“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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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. 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...
“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...
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...