Shabbat in Budapest
Shabbat has never been something that was observed in my household. I am aware of what it means and some of what it entails, but it is not a regular part of my life. Because of this, I was somewhat ...
Category: Feb. 2017: Beth Tfiloh + Scheiber
Coming Full Circle 2017
As the sun sets on our last day in Budapest, I huddle in the frigid air with my Beth Tfiloh colleagues on the east bank of the Danube River as we say goodbye to Shabbat. The moment should be – and ...
We want more….
I don’t think that I’ve ever had a week like the one that just finished and I suspect that most teachers haven’t. I had a chance to travel to a beautiful and exotic sounding city, Budapest, and ...
We must be vigilant
I was full of conflicted emotions on the last day of our program in Budapest. We spent a good portion of the late afternoon and evening on Saturday walking around the city, learning about the history ...
Celebrate the many joyful aspects of the Jewish tradition
It’s not often that I get to attend a Shabbat dinner led by my cohort and friend (and roommate for this trip), Rabbi Mordechai Soskil. An infectious sense of humor and a passion for Judaism are ...
Don’t give up
Today I met someone I truly admire. The truth is, I’m a pretty critical guy; I tend to start by seeing people’s faults. After I get to know them I usually find something that I like or some aspect ...
Shabbat Candles
This morning we visited the Hungary Jewish Museum, which is in the process of extensive renovation. The museum wanted us, as typical tourists and as educators, to serve as a focus group and give them ...
Inspirational
The Scheiber Sandor school is closed today and tomorrow, so we dedicated our day to learning about the Budapest Jewish community. After spending three days teaching students, many of whom want to leave ...
Hope
As teachers, we can easily become attached to our school community, and I know I speak for the rest of my cohorts when I say that we were missing the Scheiber Sándor community immensely on Thursday ...
A Dog, a Dance and a Discussion
The running joke among the Beth Tfiloh group in Budapest is that any time I see a dog walking along the street, sitting at a crosswalk, waiting for a traffic light to change or playing in the park, ...
Hi Rebbe
On day three of our visit to the Scheiber Sandor Gimnaziyum I had the class that I had been dreading since I first saw my schedule. I was assigned to a 5th grade Hebrew language class. Now keep in ...
Having a voice
After two days I feel there’s enough water under the bridge (the chain bridge of course) here in Budapest to circle back to my 1st blog, which voiced my concerns about adolescents losing the spark ...
Still Not a Tourist
Today was our first day here not working at Scheiber Sandor. I had anticipated feeling more touristy now that we are no longer going to work all day, but this was not the case. I have traveled a lot, ...
The Best and the Brightest
It has been a long and wonderful final day with the Scheiber Sandor kids. It’s 10:15pm and I am only getting to the blog now, so tonight’s will be short and sweet. But there were two things that ...
KISSES ALL AROUND!
My first group of students for the day are the seniors of the school – Grade 13, and much like the 12th grade students at Beth Tfiloh, this is a very stressful time in their lives. My plan had been ...
“I was just doing what I’ve seen you do.”
I am 48 years old and I have never overslept and been late for work—until today.
We are supposed to meet in the lobby at 7:45 to board the bus to take us to the Scheiber Sandor School. At 7:47 my phone ...
Telling our Truths
On my last day of teaching at the Scheiber Sandor School in Budapest, I have asked my 7th year students to do what many adults find impossible – reveal their truth. Perhaps because they are in the ...
World history is a chronology of cause and effect
Yesterday I wanted to talk about the teaching and what was different and what was the same. Today I want to spend a few moments thinking about our host city Budapest (which I will now correctly, and ...
Spontaneity and Creativity
I’m told that many of the English classes in Budapest consist largely of rote, and very still, learning. Students sit at a desk with a grammar book and do grammar exercises. Granted, that certainly ...
Ah ha moment!
Each night after dinner we would have the opportunity to share our thoughts from the day, our viewpoints from the classroom, or our feelings and reactions to the landmarks that we saw on our tours. ...
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Coming Full Circle 2017
As the sun sets on our last day in Budapest, I huddle in the frigid air with my Beth Tfiloh colleagues on the east bank of the Danube River as we say goodbye to Shabbat. The moment should be – and ...
We want more….
I don’t think that I’ve ever had a week like the one that just finished and I suspect that most teachers haven’t. I had a chance to travel to a beautiful and exotic sounding city, Budapest, and ...
We must be vigilant
I was full of conflicted emotions on the last day of our program in Budapest. We spent a good portion of the late afternoon and evening on Saturday walking around the city, learning about the history ...
Celebrate the many joyful aspects of the Jewish tradition
It’s not often that I get to attend a Shabbat dinner led by my cohort and friend (and roommate for this trip), Rabbi Mordechai Soskil. An infectious sense of humor and a passion for Judaism are ...
Don’t give up
Today I met someone I truly admire. The truth is, I’m a pretty critical guy; I tend to start by seeing people’s faults. After I get to know them I usually find something that I like or some aspect ...
Shabbat Candles
This morning we visited the Hungary Jewish Museum, which is in the process of extensive renovation. The museum wanted us, as typical tourists and as educators, to serve as a focus group and give them ...
Inspirational
The Scheiber Sandor school is closed today and tomorrow, so we dedicated our day to learning about the Budapest Jewish community. After spending three days teaching students, many of whom want to leave ...
Hope
As teachers, we can easily become attached to our school community, and I know I speak for the rest of my cohorts when I say that we were missing the Scheiber Sándor community immensely on Thursday ...
A Dog, a Dance and a Discussion
The running joke among the Beth Tfiloh group in Budapest is that any time I see a dog walking along the street, sitting at a crosswalk, waiting for a traffic light to change or playing in the park, ...
Hi Rebbe
On day three of our visit to the Scheiber Sandor Gimnaziyum I had the class that I had been dreading since I first saw my schedule. I was assigned to a 5th grade Hebrew language class. Now keep in ...
Having a voice
After two days I feel there’s enough water under the bridge (the chain bridge of course) here in Budapest to circle back to my 1st blog, which voiced my concerns about adolescents losing the spark ...
Still Not a Tourist
Today was our first day here not working at Scheiber Sandor. I had anticipated feeling more touristy now that we are no longer going to work all day, but this was not the case. I have traveled a lot, ...
The Best and the Brightest
It has been a long and wonderful final day with the Scheiber Sandor kids. It’s 10:15pm and I am only getting to the blog now, so tonight’s will be short and sweet. But there were two things that ...
KISSES ALL AROUND!
My first group of students for the day are the seniors of the school – Grade 13, and much like the 12th grade students at Beth Tfiloh, this is a very stressful time in their lives. My plan had been ...
“I was just doing what I’ve seen you do.”
I am 48 years old and I have never overslept and been late for work—until today.
We are supposed to meet in the lobby at 7:45 to board the bus to take us to the Scheiber Sandor School. At 7:47 my phone ...
Telling our Truths
On my last day of teaching at the Scheiber Sandor School in Budapest, I have asked my 7th year students to do what many adults find impossible – reveal their truth. Perhaps because they are in the ...
World history is a chronology of cause and effect
Yesterday I wanted to talk about the teaching and what was different and what was the same. Today I want to spend a few moments thinking about our host city Budapest (which I will now correctly, and ...
Spontaneity and Creativity
I’m told that many of the English classes in Budapest consist largely of rote, and very still, learning. Students sit at a desk with a grammar book and do grammar exercises. Granted, that certainly ...
Ah ha moment!
Each night after dinner we would have the opportunity to share our thoughts from the day, our viewpoints from the classroom, or our feelings and reactions to the landmarks that we saw on our tours. ...