In response to Rabbi Glustein's query regarding the application of Modern Orthodoxy to a Jewish day school, I can report that at the North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, NY this is a vital lens through which we view the school.
Our brief mission and values statement lists four key elements:
Torat Yisrael: a commitment to and love for Torah, mitzvot, halacha, Medinat Yisrael and Klal Yisrael.
Derech Eretz: respect for, sensitivity to and acceptance of others in thought, speech and action.
Simchat Chayim: an overall joy of learning, innovation and intellectual pursuit.
Achrayut: responsibility and accountability for the Jewish and global community.
(This is contextualized on our website here: [
www.nsha.org].)
In composing this too-brief but accurate bullet point list, I was heavily influenced by the thinking of Rabbi Saul Berman, whose nine points that describe what he terms "the Modern Orthodox experiment" have been one of my go-to statements on what we do and why we do it since their publication in 2001. They are here: [
shma.com].
Would that I could, I would have put Rabbi Berman's entire piece on our site as the mission statement, but the need for brevity and concerns over limited attention spans kept me from doing so.
Rabbi Jeffrey B. Kobrin
Rosh HaYeshiva / Head of School
North Shore Hebrew Academy
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2016 04:18PM by mlb.
