My Jewish Journey

By Guest Blogger: Bonnie Levine, Akiva parent and Board MemberOver the last several years our family has rented a home in the Laurentians during the winter months.  We relish our time together at this special little hideaway, spending quality time with our...

This week's Dvar Torah is by Akiva grade 4 teacher, Yelena Plis, which she gave as part of her speech at a reception held in her honour this week in recognition of receiving the Grinspoon Award for Excellence in Jewish Education... By Yelena Plis This week's Parasha...

In this week’s parashah, God tells Moses to instruct the Israelites that when they enter the land of Israel and they bake bread, they must set aside a portion for God. And you eat of the bread of the land, you shall set aside as a gift to the Lord: as the first yield...

This week, I'd like to refer to an article written on the "My Jewish Learning" Blog: Parents as Models

My daughter was working on a French assignment – reading a previously unseen text and answering questions.  One of the questions provided the first sentence of a couplet and asked the student to write a rhyming second line. “When am I ever going to have to do...

Do you ever feel like the words you impart to your children hang in the air above them, never quite penetrating their brains (and conscience)?  I imagine them hanging there, floating like a balloon that slowly sinks to the ground as it deflates. And then trampled on...

This week’s double portion falls approximately in the middle of Leviticus, the middle of the 5 books of the Torah. And just about in the middle of this double parshah is the commandment – ve-ahavta le-re’ekha kamokha – love your fellow as you love yourself. Treat...

For this week, I would like to share the following D'var Torah by Yaffa Epstein. Yaffa Epstein lives in Jerusalem and is blessed to teach Talmud, Jewish Law, and Liturgy at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Yaffa is a recovering lawyer, and is currently poring...

D'VAR TORAH BY: ROBERT TORNBERG This week's parashah, Sh'mini, consists of three distinct parts that do not appear, on the surface, to relate directly to one to another. Let's begin by looking at a summary of each of these parts. The first section of this portion...