Author: Jon Mitzmacher

Dr. Jon Mitzmacher is the Head of the Ottawa Jewish Community School. Jon is studying to be a rabbi at the Academy for Jewish Religion and is on the faculty of the Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI) as a mentor. He was most recently the VP of Innovation for Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools. He is the former Executive Director of the Schechter Day School Network. He is also the former head of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, a K-8 Solomon Schechter, located in Jacksonville, FL, and part of the Jacksonville Jewish Center. He was the founding head of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Las Vegas. Jon has worked in all aspects of Jewish Education from camping to congregations and everything in between.

What is YOUR Fifth Question?

What a difference a year (and a career change) make!

#TBT MJGDS Kitah Gimmel Model Seder 2012

I was leading or attending model seders long before my children were born, but this marks the first year in about fifteen or so that the only model seders I “had” to attend were my own children’s. It was very bittersweet to see all of the wonderful Passover experiences being offered at Jewish day schools throughout the world. As much as it was a luxury to only have my children to attend to, it was also a reminder of how different it is working one concentric circle more macro than a school. To all those teachers and administrators who had the responsibility for multiple Passover seders in addition to preparing for their own, I salute you. And I wish you all the joy and relaxation possible during your holiday.

This is my 200th blog post!

The beauty/excitement/frustration/wonder of blogging is that you don’t always know who (if anyone!) is reading. Very occasionally, especially in this field for reasons to be explored at another time, I will write something that will attract some measure of verifiable interest. A few brave folk will comment directly on the blog or I can see the number of tweets, reposts or “likes”. It gives me some sense that someone is actually out there! Going back over my posts, it is often the case that the ones I thought would resonate didn’t and a post that I thought was no big deal captures the most attention. That’s part of the fun.

Many (many!) times, I have attempted to use this blog not to share my opinions, disseminate information, showcase excellence, share a personal observation or professionally reflect, but to invite conversation.

The value added of the blogosphere is the opportunity to have your thinking challenged and expanded by the interaction of your ideas with others. The power of collaborative reflection can only be realized with others. Believe me, I would and will continue to blog because of the value it provides me of personal reflection and the utility it offers me to share important information with professional stakeholders. But, it is only in the company of others does my learning expand.

So at the risk of tilting at windmills, I will again see if a conversation can be generated.

It has become a tradition for organizations to use the pedagogy of Passover to advocate for causes. We can change customs (“The Four Children”), add customs (“Miriam’s Cup), or adjust customs. One common adjustment is the addition of a “fifth question”. In addition to the traditional “Four Questions” we add one to address important issues of the day. You can go online and find a myriad of examples of “fifth questions” that deal with everything from hunger, drought, Israel, peace, etc., etc. You can find a “fifth question” for every cause.

Sometimes the questions are more important than the answers…

As we collectively prepare to celebrate our freedom tomorrow evening, I would like to share with you some of my “fifth questions”.

Jon’s “Fifth Questions” for Passover

Executive Director of Schechter: Why will this conversation about the field be different than all other ones?

Jewish Day School Practitioner: Fill in the blanks. “During all other admissions seasons we’ve used Value Proposition A, but during this season we are using Value Proposition B and it has made all the difference.”

Israel Advocate: If I will not literally aim towards “Next year in Jerusalem…” how can I use those words to inspire my deeper engagement with the Land, People and State of Israel in the year to come?

Parent: How can the imagery of the “Four Children” remind me that my children are unique – from each other as well as everyone else – and that the responsibility for “differentiated instruction” is as much (if not more) a parent’s as it is a teacher’s?

What are some of your “Fifth Questions”? I will highlight any good ones that come back to me as well as share any interesting answers to mine or other questions that I hear during the holiday. I know my seders will be enhanced through your wisdom.

Wishing you a chag kasher v’sameach…

Here’s Why I Am a Candidate on the MERCAZ Slate

I had decided weeks ago to dedicate this week’s blog to the upcoming World Zionist Organization’s (WZO) elections (voting currently open) and my feelings about being on the MERCAZ slate for the very first time. I had no intention of engaging in discussion about the elections in Israel or using this platform to compare and contrast our ability to influence the Jewish future in Israel and abroad through either election process.

And I still don’t.

