I spend a lot of time in Israel for someone who doesn't live there. I've absorbed many of the cultural idiosyncrasies and actually internalized them — I find it perfectly natural to touch other people's children, call strangers by endearing names, and, unless I catch myself, stand uncomfortably close to people in line by American standards. Still, Israeli culture regularly surprises me. A few years ago I was aggressively chastised by a stranger for picking a wildflower. I did

At each b'nai mitzvah, we give students a framed quote from Pirkei Avot: "It is not on you to finish the work, but neither are you released from the obligation to do the work." This gift is intended to convey that we believe the world can get better, that our students are the change agents it needs, and that they are obligated to do all they can to repair it. Alongside this, we teach humility: the humility to recognize that partnership is essential to making change, that big

This past Tuesday, our middle schoolers spent the whole day outdoors. Fifth and sixth graders traveled north together to Inwood Hill Park — which I learned (from them) is home to the last old-growth forest on the island of Manhattan and to the Shorakapkok Preserve, a place where humans have been stopping to be present for nearly 700 years and whose name in the Munsee Lenape language means "the sitting place." Meanwhile, our 7th- and 8th-graders made their way to the North Woo

I haven't written a Ta Shma message in a couple of weeks, and I've felt the absence. I love writing these messages — reflecting on our beautiful school and community at the end of each week, and hearing back from so many of you. But words have not been my preferred mode of connection lately. And for me, that is saying something. Generally, I love words. Verbal communication is my comfort zone. But increasingly — starting with Covid, intensifying since October 7, and sharply i

We returned to school this week from February break on Rosh Chodesh Adar, meaning that Chagigat HaPijama (our annual PJ Day that is celebrated on the first day back from break to honor the Israelites' triumph over the forces of business casual) fell out on the first day of the most joyful month of the Jewish year! Why all the joy and excitement (beyond the obvious amazing coordination of the Jewish and Gregorian calendars)? There is a well-known phrase that surfaces every yea

There's a children's podcast from Vermont Public Radio that I absolutely love called But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids . If you haven't listened to it, I highly recommend it. It embraces the ubiquitous "but why" questions to explain the most complicated phenomena. And if you're a parent, you already know that "but why" is perhaps the most irritating question in the English language, especially during the toddler years when it happens approximately every thirty seconds. This

There's always a photo booth at Beit Rabban events, and we always have one sign that reads "Torah is My Favorite!" A picture of a child, student, parent, etc., holding this sign with a gigantic smile is a staple Beit Rabban simcha photo. This morning, our entire community gathered to watch our second graders stand before us and read from the Torah for the first time—and, in doing so, claim their place in our sacred chain of Jewish learning. We cheered as our students chanted

We had another magnificent bat mitzvah in school yesterday. Slater, our bat mitzvah girl, read from the first portion of a new book- Shemot, the Book of Exodus. This book is filled with names and miracles. And, it happens to be that Slater's Hebrew name is "my miracle," Nisi. So, I wrote this speech to share tonight in honor of her at her family's synagogue, the Staton Street Shul in lower Manhattan. At the risk of anyone who will be at shul reading it in advance and knowing

This week, as we lit our Chanukah candles, our hearts were heavy with news of antisemitic attack in Sydney and a mass shooting at Brown University—communities connected to our own through colleagues, friends, the Jewish people, and the bonds of shared humanity. Ten years ago, when I first began at Beit Rabban, I would send an email after every mass shooting or attack that felt close to home. I'd outline how we were approaching these tragedies with students, offer guidance on

Today, we have a special entry, written by our current Board member and former Board Chair, Tali Rosenblatt Cohen, in honor of the one hundredth Jewish Book Month. This article was published in eJP (eJewishPhilanthropy) and can be accessed here . This month marks the 100th anniversary of Jewish book month, a project of the Jewish Book Council, and I’ve been reflecting on what compels us to read (and write) Jewish literature. When I started “The Five Books” podcast in Decembe

The way we celebrate Thanksgiving at school is one of our most public expressions of communal values, and it never gets old. We prepared for Thanksgiving as we do each year by taking a school-wide, deep dive into gratitude. We learned about hakarat hatov (the Jewish value of expressing gratitude) and how we use brachot (blessings) to this end. We did mindfulness exercises to become more aware of all those who help us daily and chose local community members to appreciate. Star

We had an unusual entry in the "Overheards" section of Ta Shma last week. It read as follows: Head of School responding to a colleague knocking on her door: "Just a second, I'm just attaching the Torah in the rifle case to this pipe with a bike lock." Your first question should probably be, "Is this school in Chelm, Poland?" No, it is not, it is on West 89th Street. I can answer this question with confidence because I am the head of school, and this is my office. With thos

This week, I was filled with gratitude for our community. As the government shutdown continued, many of you shared concerns about how our school might support those around us – in our own midst, in our neighborhood and beyond it – whose SNAP benefits are expected to run out. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program that provides monthly benefits to low-income households to help them buy food. If the shutdown continues, SNAP benefits for Novemb

This week, I am honored to share an article I wrote for the Distinctions Journal published by JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa). For those of you who may not be familiar with the organization, I am also delighted to acquaint you with JIMENA, which I wish had been in existence when I was growing up in the Orthodox Jewish community in Los Angeles as a child of a Tunisian mother and an Iraqi father. Here's how Jimena describes its mission: "We remain d

Hoshana Rabba is a holiday within a holiday that falls on the sixth day of Sukkot. On Hoshana Rabba we pray for rain throughout a very, very, very long service—like three hours long. Every year during winter, when we draft the calendar for the following fall, our calendar team debates whether to have school on Hoshana Rabba, which is also Erev Shemini Atzeret and would therefore only be a half day of school. Most Jewish day schools are closed on this day for the many aforemen

Moadim L’Simcha! This greeting, meaning “Joyous Festivals!” only comes out twice during the Jewish calendar year- on the middle days of Pesach and Sukkot. The traditional response to this festive greeting is " Chagim u'zmanim l'sasson, " which means "Joyous holidays and seasons!" Here’s a fun video to illustrate the usage, featuring our students getting off the ferry at Governor’s Island yesterday . The Torah famously commands us in the book of Devarim to "rejoice in our hol

Conventional wisdom in the field of elementary school education advises schools to spend the first six weeks establishing and settling into routines. In Jewish day schools, on the other hand, we observe all our holidays during the first six weeks of school. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in a Jewish day school right now who can even identify the day of the week with certainty. In the midst of the beautiful chaos of the Jewish holiday season, we pack our short weeks wit

There is comfort in hiding, pulling a blanket over our heads, and pretending to be invisible. We hide our mistakes, our flaws, and even...

For the first time in a really long time, I actually had time this summer—in large part because my three children were at sleepaway camp...

I opened staff week with an admission: I hate rain. Yet at Beit Rabban, we believe there's no bad weather, just bad gear. This summer, I...