news from nammie

New Year's Traditions...

2012-01-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

So, this year I learned of a tradition that has apparently existed since Talmudic times...eating black-eyed peas on Rosh Hashanah!

However, in all fairness, the way I discovered it was through a visit to a friend's house on January 1st where I learned that apparently this was a "Southern" custom. Ken, originally from Texas, was boiling a wonderful and aromatic pot of black-eyed peas (along with a variety of other meats, vegetables, and spices) when my look probably just said it all. To this Brit the custom might as well have originated on Mars, it was that "foreign" to me!

Then, preparing to write this New Year's blog I did a little research on this intriguing custom only to find out that this is in fact a Jewish tradition that dates back thousands of years and was first recorded around 500 CE in the Babylonian Talmud!

"Abaye said, 'Now that you have said that an omen is significant, at the beginning of each year, each person should accustom himself to eat gourds, black-eyed peas, fenugreek..." [Read more]

Although I did not partake in this particular custom this year, it is certainly on my agenda for next year! However, I guess I did partake in a sort-of "food" custom this New Year's...I became a "Sardine". I guess technically, I became a "Committed Sardine".

And what's a "Committed Sardine" I hear you asking. Well, the best way to describe it is to use the 21st Century Fluency Project's own description as follows:
First, an aside. A blue whale is the largest mammal on earth. An adult blue whale is the length of 2 1/2 Greyhound buses put end to end, weighs more than a fully loaded 737, has blood vessels large enough for an adult to swim down, a heart the size of a Volkswagon Beetle, and a tongue 8' long and weighs 6000 lbs. A baby blue whale is estimated to gain more than 50 pounds an hour from birth to age one. (now that's a high fat diet - certainly not Atkins). The blue whale is not only the biggest, but the loudest animal. At 190 decibels, a blue whale's call is louder than a jet (140 decibels), and much louder than a person can shout (70 decibels).

A little known fact is that a blue whale is so large that when it decides to turn around, it can take 2 to 3 minutes to turn 180 degrees so that it can swim in the opposite direction. As a result, some people have drawn a strong parallel between blue whales and our school systems. It just seems to take forever for schools to turn things around. Our ability to adapt to changing times helps explain at least in part the rise in demand for vouchers, charter schools, home schooling and virtual schools. There are some people who just don't believe or don't want the public school system to turn things around in time.

But compare the way a blue whale turns around (slowly) to how a school of fish turns around - specifically a school of sardines - which has the same or even a greater mass than the whale, does the same thing. A school of sardines can turn almost instantly. So the question that comes up is - How do they do this? How do they know when to turn. Is it ESP? Do they use cell phones? Are the using the Internet

The answer is simultaneously a little simpler and quite a bit more complex. If you take a careful look at a school of sardines, you'll notice that although the fish all appear to be swimming in the same direction, in reality, at any time, there will be a small group of sardines swimming in a different direction, in an opposite direction, against the flow, against conventional wisdom. And as they swim in another direction, they cause conflict, they cause friction, and they causes discomfort for the rest of the school.

But finally, when a critical mass of truly committed sardines is reached - not a huge number like 50 percent or 80 percent of the school, but 15 to 20 percent who are truly committed to a new direction - the rest of the school suddenly turns and goes with them – almost instantaneously!

Isn't that what has happened with our attitudes towards drinking and driving? Isn't that what became of our feelings about smoking? Isn't that exactly what happened to the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union? Isn't that what caused the Internet to suddenly appear overnight. Each and every one of those events was an overnight success that took years in the making. Overnight successes that took a small group of people who were truly committed despite the obstacles, challenge, yabbuts, and TTWWADIs to make the necessary change.

Noted anthropologist Margaret Mead once wrote:

"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world -

indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

That's why we're Committed Sardines - Thinking Outside The Can!

This New Years I became a Committed Sardine! When will you?

Gilad Shalit & Sukkot

2011-10-13T05:07:00.000-07:00

On this eve of Sukkot 5772, I can't think of more wonderful news to consider than instead of imagining Gilad Shalit as a "forgotten" Ushpizin guest for the holiday, we might actually get to see him in person sitting in his home after five years of imprisonment (shavuy milchamah).

To summarize the happenings of the last 24 hours, and having read multiple announcements, summaries, and assessments of this historic turn of events, the best one that I have read, and the one I recommend everyone read as basic background is the summary posted by Dr. Jonathan Mirvis, International Director of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, as posted below...

Israel Update

11 October 2011

Breaking News: Gilad Shalit to Be Released

Dr Jonathan Mirvis
International Director of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ------------

Two hours ago we received the exciting news that Gilad Shalit, after spending over five years in captivity in Gaza, is to be released. In this release Israel is demonstrating once again the high price she is prepared to pay for 'pidyon shvuim' - for the release of captives. One Jewish soldier will be exchanged for 1000 terrorists and prisoners. In his opening address to the Cabinet this evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu quoted the traditional saying that 'kol Yisrael arevim ze le'ze' - that all Jews are personally responsible for each other.

In this update we will outline the details of the agreement and thereafter give the background to the motivation for this agreement. It is important to note that this update is based on snippets of information that have been leaked and that the full story will only be complete in a few days.

According to reports released thus far the agreement was reached on Thursday between Hamas and the Israeli Government. This agreement was initialed by both sides this morning and thereafter Prime Minister Netanyahu invited Noam Shalit, Gilad's father, to his home to give him the news of Gilad's pending release. The Prime Minister spoke as well to Aviva and Gilad's grandfather, Tzvi, by phone. The Shalit family has been camping outside the Prime Minister's residence for over a year and thus Noam Shalit did not have far to go to receive this news.

According to first reports a total of 1000 terrorists and prisoners will be released. They will be released in two stages. At the first stage, 450 terrorists and prisoners will be released, after which Gilad will be transferred to Cairo where he will meet with his parents. Thereafter the second batch of 550 terrorists will be released and Gilad will fly home to Israel via Germany. Since this deal was negotiated by a German mediator with the strong support of the German Government, it is on German soil that Gilad will be officially released.

The terrorists and prisoners will be released as follows: One group will be released to the territories, a second group will be released to the Gaza Strip and a third group will be released to an unnamed country and this group will not be allowed access either to Gaza or the territories.

In agreeing to this deal Israel has created a precedent for releasing its captives which goes far beyond that which was negotiated with the Hizbollah in previous prisoner exchanges. For the first time an exchange will include terrorists who are serving multiple life sentences for the murder of thousands of Israelis. Until now Israel has refused to release terrorists with 'blood on their hands' and this exchange reflects a major change in policy. A second precedent is Israel's agreement to release terrorists who come from East Jerusalem and other parts of sovereign Israel. Until now Israel has maintained that since Israeli law governs these areas, those who have committed crimes are defined as murderers and not terrorists and cannot be included in such agreements.

Many commentators are trying to understand Israel's change of policy. Following is an attempt to answer this question.

During this past year there have been dramatic changes in the balance of power in the Middle East.

1. The Egyptian Government was overthrown and a weakened interim government is now in power south of Israel's borders. This Government is under severe pressure to adopt an anti-Israeli policy and there are calls in Egypt to renounce its Peace Treaty with Israel. Until now Egypt has played a major role in mediating between Israel and Hamas and its ability to do so in the future is seriously in question. Israel therefore felt that it is crucial now to take advantage of Egypt's mediation as in the future Egypt may not be in a position to mediate at all.

2. PLO President Abbas' position has been highly strengthened by his attempt to declare a Palestinian State at the United Nations. For the past five years Abbas has opposed the release of Shalit in the fear that it would strengthen Hamas. However, now that Abbas seems to have taken a stance which has infuriated the Israeli Government, Israel feels at liberty to negotiate with Hamas and indirectly enhance Hamas' standing in the Palestinian street and thereby increase the rivalry between Hamas and the PLO.