There continues to be a vigorous conversation about both the manner and outcome of Israel’s elections. I am following it with all the passion I possess for Israel. I am reading and reflecting on where we are and what it all means – for Israel, for the Jewish People, for pluralism and for peace. As a private individual, I feel very comfortable sharing my feelings. Just last evening, I had the pleasure of participating in a heated debate about Israel amongst friends at a local bar. (I imagine it was one of the few conversations about Israel taking place at that bar, or any bar, in Jacksonville that evening.) However, as a public individual, I feel equally comfortable admitting that I lack both the expertise and the standing to use this space to weigh in.

Reality check.

It is because I am the Executive Director of the Schechter Day School Network that I am a candidate on the MERCAZ slate for elections to the WZO. It is a function of my positional authority, not my personal expertise, that I may be in position to serve. This doesn’t mean that I am not taking it seriously. I am! I have learned things about MERCAZ and the WZO that I honestly should have already known without having to be put on the slate. This also doesn’t mean that I am not excited about it. I am! I am inspired about the mission, platform, and achievements of MERCAZ and its partner organizations.

It should come as no surprise, however, that as an educator what I am most proud/excited/inspired by is the incredible opportunity to help grow the TALI Network of Schools – a sister network if there ever was one.

Here is why Israel needs TALI:

Every Jewish child in Israel deserves a Jewish education. But most go without.

Jews in Israel are deeply divided along religious and secular fault-lines – a divide that tears at the fabric of Israeli society. For sixty years, this division has been fostered by Israel’s school system which operates only two educational streams: religious and secular.

Yet most Jewish Israelis define themselves as neither Orthodox nor secular, but as traditional. They identify with Jewish culture and heritage, but feel alienated by a rigid, politicized religious establishment. By sending their children to secular public schools, most Israeli parents have forfeited their children’s right to a Jewish education.

TALI brings Jewish learning to the secular Israeli classroom, connecting pupils with their heritage, and educating towards religious pluralism in the Jewish state.

This quote comes directly from the TALI page on the Schechter Institute website. Although there are many differences between public TALI schools in Israel and private Schechter schools in North America, this statement of need serves as a powerful reminder of how critical it is that the center – the mercaz – does, in fact, hold. TALI is more than a network of schools in Israel. It is a thought-leader and program-provider to the field of Jewish education. TALI is critical to growing a pluralistic future in Israel. Schechter schools are already in relationship with TALI schools and I hope this relationship only deepens in the years to come. I am inspired by TALI’s accomplishments and can only dream of what it could become with access to greater resources.

So, yes, the reason I am on the slate is because of my job. But the reason I am enthusiastic and honored to be on the slate is because of the mission. If you are similarly inspired, I hope you, too, will join me this year in a…

“Uncommon Connections” – Looking Past the 2015 NAJDSC – What Happens “Right Now”?

The 2015 North American Jewish Day School Conference has only been over for a couple of days, and I am already thinking about the future…

But before the future, I bit of a recap on the past and the present…

Last week, before the conference, I blogged about my hopes and expectations, ending with:

We are proud of the work we have done with our sister networks to create what we hope will be a meaningful learning experience for all participants. We have all worked hard to ensure the quality of content while trying to maximize access. Schechter will have a strong showing and we look forward to our annual opportunity to be together. But in addition to the networking, the learning, the socializing, and the celebrating, we also hope this conference shows what happens when networks work together for the greater good, deepening and strengthening our collective service to the field.

I think it is safe to say that with regard to the conference itself…mission accomplished!

In terms of my own experience, let me insert here that which I have already shared elsewhere through various social media, if for no other reason then to have it all conveniently stored in my primary reflective vehicle – this blog.

Here is how it started:

Here is the summary of my experiences:

Here is my first presentation:

[View the story “One Storify of #NAJDS15” on Storify]

Here is my second presentation:

My experiences of the conference were as cohost, presenter and network head. I, not to my surprise, but to my disappointment, was unable to attend anything outside of those roles. I experienced the keynotes and the receptions along with participants, but not the playground space, the vendors, or the actual sessions themselves. The feedback I have received – solicited and otherwise – has been overwhelmingly positive and I look forward to reading the official survey for confirmation.

But as with any other conference or significant professional development experience, to close the loop with the powerful opening, what should be happening “right now? How do we ensure that all the learning, all the new relationships, and all the enthusiasm from gathering over 1,000 passion-driven leaders from across the field is leveraged to the greatest good?

Since it came early and without the greatest sound system, I do want to make sure that you know we are actively engaged in answering those questions. Those of us charged with stewarding the field as executive directors of national networks opened the conference with a statement about “how we can serve the field together”.

