Shomeia Kol Truat Amo Yisrael B’rachamim Hearing the Cries of Israel with Compassion One of my first students was a Grade 9 pupil whom I would describe as a fine young man. He was clean cut and kind, socially well-adjusted, and well-liked. Academically he was not an...
Chidushim B’Chinuch—Insights into Education Third of an Ongoing Series There is a terrible and frightening moment in parenting when your child first uses the “F” word. Worst of all is when the object of the “F” word is you. Here is how it plays out. In response to...
Chidushim B’Chinuch—Insights into EducationSecond of an ongoing seriesThere is an elite private school in New England that had a student handbook which, as of the last time I checked, contained only one rule. Pushing back on the endless injunctions that...
Chidushim B’Chinuch—Insights into EducationFirst of an Ongoing SeriesI had the pleasure this summer of spending time with the first president of the Akiva School, Charles Solomon, and his wife Chana, in their apartment in Jerusalem. In addition to enjoying their warm...
Welcome back! We are so happy to see everyone return to school rested, revived and ready for a joyful and productive year of learning. A special welcome to all of our new Akiva families joining us this year; we are so happy to have you with us. This is a time of new...
As the last day of school approaches, I want to thank the entire community for making my first year at Akiva such a wonderful experience. At Grade 6 Graduation last night I spoke of Rabbi Hartman’s book, A Heart of Many Rooms. Rabbi Hartman took the title of his book...
The biblical era was a time of hierarchies. There was an aristocracy, and there were peasants; there were wealthy landed gentry and poor paupers; there were royals and commoners; there were priests and laymen. Movement between these classes was rare, and in some...
The number fifty holds special significance for the Jewish people. This weekend we complete the Counting of the Omer, the fifty-day count from the holiday of Passover to the festival of Shavuot, the latter of which is observed this Sunday and Monday. For the past...
This Victoria Day, I made a pilgrimage to the site of the glorious Expo ’67 World Fair. Just over 50 years ago, Montreal was the venue for an exposition that displayed the greatest achievements of human innovation and creativity in the mid 20th century. Two years...
When the Israelites arrived in the Promised Land, they brought with them four objects they had acquired at various occasions during their journey. Each item bore witness to a story from their past, and carried with it lessons that would be transmitted to...