3. A key figure who is included on the release list is Mustafa Barghouti. Barghouti belongs to Abbas' PLO and was sentenced to five life sentences as a result of the murders he planned in the second Intifada. Barghouti speaks a perfect Hebrew, is highly charismatic and within the PLO presents the greatest political challenge to Abbas. This may yet be another Israeli attempt to unseat Abbas and open a new relationship with a potential Palestinian Government headed by Barghouti.

4. Israel feels that the Palestinian public in the territories has relinquished its armed struggle, and therefore the potential threat of potential terrorism will be counterbalanced by the strong feeling in the Palestinian street that the armed struggle is something of the past.

5. Netanyahu realizes that while this release will be condemned by many of the victims of terror it will have the widespread support of the Israeli population. He has been under major pressure from the "Release Shalit" movement, soldiers in uniform and hundreds of thousands of Shalit sympathizers. In taking this step he is taking it with the support of the Israeli public.

In this exchange it must be realized that Israel is taking a major gamble. Those who are released may create winds of change in the territories leading to a third Intifada. It has been claimed that it was the terrorists who were released in the 80's who were behind the first Intifada. Furthermore, this release could well be an incentive to kidnap soldiers in the future with the full knowledge that this is the best proven method for securing the release of terrorists. Hopefully this will not be the case.

"At-one-[mo]ment"

2011-10-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

Not withstanding the rabbinic and ancient traditions and teachings of the meaning and purpose behind Yom Kippur. As I sit here in preparation for leaving work to go home and begin my observance of Yom Kippur, I can't stop thinking about a "throwaway" comment made earlier today that has me pondering: "At-One-Ment".

The literal definition of "Atonement" is the reconciliation or making up for one's sins. It is the act of "trying to right the wrong"; and Yom Kippur is the Jewish day to observe this act of reconciliation.

However, what if we don't look at it as one full day? What if we thought of it as the reconciliation of many "moments" that take place throughout the day. This 25 hour fast, which we are about to embark upon, challenges us as we reach further into the later hours, to struggle and repress the pangs of thirst and hunger and stay sharp and focused until the concluding Neilah prayer service. These very real attempts to move from moment to moment as we visually imagine the gates of heaven closing before our very presence makes the sands of time seem to be moving through the hourglass at an unusually painfully slow pace.

What if the message of Yom Kippur, our "Day of Atonement" comes down to these very slow-motioned seconds or literally "moments" of time. Martin Buber philosophized about the "I-Though" relationship. What if tonight and tomorrow are only the representation of every moment we have throughout the year? Would we choose to live our lives the same way? Would we appreciate these "moments" a little more?

Whatever you think, or however you chose to use your time, please remember, this year, as you get ever closer to the conclusion of this sacred day, consider all the ways you could have chosen, acted, behaved, considered, thought, listened, spoke, and/or imagined yourself differently and know that there's room for improvement in each of us.

May you enjoy all the blessings, wishes, and fruits of your desires, and need to ask for nothing more nor less; and may you be signed into the Book of Life for another year.

Gmar chatimah tovah!

Good Parents Gone Bad...

2011-10-06T04:50:00.000-07:00

So, I have learned over the years that there are at least two really good ways of starting up a project. One is to wait until all of one's proverbial "ducks are in a row" and the other is to "just jump right in". Although the "ducks in a row" approach is often the safer approach, it is also the more time consuming way to get started, and is often encumbered by the "paralysis of analysis" syndrome.

The "just jump right in" approach on the other hand, is most certainly more risky and dangerous, but as the name describes, leaves little time to contemplate, consider, and ponder potential outcomes...whether they be successful or opportunities for improvement.

Today, I resurrect my blog with the latter approach. After almost a year of hiatus, and a hibernation worthy of the greatest grizzly. Today, I just jump right in with one of my favorite child psychologist gurus, Dr. Wendy Mogul, and her wonderful labeling of "Good parents gone bad". I hope you enjoy this 5 minute video as much as I did...

Words of wisdom from my former rabbi, friend and colleague...

2010-10-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

The following is last week's d'var Torah by Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, Spiritual Leader of Beth Tefillah, Scottsdale, Arizona. For as long as I have known Rabbi Allouche and his family (pictured below) they exude a passion and belief in life that has no limits. Rabbi Allouche profoundly believes that there is no end to the goodness and light that each of us can project in everything that we do. His simple explanation for the oft comparison between Purim and Halloween is one of which we should all be reminded at this time of year.

Also, for those living in the Scottsdale area, or those who might find themselves vacationing there and needing a place to call "home" during your visit, you should definitely make Beth Tefillah a Shabbat stop and allow your neshamah to enjoy its vacation too.

Dear Friends,

He was nicknamed "the outsider," "the different." The norm was his personal enemy. He resented the mainstream leaders of society, as he hoped to create a change of direction for people and a new destiny for the world.

His name? Abraham the Hebrew, literally meaning: Abraham, from the other side. He was so called, for as the Talmud teaches, "the entire world was on one side, and he, Abraham was on the other side." Indeed, a true revolutionary who changed the landscape of our globe and its history, through the noble notion of monotheism.

It is Abraham's approach in this week's Torah portion that has inspired us, the Hebrew nation, to challenge our environment, its habits and its cultures, and to always thirst for true purpose and meaning. And it is this approach that has led me to question the "Halloween" festivities that have already begun to flood the streets of this country. After all, as a dear friend mentioned to me, it is just like the Jewish festival of Purim!

But is it really like Purim? True, in both festivals, we dress-up, candy is distributed, and laughter is spread. But at a deeper glance, they appear as complete opposites.

First, Purim falls in March, not in October. Second, Purim is celebrated with costumes of saints and sages, not of mischievous spirits and demons. Third, on Purim we offer and give flavorsome foods to one another. We don't demand and take it. Fourth, on Purim, joy and vivacity is spread. Not fear and death horrors. And last but not least, the heroes of Purim, Mordechai & Esther, are human beings like us. Not like phanthoms. They are a reflection of our infinite potential and our inner self, not of extraterrestrial ghosts disconnected from the profound dignity of the human being.

Of course, Halloween is not a bad holiday. If it is your custom to celebrate it, so be it, and enjoy it. In addition, we must also be cordial, polite and respectful toward our neighbors and our friends who celebrate Halloween. But this year, be the giver (of candies), not the receiver. Be the one with the divine smile, not the one with the demonic grimace.

And remember that a dark light glimmering within a menacing pumpkin does not stand a chance, in the test of space and time, in the shadow of G-d's pure and revealed light beaming through you!

Lekh Lekha...

2010-10-13T03:53:00.000-07:00

So after almost four months on hiatus I'm finally back and able to dedicate the time necessary to sharing once again a few words of Torah, education, and life.

There is a Yiddish phrase, "Mench tracht and G-t lacht"..."people plan and G-d laughs". Well, I have certainly planned plenty in my lifetime, so my guess is that I am keeping G-d laughing and hopefully smiling at the same time. It's nice to know that although I never thought of myself as a "funny" person, I now have the opportunity to imagine G-d laughing probably keeled over in pain (or maybe even ROTFLOL) at my many attempts to "plan."

But then again, what if what I think might be planning is actually me "listening" to G-d and following that inner voice that guides my moral and ethical compass?

In this week's Torah potion G-d tells Abram (later renamed "Abraham"), "Go forth from your homeland, from the place where you were born, from your father's house, unto the land that I will show you." What if we are all at some point given this same directive from G-d? Maybe for us it is not so direct and transcendent, but what if every one of us has our "lekh lekha" moment?

