Yeshiva heads close circle of three generations

When the late Mike Krost and his best friend, Harry Sack, embarked on a six-month European trip together almost 70 years ago, the idea that their grandchildren would stand side by side as head boy and head girl of Yeshiva College in 2022-2023 was unimaginable.

Krost and Sack were lifelong friends, and their families maintained a close relationship long after their patriarchs’ passing. The significance of the fulfilment of this family bond when their grandchildren, Rafi Midzuk and Jayda Sack, assumed leadership roles at their school, wasn’t lost on their families.

“It was really special and beautiful when Rafi and I got chosen to be the head students for our year,” said Sack, “Both families were obviously very excited as we grew up together.

“Our parents would always tell us that our grandfathers would have been very excited and would have had so much nachas that we were chosen as head students together, so it’s really special,” Sack said.

“We were always close, and our sisters were friends, so we have always had a good relationship,” said Midzuk, “I was excited to be able to get to work with her because we had this friendship. We were able to have conversations to discuss each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and work out how they could work together so we could make the year amazing and achieve the goals that we wanted. The only real reason we were able to have these conversations is because we know each other so well.”

“It was a unique experience being head girl, and I am grateful for the opportunity. I tried to enjoy every aspect as much as I could, and it opened many doors for me, like being a part of different committees such as the Zionist Youth Council outside of school,” said Sack. “I tried to make sure that it wouldn’t stress me out, so I tried to do all of my work as soon as I got it so that it wouldn’t pile up. I kept saying to myself that even though I was at school and had the pressures and stresses of that, I was learning skills that would help me when I was out of school,” Sack said.

Midzuk told the SA Jewish Report that it was “difficult to be known as ‘head boy’ instead of just myself. I feel like school almost became my identity”. He said he had learned a lot of lessons in his role, beyond the interpersonal connections he made.

“Everyone has the normal challenges of matric, the three sets of exams amount to a lot of work,” Sack said. “My dad had a stroke a few years back, and has been in and out of the hospital. I remember studying for my first set of prelims while sitting in the hospital room with him.”

Combined with her father’s health problems, Sack said that a week before her second prelims, her grandmother passed away. “These hardships gave me motivation because you have a challenge, but you want to carry on and make them proud. In my class in particular, we were unified. We were all going through [matric] together, so it was nice to know that we had each other’s backs. I felt very supported by everyone,” Sack said.

Sack plans to go on the MTA Bnei Akiva gap year programme starting in February, where she’ll be spending the year in Midrasha Harova studying, touring, and volunteering in Israel. “I’m excited to go, learn, and grow, but leaving my family for such a long time is hard,” she said.

Sack believes “everyone in Israel will keep us safe”, and said that in spite of the war, there’s an amazing opportunity to volunteer and be hands-on in the country. “It has been tough being in South Africa, seeing everything going on in Israel, and not being able to do anything to help,” she says.

Midzuk also plans to go on the MTA Bnei Akiva gap year, where he will be spending the year at Gush. “In all honesty, I’m not thinking about fear of the war right now. I’m excited to go and spend the year in Israel, where I’ll have the time and independence to grow, learn, spend time with my friends, and connect more to my Judaism.”