As you may have heard, I am retiring from JEIC on June 30th of this year. I love my work and I love the people I work with. And I still have a lot of other things that I’d like to accomplish with the years that God grants me.

I have been blessed to live my passion since 1978, working in Jewish education, and the work itself has been my reward. How many people can say that they have loved their professional lives for the vast majority of their stay on this earth? I can say that. I have had fulfilling job after fulfilling job doing the most important work on earth: educating the next generation of Jews. This is true avodat hakodesh, holy work.

I thank Yeshiva University, who gave me my first real job in Jewish education (although I did teach Hebrew school while I was in college), whetting my appetite for spending my life doing what I have done.

I thank the Berman Hebrew Academy, which gave me my first job teaching full time in the classroom, and specifically, Rabbi Jack Bieler, who was a remarkable mentor to someone who had little idea of what she was doing.

I thank Beth Tfiloh and Dr. Ziporah Schorr for giving me a chance to teach in that amazing school in Baltimore while I was getting my master’s degree at the Baltimore Hebrew University, a program which broadened my pedagogical toolbox and my knowledge of and approach to the whole of American Judaism.

I thank JPDS/Milton, especially Naomi Reem, from whom I learned what it really means to care for each and every stakeholder in one’s organization, and to create, execute, and constantly refine a vision for superior Jewish education.

I thank Arnee Winshall, founding board president of Hebrew at the Center and board member of JEIC, without whom I never would have known of JEIC. She has been and continues to be a true inspiration to me in all of my work.

And I thank the Mayberg Foundation for allowing me to spread my vision and influence beyond the four walls of the classroom and beyond the dalet amot of any particular school. It has been an honor and a privilege to run JEIC for these past eight years. Those I work most closely with have kept me on my toes and made me laugh, and together, we have changed the conversations surrounding the Jewish day school field.

But retiring from an organization does not mean retiring from the mission which I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

It seems that this mission gets tougher and tougher as time goes on. Six years ago, it was the inability of our children to meet under normal circumstances in school due to the global pandemic. Just as we were coming out of that and beginning to regain our footing, October 7th happened, with all of the ramifications of attack and war and rising antisemitism. And now, the war with Iran affects our lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world.

One year ago, we were still praying for the release of the remaining hostages. With the help of God, that chapter is over. However, a year later, we are still living in a world of chaos in America, in Israel, and around the world, including the rising number of antisemitic incidents against Jews in the United States and globally. We continue to pray each day that peace reigns quickly and completely in our days.

And, folks, this is exactly why we need to redouble our efforts to create a next generation of proud, confident, and unafraid young Jews. Jews who will go out and live vigorously Jewish lives, embedded in our ancient traditions while improving the world by being the moral role models that we are mandated to be. Each one of us has the power to be part of that critical enterprise.

The work that every stakeholder in Jewish day schools is doing, whether as a professional or a lay leader, is truly the most holy work in the entire world. In Shmuel Aleph (First Samuel), chapter 15, the text tells us that netzach yisrael lo yishaker, which literally means “the Glory of Israel–that is, God–does not deceive”, but has been translated colloquially to mean “the eternity of the Jewish people is no lie.” We have outlasted every nation that tried to annihilate us, and we once again face many challenges to our people, both external and internal. A strong, proud, unafraid–and educated–next generation of Jews will see to it that we overcome the forces that are currently trying to destroy us. And every single person involved in Jewish day schools is a part of that endeavor. May God continue to bless the Jewish people and all of those immersed in educating the next generation of Jews.