I have had the pleasure and opportunity to have lived in a number of different communities in my life, in fact some of these communities have spanned different continents representing a number of different countries. It is this nomad'ishness that people often find disconcerting and worrisome; however, for me I often see it as a blessing, certainly an opportunity, and maybe even based on this week's parshah my "lekh lekha" moment?

Have a wonderful week and I'm glad to be back!

Sharing news the Jewish way...

2010-06-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

This posting also appears on the Davar Acher blogsite; a place for the Jim Joseph Foundation Fellows and other guest bloggers to share their ideas, thoughts, and messages toward advancing Jewish Education worldwide.

The "Sandwich Method" for sharing critical/potentially negative news is a simple concept of starting with the first layer of "bread". Here one provides an initial positive remark, compliment, or other warm and fuzzy so as to set the stage and begin building the sandwich by showing that "feeding someone" is as much about the care being taken in the information's delivery as it is about the information itself.

The "meat" of the sandwich can then be shared. This is often the negative feedback, constructive criticism, and/or critical information that often leaves the recipient a little taken aback by the impact of the information. And then, finally, one closes the sandwich with a positive comment about the future, how the information may help someone grow, or general optimistic statement.

So why do I share this methodology on a Jewish education blog? Well, besides the fact that we are most certainly a gastronomic faith, I actually believe that this sandwich method is a very Jewish and ancient method for sharing difficult news and can be observed in the events of this week's Torah portion.

It is this week, in Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41), where Moses sends out a group of representatives of all the Tribes to scout the land of Canaan. What we know is that this group returns from their travels and they share terrifying information about the "giants" who live there. These stories in turn cause panic and hysteria amongst the Children of Israel and ultimately brings about a punishment for this generation of never being able to enter the land.

Similarly, the consequences for the scouts is death... for all that is but Joshua and Caleb. Why not these two? Common understanding tells us that these two scouts did not share the negatives and fear-inducing stories of what they saw. Rather, these two were optimists and wanted to only focus on the good.

My conjecture, however, is that these two were saved for the way they shared the information. Not because of what they actually said (or did not say).

In Numbers 13:27 we read that the scouts (the collective group) describe the land as "flowing with milk and honey" (laying the first piece of "bread") they then share the "meat" of what they saw which is a land with numerous enemies, "huge and fortified" cities, and even descendants of the giants (13:28). Nobody suggests that they are embellishing their story, or worse outright lying!

No, what happens here is that for the majority of the scouts their report of what they saw ends on this note of fear and anxiety. In fact, this scary focal point becomes the focus of what they go on to share with the other Hebrews in the encampment. Not Caleb and Joshua however. Their report continues and ends with the closing slice of bread. For Caleb and Joshua there is still optimism and potential fulfillment of their destiny as we read in 13:30 where Caleb says, "We should go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." So even with the fearful news of what they saw; even with this incredibly scary report, the fact is that what Caleb and Joshua know about what they could do still outweighed what they saw on their trail. They didn't want/try to leave anyone paralyzed by the news.

When it comes to sharing information, and as educators we share, recommend, advise, counsel, and talk to people all day long; it is wise for us to always keep the sandwich method in mind. Remember, how one says something is just as important as what one says!

Controlling vengeance...

2010-03-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

Dipping the finger in the wine during the retelling of the 10 plagues in Egypt.

It was about 20 years ago when I was first confronted with what I perceived to be the “disconnect” during the Passover Seder. For me the moment of greatest challenge was between celebrating the retelling of our People’s master story (from slavery in Egypt to freedom in our promised land) against the perceived “reveling” in the pain and suffering of those who caused our ancestors unspeakable acts of hatred and anti-Semitism.

In Traditional Haggadot it is still customary to read the passage "Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations that know Thee not, and upon the kingdoms that call not upon Thy name. Pour out Thine indignation upon them, and let the fierceness of Thine anger overtake them. Thou wilt pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Hashem."

The paragraph itself is actually a compilation of three Biblical verses (Psalm 79:6-7, Psalm 69:25 and Lamentations 3:66) which were assembled and added to the Haggadah during the Middle Ages. The history behind these Haggadic additions is that the above passage was a conscious response by the Jewish community to the mass Jewish executions during the Crusades, and to the persecution of Jews throughout the ages. These verses acted as the community’s collective voice condemning those evil actions and calling upon G-d to stand up and hold our persecutors accountable.

Today, however, especially living in the United States where many of us are insulated from the hatred and anti-Semitic acts that plague many of our brethren in nations across the globe, the notion of vengeance and hatred toward our non-Jewish neighbors is profoundly rejected.

As Jewish parents wanting to raise our children with universal values of respect, forgiveness, integrity, and coexistence, we need to ask ourselves, how do we teach our children to be satisfied when justice is served while at the same time ensuring that this satisfaction does not become joy and happiness at the suffering of another?

Passover is the perfect time to introduce these ideas. The Passover Seder is a time of reflection, storytelling, and discussion, where simple acts can teach lessons for a lifetime.

For instance, when it comes time to traditionally dip your finger in the cup of wine during the reading of the 10 plagues, suggest to your guests (or if you are a guest, suggest to your host and friends) that at the conclusion of the last plague do NOT suck/lick the wine off of their wet finger; rather, suggest that they wipe it dry with a napkin.

The explanation for this strange avoidance (why not suck the wine off of the finger???) is that the wine that one has just used to enact this part of the Seder, has been incorporated specifically to visually demonstrate the plagues destruction over the Egyptians. The reason for holding back one’s instinctual urge to lick the wine off of the finger is exactly the urge which we often have in finding joy in our enemies’ demise.

When we suffer, we want our enemies to suffer. When we no longer suffer, we should look beyond the vengeance, as instinctive as it may be, and look for the path of restraint and take the proverbial “higher” road.

However, in reality, there will still be multiple guests sitting around the table who forget your instructions and proceed to suck the remaining wine off of their finger. At this point the stage has been set for a wonderful teachable moment. Ask the group why it is so difficult to withhold our instinctive desires? Is it possible that they have already forgotten the instructions of only a few minutes earlier? Maybe; but the real opportunity is in the ensuing discussion.

I wish you all a happy, healthy, and zissen Pesach!

Mazal Tov!!!

2010-03-12T04:35:00.000-08:00

2010 Middle School Science Fair Winners

So after all the skepticism, adult cynicism, and jaded pessimism of "product marketability" last night three elementary school students and six middle school students (pictured above) were rewarded with their well-deserved recognition and respective prizes.

But wait, there's more... just before the event formally began last night I was part of a meeting where at its conclusion I invited the attendees to come and visit the Invention Convention and Science Fair (most of the group were parents already planning to go on to the event but some were school leaders without participating children - so why not invite them to see these incredible creations). One particular parent of two students in the Invention Convention openly joked about his children's inventions and how ridiculous they were. Then another parent chimed in to not only agree but share the impracticality of his child's invention.

Again, I shared with these parents that this process is about our need to encourage creativity and innovation. Even if the items aren't necessarily marketable and/or have serious logistical flaws the fact is that this process encourages children to identify a problem and consequently find a solution to the problem (i.e. become inventive).

The beauty of the evening, beyond seeing the room full of hundreds of parents, relatives, guests, and friends asking the student inventors and scientists about their creations and hypotheses, was the fact that the initiating skeptic and loudest critic from the earlier meeting had to not only eat his words upon arriving at the event, but that he will now have to remember his cynicism every time he looks at his youngest child because she actually won one of the innovation prizes for creativity and inventiveness!

Yes, my friends, I could not have made up a better example of how often we potentially stifle our children's idealism and passion for naturally trying to solve the problem's and challenges around us. Maybe we would be better served to let these young and "unjaded" minds take a serious stab at some of our global issues...who knows, maybe we would actually create a system to reduce global warming, possibly bring about world peace, and even maybe eliminate the threat of a nuclear armageddon all together???

