This week’s parashah begins the book of Ba-Midbar, which opens with God commanding Moses to count. Take a census of the entire assembly of the Children of Israel according to their families, according to their fathers’ house, by number of the names, every male...
You Belong
I echo the words of the Psalmist, imo anochi b’tzarah—I am with you in your sorrow. I join the voices of the people of Pittsburgh, Jews and decent people everywhere, in pain and distress over the events of this past Shabbat. Imo anochi b’tzarah, I am with you in...
Shabbat has kept the Jews
“It may be said without exaggeration that more than the Jews have kept the Sabbath, it is the Sabbath that has kept the Jews.” So wrote Asher Zvi Ginsberg in his celebrated 1898 essay, “Shabbes and Zionism.” This quip became the writer’s most famous quote, but what...
History Repeats Itself
In this week’s Torah portion we are introduced to the first Israelites—Abraham and his family. Abraham and these early Israelites go down to Egypt because there is a famine in the Land of Canaan/Israel; when they get to Egypt, Abraham is afraid that he, being a male,...
Message from the Head of School – October 12, 2018
Life has returned to normal, and this can be of some concern. With the end of the Jewish holiday season, topped off this year by Thanksgiving, the series of feasts and fasts, celebrations and commemorations has finally finished. Gone are the three-day and four-day...
Message from the Head of School – October 4th, 2018
The story of the Garden of Eden, which we read this week in synagogue, certainly ends badly. The first man and woman disobey the one command of their Creator and are exiled forever from paradise. For millennia, Jewish (and Christian) commentators have looked to the...Akiva Calendar
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Rabbi Grossman’s Blog Corner
Rabbi Grossman's Corner
Parashat Ba-Midbar/Shavuot: Counting, accounting and recounting
Parashat Emor – Counting
This weekend is Lag Ba-Omer, the 33rd day of counting from Passover to Shavuot. In our parshah this week we find the commandment to count these days: You shall count for yourselves – from the morrow of the rest day, from the day when you bring the omer of the waving...
Parashat Acharei- Mot – Kedoshim
In this week’s double parashah we find the well-know commandment “Love your neighbour as you love yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Rabbi Akiva taught that this precept is the most important rule in the Torah. In this week of commemoration and celebration - with Yom...
Parashat Tazria-Metzora – Yom Ha-Shoah
I love when my children come home eager to tell me something they learned in school that made an impression on them. I love it more when they assume they are telling me something I would have never heard before and they are eager to teach me. This past Monday we...
Parashat Shemini – Food for thought
The last thing I feel like doing the day after Passover is think about food. Again. There are so many important and meaningful messages to the holiday - about freedom and family and community, about faith and courage, traditions, history and heritage. But let’s face...
Happy Passover!
Questions are a central part of the Passover Seder. Our very youngest participants are tasked with asking the Mah Nishtana – why this night, this holiday, is different from every other night of the year. Questions help instill a love of learning and encourage the...
Parashat Vayikra – Guest blogger Akiva Shinshinit Yael Goldstone
This week's Dvar Torah is written by our Akiva Shinshinit, Yael Goldstone. Thank you Yael for sharing! Shabbat Shalom! Israel Kristal is the Guinness world record holder of being the oldest man alive. Israel was born in 1903 in Žernov. His father was drafted to the...
Parashat Va-Yakhel / Pikudei – However you can
In the weeks leading up to Passover, I hesitate sending my husband to the grocery store for me. My priority is cleaning out my pantry of hametz and purchasing only the essentials we can use and finish immediately. A request for a red pepper, a package of cheese and...
Parsha Ki Tisa – featuring guest blogger Dr. Michael Kalin
This week, we have a guest blogger, Akiva parent Dr. Michael Kalin, with an inspirational D'var Torah on Parashat Ki Tisa. Thank you Michael for sharing. Shabbat Shalom, Debbie We are all familiar with the story of the golden calf in Ki Tisa. Moshe ascends Mt....
Parashat Terumah – The home we build together…
At Akiva School we all work together to build something beautiful – a home for our children to learn, to grow and to thrive. This is the gift that we give to them - and to us - as we play a role in shaping our future through our children. I invite you all to read a...
