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Ayeka in the News

The Sickness of Judgementalism

Published in Times of Israel by Aryeh Ben David
Posted on April 23, 2018

There is a terrible sickness in the Jewish community. I also have it and can’t seem to get rid of it. I feel contaminated. And this is the time — from Pesach to Shavuot — to work on healing ourselves. What is the sickness? Judgementalism. We are constantly judging each other. The time has come Continue Reading »

Meditation on National Celebration and Personal Connection

Published in Times of Israel by Dasee Berkowitz
Posted on April 23, 2018

“When you expect good you will get something good.”  This is what my son’s teacher told me when I thanked her for encouraging him to do something hard at school a few months ago.  She has an amazing ability to motivate students and to get the best from them. She sees within them what is Continue Reading »

Hearing the voices of our kids

Published in Times of Israel by Aryeh Ben David
Posted on March 21, 2018

He said he wasn’t going to fast on Yom Kippur. She traded in her long-sleeved shirts and skirts for tank tops and shorts. He got a second earring, this one on the top of his ear. She was tired and annoyed by the rules. Shabbat meals became optional. And so their parents came to me. Continue Reading »

Toxic Stones

Published in Sh'ma Now by Aryeh Ben David
Posted on February 5, 2018

Experiences of pain, confusion, and depression are inescapable. Just as God created a world with light and darkness and day and night, we have times when we are open to hearing and feeling gratitude for the voice of the soul. We have other times when life seems confusing and bleak and the voice of the Continue Reading »

A Soulful Response to the Abusers of #MeToo

Published by Aryeh Ben David
Posted on January 17, 2018

I hesitated many times before writing about #MeToo. My inner voice said: “Who are you to write about this? First of all, you’re a guy. There’s no way you can truly understand the pain of those hurt. Secondly, You’re just an educator, not an authority familiar with any research or studies about the effects of Continue Reading »

Faced with fusty texts, teachers learn to breathe new life into Jewish studies

Published in Times of Israel by Aryeh Ben David
Posted on December 26, 2017

NEW YORK — Eighteen months ago, students at the Bi-Cultural Day School in Stamford, Connecticut, received a relatively flat account of Moses and the 12 spies. They learned the who, what, where, when and possibly the why of the story: Moses sent out 12 spies to do a little reconnaissance in the land of Canaan. Continue Reading »

Learning to love my sons’ radical disobedience

Published in Times of Israel by Aryeh Ben David
Posted on December 20, 2017

We, religious Jews, are caught in a searing conundrum. On the one hand, we want to raise strong independent kids who make their own decisions; on the other hand, we are crushed when their choices are different from the ones we hoped for and wanted them to make. But the real crisis and tragedy is Continue Reading »

MILTON Selected for Ayeka Foundation Grant

Published in Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation's Capital by Ronit Greenstein
Posted on December 19, 2017

Ayeka: The Center for Soulful Education announced that it has selected Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation’s Capital along with Atlanta Jewish Academy, Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit, and Netivot HaTorah Day School in Toronto to participate in a cohort funded jointly by The AVI CHAI, Kohelet, and Mayberg Foundations. Ayeka was awarded a two-year Continue Reading »

Jim Joseph Foundation Invests over $23m. in Jewish Educator Professional and Leadership Development

Published in EJewish Philanthropy
Posted on October 24, 2017

The Jim Joseph Foundation has announced a $23.7 million cumulative investment in 21 organizations following a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to address two critical areas in Jewish education: Educator Professional Development and Leadership Development. The Foundation, which fosters compelling, effective Jewish learning experiences for young Jews in the United States, received 154 Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) following the Continue Reading »

Creating a Soulful Organization

Published in Jewish Federations of North America by Aryeh Ben David
Posted on August 21, 2017

First appears on the Jewish Federations of North America’s Blog Ideas in Jewish Education & Engagement At our last board meeting, we asked a particular strident member to say a few words about himself. It was just after Tisha B’Av and he spoke very personally about how difficult the day had been for him. How Continue Reading »