My Jewish Journey
Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky, Director of Jewish Life and Learning, shares insights on lessons from the Torah, Jewish customs and traditions and inspirational thoughts for personal growth.
Parashat Pekudei – It takes a village.
Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. “Did we pay the mechanic for my car?” my husband asked me the other day, noting the invoice on the kitchen counter. We? What he was really asking was whether I had paid the mechanic. It’s a matter of division of labour. I am...
Parashat Va-Yakhel – A wise heart
Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. Thirty minutes before Shabbat I asked the girls to tidy up the room they were sharing in Florida - pick up from the floor clothes and towels and books and tissues and discarded tags from new items, remove their electronics from their...
Parashat Tetzave – The eternal lamp
Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. An Akiva parent, Debbie has an MA and PhD in the history of Jewish Bible Interpretation from McGill University as well as a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) also from McGill. Happiness can be found even in the darkest...
Parashat Terumah – So that I may dwell among them…
“Do you have a 14”x14” box?” I ask the lady at U-Haul. She shows me her three different sizes, but the closest is 16”x12”. I think about it for a few minutes, looking around the store, trying to ascertain whether the box will meet my needs. “Ok,” I decide, “I’ll...
Parashat Mishpatim – Fitting Consequences
Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. An Akiva parent, Debbie has an MA and PhD in the history of Jewish Bible Interpretation from McGill University as well as a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) also from McGill. Shabbat morning I hand my daughter a...
Parashat Yithro – “You will surely weary”
Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. An Akiva parent, Debbie has an MA and PhD in the history of Jewish Bible Interpretation from McGill University as well as a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) also from McGill. I saved a picture of an empty coffee cup on...
Parashat Be-Shallah – The Long Way
Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. An Akiva parent, Debbie has an MA and PhD in the history of Jewish Bible Interpretation from McGill University as well as a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) also from McGill. I implemented a new rule in my house for...
Parashat Bo – Do and Teach
By: Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. An Akiva parent, Debbie has an MA and PhD in the history of Jewish Bible Interpretation from McGill University as well as a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) also from McGill. The first time we went to Disney World,...
Parashat Va-eira: For Jay
By: Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. An Akiva parent, Debbie has an MA and PhD in the history of Jewish Bible Interpretation from McGill University as well as a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) also from McGill. It’s been quite a week. From the lows...
Parashat Va-Yigash – “And he fell on his neck and he wept.”
By: Deborah Abecassis Warshawsky. An Akiva parent, Debbie has an MA and PhD in the history of Jewish Bible Interpretation from McGill University as well as a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) also from McGill. “After lunch I would like you to go tidy...
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Rabbi Grossman’s Blog Corner
Rabbi Grossman's Corner
Message from the Head of School – What makes us happy?
The happiness of Sukkot, about which I wrote last week, culminates in the holiday of Simchat Torah that we will celebrate next Tuesday. The name of the holiday is usually rendered into English as “The Holiday of Rejoicing with the Torah,” but its literal...
Message from the Head of School – Sept 20
The holiday of Sukkot, which we celebrate next week, is unique in that it is the only holiday specifically associated with joy. While nearly all Jewish holidays have an element of joy associated with them (even Yom Kippur!), it is only Sukkot that is singled out by...
Message from the Head of School – Sept 12, 2018
The Road to Repentance Starts at School Rabbi Eric Grossman Head of School, Akiva School Excerpt from the Congregation Beth Israel Beth Aaron High Holiday Magazine, September 2018 Maimonides divided his Laws of Repentance into precisely ten chapters,...
Rosh Hashanah Message – September 2018
Rabbi Grossman Rosh Hashanah appears to be a holiday about the past and the future. In our thoughts and our prayers, we recall our past sins and misdeeds, and promise to do better next year. And while there is much significance to this looking back and...
Message from the Head of School
Our Journey Begins Rabbi Grossman The halls of Akiva are once again filled with movement. Students are moving from class to class, up and down stairs, in and out for arrival, recess, and dismissal. All the while, we are moving forward on our journeys as...
MESSAGE TO THE AKIVA FAMILY
I have come to the end of a remarkable, albeit brief, journey that I started with you sixteen months ago. It has been, of course, a continuation of a profound association with Akiva that started many, many years before that. And while my day-to-day involvement is...
Faces of Akiva – Akiva Alumnus Alan Iny
Alan Iny, Class of 1989 An integral part of an education at Akiva School is teaching our students how to think creatively, problem-solve and be innovators. With his book and current consultant role, Akiva alumnus Alan Iny represents what we hope to inspire in every...
Parasha Shlach – Developing a Growth Mind Set
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...
PARASHAT SHELACH LEKHA – All about Challah
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...
Parashat Nasso
This week, I'd like to refer to an article written on the "My Jewish Learning" Blog: Parents as Models
