Amy Goldman ('90) Chair, Board of Directors In addition to her current position, Amy (Kahn) Goldman is an alumna of the Class of 1990; sister of three alumni; mother of four alumni; and has been an active community volunteer and committee member for many years. In  Parshat Shemini,  the long-awaited  Mishkan  is finally inaugurated. It was a day of supreme joy and spiritual elevation, culminating in a miraculous moment as a divine fire descended from  shamayim . But in the midst of this awe-inspiring scene, tragedy strikes: Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon  HaKohen , bring an  eish zarah —a “strange fire”—and they die instantly before  Hashem .   Immediately thereafter, we encounter one of the most hauntingly powerful verses in all of  Tanach : “וַיִּדֹּם אַהֲרֹן” – “And Aharon was silent.” ( Vayikra  10:3)  Not “he wept.” Not “he cried out.” Simply silence.   What kind of silence was this? Was it shock? Resignation? Accept...

Rabbi Yaakov Green ('98) Head of School Throughout my life, and through my years of teaching, I have encountered many who feel bored by the weekly  parshiot  that relate the laws of sacrificial offerings. They seem esoteric in detail and outdated. Unrelatable. I never felt that way, even as a precocious teenager looking for causes and points to argue. I have always seen these wonderful  parshiot  as deep poetry, meant to be understood on both a practical level – for when sacrifices were offered and will once again, someday soon, be offered – and on a metaphoric and metaphysic level – what can we glean? What deep insight and profound truth must be locked in these words and in these rituals that make them timeless and relevant?   In  Parshat Tzav , we encounter the deeply meaningful laws of the  korban todah , the thanksgiving offering. What captures my heart most about this  korban  is the requirement that it be fully consumed by the end of th...

Boaz Kahn 2024-25 Maimonides Fellow We spend much of our lives, especially in our youth, aching with uncertainty as we try to find our place in the world. While we are all capable of learning and applying various skills, what we truly seek is meaning in what we do. We long to feel called to fulfill a unique role, rather than simply settling into whatever opportunities arise. This, Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks  zt’’l  teaches us, is the message of the first  pasuk  in  Sefer Vayikra : וַיִּקְרָ֖א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר ה׳ אֵלָ֔יו מֵאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לֵאמֹֽר.   Rabbi Sacks points out that the two clauses ויקרא אל משה and וידבר אליו seem redundant. He explains that they serve different purposes: וידבר אליו conveys the transmission of details, instructions, and tasks, while ויקרא אל משה represents a deeper calling—a personal mission. For Rabbi Sacks, who once considered becoming an economist, lawyer, academic, or even a rabbi in the United States before dedicating h...

Rabbi Seth Farber Former Maimonides School Faculty Member The  Torah ’s term for chaos is תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ,  tohu vavohu,  and to a certain extent, the entire thrust of the  Torah  is meant to respond to chaos—particularly the chaos created by war—by infusing the world with life and  kedusha .   Parshat Pikudei  highlights Judaism’s approach to war in a unique way. After the  Mishkan  has been erected, Moshe commands that the  aron , which contains the broken  luchot , be brought into its innermost chamber. The  aron  reflects the place of G-d’s divine presence in the Holy of Holies. In many respects the  aron , along with the  keruvim  perched upon it, recalls the Garden of Eden—a place that G-d created to respond to chaos, a place where G-d’s presence also rested. In fact, there were  keruvim  in the Garden of Eden.   Given its intense holiness, one might have expected that the  aron...

Rabbi Scott Kahn ('88) Parshat Vayakhel  describes the building of the  Mishkan , and the admirable zeal of the Children of Israel in working on and donating to the cause of creating a dwelling place for the  Shechina . Indeed, the  Midrash Tanna Devei Eliyah u metaphorically describes G-d as almost "worrying" that the Children of Israel would not donate generously to the  Mishkan , and being pleasantly surprised by their complete willingness to comply: Once Israel joyfully accepted the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, and said, "All that Hashem says we will do and we will listen," the Holy One, blessed be He immediately told Moshe to tell Israel to make a Mishkan, as it says, "Speak to the Children of Israel... that they should make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell in their midst." At that time the Holy One, blessed be He said in His heart that perhaps the Children of Israel will not bring their gifts before Me, and perhaps will say regarding the On...

Rachel Levitt Klein Dratch ('90) Whenever people told me they’d be visiting Maimonides, I always urged them to find Mike Rosenberg  z”l  if they wanted to fall in love with the school… and then, with a grin, I would say that one of the things I was most proud of was that Mike had a picture of me hanging in his office. Not because of the picture, but because Mike thought I was worth celebrating. What a giant of a wonderful man who made others feel seen. I feel blessed that we had the pleasure to know him. This  d’var Torah  is for him.   I now live in Jerusalem, having made  aliyah  a year and a half ago, and while you in the States will have  Purim  on Friday, we in Jerusalem are experiencing a weird sort of four-day  Purim  season with  megillah  reading on Thursday evening,  matanot la’evyonim  on Friday,  Al Hanisim  on  Shabbat , and the  seudah  and  mishloach manot  on Sun...

Leora Taub 2024-25 Maimonides Fellow In the first few פרשיות of ספר שמות, we experience many of the most foundational events in the תורה. After leaving Egypt, בני ישראל experience  Hashem 's revelation like never before as He presents the עשרת הדברות, the ten most fundamental components of our faith. Following this, in פרשת משפטים we learn many everyday laws that are extremely important to our ability to function regularly and adjust to life outside of slavery. So it is surprising when in פרשת תרומה the  Torah  shifts to discussing the משכן and its כלים, and when in this week’s פרשת תצוה we learn about the בגדי כהונה and מזבח. While these are clearly important aspects of our ’עבודת ה, it doesn't seem integral and immediate that we must learn these details and build a temporary place for  Hashem  before entering ארץ ישראל and building a permanent בית המקדש.   Furthermore, this week is פרשת זכור which describes our  Torah  obligation to remember and...