Amanda Birger, communications manager at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, shares the experience of a recent HBHA Shabbat hosted by Congregation Beth Shalom.
Congregation Beth Shalom generously hosted a recent HBHA Shabbat to highlight our school and the students and staff that make it so special. This is the first time that a community synagogue has hosted us in such a way, and we are thrilled that it was a huge success. We are grateful to Beth Shalom for including us in their Saturday morning services, Rabbi Glickman for taking this initiative, Cantor Ben-Yehuda for helping pull it together, and everyone who joined us on Saturday morning.
In addition to Lower School and Middle School students helping to lead parts of t’fillah, Torah reading was completely done by HBHA students and staff, Rabbi Philmus read Haftarah and led Musaf, and Rabbi Bonney-Cohen gave a powerful D’var Torah about creating a cycle of holiness in our world. The d’var Torah, which featured some of the profound work being done in our sixth grade right now, began:
“In this week’s Torah reading, God commands us, ‘Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.’ Be holy. Wow. What a command. So powerful, so daunting, and also so abstract. What does it mean to be holy, anyway? And not only to be holy in and of itself, but to be holy as God is holy. How are we supposed to know how to emulate God’s holiness? What even is God’s holiness in the first place?...”
Rabbi Bonney-Cohen continued the d’var Torah by talking about a lesson she taught in sixth grade. In discussing how to be holy as God is holy, she asked the students, “What if, instead of calling out all the bad we see around us, we built a practice to lift up the good?” This is a Jewish practice called Hakarat HaTov, which literally means “acknowledging the good.” She challenged the students to write Hakarat HaTov about every student in their grade, including themselves.
“Some students had never heard particular kids say something kind about them until that day,” she said. “Others said that they had never noticed within themselves the qualities that their classmates acknowledged in them. They all voiced how powerful it was not only to hear so many positive things about themselves, but also how good it felt to be asked to recognize the good in others.”
The moving d’var Torah ended with a call to be holy.
“May we heed that sacred calling to tap into the Divine sparks within us, to use them as a source of goodness to seek out and elevate the sparks of those around us. And in doing so, may we tap into our power to bring kedushah into this world, lighting the way for a new cycle of holiness to emerge.”
We were grateful for the opportunity to showcase HBHA's exceptional Jewish education, and it was inspiring to see the pride our students take in Jewish life and ritual leadership. Kol Hakavod to our Torah readers — Ellie Glickman, Naftali Tilove, Ayla Williams, Elia Ellis, Molly Solomon, and Dani Glickman — and to all our students who lift up our whole community through their dedication to Jewish life and learning.
We hope that this special Shabbat is the first of many to come, and we are excited about the possibility of participating in similar events in other community synagogues. If any other congregations are interested in a special HBHA Shabbat, reach out and let HBHA know. Contact Rabbi Bonney-Cohen at .
Once again, thank you to everyone who helped to make this event a success. We look forward to more opportunities to come together as a community and celebrate our shared values and traditions.
