בס“ד
This Shabbat, we read the double parasha of Acharei Mot–Kedoshim.
These days, we stand just after Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut—between memory and mourning, and celebration and hope. The transition is not simple. We carry loss, and yet we are called to move forward with strength and determination. The Torah offers us a direction.
At the beginning of Acharei Mot, we are reminded again of the loss of Aharon’s sons precisely as the Torah begins to teach about korbanot, a word that comes from kirvah, closeness, describing how we come close to Hashem. This is not a coincidence.
As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains, the Jewish way of remembering is not to remain trapped in the past, or held back by trauma, but to build from it.
Memory is not meant to hold us back, it is meant to move us forward.
Here, the Torah brings commemoration into the very moment of building. It teaches us that even experiences of loss can deepen our determination and strengthen our desire to grow, to build, and to come closer to Hashem.
This message continues into the days of Sefirat HaOmer, the journey from Pesach to Shavuot.
During this time, we remember the loss of Rabbi Akiva’s students. Chazal teach that they did not treat one another with proper respect. But the focus is not only on what was lost it is on what we are meant to rebuild. The response is not only mourning—it is growth.
In the second parasha, Kedoshim, we are given one of the most powerful commands in the Torah:
“Ve’ahavta l’re’acha kamocha – Love your neighbor as yourself. I am Hashem.” (Vayikra 19:18)
Rabbi Akiva called this “a great principle of the Torah.”
It is not just a moral idea, it is a pathway to closeness with Hashem.
The days of the Omer teach us that preparing for Matan Torah is not only about learning Torah—but about how we treat one another.
When we see our students participating in school events, celebrating together, and acting with kindness, respect, and genuine care, when we see them supporting one another and building real connections, we are witnessing Torah in action.
This is the flag we carry as a school:
To build a community of תלמידים who not only learn Torah—but live it through אהבת ישראל.
And so, as we move through these days, from remembrance, to rebuilding, to preparation, we carry one clear mission:
To take memory and turn it into connection.
To take loss and turn it into growth.
To take values, and bring them to life.
This is how we come closer to Hashem.
And this is how we prepare ourselves for Shavuot—as one person with one heart.
.כאיש אחד בלב אחד
חג שמח שבת שלום
Rabbi Eli Reisman
Recent Comments