What are we thinking “right now”?

Imagine a system that effectively and efficiently delivers support in every area you need—financial strength and stability, professional development in 21st century pedagogies, new thinking to implement the Jewish mission of your school, participation in nationwide student contests, lay and professional leadership development, holistic school-based assessment and improvement, and networked connections among schools. Imagine a system that recognizes the diversity of our schools, addresses their unique needs, and serves the field in an aligned and concerted way.

Could you have imagined it before this incredible conference? Can you now?

“Uncommon Connections” – Looking Forward to the 2015 NAJDSC

Conference week is almost upon us!

One week from today, I will be headed up to Philadelphia to be sure I am ready to go for the 2015 North American Jewish Day School Conference, beginning Sunday, March 8th. This will be my first time as cohost, having had the wonderful opportunity to attend as a school head in 2011, 2012 and 2013. (Last year, the field had two national conferences, Schechter (and me with it) having been a cohost of iJED.)

From Schechter’s part of the planning, I want to acknowledge Ilisa Cappell, Schechter’s Associate Director, for her tireless efforts on the conference’s Planning and Leadership Committees and for working so hard with Marc Kramer, RAVSAK‘s Executive Director, to develop a track at the conference for small schools.

In addition to my hosting duties, I will have the pleasure of presenting twice:

I will be co-presenting with Harry Bloom of PEJE on how small schools can leverage their resources to effectively recruit and retain families.
I will also be presenting on how schools can use “nings” to enhance professional culture, improve professional development and, thus, fulfill the promise of 21st century learning.

[I will send out links to both presentations once they go live.]

I am further thrilled to have chances to connect, celebrate, and dream with our Schechter community (including our friends in the Jewish Montessori Society), our growing edJEWcon community and all the formal and informal opportunities to learn, reflect and share with old colleagues and new friends that make these experiences so powerful.

We are proud of the work we have done with our sister networks to create what we hope will be a meaningful learning experience for all participants. We have all worked hard to ensure the quality of content while trying to maximize access. Schechter will have a strong showing and we look forward to our annual opportunity to be together. But in addition to the networking, the learning, the socializing, and the celebrating, we also hope this conference shows what happens when networks work together for the greater good, deepening and strengthening our collective service to the field.

See you in Philly!

The Jewish Education Olde Thyme Radio Hour: “Matterness” w/Allison Fine

There is one truth about our schools that is universal regardless of the size, age, or location – it is never boring to be a Jewish day school! A related corollary is that there never seems to be a down or calm period anymore. There is a season for each activity and it can sometimes feel like you are racing from one peak to the next, with no time to breathe between. (Unless the weather conspires to shut you down! However, school closures create their own unique pressures as so many of you are presently experiencing.) As soon as you successfully launch your year, you are already focused on recruiting and retaining families for the next. As soon as you close one campaign, next year’s campaign readies to begin. As soon as your board begins to function at high capacity, it becomes time to cultivate new members. As soon as you hire your last staff person and close your professional development calendar, the work of evaluation and planning the next year’s calendar launches.

And so on.

It can be a real challenge even finding an hour to read, to think, or engage in conversation with colleagues about big picture issues. That is why it is such a pleasure for me to share this podcast with my friend and gifted educator Rabbi Marc Baker and to work on it with the good folks at ELI Talks. It is our opportunity to take that hour to discuss important issues of the day and to engage others in the conversation. We opened this second podcast with a discussion of the challenges extended snow days present to schools and whether they can become opportunities to challenge the traditional model of schools with bounded times and spaces. But our main focus was our very first guest, author Allison Fine, and a conversation about her new book, “Matterness,” and its implications for the field.

It is not a #humblebrag to suggest that we would do this podcast with no audience. Truthfully, we aren’t even sure what kind of audience we have! We genuinely appreciate the gift of time the podcast gives us to learn and discuss and we hope that those who are listening (or watching after the fact) enjoy the conversation half as much as we do.

As always, you are welcome to share your feedback as commentary on this blog or on the ELI Talks YouTube page!

