Dear Yavneh Family,

Building a school community! That is one of the goals of Yavneh Academy- to create a home where students, parents, extended family, teachers and more come together to educate and raise the next generation. It is a sacred task.     

This summer, I had the unique honor and privilege of attending an extraordinary learning opportunity in Yerushalayim as a Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Scholar. Twenty of us from around the world studied his writing and philosophy, learned from top rate scholars as well as from one another, and discussed ways to extend and apply Rabbi Sacks’ thought in today’s times.

Since returning, I have been doing a deep dive into his many books. This past Shabbat, parshat Vaetchanan, I completed Future Tense: Jews, Judaism, and Israel in the Twenty-first Century. In one chapter, Rabbi Sacks presents a nuanced understanding of the Sinai experience:

“What was transacted at Sinai was not a contract. It was a covenant. In a contract, two or more individuals, each pursuing their own interest, come together to make an exchange for mutual benefit…In a covenant, two or more individuals, each respecting the dignity and integrity of the other, come together in a bond…to share their interests…to do what neither can achieve alone.”

He continues…“A contract is a transaction. A covenant is a relationship. A contract is about interests. A covenant is about identity. A covenant bonds the parties even in- especially in- difficult times...That is why contracts benefit, but covenants transform.”

I have been thinking about the distinction between contract and covenant a great deal of late. Building a community should not be confused with uniformity. In fact, quite the opposite. A community allows for and, more so, even encourages a multiplicity of divergent opinions and views to be fully expressed and respected.

For me, the recent decision to restrict student smart phones from our campus resulted in a prime example of healthy community conversation. The reaction to our decision was strong on both sides. Many people supported the decision while many others expressed concerns. I have the utmost respect for each and every person who reached out to me, from those who expressed concern to those who shared support. Together, they represent some of our most thoughtful, reflective, sophisticated and caring Yavneh families.

Through our conversations, a few themes emerged. One, we actually agree on many of the main points. To be clear, the intention of the policy was only to restrict phones at Yavneh. On that point, there is nearly unanimous agreement. The school does not set policies for home. There are other items (Crocs a recent example) that are no longer allowed in school but are favored by many at home. I wear mine every Sunday!

Moreover, I actually agree with the two main concerns that were shared with me- namely that parents who so desire should be able to communicate with their kids on the bus, and that families who already have devices may incur additional costs. Anticipating these ideas, I reflected on both of these items in the letter.

In closing, we as a school spent considerable time researching and analyzing multiple approaches to achieve a phone free school. As is often the case, each solution had pros and cons, advantages and drawbacks. In our analysis, we landed on the approach that we feel works best for our students and school community.

Our covenant with our Yavneh community, students, parents, families and faculty, is sacred; a place where we can passionately debate and discuss best practices, confident that we all have a shared interest in creating the optimal learning environment for our students. Echoing the wisdom of Rabbi Sacks, it is my fervent hope that our covenantal relationship will continue to transform our school to further heights. 

Sincerely,

Rabbi Jonathan Knapp