Dear Yavneh Family,

Every year brings new discussions to the world of education. This short reflection is not meant to capture all the benefits, or concerns, about AI. I myself struggle with how often and when it should be used. I want my words to be authentic, to reflect my own effort. Creating is inherently human. We express ourselves through writing, music, art, and drama. These expressions are therapeutic and reveal our inner soul.

That said, I may run a letter through AI to check grammar or syntax, while asking it to keep my voice and tone. But even then, the heart of the message must come from me.

I recently read Hidden Potential by Adam Grant, a book recommended to me by a Yavneh parent. Grant writes:

“If our cognitive skills are what separate us from animals, character skills are what elevate us above machines. Computers and robots can now build cars, fly planes, fight wars, manage money, represent defendants in courts, diagnose cancer, and perform cardiac surgery… With technological advances placing a premium on interactions and relationships, the skills that make us human are increasingly important to master.”

This resonates deeply with what we strive for at Yavneh. Years ago, we launched a full SEL program (Social-Emotional learning) that now runs from Pre-K through 8th grade. It strengthens resilience, empathy, and relationships, the very qualities that no machine can replicate. In a similar way, our creative work, whether in writing, music, or art, gains meaning through the effort invested. As the Talmud teaches, Lefum tza’ara agra, “the reward is according to the effort.”

This idea also lies at the heart of Rav Kook’s teaching on teshuva. In Orot HaTeshuva, he explains that the soul’s natural state is to strive, to yearn for light and closeness to Hashem. Even when we stumble, the yearning itself shows that our essence is alive.

Rav Kook contrasts two models of spiritual life:

• Static perfection - where the goal is to be flawless, finished, complete.
• Dynamic growth - where the goal is constant becoming, continuous ascent, climbing ever higher even if one never reaches the top.

For Rav Kook, the second model is more descriptive of the human condition. “The main thing,” he writes, “is not that the soul has reached its goal, but that it constantly moves forward with inner honesty and purity of will.”

This is a profound message for Rosh Hashana. We tend to feel pressure to present ourselves as finished products…perfect, transformed, flawless. Rav Kook reminds us that real holiness lies not in perfection, but in movement. Even our struggles and imperfections are signs that our souls are alive and growing.

As Adam Grant notes, the only way to grow is to embrace the awkwardness of learning in order to move forward. Perhaps, then, even the imperfectly crafted letter without AI is more authentic. Hashem does not ask us to be fully finished products on Rosh Hashana. He asks us to turn, to realign, to take the first step. The broken cry of the shofar reminds us that the act of becoming is as holy, perhaps even holier, than actually arriving.

So as we stand before Hashem this Rosh Hashana, let us not be paralyzed by how far we still have to go. Let us celebrate the courage to begin, the willingness to try, and the specialness of the journey.

Shana Tova, wishing us all a year of growth, movement, and blessing.

Rabbi Jonathan Knapp

Head of School