Failure... a step toward success!

2010-03-11T05:14:00.000-08:00

Today is our school’s 2^nd Annual Invention Convention & Science Fair. Apparently, we only get to call it “annual” in its second year…so today we have reached this great milestone!

Seriously though, I have been astounded over the years (and this is not being overly melodramatic) at the incredibly inflated expectations of today’s parents toward their children’s potential. Obviously, being the head of a Jewish day school, I only have geniuses who were reading in their cribs, doing calculus in preschool, and who are today solving the world’s greatest mysteries and challenges as pre-pubescent Einsteins.

The fact is that even with tongue-in-cheek humor I have witnessed great attempts by education policymakers to suck the creativity and innovation right out of our children while creating expectations for achieving a mythical “perfection” through high-stakes assessments. I’m not exactly sure when “striving for perfection” became “being perfect” but I am very confident that this expectation is a strong reason innovation (read: risk-taking) has slowly disappeared from our children’s behaviors for fear of potential failure.

Woody Allen said it best “If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.” (And he knows something or two about failing). As a head of school I am always trying to help put things into perspective, whether it’s for our students, staff and faculty, or parents and broader community, nothing does the job better than talking about a child learning to walk:

The build-up to those first few steps, the encouragement, support and even outright cheering when a toddler stands up is at times overwhelming. Then a stride across the room comes and the audience erupts! From there a few setbacks (thank G-d for well-padded diapers) but the encouragement continues; the support network stands firm (pun intended). And eventually, after who knows how many attempts, failure turns into success!!!

So when does it change? I dare say that in the world of Jewish education we must ensure that it never does. In our school, the commitment to the Invention Convention over the last two years has been fraught with parental push-back. “It’s too hard for my child to come up with something original” is the most common criticism. “My child can’t come up with any ‘problems’ or ‘challenges’ to be solved” is another frequently used critique. Nonetheless, when I have the opportunity to walk around our museum of innovative products and creations, as I did this morning, there is no doubt that we are well on our way to readdressing this critical commodity.

When I was a child, my mother (a former religious school teacher) used to remind me that the Torah had characters who were imperfect and “real” human beings. They might have had Divine relationships which we only wish we could have today, but our ancestors were real, they made mistakes, and they certainly failed in a varied multitude of ways.

Today, I ask you all out there, what are we doing to emulate this critical characteristic of our ancestors? Where has all the imperfection gone? And where is our support and recognition that failing is not a badge of dishonor, rather it is a symbol of one’s pursuit for success?

Re: Jewish Identity Projects...

2010-02-28T05:43:00.000-08:00

In an era when many suggest we are at best stagnating as a Jewish community, in fact many would even suggest we are regressing, the collective blog "28 Days, 28 Ideas: 28 Ideas to Transform the Jewish Future" is a much needed breathe of fresh air to re-energize us in engaging in the critical visionary discussions that this blog has/is prompting.

I want to thank Ira Wise, colleague, friend, and fellow JJFF'er (Jim Joseph Foundation Fellow) for bringing my attention to this insightful and even contentious blog. For whether I agree or disagree with the individual postings themselves, the very fact that this blog was even created in the first place is a critical sign of our desperate need for a new Tikvah ("Hope") and a new vision to advance our Jewish community beyond the 21st Century.

The following is entry #23 (of the total 28) which struck a personal nerve for me as a Jewish day school educator. Creating, instilling, establishing, nurturing "Jewish identity", as Daniel Septimus so clearly articulates below, is simply not enough of a driving force for Jewish continuity and sustainability.

Daniel Septimus is the Editor-in-Chief and
CEO of MyJewishLearning.com.

Over the last several years, I have read dozens of articles and listened to scores of conversations about the challenge of strengthening Jewish identity in America. Indeed, since the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey canonized Jewish American assimilation, an unprecedented amount of communal dollars and efforts have been poured into this endeavor.

Programs aimed at "young Jews" are often explicitly framed as identity projects, a fact readily apparent from the mission statements of two of the most prominent and well-funded organizations serving the 18-30 crowd, Hillel and Birthright Israel.

Hillel "provides opportunities for Jewish students...to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity through its global network of regional centers." Birthright Israel aims "to strengthen participants' personal Jewish identity."

This may seem neither controversial nor remarkable, but I believe that the obsessive focus on identity is both misguided and fundamentally alien to Jewish tradition.

What do organizations mean when they say they want to strengthen or cultivate Jewish identity?

At The Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly, in a panel on Jewish Peoplehood, Dr. Erica Brown noted that there are three components to identity formation: the cognitive (what we think), the behavioral (what we do), and the emotional (what we feel). In discussing some of the maladies plaguing the American Jewish community, Dr. Brown suggested an interesting diagnosis: when American Jews speak about Jewish identity they aggressively emphasize the emotional.

In other words, to too many American Jews, Jewish identity means feeling Jewish.

Dr. Brown's insight articulated something I have been noticing for years and was, most recently, driven home during a conversation with a prominent Jewish philanthropist. As we spoke, this generous and committed Jewish leader extolled the virtues of Jewish education and lamented its current state. When I asked him what he wanted Jewish education to achieve-what its aim should be-his answer was simple: "I want Jewish kids to feel proud of being Jewish."

I, for my part, was stunned. Really? That's it? That's the goal of Jewish education, of all your philanthropic benevolence? A feeling of ethnic/religious/cultural pride?

This is merely one example, of course, but to appreciate the Jewish community's excessive emotionalism-and its eschewal of the cognitive and behavioral aspects of identity formation-consider this: Could you imagine Birthright Israel's mission statement asserting that it wanted to influence the thinking and behaviors of its participants? Surely, most American Jews would consider that paternalistic, if not creepy.

So what's so bad about putting all of our eggs in the basket of emotional identity?

First, as Dr. Brown noted, it ignores the importance of "what we think" and "what we do."

Professor Steven M. Cohen has noted something similar. "In common parlance, ‘identity,' has come to be understood as related primarily to intra-psychic feelings-the attitudes and sentiments felt within....But, in truth, Jewish identity extends (or ought to extend) beyond the affective. Being an ‘identified Jew' is not just about feeling Jewish, but about expressing Jewish belonging and undertaking identifiably Jewish behaviors."

Secondly, valuing emotional identity as the fundamental aim of Jewish life is a recent phenomenon that has little precedent in Jewish tradition. It's difficult for me to think of a single traditional Jewish text that discusses the importance of feeling Jewish. Not only is the centrality of emotional identity not rooted in Jewish tradition, it is likely an expression of our alienation from this tradition.

One might suggest as my friend Dr. Eliyahu Stern has that "identity is the language of those who have lost it." Or as Leon Wieseltier has written: "Where the words of the fathers are forgotten, there is still ethnic identity. The thinner the identity the louder."

Now, I do not believe that all contemporary Jewish expressions must be rooted in the past, and I do believe there are contemporary values-Jewish and secular-that should trump traditional Jewish ones, but the emotionalism that guides American Jews is not one of them.

The idea I'm suggesting here, then, is that we abandon the rhetoric of identity, that we stop programming and funding the goal of strengthening Jewish identity. I am not, however, suggesting that we abandon all the programs that mention Jewish identity building as their aim. These programs can-and usually do-have other goals, even if they are not always front and center in their mission statements. Additionally, since I am tearing down one of the primary frameworks of contemporary Judaism, let me offer an alternative.

The second mishnah in Pirkei Avot reports the following: "Shimon the Righteous was one of the last survivors of the Great Assembly. He used to say: The world is sustained on three things: on Torah, on the Temple service [avodah], and on deeds of loving kindness [gemilut hasadim]."

What are these three pillars?

1) Torah, which includes education and study, the intellectual and cognitive aspects of Judaism.

