How odd it is to have snow falling in mid-April outside, and yet what has been normal about this past year? “Normal” is a term that can be seen as a positive or negative depending on the context. In many ways, we have endeavored to make this school year feel as “normal” as possible for our students and families. To the degree that we have achieved a sense of normalcy at this point in the year speaks to the tireless efforts of our faculty and staff. We are open, engaging, caring, and supportive of our community, and we are proud to be a place of stability in normal times, and especially given the current context.
One layer of this consistent structure is based on the ever-reliable Jewish calendar. This week we honored the day of Yom Hazikaron, and we celebrated on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, just as we do every year at this time. At this point in time it is “normal” to have the state of Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people, and yet we know this was not the norm for most of history. We know that what is normal today won’t necessarily be the normal of tomorrow unless we make every effort to make it so. We also know that some things considered “normal” need to change in our country, and it is our responsibility to take part in societal justice and improvement.
May your shabbat be normal in the ways you want it to be, and extraordinary in others.
Shabbat Shalom,
Brian Cohen, Head of School
April 16, 2021 ~ 4 Iyar 5781