches and came to meetings, there was simply not much time remaining. With regard to the goals of the period, I would say they are to provided a consistent time for clubs to meet without the time pressure associated with lunch.

MAS: It has come to my attention that grade meetings will sometimes be held during this time slot. Please explain the purpose of these meetings.

RJK: Grade meetings will take place once every three weeks or so. The idea is that each grade has particular issues of importance to them. By having grade deans work with class presidents we will be able to come up with topics of importance for each grade to address. We expect this to be a good opportunity to promote a strong sense of grade culture.

Fall Sports

Golf, Flag Football, Volleyball and Cross Country Seasons in Full Swing

Graphic by Ariel Schneider ('17)

Photo Galleries for all of the Fall Sports Teams will appear in the next edition of Highlites

Engineering Hits the Road

Visit to Groman Dental a Highlight for Elective Students

Graphic by Justin Isaacs ('19)

Article by Sara Deichman ('19)

Climbing up the steps of a bus on Monday afternoon, I had no idea where I was going. As the ninth and tenth grade headed to Groman Inc. Robotics Lab, none of the students had prior knowledge to where we were headed, but the bus was filled with anticipation to find out. Upon arriving, we met Mr. Groman and his staff. They would be showing us how they make an Etchmaster. The product took years and years to perfect and now helps dentists immensely every time they work with etching a tooth. It allows dental professionals to easily etch the tooth before a bracket is applied without hurting the patient in the slightest.

We toured through multiple parts of the lab and saw essential tools used in the making of the product, such as a robot that checks each individual Etchmaster before the production process is complete. We even saw how the machine is coded and created. The engineers gave us a demonstration on how the product is used in dental offices all over the country. The trip allowed us to apply the knowledge we have already learned in the classroom to a real life situation. The visit to Groman Inc. robotics lab was a great experience that will help us pursue our educational futures in the engineering course at KYHS and beyond. I feel very privileged to have been able to go behind the scenes and attended the tour. Thank you to Mr. Groman, Dr. Wolf, and everyone else who made the trip such a success.

College Visits

College Recruitment Season Heats Up as Top Colleges Visit KYHS

Graphic by Mayrav Saketkhou ('20) and Sydney Freedman ('20)

Humans Of KYHS

Graphic by Maurice Bensmihen ('17)

The Yeshiva Highlites Staff