2) Avodah, which in Pirke Avot refers to the service of God as conducted in the Temple, but can generally encompass the religious, spiritual, and ritual aspects of Jewish life.

3) Gemilut hasadim, which incorporates the ethical demands of Judaism-helping the poor, visiting the sick, fighting for the dignity of all.

I'd like to see the rhetoric of Jewish programming and funding guided by these three categories. Of course, there are other values that could be used as touchstones for Jewish priorities. The People of Israel and the Land of Israel are two that come to mind. But while I wouldn't ignore the importance of Peoplehood and Israel, I believe Shimon's pillars speak more directly to the human condition.

While Shimon's framework is Jewish, I don't think it's incidental that he believed "the world" was sustained by these three items. One might argue that a full life-for individuals and communities-includes elements of these three categories: the intellectual, the spiritual, and the ethical.

If our goal is to raise a generation of Jews who feel Jewish, then our aspirations are, I fear, limited and foreign. Creating a Jewish community that is committed to study, ritual, and helping others seems like a nobler endeavor. And a more Jewish one at that.

Of Presidents and Prime Ministers…

2010-02-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

This blog post was originally written for the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community Day School newsletter, Aleynu.

Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Barak Obama

As we honor this Presidents’ Day away from the normal routines of our regular work week let us take a moment to better understand the difference of our US leadership as compared to our former rulers, the British.

In the United States we have a system led by a President. The creation of this system was primarily created so as to not allow any one individual to possess so much power that he (or someday she) could lead at will, without any input and guidance from other elected and/or ratified leaders (in direct opposition to the concept of royalty and supreme authority).

This being said, the British (and many other European countries—Israel included) possesses a system of leadership led by a Prime Minister. In these countries, there is often another “State” leader and these Prime Ministers’ leadership roles are limited to “governing” their respective countries.

In short, in most countries led by a President, the people vote independently for this specific leader and then vote for representatives or district leaders using separate and secondary votes. However, in the countries led with a Prime Minister, the people typically vote for a party to “run” the country and then the party select their leader to take on the role of Prime Minister. In other words, the Head of State (The President) speaks on behalf of the country as compared to Head of Government (The Prime Minister) who speaks for his/her party’s leadership of the country.

Lastly, in some countries, such as is the case in Israel, we actually have both a Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) and President. (former Prime Minister, Shimon Peres).

This week, discuss these two different types of leadership with your child(ren) and ask them if they think one might be better, easier, more/less efficient than the other...enjoy!

AZ Jewish News: Chalk Talk by Nammie Ichilov (1/22/10)

2010-01-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

What Does it Mean “To Learn”?

For approximately the last two hundred years education in the United States has maintained its constant machine-like dependability as it redesigned itself for the Industrial Revolution. But if we haven’t noticed lately, we no longer live in that era. In fact, similar to how the Agricultural Revolution brought about the Industrial Age it was the Digital Revolution of the late 20^th Century which brought us into the Information Age.

Additionally, it wasn’t too long ago when “to learn” something connoted someone being told the differences between one item and another. “To learn” meant that a student was explained a certain idea, expected to know the facts, and eventually, to demonstrate the learned information/behavior the student was likely to simply regurgitate back the information.

No longer is this the case. Our children have access to information at speeds we could have never dreamed of when we were children. A child growing up in today’s world does not relate to the notion that knowledge is stagnant and unchangeable. What our children have seen, in only the last decade of their brief lives, has been change and technological advancement that would have taken centuries to occur only a few generations ago. Today we are teaching children to be prepared for jobs that have not yet been dreamed. It is exactly this change in access to information that has redefined the meaning of learning; “to not simply possess ‘knowledge’, but rather, to pursue ‘wisdom’”.

Wisdom has always been a differentiating factor in how our Jewish tradition approached education. Jewish wisdom has been based on one’s ability to self-reflect, think critically, and understand the world through an “external” lens instead of our often selfish tendencies to look at the world through our egos and personal motivation. The Book of Proverbs opens with the declarative statement “The wise man will hear, and increase in learning…but the foolish despise wisdom and discipline.” (1:5-7) It is this principal goal and objective of the Jewish day school that raises us above our competition.

At the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community Day School, as well as in most other Jewish day schools across North America, our children are taught to be counter-cultural. This “conflict” with the everyday value system we live in is an asset and a wonderfully positive attribute for our children’s future success. Research has clearly demonstrated that children who attend Jewish day schools are “significantly” less likely to engage in “risky behaviors” and are notably more likely to participate in positive civic and community service activities.

Day schools like Jess Schwartz take pride in identifying and nurturing our students’ strengths and guiding them to achieve their ultimate potential. Learning in Jewish day schools like ours encourages the students and their families to appreciate the total package of a Jewish day school education; the intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, and physical components of a whole-child education. At Jess Schwartz we will never simply look to the checks and balances of the machine-shop world to understand how a student is doing. Assessing a child in a Jewish day school means understanding what capacity the child has, how the child applies the learning to real-life situations, and what will this child do with this newly learned knowledge.

We live in a state which has been ranked at the bottom (in some cases in last place) in its commitment to education, its ability to educate our children, and its demonstrated success in graduating students from high school on to college (50^th out of 50 states!). And this is a state in a country which ranks almost at the bottom for math and science by PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) of the Organization of Economic and Comparative Development (between 24^th and 26^th place out of 30 countries).

As was once shared with me, “In tough times, there are many things you need to cut back on. A quality Jewish education shouldn’t be one of them.” I encourage every parent of a school-aged child to visit a Jewish day school ASAP. As the parent of two day school students I happen to be partial to the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community Day School; however, all the Jewish day schools in the Valley work together to build a collective Jewish community for the generations yet to come, and so during this registration season pick up the phone, make the call, and come visit one of us. You assuredly won’t be disappointed!

# # #

Nammie Ichilov is the Head of the Lower & Middle Schools at the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community Day School; the only K-12 pluralistic Jewish community day school in Arizona. Jess Schwartz is committed to educational excellence through providing every student with an individualized learning experience unique to his or her ability. For more information and/or to schedule your visit to the school today, please call Sharon Rendelman, Director of Admissions, 480-991-4333 x216 or e-mail her at srendelman@jessschwartz.org.

Day 11: Imagineering the Future (our final day)

2010-01-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

Tsvi Bisk Carrying our "history" on our backs into the future

Our last day together started with a unique presentation by Tsvi Bisk, Director for the Center for Strategic & Futurist Thinking. Please go to his website to better understand his "thought processes" as there is no way I could do it even remote justice with an abbreviated explanation.

Following the presentation we traveled to Petah Tikvah for our closing lunch together. It has been an amazing week and I can't believe that it's now time to go back home.

Thank you to the Jim Joseph Foundation & the Lookstein Center at Bar Ilan University for putting together this fellowship...it just keeps getting better and better...todah!

Day 10: Alternative Leaderships

2010-01-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

Opportunity for a Bracha (Blessing) on the Rainbow

Day 10 began at Bar Ilan University with a special presentation by Elisheva Baumgarten, lecturer in the department of Jewish History and Gender Studies. By the time the lecture ended we all felt like we had taken a whirlwind tour through medieval times, and needed a timeout because we were so out of breath. Professor Baumgarten has SO much energy and passion for her subject matter that we all got consumed by her and went along for the "ride of our lives".

Next on our agenda was a guided tour through Neot Kedumin. Touring this biblical landscape reserve was a wonderful way to begin our wrap-up of this incredible week. Through a few community building activities, which drew from biblical daily experiences, we got a real feel for the land and way of life. Talk about "alternative leadership" experiences, our theme for the day, oh boy did we ever have to challenge our normal leadership styles and come up with alternative tools, ideas, and paradigms.

