Dear Grandparents,

Three weeks ago, I became a grandfather for the first time. “Welcome to the club!” is the refrain I have received most often. I'll admit- the entire experience still feels rather surreal. The kids and their newborn were with us for Rosh Hashanah. Suddenly, I am experiencing everything through a new lens.

In the Rosh Hashana Machzor with commentary adapted from the teaching of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik…

The Rav eloquently portrayed the following scenario. A grandfather stands before his newly born grandchild filled with paradoxical thoughts. Feelings of renewal merge with fading memories of the past…Jews of the past, present and future are united in the commitment to the Divine teachings of the Torah and to the historical destiny of the Jew.

As the child is born, he is absorbed into the Mesorah community, He will, hopefully, speak our language, study our texts, share our solemnities, dream our dreams and adopt our ideals…In this fraternity of the committed, there need not be any generation gap, any splintering of ranks, but rather a sharing of ideas and ideals which span and unite countless generations.

When it is achieved, a Mesorah relationship between grandfather and grandchild contains an emotional intensity and intellection closeness that in some ways transcends the parent-child relationship. Psychologically, one would not expect a deep identification between two individuals whose great discrepancy of years could easily spawn alienation.

Yet grandparents, more so than parents, are sensitive to the transiency of time and to the pressing need to assure the perpetuation of one’s lifelong principles. The child is far more than a biological extension; he embodies one’s hopes for spiritual continuity.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his Letters to the Next Generation : Reflections for Yom KIppur, presents reflections in the form of hypothetical letters written by a father to his children who’ve just become parents in their own right. There, Rabbi Sacks writes, “For Jews, education is not just what we know. It’s who we are. No people ever cared for education more. Our ancestors were the first to make education a religious command, and the first to create a universal system of schooling.”

Especially during this time of introspection, we think about our ideas and our ideals. We think about what is important to us. At our school, we aim to meet the various needs of each of our students. Yet, the amount of a Yavneh tuition does not cover the cost of educating each student. Even after tuition assistance, the cost to educate each child outpaces the cost of our tuition. We rely on donations and the generosity of others to bridge that gap. Please consider partnering with us and joining our Grandparent Giving Circle. Additionally, we invite you to reach out to our Director of Annual Campaign, Aliza Schulman at aliza.schulman@yavnehacademy.org for more information.

Thank you for your support and may Hashem bless each of us with good health, happiness and deep connection with our families and one another.

B’vracha,

Rabbi Jonathan Knapp

Head of School