JKHA/RKYHS Head of School Rabbi Eliezer Rubin addressed RKYHS students on Thursday over Zoom regarding the events that took place at the Capitol the previous day. He described the deplorable acts and behaviors as beneath the level of civil society that we expect of our citizens. As a morally and ethically driven school and people, he described the life values that guide us to know what is right and what is wrong and how we should be outraged by behaviors that are antithetical to what is moral.

Rabbi Rubin particularly focused on how they can manage this as high school students. He encouraged them to rise above the maladies of society and introduce goodness wherever they can, and into the world around them. He implored them not to be indifferent, or to tolerate or contribute to behaviors that are corrosive or toxic—to stand up and voice what’s not acceptable. Rabbi Rubin also discussed the perils of social media for mistruths and misinformation, and the potential for it to be used as a forum for people to malign one another.