Our day wrapped up with a special "How to..." on Wiki's led by Reuven Werber. Although we were exhausted from an intensely busy and active day, it was nice to see how Reuven used the Wiki platform to create shared learning experiences between Israeli and North American schools from Canada and the US.

Lailah tov (good night) - tonight we will definitely sleep well!

Day 9: Making Difficult Decisions

2010-01-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Aren Maeir presenting a variety of architectural finds from the 1st & 2nd Century BCE
(Amit Dagan, our tour guide, in background)

Day 9 started with a study tour of Emek Yizrael, Har Carmel, and Har Gilboa. We read texts from the first book of Kings and discussed the story of Elijah the Prophet. To look out over these rolling mountains while reading the texts made the TaNaKh come to life and feel like we had traveled back in time.

In the evening we returned to campus to hear archeologist, Arn Maeir (see above), share some incredible personal stories about his excavations; and if this was not enough, he then took the group to his archeological laboratory to see, touch, and even hold ancient artifacts over 5000 years old! It was a surreal experience to hold these original ancient pieces, as well as other artifacts from communities mentioned in the Torah.

What a day!

Day 8: Leadership in a New Era

2009-12-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

Tel-Aviv Shoreline (as seen from Jaffa)

Today we reversed our regular routine, and rather than tour the country and return to the University to wrap-up the day, instead, we began with a text study led by Joshua Berman on the theme of "transitional leadership" using Joshua taking over from Moses as the case study. There was lots of good debate, insight, and many "aha" moments, and like last night's havruta study (study in pairs) we had the opportunity to study with other fellows and better appreciate each one's unique skills and perspectives which s/he brings to the proverbial table.

Following our morning study we were dropped off in Jaffa for a touring hike through its ancient streets traveling through time to 19th & 20th Century Tel-Aviv; ending our morning in Independence Hall (AKA "House of Dizengoff") for a retelling of the events that led to the announcement of the State of Israel. The 4 hour tour was a world wind experience covering a few thousand years of history, yet, at the same time allowing us to glean a few wonderful nuggets of historical leadership examples

It's hard to believe that we only have three more days of the retreat left!

Day 7: Dissent in Community

2009-12-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

Caves of Qumran

Where the Dead Sea Scrolls Were Discovered

Today started off with an early departure from Jerusalem with a brief stop at the Mosaic Museum of the Good Samaritan. There are no lesser words than amazing to describe the original mosaic floors and artwork that are on display at this museum. The incredible detail and precision on these mosaics were absolutely incredible (unfortunately no photos could be taken).

Next on the agenda was Nebi Musa. This was my first time visiting this site, and needless to say, I was incredibly surprised to learn that local folklore believes that this is the burial place of Moses. The history of this Muslim religious site was fascinating, and helped frame the theme of the day..."dissent in the community".

From Nebi Musa we continued to the Caves of Qumran and studied the lifestyles of the Essenes and how they adapted to their new desert lifestyle while maintaining their religious identity. Having this opportunity to visit the site first hand, especially after Friday night's presentation from Hanan Eshel (the professor who literally "wrote the book" on these caves) was without question a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We wrapped up our day of touring with a visit to the Menachem Begin Memorial Museum in Jerusalem followed by a presentation/text study back at Bar Ilan University by Adam Ferziger.

It was a full day following our "relaxed" Shabbat; but now on to Monday!

Day 6: Shabbat in Jerusalem

2009-12-27T08:22:00.000-08:00

Uri Fink (l) & Shay Charka (r)

Shabbat was a nice relaxing day which started off with almost 15 hours of sleep! Yes, after having possibly the worst case of desynchronosis (aka "jet lag") I have ever experienced, I woke up after breakfast and lunch, and just in time for seudah shlisheet ("third meal"). Thankfully (or maybe "unthankfully") the meals here have been delicious, with clockwork regularity, and incredibly plentiful, so missing a couple of meals really wasn't much of a concern.

Also at seudah shlisheet, Nurit Bachrach, Director of Mosaica Mediation Center for Conflict Resolution in Jerusalem, presented a few fascinating examples and stories of how Restorative Justice and mediation are helping Jews, Arabs, Ethiopians, Russians, and the many other residents with cultural differences find ways of living together in Jerusalem.

Following this we had a few hours to pack our bags, answer a few emails, and then come back together for our evening program with Robbie Gringras, Artist-in-Residence for MAKOM Israel Engagement Network. What a great evening of art, music and insider perspective from Robbie (such as the cartoon above drawn by two of Israel's top cartoonists Fink and Charka.)

May you have a wonderful week, shavuah tov!

Day 4 & 5: Part B - The Value of Values

2009-12-26T09:13:00.001-08:00

Yerushalayim Hineni (Jerusalem here I am)! "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem...if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy" (Psalms 137:5-6)

View of the Southern Wall of the Temple from the overlook at the ancient City of David

Today we woke up in Jerusalem. The very feeling of walking outside and taking in a breath of fresh air in this holiest of Holy lands is something indescribable. Yet, I remind myself almost every time I am here that it was not always this way for me. When I would come to Israel as a child (which in some years was multiple times a year) Jerusalem to me was no different than any other city in Israel. In fact, it might have even been a city I tried not to have to go to. Even when I had my Bar Mitzvah at the base of the Western Wall (where 25 years later to the exact same day I had the opportunity to attend the Bar Mitzvah of one of my students), this holy city never truly carried any particularly special "value" to me. It was only as a young adult, when t'fillah (prayer), my personal theology, and having possessed a deeper understanding of what it meant to be Jewish, did Jerusalem finally receive the respect and awe which I know have for it today.

The "Value of Values" has been our theme as we toured Jerusalem and looked at it through the eyes of the 1st & 2nd Temples. "What were the values that guided our ancient leaders decisions?" was the repeating questions from our guides Tzvi Grumet & Shalom Berger (Associate Educational Director of the Lookstein Center, and Co-Director of the Jim Joseph Fellowship Program respectively). "Values?" I kept asking myself as we walked the paths that were laid thousands of years ago...what values did our ancient ancestors have that built cities which have lasted longer than most countries have even been in existence! What values guided these leaders visions and understandings of creating ways of life that we still try and emulate today?

As I pondered (and am still pondering as I write this posting) we wrapped up our day today with a special presentation by Hanan Eshel, Associate Professor and former Head (2002-2004) of the Department of Land of Israel Studies & Archeology at Bar Ilan University. Dr. Eshel capped our day by sharing with us a few personal stories and anecdotes on one of his particular interests and personal excavations, the Caves of Qumran and its "Dead Sea Scrolls". Todah Professor Eshel for helping to personalize and frame the lives which these Jews experienced during those ancient times!

Lastly, I feel as though I have not tackled the question of the day and its "Value of Values" theme. It will have to wait for a later positing as I struggle with simply wanting to remain at the 40,000 foot level of this theme, and leave everything to Divine direction and human vision.

And now to enjoy Shabbat in Yerushalayim!

Day 4 & 5: Part A - Insiders & Outsiders

2009-12-26T09:12:00.001-08:00

Original aqueduct which Herod began to build in the year 22 BCE to bring mountain
water to the beach city of Caesarea from the springs of Mt. Carmel, 10 miles away.

Day 4 started with a study tour in the ancient city of Caesarea. Since our purpose and primary objective on this retreat is to study communities (with our ultimate objective and mission of building Communities of Practice - CoPs - for our respective areas of Jewish educational expertise) today's theme was "Insiders & Outsiders".

After spending an amazing 6 hours walking the city, studying, the sights, and discussing the complex relationship of the Jewish community living under Roman rule we returned to Bar Ilan University for our closing processing session of the day with Rabbi/Dr. Jeffrey Woolf, senior lecturer in the Department of Talmud at Bar Ilan University.

