March 24, 2017
26 Adar 5777  

School Logo
  

 
    Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei
Candle Lighting at 7:16 PM
 
A Model for Unity
 
Our parsha begins with the words: ויקהל משה את כל עדת בני ישראל ויאמר אליהם אלה הדברים אשר צוה ה׳ לעשות אותם. "And Moshe assembled the entire Jewish people and said to them these are the things that Hashem has commanded you." In its most simple understanding, "these things" mentioned in this pasuk refer to the details of the construction of the mishkan which are described afterward. The Chassidic masters offer an alternative interpretation: "These things" refer to the unity and fellowship described earlier in the pasuk as Moshe assembled the entire Jewish people. That unity is אשר צוה ה׳ -- what God wants of us. Although different Jews had different roles in the service of the Temple, everyone was united in the pursuit of the common goal of serving God.

Every child is unique and has his or her own strengths and weaknesses and his or her own interests. Some students love the arts, others science; some students are bookworms, others athletes; some love Gemara, others Jewish philosophy. By acknowledging the diversity while ensuring that everyone is involved in the common pursuit of growth and of service to God and the Jewish people, we can strive for the unity that Moshe modeled as he assembled the entire Jewish people together.

Shabbat Shalom.

Sincerely,
Rabbi Jonathan Kroll
Head of School
Upcoming Events
Mar. 26-28 
AIPAC Policy Conference

Tue. March 28 
8th Grade Day

Fri. March 31
Schoolwide Shabbaton in Orlando

Good and Welfare 
Engagements
Atara Aroll ('05) on her engagement to Yoram Roschwalb. 

Births
Chanah (Brauser '10) and Ellie Shestak on the birth of a baby girl.
 
Faculty Mazel Tov
Mazel Tov to Heidi Segal on the Bar Mitzvah of her son, Alec.  
Two
Spring Comedy Leaves Them Laughing 
Production of Neil Simon's "Fools" a Big Hit 
Graphic by Mayrav Saketkhou ('20)
Article by Alec Gelman ('17)

This past Wednesday night, the KYHS Drama Society performed Neil Simon's "Fools." After rehearsing for several weeks, the Fools cast put on an excellent show. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the role of Leon and had an awesome time becoming closer with the entire cast. As a senior, I am truly saddened that this is my final year in the Drama Society. However, I am very optimistic about future productions after witnessing the acting prowess of my fellow cast mates. I would like to wish a big thank you to Ms. Jill Lustig. Without her patience and dedication to my fellow cast mates and me, we would not have been able to put on such a spectacular show. Also, congratulations to the entire cast of "Fools!" I wish you guys the best of luck in  future productions and endeavors.

Two
Israel Education Week
Storm for Israel Looks to Counteract Israel Apartheid Week
Graphic by Sydney Freedman ('20) and Emily Dennis ('20)
Article by Ariela Bengio ('18)

Storm for Israel's "Israel Education Week" was initially created to combat "Israel Apartheid Week" held on college campuses. Over the course of week, KYHS students were given numerous activities, speeches, videos and more!! To start off the week, students came to school Sunday night to deck the hallways and bulletin boards with Israel related information. Monday was Social Media day where we watched an eye opening video from JerusalemOnlineU on the topic of BDS and the refugee crisis. Tuesday 11th and 12th grade students heard from Susan Tuchman, ZOA Director of Law and Justice, and later lobbied Congresswoman Lois Frankel. Wednesday the 9th and 10th grade heard from Rayna Exelbierd from Stand with Us about her personal battles against anti-Israel activities on campus. Finally, on Thursday we closed off our week with a powerful kumzits and a fun Israeli themed lunchtime jeopardy run by the JNF.
Two
Inspired Engineering 
Teams of Students Create Rube Goldberg Machines for Technion Competion
Graphic by Justin Isaacs ('17) and Josh Bernten ('20)
Article by Noah Bernten ('18)

For the past month two teams built Rube Goldberg machines to represent our school in the Technion Rube Goldberg challenge. We engineered contraptions to accomplish a simple task in a unnecessarily long way. The machine had to be themed around Earth Day. My team's machine showed how paper, metal, and plastic is recycled. We spent many hours building these machines in one of our garages (We can't wait until next year when we have more room in our new building for our machines!). Once we completed the machine we had to run it in its entirety to prove that it accomplishes its task. We spent multiple hours testing and tweaking. Once we finished we filmed each part and put together a video to present to Technion. Technion is going to grade our machine and post the video on their YouTube channel for everyone to see. Next week's Highlites will have the link to the videos and you'll be able to vote for our machines!
Two
2nd Annual 2 Ball Tournament
Lunchtime Game Takes Center Court As Girls Champs are Crowned, Boys Tournament Kicks Off
Graphic by Yosef Linzer ('18)
Two
New Campus Update
Graphic by Highlites Staff
Two 
This Week In Pictures 

Graphic by Maurice Bensmihen ('17)  
 

The Yeshiva Highlites Staff