Notes:

Here are the links to the two blog posts Marc discussed in our intro:

http://www.tovana.com/blog

http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/education-everywhere

Here is the video I discussed during our interview (shout out to Silvia Tolisano who shared it with me):

The Transparency Files: PEJE Atidenu Presentation

This past week, I had the pleasure of attending PEJE Atidenu and the privilege of presenting on how to effectively market the 21st century learning aspects of Jewish day schools for maximum impact. It was a great opportunity to learn with experts in recruitment and retention from within and beyond the Jewish day school world and to catch up with colleagues new and old. (I should also mention that Schechter is well-represented amongst a strong and diverse cohort of schools seeking a more secure future.)

Valuing transparency and possessing a strong desire to share what knowledge we have with any who may benefit from it, I am happy to share here my presentation (the first half of which is borrowed from the work of Silvia Tolisano, 21st century educator par excellence and Schechter’s Eduplanet21 Project Director):

(There was also a very robust TodaysMeet that remains open to participants for another few days, the transcript of which I have printed, but cannot share publicly for lack of permission. If you were in attendance, I encourage you to download it!)

In other news…

The Jewish Education Olde Thyme Radio Hour is back next week with our second podcast!

ELI talks presents “The Jewish Education Olde Thyme Radio Hour”!

Join hosts Dr. Jon Mitzmacher and Rabbi Marc Baker in a lively conversation with Allison Fine, author of “Matterness: What Fearless Leaders Know About the Power and Promise of Social Media.” We’ll explore the idea of matterness, the implications for Jewish education, and for educational leadership – and take your questions along the way!

This conversation will take place via Google Hangouts on Air.

Information on how to join will be sent to guests in advance of the event.

Space is limited! Be sure to RSVP through Eventbrite to secure your spot in the conversation:

For more about our guest, visit: http://allisonfine.com.

Marc and I had a great prep meeting and we are guaranteeing less “um’s” and more “hmm’s” this go-around! We are thrilled to have Allison Fine as our first official guest and look forward to a great conversation.

For those of you enduring rough winter weather, please stay warm and safe! Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday weekend…

The Musical Chairs of Greener Grass: The JDS HOS Search Process

I came across this comic strip last week while I was busy with one of my new tasks – coaching candidates and schools through the head of school (HOS) search process. As I have been deepening my engagement with candidates, search committee chairs and executive recruiters, a number of thoughts have occurred to me and I thought since this is (still) the season, they were worth sharing out for feedback and discussion.

The Most Inexact of Sciences

Up until this year, my experience with the JDS HOS search process was exclusively as a candidate. Over the course of my career, I have applied for a variety of positions. I applied for RAVSAK schools; I applied for Schechter schools. I applied at large schools; I applied at small schools. I applied to schools that used a variety of executive search firms; I applied to schools that ran their search processes in-house. I was a finalist for some positions and I never made it past the initial screening call for others. In the end, I felt blessed when offered jobs and I felt disappointed when not offered other ones.

What was most consistent across these search experiences was the incredible inconsistency. Everything was very different from school to school, without any discerning pattern. Schools asked that I teach students and/or parents and/or teachers and/or no one. At different times I was asked to prepare…

…divrei Torah for faculty.
…PowerPoint presentations for the board.
possible marketing plans.
possible development plans.
analyses of the current school based on supporting documents.
analyses of the current school without supporting documents.
inspirational speeches about my vision of education.
etc.

In deference to time and space limitations, I will refrain from detailing further variances in everything from which stakeholder groups I did and did not meet with, how long I did or did not visit, and the ways in which I was and was not treated. Suffice it to say that there was an extraordinary degree of difference between one school’s search process and another.

Looking at it now, I can see that on the one hand it makes sense and is actually helpful. Each school is different and experiencing different approaches to the search process can help the candidate discern a cultural fit. Plus, the experienced and/or coached candidate knows what questions to ask and which people to see so as to ensure they have the information they need to make an informed decision.

On the other hand it, looking at it from a 20,000 foot perspective, shouldn’t a process as critical to school success as identifying the “best-fit leader” should have some data-driven standardization to increase the odds? [I am not sure it is a financial issue. Some of the most thorough and affirming (even if I didn’t get the job) processes I went through were at small schools who handled their searches in-house.]

All It Takes Is One (Human) Mistake

One theme that runs through all my experiences and conversations is the impression that it can actually all come down to one ill-timed smirk, one distracted conversation with an unknown influencer, or one offhand comment to a sensitive stakeholder.

