Find out more...

Contact us today to schedule your personal tour of the school.

Messages from the Head of School

Important messages and announcements, as well as inspiring Divrei Torah from our Head of School.

The Call to God

The Call to God

The Content of our Character The most ancient of all of the prayers for the High Holidays has a special connection to The Akiva School.  Avinu Malkeinu is almost 2,000 years old, yet its central words have remained unchanged.  Akiva’s founder, Rabbi David Hartman,...

read more
Acheinu Kol Beit Yisrael

Acheinu Kol Beit Yisrael

On Thursday mornings in synagogue, we recite a prayer that begins with the words, “Acheinu kol beit yisrael—Our brethren, all the House of Israel.”  The tefillah offers the image of all Jews living as siblings in the same home, caring for each other as brothers and...

read more
An “A” and an “F” for Flexibility

An “A” and an “F” for Flexibility

One would hardly associate religion with flexibility.  Religion is about rules, and rules are, by nature, rigid.  This is by no means an affront to religion.  Rules provide our lives with structure and meaning. Rules keep us safe.  The myriad COVID-related regulations...

read more
A Year of Forgiveness 

A Year of Forgiveness 

Today is Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of new Hebrew month of Elul.  Elul marks the beginning of the season of forgiveness, leading into Rosh Hashanah, the holiday of repentance, including Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and concluding with Hoshanah Rabbah, the end of...

read more
The Spirit of Judah

The Spirit of Judah

As I look at our students during the final days of school before the summer, I am reminded of the Israelites standing at the border of the Promised Land.  Behind them are the trials and toils that marked their trek through the desert, the hard work that characterized...

read more
Court of Justice

Court of Justice

Rabbi David Hartman, founder of The Akiva School, was known in Montreal and throughout the Jewish world as a powerful preacher, intrepid cleric, popular philosopher, and institution builder.  He was also an exceptional basketball player. Rabbi Hartman grew up in...

read more
Message from the Head of School

Message from the Head of School

Everyone thrives on routine.  We have weekly, monthly, and daily cycles and routines that give life a sense of order and purpose.  Getting up each morning is eased by the fact that I know exactly the steps I must take from the time my alarm rings to the time I am at...

read more

A Message of Redemption from the Jewish People to the World

As we prepare to sit down to our seders this year, I want to point out two peculiarities about the Pesach haggadah.  The haggadah is supposed to tell the story of the liberation from Egypt.  And yet, at no point in the seder do we ever just tell this story. ...

read more

A Day of Hope and Renewal

Today is Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the first day of the new Hebrew month of Nisan.  It marks the new moon of the month that ushers in the season of renewal, called Aviv in the Torah.  In the time of the Bible, this month was the first month of the new year (the Jewish year...

read more

Coronavirus Update – Message from Rabbi Grossman

ונִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם Protect your bodies most carefully! Reading these words in Deuteronomy 4:9, our sages determined that there is a Torah obligation to be vigilant about our physical health in addition to our spiritual wellbeing.  In following this...

read more