by Rabbi Harry Pell

As we approach seven weeks since the events of October 7, I am filled with a range of sometimes conflicting emotions. I have not yet let go of the shock and the pain, even as I have experienced increasing feelings of hope. As Thanksgiving approaches, though, I look for reasons to feel gratitude, even during this difficult time.

I am grateful to work at The Leffell School and to be a Leffell parent, ensconced in this incredibly special and supportive kehilah. And as an educator, I feel that I have been given an incredible gift. It's an accepted truth in the world of education that most teachers wait decades to see the fruits of their labors and the impact of their work. If I could do anything to turn back the clock and prevent October 7 from happening, I of course would. But since we can't, I prefer to focus on the incredible acts of solidarity, chesed, and ahavat Yisrael that I have seen from our students, our community, and our alumni these past seven weeks. I am grateful to see the return on our communal investment in our students and our alumni in real time every day since October 7.

From the first Monday after Simchat Torah, our students have modeled what it means to stand with Israel. They have participated in and organized division-wide tefilot and rallies at the Upper School, they have created a read-a-thon to raise tzedakah for Israel at the Lower School, and a group of high school students and teachers even recreated the haunting Shabbat table of empty chairs that they'd seen in Tel Aviv and Times Square in our own Upper School courtyard. On a daily basis, older students are including extra tefilot for our hostages, for our alumni in the IDF, and for the IDF and Israel as a whole. Across the grades, our students have been writing cards and letters to children, healthcare workers, and soldiers in Israel, some of which I had the privilege to hand-deliver during my visit to Israel two weeks ago. I am grateful for our students.

Our community has also risen to the challenge of this moment. Schools generally exist for their students, but The Leffell School is a kehilah for our families as well, and I was touched to see almost 400 adult members of our community come out for a night of tefilah and solidarity with Israel organized by our PTO. I was also deeply proud that when we set out to raise enough money to purchase one medicycle for Magen David Adom, our community raised enough money for two. I have felt extremely impressed by our community when over 390 people gathered with me on Zoom to learn about the current situation in Gaza, and have cherished the support I received before my recent trip to Israel. I am grateful for our community.

Finally, whether they are serving in the IDF or fighting prejudice on the front lines of their college campuses, our alumni are doing tremendously important work. A special part of the Leffell experience is that teacher-student relationships continue well beyond graduation. We hear from members of our alumni every day, and for the past seven weeks, we have been hearing two messages in particular: First, our alumni have been telling us all of the impressive ways they have been seeking to support Israel, educate others, and build bridges of understanding on their college campuses and beyond. Second, invariably, they express their gratitude for the Jewish and Israel education they received here as students. As one student wrote to me yesterday on WhatsApp, describing a conversation he had just had with peers on campus, "I felt very proud to be able to teach about my people's homeland, and I credit my Twelfth-Grade Modern Israeli History course, Lev v'Nefesh, and my thirteen years of Leffell education for inspiring me to support Israel and teach about it in a peaceful and cooperative way." I am grateful for our alumni.

To receive messages like that from alumni, to watch our community continue to show up, to see our students initiate many meaningful efforts fills me with gratitude and pride. But the gratitude and pride aren't really mine — they belong to our entire community and to every parent, faculty and staff member, and investor who has made a Leffell education possible for our students over the years. I simply can't think of a greater return on our communal investment.

Happy Thanksgiving - Chag HaHodayah Sameach, and may we hear besorot tovot (better news) very soon.