It is a tremendous privilege to write to you for the first time as Head of School of Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy. Over these first weeks, I have already begun meeting students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. I feel incredibly grateful for the warmth with which my family and I have been welcomed, and even more excited to start sharing my vision for the continued growth of this remarkable community. That warmth has reminded me of one of the Torah’s most powerful images of what a community can be.
As the Torah describes Bnei Yisrael camped at the base of Har Sinai, it says, “וַיִּֽחַן־שָׁ֥ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל” “Israel encamped there.” The word “encamped” is surprisingly conjugated in the singular, leading Rashi to comment: “כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד” they stood “as one person with one heart.”
As I begin my tenure at BCHA, this image holds a prominent place in my vision for our school. We are one people. One tribe. One heart. In that spirit, I am thrilled to launch this year’s theme: עם אחד בלב אחד: One nation, one heart, one school.
Later this summer, I will share more details about how this theme will carry us through the year, but for now, I wanted to share a bit about the framework that inspires this vision. Schools are made up of so many different people: teachers, students, parents, donors, lay leaders, non-teaching staff, alumni, and more. This year, our commitment is to see each other not as separate members of our community but, to paraphrase the Tosefta, as chambers of one heart. Our unity is our superpower.
In full transparency, as inspiring as that first image is, the second half of Rashi’s comment is potentially discouraging: “אֲבָל שְׁאָר כָּל הַחֲנִיּוֹת בְּתַרְעוֹמוֹת וּבְמַחֲלֹקֶת” — “but all the other encampments were [divided] with complaints and with strife.”
Though less optimistic, this line is no less important. Even Dor Hamidbar, the generation that received the Torah, easily fell into strife. Can you imagine Moshe’s trouble if they had WhatsApp groups?!
Unity may not be inevitable, but division is certainly not ineluctable.
The idea is simple, but the work is difficult. When we come together in unity, we can do great things, but that does not happen automatically. It takes hard work, intentional effort, and a shared commitment to truly become that family.
This year, we are going to stand together at our own Har Sinai, prepared to give our children the gift of an exceptional Torah education. My commitment is to enter this space with curiosity, joy, and excitement. I know that you will join me in building this school, together, בלב אחד —with one heart.
Rabbi Jordan Soffer
Head of School
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