Once, I came down with a pretty bad head cold the day before I was to fly out for a finalist visit and had to decide whether to gut it out or to reschedule. I opted to stock up on over the counter meds and go for it. The air pressure on the plane took out my hearing for the entire finalist visit! Even though I felt lousy, I thought I had done well. When I was informed that I had not gotten the job, part of the feedback I received was that there people who had felt that I had spoken so loudly [because I couldn’t hear myself speak!] that it raised concern that parents and teachers would think that I was an angry person.

Now was that the (only) reason why I didn’t get the job? Who knows? I would like to think not, but like so many candidates before me, those are the types of stories that stick with you as you go through the rounds.

The Missing Peace

Now that I am working with the schools as well as the candidates, I have noticed another phenomenon. Schools often search for a new leader to fill the missing 30% of the prior leader. If you read the job descriptions for most HOS positions, you will see a list of attributes, skills and experiences that I cannot imagine any one human being possessing. Let’s say the best of candidates might have about 70% of the complete set. In large schools, you can try to complement the remaining 30% by rounding out the administrative team. In small schools, you can try to complement by using lay leadership and volunteers, but that tends to be a riskier proposition.

This may be one reason there is both a crisis in small schools and in HOS wellness.

The pressure to be everything to everyone can be extremely challenging for the leader, no matter how much coaching s/he receives.

The temptation to seek what’s missing in the next leader can lead a school back and forth and back again trying to continually fill a gap that can never fully be filled.

Grass is Greener

To be fair this happens on both ends. Let’s say any headship has about 70% of all the things one could hope and dream for in a position – salary, lay support, faculty excellence, fundraising capacity, etc. In a world of scarcity, one can also be tempted to seek that which is missing in your current headship, thereby perpetuating a search for something that doesn’t exist.

There is no perfect school and there are no perfect heads.

To be clear, I have certainly moved from position to position for the purpose of furthering my career. And schools have every right to expect the best from their heads and to seek new leadership if and when they feel new leadership is called for. At the level of the individual leader or school, it all seems fairly straightforward.

And yet…

I do wonder at what cost to the field this elaborate game of musical chairs is taking? If the average length of tenure for a head of school (2.7 years) is less than that of a successful change of school culture (3-5 years)…

…well at some point in every person’s career and in each school’s search, the music will stop and there won’t be a seat left in the game.

Who wins then?

We Have a Shared Dream

“My people were brought to America in chains,” Martin Luther King Jr. told the American Jewish Congress’ Biennial in 1958. “Your people were driven here to escape the chains fashioned for them in Europe. Our unity is born of our common struggle for centuries, not only to rid ourselves of bondage, but to make oppression of any people by others an impossibility.”

Each year, as Jewish day schools prepare to honor the legacy of Dr. King with special programming and content, I am reminded of how important it is that we prepare our students to live in the world outside the Jewish community. This year, in light of current events both at home (which I wrote about a few weeks ago) and abroad, I am especially reminded.

It is not that diversity is absent in the Jewish schools. One typically finds a range of national origins, ethnicities and social classes within the walls of the school and students have ample opporunity to learn how to get along in a diverse community. However, when it comes to racial diversity, I feel we have a special responsibility in light of the historic relationship between the Jewish community and the civil rights movement (see “Selma” for example. Seriously…go see it). Although we make an effort to expose our students to the larger world around them, the simple fact is that they do spend most of their days in a wholly Jewish environment. However, the Jewish values of kehillah (community) and tikkun olam (repairing the world) extend beyond the Jewish community. Our educational responsibility is prepare our students to be citizens of the city, state, nation, and world in which they live.

You’ll find this reflected in our choice of library books and posters in which we do our best to present a range of cultures. You will see it expressed in the “hidden curriculum” by how we devote school time in both general and Jewish studies to learn about, experience, and commemorate the wonderful holidays of our shared cultures. As we study the life of Dr. King and his continued impact on our society, we are reminded of the words of the prophet Isaiah (42:6-7), “I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have appointed you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

May Monday’s holiday be a reminder that we live in a world still in need of healing and an opporunity to do our small part in its repair.

Wellness in a Stressful World

I talk to a lot of heads of school.

That’s a big part of my job. I have things to share and things to learn. I have advice to offer and advice to take. I spend a significant amount of time each day talking with leaders of Jewish schools. And the one thing I can say with great confidence, is that regardless of whether they head a large school or small; a successful school or one which struggles; whether they have been in the position for five months or fifty years…they are not bored!

