“Joshua ben Perahiah used to say, ‘Appoint for yourself a teacher, and acquire for yourself a friend.'”

—Pirkei Avot 1:6

This past Sunday, our Center for Youth Engagement concluded its classes with a teacher appreciation luncheon, meant to honor the faculty and staff who devote their precious time toward sharing the gifts of our tradition with students throughout the congregation. Today, our Wise School students and faculty will celebrate Yom HaMoreh, Teacher’s Day, with a special service honoring our teachers, who lovingly guide our Wise School students in their pursuit of wisdom.

Our tradition uniformly venerates the profession of teaching, with many classical texts and even a daily prayer dedicated to honoring the art of teaching. Each day, we traditionally recite kaddish d’rabbanan, which asks for the blessings of peace, compassion, abundance, and health upon our teachers and their students. At Wise, we recite this prayer following our weekly Spirit of Shabbat Torah study on Saturday mornings.

Should you have a wonderful memory from a beloved teacher, please share it with us @stephenwisetemple #YomHaMoreh.

Shabbat Shalom,

—Rabbi Josh Knobel

To learn more about our incredible faculty across Wise Schools, visit https://aaronmilkencenter.orghttps://wise-school.orghttps://wisela.org/cye, and https://wisela.org/meltonwelcome.