Dr. Woolf shared with us a few texts and discussed the rise of the first Jewish school's to not only teach Jewish themes, concepts, and religious texts, but which also educated the children in Latin, "Christian scripts", and other secular studies so as to provide them with the opportunity to pursue all business and finance opportunities in the greater community.

It was an intense day with many ramifications for how we will develop our own CoPs in the future, the real influence of these lessons learned however, will be on how we view our current environments of Jewish education.

Day 3: Creating Community

2009-12-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

Today was a touring day. We started with a visit to Hurbat Etri (see above photo) where we walked around the remains of an ancient Jewish village inhabited during the 1st Century CE. We walked around the limestone structures, as well as climbed down into the underground mikvehs, and "hiding holes", so as to better understand the lifestyle our ancient ancestors lived so many centuries ago.

From there we traveled to the Bar Kokhba Caves and, like our 8th grade students do every year, the adults crawled through the tight underground crevices and trails to appreciate what it must have been like to live underground and prepare for the impending revolt against the Romans.

In the evening we had the incredible pleasure of having Steven Israel work with us on sharpening our appreciation for Communities of Practice (CoP) through the investigation of the etymological background of the term "community". [Did you know that "community" means to have a shared experience?]

It was during this session where we also looked at what characteristics differentiate the Jewish community from the general community. Through studying a few Talmudic source texts we identified the additional criterion of having a "must" factor applied to the citizen and member of every Jewish community. According to our wisdom literature every Jew has an unyielding obligation to support one's Jewish community. The idea that this is not an optional responsibility, rather, that it is obligatory, once again demonstrates one of these repeating moments where our Jewish tradition openly conflicts with our broader society's common culture...something we have to always be conscious about.

Well, its time to sign-off and get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's visit to Caesarea (followed by a relocation from Kfar Maccabiah, Ramat Gan, to the Prima Royale Hotel, Jerusalem).

Lailah tov (Good night)!

Day 2: The Conference Begins

2009-12-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

Today was a great first day! Besides having an afternoon of listening to some great classical music, led by some of the world's best conductors, Itay Talgam (pictured above) presented on Leadership as Vision & Values through the multiple conducting styles of the various conductors.

Itay, who also served as an Assistant Conductor to Leonard Bernstein, shared with the group the importance of leading from a place of "higher consciousness" (known as "Transcendence" in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs) which is actually beyond Maslow's original highest level of "Self-Actualization."

The whole afternoon really allowed the 11 of us (unfortunately 3 fellows were delayed because of the storm that hit the northeast on Saturday night) the opportunity to do some of our own critical thinking and self-reflection to see where we fall in the variety of leadership examples, as well as which leadership would work best in our respective Jewish educational arenas.

And if all of this was not enough, in the morning we were all invited to work on a Google Wave together to better understand how this Web 2.0 application can be used down the road...when this comes out for Beta testing this will change the way we currently communicate through instant messaging, etc. This is REAL TIME communication online?!?!

Anyway, that should be it for now, so have a great day, and stay tuned for Day 3 when we visit the Bar Kochba Caves (made of "mysterious limestone formations in the southern region of Israel. It was here that the Jews took refuge from the Romans, who persecuted them. In the year 132 C.E., the Jews planned and began their revolt against the repressive regime [from these caves].")

Lailah tov! (Good night)

Israel: Day 1

2009-12-21T21:28:00.000-08:00

After almost 20+ hours of travel time from PHX to Tel Aviv we finally arrived at 10:15 am local time. Both flights were uneventful... exactly what flights should be.

When I landed I was met by Ira Kerem, TIPS staff liaison in Israel. TIPS is the acronym for Tuscon, Israel, Phoenix and Seattle, which is our P2K (Partnership 2000) region with Kiryat Malachi and Chof Ashkelon in Israel.

Of all the many years I've spent coming to Israel, and the multiple 10's of trips I've taken around our homeland, I have to admit that I don't recall ever having visited this region. But that will now change. Having spent the day (thank you Ira) visiting Kiryat Malachi and Chof Ashkelon I now look forward to returning to Phoenix and designing a curriculum for our 8th grade students to interact and "meet" their Israeli P2K Kitah Chet partners online before they get here in May.

<<For more information on this wonderful region and the P2K TIPS partnership follow http://tips-kmha.blogspot.com/>>

So after this great day of new experiences, meeting new friends and potential partners, Ira dropped me off at Kfar Maccabiah which is the host site for the quadrennial Maccabi Games in Israel; and which will be our primary place of residence for our Jim Joseph Fellowship winter 2009 retreat.

Can't wait for the program to start!

Giving Thanks...

2009-11-26T06:59:00.000-08:00

It is in this week's Torah portion where we read a verse which so clearly overstates a single word that one cannot miss it's suggestive message in the greater context of what the Torah may be trying to tell us. We learn very early on in our Judaic Studies classes that there are no coincidences in the words of the Torah; and we learn very early on in our Language Arts classes that when trying to communicate a specific idea that one should state things in similar ways but consciously not use the same word again and again; so why this obvious attempt in the Torah to go against everything we know about written communication?

"And he arrived upon a certain place, and he spent the night there because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put in under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep." (Genesis 28:11)

It certainly does not require an extensive degree, or years of experience in biblical exegesis to realize that the "place" being referenced in this verse from Parashah Vayetzei is clearly important. So what happened in this "place" that G-d wants us to make sure that we don't forget? Maybe it's not even the exact place G-d is drawing our attention to, but rather, it is what happens in this place that G-d wants to make sure we remember?

For me it is clearly the latter. It is the what happened here which I will elaborate upon on this Thanksgiving Day; although it should also be noted that only a few verses later we do in fact find out this place's name "And he called the name of that place Beth-El" (28:19).

This "place" which we read about this week is where Jacob dreamed the dream which led him to believe that this place was the "Gate of Heaven." It was here where he dreamed of a ladder reaching the heavens with angels ascending and descending from the heavens to the earth; and it was in this place where G-d spoke to Jacob and promised him the same promise given to his grandfather Abraham, and his father Isaac; that the land upon which he lies will be given to his descendants, and that "thy seed will be as dust of the earth, and they will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south." (28:14).

But what of the message of this "place", and why it's connection to Thanksgiving? Because it is in this place where Jacob becomes a "believer". It is on this spot, in this location, at this "place" where Jacob thanks "G-d for opening his eyes".

All of us have memories of specific places, some of them are ingrained in us because of their physical beauty, for some because of the emotional ties, and for some others because of the history of what might have happened years before. Whatever the reason we possess a "connection" to the place.

This week, during this Thanksgiving/VIP shortened school week, as I was walking around campus, it dawned on me that this place (JSJCDS) was for many of our students their "Beth-El". It was here in our school, at our "place" where many of our children find their connection to Hashem. It is the development of their relationships with their schoolmates, it is their continued studies in the classroom, it is in their daily T'fillah services, and it is in their ownership of our campus, where many of them have made this place their gateway to heaven.

I can only hope that each one of them makes a similar vow as Jacob to be committed to living a life of divine awe, with a responsibility to future generations, and with a sense of obligation and duty to their community...it is for this blessing of possibility for which I am personally incredibly thankful on this day.

Happy Thanksgiving, and may we all be similarly blessed with finding our own Beth-El.

Israel - a different perspective...

2009-11-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

First, take a look at the following 6-minute interview...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1311023934&play=1

Second, answer me honestly, why aren't we as Diaspora Jews talking more about this side of Israel?

Today, I held my weekly class with our 8th grade students.

[Side note - The course is a 45-minute/week class focusing during the first semester on the events that led to the creation of the State of Israel, the global circumstances which finally brought our Homeland to fruition, along with discussions on regional current events. During the second semester we will be using our 8th grade Israel trip itinerary to study specific historical/biblical locations, texts, stories, and much more so as to prepare the students for their eventual Israel experience in the spring.]

