“Akiva is a very special place and I am proud to be part of the Akiva family.” Akiva Alumna – Anastasia Davis Bondarenko Class of 1998 As we prepared last week at Akiva School to celebrate Rosh HaShanah, the new year and the future, we had a wonderful surprise with a...
The show must go on…
With Chanukkah’s departure, we have the opportunity to take a more nuanced look at the intersection between Jewish and Greek culture. While Chanukkah offers a binary view of Hellenism as antithetical to Biblical and Rabbinic values, the reality is more complex. Our...
Light up our Learning
Chanukkah is one of my favorite Jewish holidays, but not for the reasons you may suspect. While I enjoy the foods, songs, and celebrations associated with the festival, every other Jewish holiday also has its own unique culinary, musical, and ritual elements. What...
Any Dream Will Do
Andrew Lloyd Webber was 17 years old when he began composing musical theater, the same age as Joseph when we first meet him in the Torah, in this week’s parasha. Joseph made Lloyd Webber famous when the play Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat became his...
Bilingualism as a Jewish Value
The story of Jacob’s life, which continues in this week’s Torah reading, is a swashbuckling adventure. From his theft of Esau’s birthright and blessing, the tale continues with Jacob’s furtive escape from his vengeful and murderous brother, his dream about a stairway...
To Err is Human
While I deeply venerate our forefathers Abraham and Isaac, I find it difficult to relate to them. Abraham, at the age of 75, gives up everything he is familiar with in life to follow God to an unknown land, and is willing to sacrifice his only son. Isaac is obedient...Akiva Calendar
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Rabbi Grossman’s Blog Corner
Rabbi Grossman's Corner
Faces of Akiva – Alumna Anastasia Davis Bondarenko
Message for Rosh HaShanah
It has been a difficult month of Elul. Natural disasters engulfed the U.S. in the form of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma; man-made difficulty haunts us as we see a resurgence of anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance. It seems that the time is right for moments of...
Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeilekh – Choose Life
One of the concepts of Rosh Hashanah is the Book of Life. The image is that God is sitting up in heaven with a huge book in front of Him, in which He accounts for all our positive and negative deeds over the past year and decides whether we are worthy of reward...
Parashat Ki Tavo – D’var Torah by guest blogger Akiva Alumna Nora-Jin Sokoloff
For this week’s Parashah blog, it was my pleasure to share with you the Dvar Torah of Nora-Jin Sokoloff, a recent Akiva graduate who celebrated her Bat Mitzvah this past Shabbat. We wish her and her family Mazal Tov. I am very excited but maybe a little...
Parashat Ki Teitzei – Family Discussion Questions for the Shabbat table
Parashat Ki Teitzei sets out a series of miscellaneous laws, mostly governing civil and domestic life. For your Shabbat table and family dinner discussions, here a few questions to consider the larger lessons we learn from these laws and how they continue to apply to...
Parashat Korach – Equal but not the same
In this week’s parashah, we read about Korach’s rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Together with 250 well-known men among the Israelites, he argued: For the entire Assembly – all of them – are holy and the Lord is among them, so why do you exalt...
Parashat Shlach – leadership
Guest Blogger Bonnie Levine Akiva Parent and Board Member Not sure if you have been feeling it but there is a current, a common theme dominating our news cycles and conversations these days. It’s all about leadership. Be it Trump, Trudeau, Coderre, Applebaum, or...
Parashat Be’Ha’alotekha – Parenting moments.
Parashat Be’Ha’alotekha – Parenting moments. The relationship between and God and the people of Israel often reflects the relationship between parent and child. In this week’s parasha, Be’Ha’alotekha, we see different glimpses of God’s parenting moments. After some...
Faces of Akiva – Alumna Hadas Levine
“A big part of who I am today is because of my time spent at Akiva” This week we had a very special treat at Akiva School when we were visited by one of our former students, Hadas Levine. Hadas had been a student at Akiva School up until grade 4 at which point she...
Parashat Naso – Blessings
Fun fact: This week’s parashah, Naso, is the longest parashah in the Torah with 176 verses. In it, we find the priestly blessing:. Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying so shall you bless the Children of Israel, say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you; May...
