Rabbi Shimmy Trencher Executive Director of Community Engagement A number of years ago, a friend introduced me to the movie  Finding Joe . The film is about the work of Joseph Campbell, a professor of literature who studied stories and myths from cultures around the world and came up with the now-famous theory of “the hero’s journey” that he articulated in his 1949 book  The Hero with a Thousand Faces . According to Campbell, all of our greatest stories are about a regular person who, through a series of events, is “called to adventure.” He or she is forced to leave home and encounter challenges and threats along the way, and while those challenges may be external, the real journey is about having the courage to look within, face inner challenges, and return home having grown into the hero that one is meant to become. In the words of Oscar-winning filmmaker Akiva Goldsman, “Storytelling is about people learning something. You go to a place that is dark and mysterious. You are ...

Amir Karger (’90) Alumnus and Alumni Parent Two years ago, my classmate Ezra Pollak and I got a text from our co-1990 alumnus, Geoffrey Adler: “Good evening, gentlemen. Never in a million years would I have thought to ask you both something, so here it goes. What are your thoughts on a book study in tandem with studying  Vayeshev ?” Geoff and I had kept in touch since graduating, Ezra and I not so much, but we hadn’t studied  Torah  together since high school. Geoff explained that he had found a book — Was Yosef on the Spectrum? Understanding Joseph Through Torah, Midrash, and Classical Jewish Sources  by Samuel J. Levine — and wanted to study it together. While I was skeptical about Dr. Levine’s thesis, I was intrigued. Is the book really investigating whether Yosef had autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Well, yes. Dr. Levine, a Professor of Law at Touro Law Center, finds a surprising number of confusing passages in the text that would make more sense if Yosef had trai...

Rabbi Jordan Soffer Head of School, Striar Hebrew Academy (SHAS) Dear Maimonides Community, It is a special privilege to be invited to share some words of  Torah  with you this week. At a time when strife and divisiveness are rampant, the collegiality and collaborative spirit of our two schools is a source of immense strength. I pray that our commitment to  achdut  will shine as an example for the broader Jewish community. This week’s  parsha ,  Parshat Vayeshev , is replete with verses begging to be explored. Indeed, Rashi comments on one  pasuk , מִקְרָא זֶה אוֹמֵר דָּרְשֵׁנִי,  This verse says expound on me.  The story of Yosef and his brothers is an evocative tale full of duplicitousness, failure, and rebirth. It is also a story of an inconsolable father falsely learning that his child has been killed. The  Torah  says that יָּקֻמוּ כָל־בָּנָיו וְכָל־בְּנֹתָיו לְנַֽחֲמוֹ וַיְמָאן לְהִתְנַחֵם,  And all his sons and all ...

Morah Ora Weinbach Upper School  Tanakh  Teacher and Maimonides Fellowship Program Director This  Shabbat , we will read the famous scene in which Yaakov wrestles all night with a mysterious man who turns out to be an angel. Since childhood we have been taught the  midrashic  interpretation of this story, quoted by Rashi: As Yaakov prepares for a reunion with his brother Eisav, he brings his family and possessions across a river in the dead of night. He allows everyone to cross until he remains alone. At that moment, Yaakov is attacked by a mysterious man who is actually  saro shel esav  – the angel charged with representing the nation of Edom in the celestial court. They wrestle through the night, and Yaakov wins. By physically conquering this angel, Yaakov justifies his claim on Yitzchak’s blessings and birthright, earning his place in the covenantal chain. The angel changes Yaakov’s name to Yisrael כִּי שָׂרִיתָ עִם אֱלֹקִים וְעִם אֲנָשִׁים וַתּוּכָ...

Rabbi Allan Houben (’98) Upper School Principal, Berman Hebrew Academy Many a joke has been made about the opening of this week’s  parsha . One famous example I recall hearing as a child goes like this: How do we know Yaakov  Avinu  wore a  kippah? The  Torah  says  ויצא יעקב ,  and Yaakov left . Would Yaakov go out without a  kippah?   I have often wondered whether this joke actually has its roots in biblical analysis. Rabbi Menachem Liebtag often speaks of objective analysis and subjective interpretation. All who read the  Chumash , from medieval commentaries until today, see the same exact objective challenges and questions in the text – be it subject-verb agreement, seemingly extraneous words, etc. – that beg interpretation, and we only differ in our subjective explanations of those textual idiosyncrasies.   The opening of our  parsha  is no different. All see the unnecessary wordiness of the opening  pasuk: ...

Rabbi Yaakov Green (’98) Head of School Heroes can only show themselves to be heroic in times of great challenge, danger, or suffering. The current moment is a time of heroes, a time of reaching and pushing ourselves to be more. More as individuals, and more as a community. It is a time when we are witnessing heroism on a grand scale and on the world stage. A defending army protecting its people, and protecting the citizens of the opposing side more than our enemy does. This army of citizen soldiers, young men and women mixed with parents and even grandparent reservists, are all risking their lives to protect their homes, their families, their nation… to protect you and me. And it is a time of heroes here at home. Parents in our community who are committing themselves to activism, to organizing and mobilizing the community to provide needed supplies to our soldiers. Parents who advocate, bang down the doors of our political institutions, and galvanize phalanxes of phone call squads, pe...

Rabbi Shimmy Trencher Executive Director of Community Engagement דָּרַשׁ רַבִּי שִׂמְלַאי: תּוֹרָה תְּחִלָּתָהּ גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים, וְסוֹפָהּ גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים Rabbi Simlai expounds: The Torah begins with chesed and ends with chesed. —  Sotah  14a Maimonides School is doing something right. As I walk through the halls and talk with our students about what they’ve gained from their time at Maimonides, a common theme emerges. They talk about how they’ve learned that a true  Torah  lifestyle is not simply about prayer, ritual, and  Torah  study, but also includes caring for and doing for others. In the  gemara  referenced above, Rav Simlai is teaching us that the  chesed  of  Hakadosh Baruch Hu  is a theme that runs throughout the  Torah —from  Bereishit , where  Hashem  clothes Adam and Chava, to  V’Zot Habracha , where He buries  Moshe Rabbeinu . Just as  Hashem  is the ultimate  b...

Oriah Jeselsohn Alumna, Maimonides Class of 2023 In the very beginning of this week's  parsha, Parshat Vayera , Avraham rushes to perform the  mitzvah  of  הכנסת אורחים , welcoming guests.  The first  pesukim  state: וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהֹוָה בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח־הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם Hashem appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרׇץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה Looking up, he saw three figures standing near him. Perceiving this, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ אַל־נָא תַעֲבֹר מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ he said, “My lords! If it please you, do not go on past your servant." Avraham then invites the guests to wash their feet in his tent, and offers them refreshm...