March 3, 2017
5 Adar 5777

Parshat Terumah

Candle Lighting at 6:05 PM

Exhibition of Excellence

I'm writing this message while up in New York with the Boys Varsity Basketball Team participating in YU's Sarachek tournament. The team won Thursday's game in a nail-biter and we hope they'll continue to win! Last weekend I had the good fortune to join so many Storm fans and root for our Girls Basketball team as they handily won the championship game at Hebrew Academy's tournament. We are so proud of the tremendous accomplishments our teams have achieved and the hard work that they've invested in order to reach their goals.

The ruach and camaraderie that team sports promote add so much to the life and culture of the school. But there's also a deeply religious motif to striving for excellence in sports. Rabbi Shalom Carmy develops a beautiful religious philosophy of sports in an essay he published in Tradition several years ago. In a stinging rebuke against those who see sports as a religious waste of time, Rabbi Carmy unpacks the religious value in appreciating excellence in athletics and in engaging in that excellence ourselves: "Surely one may live a religious life without any conception of athletic excellence. However one cannot live a religious life without the habit of reverence and love for the exhibition of excellence."

Watching our girls' team win the championship last weekend and watching our boys' team strive for that same goal this weekend should inspire us to greater religious heights. May we all develop a greater sensitivity to the elegance of a pick and roll, the subtle beauty of a backdoor cut, and the soaring majesty of a well-played trapping defense. As we train ourselves to appreciate beauty on the basketball court may we develop a greater awareness and appreciation of the wonder that Hashem has placed in our world. Go Storm!

Shabbat Shalom.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Jonathan Kroll

Head of School

Upcoming Events

Mar. 5-6

BV B Sarachek Tournament

Thu. 9

Taanit Esther - Early Dismissal

Sat. 11

Purim Chagigah

Good and Welfare

Mazel Tov

Mrs. Ora Lee & Dr. Michael Kanner on the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson Sender Oppenheimer.

Mrs. Beverly Weiss on the Bar Mitzvah of her grandson Jonah Schanzer.

Births

Rebecca (Edelblum '01) and Benny Grass on the birth of their daughter, Mabel Ruth.

Matt ('08) and Raquel Firestone on the birth of a baby girl.

Sarah (Buzaglo '06) and David Attias on the birth of a son.

Engagements

Sofia Peimani ('09) on her engagement to Emanuel Haghighat from Greatneck, NY

Marriages

Danielle Sobol ('13) to Tzachi Kahn

Melanie Miller ('11) to Dani Steinberg

Hillel Gitler ('09) to Rachel Scheinberg

Danielle Wolkowicz ('09) to Noah Pollack

Condolences

Rabbi Edward Davis on the loss of his brother, Martin Davis, of blessed memory.

David Muller on the loss of his father, Henry Muller, of blessed memory.

Trophy Collection

Girls Varsity Basketball Team Ends Record Season Just as They Began with a Second Championship Trophy

Graphic by Sydney Freedman ('20) Liora Mayer ('20) and Emily Dennis ('20)
Article by Max Wiederhorn ('18)

Following the Girls Varsity basketball team's championship winning performance at the Captain Hyman P. Galbut Basketball Shabbaton, Highlites writer Max C. Wiederhorn ('18) had the opportunity to sit down with Gabi Englander ('18) the starting center for the Girls Varsity basketball team, to reflect upon the team's successful season.

Max C. Wiederhorn: Gabi, congratulations on winning the Captain Hyman P. Galbut RASGHA Basketball Shabbaton.

Gabi Englander: Thanks! It was a real team effort!

MCW: What was your highlight of the tournament?

GE: Of course it was winning the whole thing!

MCW: What was going through your mind as that final buzzer sounded?

GE: That we made school history; we won two national invitationals in one season, the first in Los Angeles and then this one in Miami.

MCW: Wow, that's great. How do you plan on repeating this year's success next season?

GE: By trusting the process, practicing and training, and by keeping our team a tight family.

MCW: Well speaking of the process, is there anyone you model your game after?

GE: I model my game after my coaches, primarily but I also see my basketball style as similar to Zion Williamson, Hassan Whiteside, and Shaq. I feel like a combination of all three of those guys.

MCW: What advice do you for our Boys Varsity team as they try to replicate your success this weekend in New York?

GE: Try to bring back a trophy to put next to both of ours! But honestly, play as a team, play with heart, and trust the process.

Girls Got Talent

Girls Usher in Rosh Chodesh Adar with a Talent Show for the Ages

Graphic by Highlites Staff

Only The Strongest Survive

Boys Welcome Rosh Chodesh with First Ever Arm Wrestling Tournament, Parade Winner Around Campus

Graphic by Daniel Gross ('19)

A Jewish Moment in the Morning

Renowned JM in the AM Host Helps KYHS Celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Nefesh B'Nefesh

Graphic by Justin Isaacs ('19) and Akiva Groman ('19)
Article by Matthew A. Samilow ('17)

On Wednesday, Jewish radio host Nachum Segal spoke to KYHS students. The host of JM (Jewish Moments) in the AM, Segal is among the most well-known and influential voices in the Jewish community. Segal was visiting the Boca Raton Synagogue to commemorate the fifteen year anniversary of the founding of Nefesh B'Nefesh, an organization that assists Jews from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in making Aliyah to Israel.

Segal introduced Marc Rosenberg from Nefesh B'Nefesh to speak to the students about the organization and answer any questions. KYHS students were curious about the affiliations and backgrounds of the people making Aliyah through Nefesh B'Nefesh, how long the organization provides support after the move to Israel, and where the organization gets its funding.

About midway through the presentation, Segal asked each person in the room to raise his hand if he had a relative living in Israel. Tens, if not a hundred, hands shot up into the air. That moment, Segal noted, is manifestation of the work Nefesh B'Nefesh has been doing over the past fifteen to twenty years.

Tour de Broward

KYHS Students Compete in 5K for a Worthy Cause

Graphic by Mayrav Saketkhou ('20)
Article by Sara Deichman ('19) and Abby Nagler ('19)

For us, there is nothing comparable to the thrill of a 5K race. The excitement in the air is unparalleled and the joy of crossing the finish line is the best feeling in the world. This past Sunday at Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital's Tour de Broward 5k, the KYHS running club had four participants.

A major goal of the running club is educating students about how amazing running can be when you put in the work and are dedicated. Not only did the four runners participate, but each and every one gained a medal for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in their age group. There were all kinds of racers participating, including some who had disabilities themselves and were treated by Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. It was great to run for such a great cause and win medals. This amazing accomplishment made running club, and all of KYHS so proud.

This Week In Pictures

Graphic by Yosef Linzer ('18)

The Yeshiva Highlites Staff