Honoring Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Z'L Through Studying!

On Monday, to mark the yahrzeit of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z'l, the entire Middle School learned about Rabbi Sacks's view of optimism vs. hope.  According to R. Sacks, "Optimism is the belief that things are going to get better. Hope is the belief that if we work hard enough together, we can make things better."  After studying mishnayot and commentaries in small groups, students presented what they had learned. Some eighth graders reflected on the message and how it relates to them:

"In this world, we can't stop people from hating or going against Jews. There will always be haters. We can't be optimistic after looking at our past and seeing the hatred in this world. However, we can hope, we can hope Hashem will be beside us at all times and in all places." - Alexei Gomberg

"It is important, now more than ever because of the current anti-Semitism the Jewish community is facing. Instead of being optimistic that it will get better and sitting idly by and downplaying our Judaism while we are facing persecution, we must be hopeful and proactive that things will improve by practicing our religion publicly and continue being proud Jews. " - Hannah Katz