Every Friday we join to daven together as a full school community. This tradition of a communal tefilah adds to the anticipation of Shabbat. We also listen to a special d’var Torah; one that helps us appreciate and feel personally connected to the weekly Torah portion in meaningful and relevant ways.

Rabbi Rubin spoke about the mitzvah of hak’hel, one of the last mitzvot to be noted in sefer Devarim, in parashat Vayelekh. Hak’hel occurs on the first day of Sukkot, once every seven years, after the close of each Sabbatical year (shemittah).

The Rabbi stressed the beauty of all of Am Yisrael coming together. One of the unique aspects of this gathering is that it includes the children who are also required to fulfill this mitzvah of assemblage. Rabbi Rubin emphasized the power and beauty of everyone being an important member of the klal. “It is an interesting coincidence,” the Rabbi noted, “that the parshiot Nitzavim-Vayelekh correspond to the upcoming rally for Israel. We will be showing up because of everything we have said politically but we’re also going because we are a modern day kahal that feels it a privilege to be a part of Am Yisrael.”

To truly appreciate the Rabbi’s inspirational message in its entirety, visit http://www.ramaz.tv/ and on the Home Page click on “Friday D’var Torah Series.”

Please note that our newly designed site will have our Friday D'var Torah series available via MP3 based podcast on Apple iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/). To subscribe to the D’var Torah series podcast, click on the icon found on the Friday D’var Torah Home Page.

Just connect your iPod to your PC and listen to ramaz.tv on the go!

We have also posted a marvelous article that appeared in the special education issue of the Jewish Week this past August, “Breaking the Mold.” Mr. Liel Leibovitz recounts the unique experience he had teaching Ramaz juniors his originally designed course, “Modern Zionism.” He writes about the many challenges he faced not only in creating a course that would be more than the usual “robotic hasbara of emissaries” but also in teaching our diverse and intellectually demanding students. Click on “News” on the Home Page and enjoy reading the entire essay.

Shavua Tov and Shanah Tovah!