By: Abby Kass ’27
As I sit down to write this article, I’m unsure how to start. How do I describe, in an accurate, succinct way, how we are collectively feeling, not just as a publication, but as a school? How do I wish farewell whilst simultaneously wishing a huge Mazel Tov and good luck to a person who has been a pillar of our community for over a decade? I think this is how we were all feeling at Dr. Kay’s siyum not two weeks ago, and now continue to feel daily.
Most of us have heard a rendition of the same thing on that day and since: yes, we’re sad, but also excited for Dr. Kay’s next chapter. And, to mirror Dr. Kay’s words on that day, Simchat Torah really is the perfect analogy here: we mustn’t dwell on the endings and rather focus on the promising future before us.
But it’s okay to hold both feelings at once. On Simchat Torah, we have the same amount of appreciation and thought for both finishing Devarim and starting Bereishit. As high schoolers, it’s so easy to become completely swept up in the fast-paced motion of life, but we can focus on the future while still holding appreciation for the past. We’re allowed to take a moment, cherish our individual time with Dr. Kay, and then feel the joy and excitement for all that awaits the rest of our year.
Even two weeks later, it feels surreal not to see Dr. Kay around school anymore, or speaking at school assemblies with his famous numerical openings. But we’re ecstatic to see Rabbi Pell step into this amazing role and can’t wait to see all that he’ll do. From all of us here at TLR, we wish Dr. Kay a sad farewell, but a b’hazlacha in your next chapter! Because we, and all of you, are allowed to feel both.
