Rabbi Mark GottliebFormer Maimonides PrincipalRabbi Mark Gottlieb served as Middle/Upper School Principal at Maimonides from 2000-2005, then as Head of School at Yeshiva University High School. He is currently Chief Education Officer at the Tikvah Fund and a member of the Advisory Board to the Presi
Jacob PinnolisChiel Educator-in-ResidenceJacob Pinnolis joined Maimonides in 2020 as Chiel Educator-in-Residence, named by Lisa Rosenbaum and Ron Fisher in honor of Judy and Jonathan Chiel. This position allows Jacob to serve in a high-level consultative leadership role that leverages his considerab
Bracha Krohn ('94)Bracha (Shapiro) Krohn ('94) currently serves as Menahelet at Midreshet Moriah in Jerusalem, and spends summers on staff at Camp Stone in Pennsylvania. She is married to classmate Adin Krohn ('94) and has three alumni siblings. Bracha is the daughter of Miriam and Rabbi David Shapi
Dr. David FischerUpper School Science TeacherIn addition to teaching Geometry, Chemistry, and Environmental Science, Dr. Fischer has led a Bekiut Talmud elective and a Daf Yomi group. He is the proud father of two Maimo students and three alumni.The mishna in Pirkei Avot relates that Rabbi Yochanan
Amy Goldman ('90)Chair, Board of DirectorsIn addition to her current position, Amy (Kahn) Goldman is an alumna of the Class of 1990; sister of three alumni; mother of four alumni; and has been an active community volunteer and committee member for many years.In Parshat Shemini, the long-awaited Mish
Rabbi Yaakov Green ('98)Head of SchoolThroughout my life, and through my years of teaching, I have encountered many who feel bored by the weekly parshiot that relate the laws of sacrificial offerings. They seem esoteric in detail and outdated. Unrelatable. I never felt that way, even as a precocious
Boaz Kahn2024-25 Maimonides FellowWe spend much of our lives, especially in our youth, aching with uncertainty as we try to find our place in the world. While we are all capable of learning and applying various skills, what we truly seek is meaning in what we do. We long to feel called to fulfill a
Rabbi Seth FarberFormer Maimonides School Faculty MemberThe Torah’s term for chaos is תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ, tohu vavohu, and to a certain extent, the entire thrust of the Torah is meant to respond to chaos—particularly the chaos created by war—by infusing the world with life and kedusha.Parshat Pikudei hi
Rabbi Scott Kahn ('88)Parshat Vayakhel describes the building of the Mishkan, and the admirable zeal of the Children of Israel in working on and donating to the cause of creating a dwelling place for the Shechina. Indeed, the Midrash Tanna Devei Eliyahu metaphorically describes G-d as almost "worryi
Rachel Levitt Klein Dratch ('90)Whenever people told me they’d be visiting Maimonides, I always urged them to find Mike Rosenberg z”l if they wanted to fall in love with the school… and then, with a grin, I would say that one of the things I was most proud of was that Mike had a picture of me hangin
Leora Taub2024-25 Maimonides FellowIn the first few פרשיות of ספר שמות, we experience many of the most foundational events in the תורה. After leaving Egypt, בני ישראל experience Hashem's revelation like never before as He presents the עשרת הדברות, the ten most fundamental components of our faith. Fo
Rabbi David ShapiroFormer Maimonides Principal and Limudei Kodesh TeacherThis week we begin reading the series of parshiyot describing the construction of the Mishkan and the ceremonial clothing of the kohanim. Our mesorah emphasizes that each and every pasuk in the Torah has eternal relevance to ou
Rabbi David EhrenkranzUpper School Limudei Kodesh TeacherThere are different metaphors that Chazal use to describe our relationship with G-d, which can be found throughout our liturgy (e.g. father and child, Avinu; king and servant, Malkeinu; older brother and younger sister, see the Piyut “Achot Ke
Rabbi Mordechai WeckerFormer Maimonides Principal and Limudei Kodesh TeacherWhy do we recite Az Yashir in Pesukei d’Zimrah? The introductory bracha of Baruch Sh’Amar reads, “and with the songs of Dovid Your servant we will extol You.” Yet Az Yashir, which commemorates the miraculous deliverance of t
Alexandra LedermanClass of 2024The first commentary by Rashi in the Chumash says that the Torah is not a history book, it is a law book. If it is a law book for us, why doesn’t the Torah start with the first mitzvah given directly to the Jews? That mitzvah is Rosh Chodesh, which is found in Parshat
Rabbi Dr. Yaakov JaffeDean of Judaic StudiesEach day upon entering Maimonides, students, visitors, and teachers have the chance to read the school’s statement of values, which includes the memorable line: Torah study is enriched by our understanding of science, philosophy, literature, art, and music
Raanan Gewurz '24I write these reflections while sitting in a beit midrash in Jerusalem, having just graduated from Maimonides last year. Everywhere one turns in Israel today, there are signs reading b’yachad nenatzeach (together we will prevail), reminding us of the power of a united Am Yisrael. Fo
Jacob PinnolisChiel Educator-in-ResidenceParshat Vayechi records the end of Yaakov’s life with a poignant description of his last words to his sons. He appears to be about to deliver a prophecy regarding what will happen to them and their descendants:וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הֵאָֽסְפוּ֙ וְאַגִּ֣ידָה לָכֶ֔ם אֵ֛ת א
Robin MeyerowitzEarly Childhood DirectorIn this week’s parsha, Vayeishev, Yaakov gives his favorite son Yosef the famous multicolored coat. Consumed by jealousy, Yosef’s brothers throw him in a pit. At that moment, we think of Yosef almost as a nobody. Nobody important, no one who would ever accompl
Noah KleinClass of 2025In the beginning of this week’s parsha, Vayetzei, Yaakov makes his way to Haran to find a wife. In the middle of his journey, he lies down on a rock and dreams of a stairway of angels going up and down between earth and heaven. Then Hashem appears to him and reaffirms Avraham’
Rabbi Shmuel SilbermanMiddle/Upper School Learning Center SpecialistWhat does Judaism say about secular activities? We get a great insight into this question in Parshat Toldot this week.There are 248 positive and 365 negative mitzvot. While that’s a lot of required and forbidden activities, it leave
Michal BesslerElementary School PrincipalParshat Chayei Sarah begins with the death of Sarah and ends with the death of Avraham.The beginning of the parsha describes Sarah’s years as “מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִיםשָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים,”i 127years, and Rashi says that “כֻּלָּן שָׁוִין לְטוֹבָה”—all her
Rabbi Dov Huff ('00)Middle/Upper School PrincipalThe first four parshiyot of Sefer Bereishit feature an interesting phenomenon which is unique to this section of the Torah: The divine inner monologue, offering us a peek into the decision-making process of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. But why are we allowed t
Rabbi Shimmy TrencherExecutive Director of Community EngagementThe first verse of this week’s parsha presents us with a curious grammatical construction: לֶךְ־לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ. Numerous commentators struggle with the strange doubling of לך. Doubling of a verb in He