I think we associate “stress” with negative situations, but I am not so sure that is always the case. I think there are some settings, some professions, some situations that even when functioning at or near their best are inherently stressful and, thus, create significant wellness concerns for those entrusted with leadership. I am confident that Jewish schools are one such address.

Let’s skip an enumeration of why leading Jewish schools is stressful. Let’s assume there be some connection between stress and burnout. Let’s take as a given that one cannot take care of others when one cannot take care of oneself. Let’s hope you can make changes to improve wellness. Let’s be honest and admit that despite having attending two different conferences on this topic that you haven’t yet made those changes. (OK, that one was just for me.)

We’ve all seen this, yes?

And yet I still get to work by 7:00 AM, am still checking email at 10:00 PM, still not going to the gym, still grabbing a donut from the faculty room, etc., etc.

How can we better understand what is going on?

In their book, “SWITCH – How to Change Things When Change is Hard”, Chip Heath and Dan Heath talk about “immunity to change”. Essentially the behaviors we say want to change are serving some purpose and until we can figure out what that is, we will struggle to replace them. I say I want to make healthy eating choices…I say I want to get more sleep…I say I want to exercise more…I say I want to achieve greater school-home balance.

How do I dream the new dream?

What do you think?

I would love to hear from those who have thought about this topic. I would love to hear even more from those who have done something about it. What are you doing to address wellness either for yourself or your school (or your organization)? What has worked that you can share and what are you struggling with that we can learn from?

There are 525,600 minutes in one year. However, when you consider that approximately 175,200 minutes of that time will be spent sleeping, 16,425 minutes spent eating, and if you’re in education, 72,000 minutes spent in school…well, you have less than half that total to spend on the rest of your life.

It is essential to do the important things first—if you leave them until last, you might run out of time.

December Dilemma? December Opportunity!

Chanukah in Jacksonville, Florida gives “Festival of Lights” a whole new meaning!

This is the time of year when many rabbis and Jewish educators dust off their “Christmas Dilemma” sermons or lessons. It isn’t difficult to understand why. Advertising for Christmas begins before Thanksgiving these days and in communities like Jacksonville, Florida, where the Jewish presence is (relatively) small, Chanukah rates barely a mention. But to me, this is not the time to lament that Chanukah, a minor rabbinic holiday, has been elevated into a major holiday in order to protect the North American Jewish psyche against the annual Christmas bombardment. What I’m more interested in is to take a moment to see what light this so-called “dilemma” sheds on how one deals with the dissonance between our shared cultural heritages. Because like it or not, Christmas, is not (only) a religious holiday, but an American holiday, and as such it helps us refine our understanding of what it means to have an “integrated” curriculum.

Christmas is almost an unfair example to take because regardless of which attitude towards “integration” a Jewish day school takes, it almost surely isn’t going to integrate the ideas and values of Christmas into its curriculum. However, if you take one aspect of Christmas in America (or Canada)—consumerism—you can see how complicated integration can be. Consumerism with its focus on individual material attainment is not consonant with Jewish values. So what is a Jewish day school to do with Chanukah in today’s world?

Being “Jewish” and being “American” (or “Canadian” or wherever you may live) is not the same thing. However proud we legitimately ought to be of our dual identities, we are not being intellectually honest if we claim they are identical and never in conflict. [Please keep in mind that the choice not to choose between is itself a choice.] Celebrating the consumerist aspects of Chanukah without acknowledging their conflict with Jewish values is to claim that such a conflict does not exist. Although I am generalizing, Schechter schools adopt neither rejectionist nor assimilationist attitudes towards the secular societies of which they are a part. Nor do we feel so threatened by general society that we have to make everything Jewish. No, we strive to be interactionist—our philosophy which can be seen in everything from our curricula to our websites to our field trips—seeking to allow the Jewish and the general to interact naturally as it does in the real world.

kids-behind-chanukah-menorah-updated-4-1126835-m — Photographed by Chayim B. Alevsky

So please, celebrate the historical and religious significance of Chanukah with joy, festivity, and yes, presents. But this Chanukah, let’s not forget our Jewish values of tzedakah (charity) and kehillah (community). Along with your normal gift-giving, consider donating a night or two of your family’s celebration to those less fortunate than ourselves. By doing so we send a powerful message that there are times when our Jewish values command us to reject the values of secular culture and that not only is that okay, but sometimes it is both necessary and appropriate.

Chag urim sameach from my family to yours!