Rabbi Ari Rockoff ('92)   Rabbi Ari Rockoff ('92) currently serves as the David Mitzner Community Dean for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University. An alumnus of Yeshiva University's Sy Syms School of Business, Ari holds an MBA with a specialization in organizational behavior from Baruch College, a Master's degree in education from Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education & Administration, and rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminar (RIETS).   One of the most familiar passages in our daily  tefillah  is also one of the most ancient:  Az yashir Moshe u'vnei Yisrael —the song at the sea. We recite it each morning, often without pausing to reflect on its origins. Yet, as Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks  זצ״ל  teaches us in his  Covenant & Conversation  on  Parshat Beshalach , this moment was not only a song of gratitude. It was also the birth of a people learning how to speak—and sing—together.   Th...

Rabbi David Hellman   Rabbi David Hellman teaches Talmud in our Middle School and has served as rabbi of the Young Israel of Brookline since 2014. He was previously on the rabbinic staff of the Riverdale Jewish Center in New York. Rabbi Hellman is the proud father of four Maimonides students.   Earlier this week, while teaching my seventh-grade  Talmud shiur  the topic of  Birchot HaTorah , I quoted Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik  zt"l . Spontaneously, I found myself sharing the teaching in the Rav's voice, making a rather poor attempt to imitate his European accent and slightly high-pitched tone. The students asked whether I had known Rav Soloveitchik personally, and when I told them that I had never met him, they wondered how I knew what his voice sounded like. I explained that there are many recordings of the Rav, and within minutes we searched online and I projected onto the smartboard his  famous address  describing the "symposium of generation...

Sarah Cheses Dean of Students for Grades 7-12   Sarah Cheses teaches Talmud in our Middle School, serves as Dean of Students for Grades 7-12, and is a Yoetzet Halacha. She and her husband, Rabbi Noah Cheses ('03), are the proud parents of two Maimonides students.   I recently had the privilege of visiting Israel, which left me feeling both inspired and deeply proud. In the  shuk  in  Yerushalayim , I had the opportunity to reconnect with Maimonides alumni who are spending a year learning  Torah , and it was wonderful to see each of them glowing with excitement about their learning and to hear about their "only in Israel" moments. What struck me most was not only their excitement about being there, but also how it felt to them like a seamless continuation from Maimonides. They reflected on how their education in Judaic studies and Hebrew language in particular prepared them to naturally continue their lives and studies in Israel.   I also experienced Is...

Rabbi Aaron Levitt ('94)   Rabbi Aaron Levitt ('94) is the Executive Director of Jewish Educational Services, an agency of The Associated Jewish Federation in Baltimore, MD. Previously he served as Judaic Studies Principal at Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston, Assistant Rabbi at Boca Raton Synagogue, and Youth Rabbi at Kemp Mill Synagogue. He is currently working towards a doctorate in Educational Leadership and is the author of "Chinuch Perspectives," a blog about Jewish education.   Which do you think is harder, to feel someone else's pain or to share their joy? If you've ever danced at a friend's wedding or,  lo alienu , sat with a friend sitting  shiva , you know what it is like to feel something based on the relationship you have with that person. Even if we can never fully experience what another is feeling, we can imagine what they are going through and experience our own emotions based on the fact that we care about them. In psychology this is ref...