So today I decided to show the students this "new" perspective of Israel. This version of Israel rarely discussed or presented by the media. Here's what a few of the students had to say:

"I think people need to see Israel's side of the story."
"Israel knows how to shine through in dark times."
"I believe that this video showed an amazing perspective of Israel that not many people get to see or hear."
"I found that Israel being so economically resilient was very interesting."
"I am proud to be Jewish."
"Children in Israel have a greater responsibility than children in the US."
"I feel that Israel has had a very hard time ever since it became a state. The amazing thing is that the Israelis have never stopped trying to fight back or represent their country. Israel is very small but has a very large heart."

So I ask once again, why are we not working as the Diaspora Jewish community just as hard to present this image of Israel as anything else we do for our Homeland? These are our brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, and even grandparents we are talking about.

In a "flat world" and a world which has become so "small" because of our society's technological advancements, this is the message which produces great pride and personal connectivity with Israel for the next generation. The metaphor of the small country surrounded by bullies trying to fight for its survival just doesn't speak to these children anymore. This new message is the one that resonates with them. Let's share it more often.

Shabbat shalom.

Congratulations & Yashar Koch'achem!!!

2009-11-06T08:27:00.000-08:00

What a great week in Jess Schwartz Sports! From our youngest of teams (the girls 4-6th grade Volleyball Team pictured above), who came in 3rd place in their conference tournament, through the 7th & 8th grade, as well as the high school, girls volleyball teams who both came in 2nd place in their respective tournaments, through our high school boy's soccer team who too came in 2nd place in their league tournament playoffs.

Nobody gave our students, from a school of 250 strong, their kavod, and so our players walked onto those courts and fields and showed them just how much school spirit and Jewish pride we are made up of; and from there we rose to the championship rounds.

Congrats, and yashar koch'achem to all of you who represented our school and community with tremendous honor...and thanks to all of our fans and supporters who came out to cheer our students on. We couldn't have done it without you!

Lekh Lekha...

2009-10-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

As we read this week's Torah Portion, Parashat Lekh Lekha, we read of Abram being sent by G-d to go on his way. Granted it wasn't G-d sending me out to California to participate in my "fellows" program, but it definitely feels a little like lekh lekha'ish as I sit here at Brandeis Bardin in Simi Valley (the largest Jewish owned piece of land outside of Israel) while school and "home" is still going on back in sunny Scottsdale.

That being said, I wanted to thank all of the dads, granddads, and "stand-in" dads who helped make this past Saturday evening's 2nd Annual Dad's Club Camp-Out such a tremendous success. Thanks also to our Dad's Club Chair specifically, Bryan Kort, who planned and coordinated this incredible evening, and who without such great leadership we wouldn't have the involved and "connected" group of dads that we have.

Looking forward to next year's 3rd Annual!!!

Simhat Torah

2009-10-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful Midrash (rabbinic interpretation) explaining the connection between the reading of the last few verses of the Torah followed by the immediate recitation of the first few verses. This "connecting" of the two halves at the end and beginning draws our attention to the very last letter of the Torah (the lamed) and the very first letter (the bet) from the words Yisrael and Bereisheet respectively. If we then combine these two letters together we create the word "lev" which means "heart". It is this unexpected connection between the end and the beginning which possibly suggests that the heart of the Torah is not "in" the Torah itself, rather it is in the act of concluding it and once again beginning anew.

Last week our middle school students considered the possible message in this connection, and thought about how the gap between finishing something and then immediately starting it over again could relate to the "heart" of the matter. The critical thinking and high level discussions that ensued where the perfect way to prepare them for their afternoon's celebration and hakafot (rotations) as they then went on to celebrate with great fervor and joy, dancing and singing with the Torah during our school Simhat Torah celebration.

It is at moments like this where the true essence of our school comes out. It is the beauty of seeing our children's minds stretched in order to contemplate these ancient and rabbinic abstract ideas and concepts, while only a few hours later providing these same children with the tangible joy and happiness of kissing and dancing with the Torah with "all their heart". Or as the Shema so eloquently puts it "You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." (Deuteronomy 6:4)

I'd like to thank all of our guests who came to our school celebration, and to specifically thank the dads who carried the Torah and led the grade-level groups in their respective hakafot around the sanctuary and multipurpose room. Additionally, I want to thank Rabbi Allouche for not only bringing two additional Torahs (one Sephardic and one Ashkenazic) to provide our children once again with another opportunity to help them understand that there are many ways of expressing our traditions and customs as well as ways of practicing our rituals, but to also thank Rabbi for chanting the final aliyah of the Torah (v'zot habracha - "and this is the blessing") for our students to hear and enjoy.

What a great way to wrap last week and begin our new week...immersed in honoring G-d with our minds, bodies, and souls. Shavuah tov!

Sukkot, Zman Simchateinu

2009-10-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

(photo above taken at last year's Dad's Club Campout
- save the date for this year's overnight on 10/24/09)

As we celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, eating our meals in the temporary booths built in backyards, on balconies and rooftops, school playgrounds, and other communal locations; and as we fervently shake the lulav and etrog signifying G-d’s all-encompassing existence and transcendent relationship between this world and the realm of spirituality; and as we conclude our High Holiday Season with the celebration and conclusion of this holiday and Simhat Torah specifically, we are left physically and spiritually exhausted and almost needing a holiday from our Holy Days.

It is believed that because of the intensity of the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when every Jew cleanses his or her soul of their errors and wrongdoings and starts the new year fresh with a “clean slate”, that the holiday of Sukkot, also known as Zman Simhateinu (“The time of our joy”) is specifically because we have nothing to “bring us down” and should therefore only be happy and joyous.

Rabbi Isaac Luria, also known as the Arizal, a great Jewish thinker and recognized leader of the Kabbalistic movement of Tsfat (Safed), Israel, taught his disciples that the first step in developing a spiritual connection with G-d was through joy and happiness. Rabbi Luria interpreted the message of Psalm 100 Verse 2 “Serve Hashem with joy” (which in turn was believed to have been based on “And ye shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d”, Deuteronomy 12:12) that if a person was not happy his prayers were not reaching their desired destination.

Rabbi Luria believed that Sukkot was the time to create a positive outlook and happy persona for the rest of the year, and that Simhat Torah specifically offered us the opportunity to connect to our history, our ancestors, and to G-d by once again starting to read the weekly Torah portions from a place of happiness and joy.

I wish you all a festive and very happy Sukkot holiday; and remind you that there is nothing more joyous than seeing our children sing and perform together on the stage and taking pride in their Jewish identity. Therefore, I hope to see you all this Wednesday at the “Sukkot Under the Stars” program.

Chag Sa-me’ach!

Shanah Tovah

2009-09-30T05:42:00.000-07:00

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." ~Albert Einstein

Shanah Tovah and Happy 5770!

Not being one to ever fore-go the opportunity to try something new, and/or possibly make a mistake along the way, I have decided to create this new blog as a way to share with you things happening at the elementary and middle schools of the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community Day School.

Maybe it will be a few brief words about an upcoming holiday (such as my next posting about Sukkot), or maybe it will be about something that took place on campus today. Maybe it will be a quote from one of the students, those great words of wisdom that come "out of the mouth of babes", or maybe it will be a shared learning that will help us all grow in our Judaism, our spirituality, or simply as a citizen of the world. Whatever the topic, I hope you not only enjoy the post with its intended sentiment, but I deeply hope that you will share your own thoughts and ideas as we use this blog to grow together and ultimately to make our school the place we all desire it to be.

Shanah tovah, and may it be as sweet as the honey in which we dip our Rosh Hashanah apples.

Shavuah tov.