Shavuot 5783 2023

Our first ever Yavneh Academy Sefirat HaOmer ice cream celebration was a huge success. Close to 300 Yavneh students completed counting the omer and filled out the Google form, while another 50 brought in their completed sefirah counting sheets. The students were clearly excited as they waited patiently by the toppings bar with their freshly scooped ice cream.

In addition to the excitement about the ice cream, I found myself engaged in a fascinating conversation with a number of faculty members as the first grade students were leaving the celebration. Someone questioned whether the party was indeed worth it as one of the other first graders was clearly upset about the prospect of not being included.

I shared the following ideas which I want to share with you as well.

• Being inclusive. This is certainly a deep value. In fact, in school, nearly all the time everyone is included. Chanukah. Purim. Lag B’omer etc
• Rewarding a job well done. This program was an incentive for students to try to count the omer every night. It was optional and included a sweet reward.
•  Increasing motivation. I hope this will become a yearly event. Perhaps next year, more students will attempt to count.
• Building resilience. To me, this was perhaps the most important part of the conversation. In the grand scheme, our ice cream was pretty low stakes. Many shuls have ice cream parties over Shavuot. Learning to live with a level of disappointment is age-appropriate. (in ECD, all students participated in an ice cream celebration).
• At some point, we need to start flexing that muscle. Not everyone wins every game, gets into the college of their choice, gets the promotion they covet etc.

Angela Duckworth is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder of Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance scientific insights that help children thrive. Some of the most often quoted components of her best selling book, Grit, include,

“Have a fierce resolve in everything you do.”

“Demonstrate determination, resiliency, and tenacity.”

“Do not let temporary setbacks become permanent excuses.”

And, finally,

“Use mistakes and problems as opportunities to get better—not reasons to quit.”

These ideas of being included while still striving are manifest by the dual nature of the brachot we say every morning before studying Torah. On the one hand, we say the bracha of asher bachur banu- we thank הקב”ה for being included in His special covenantal community. We are all included. And yet, we each have an obligation to delve deep, la’asok, to plumb the depths of Torah. The more we do so, the more we will be individually connected to limud HaTorah. On that level, the connection is commensurate with the effort expended.

As we return emboldened and enriched from a wonderful chag, we give expression to both. We acknowledge the wonderful honor to be included in our community while we set goals, trying our best in our Torah study to further our understanding of Hashem's Torah.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Jonathan Knapp

Head of School