Welcome from the Head of School

List of 7 items.

• February 28, 2025: Head of School Message: Reflections from Poland with Neshama

  Dear GOA Community,

   

  The winter sun was warm in the Birkenau death camp, but the horrors recalled there made us shiver. Following three hours touring the claustrophobic cells of Auschwitz, we now stood in the broad spaces of Birkenau, tracing train tracks past the selection platform and on to the ruins of gas chambers and crematoria. Nothing can truly prepare you for standing at the epicenter of evil. But if you do go, nothing can bolster your spirits like traveling with a group of knowledgeable, committed and proud young Jews. 

   

  I had joined thirty-eight Golda Och seniors and five staff participating in Neshama for the final four days of their week in Poland. Our students had already explored the concentration camps of Treblinka and Majdanek, and had visited small cities like Tykocin, Lublin and Tarnow, places where the architecture is a ghostly remnant of centuries of Jewish life, now extinguished. Neshama had entered eerie forests such as Buczyna where thousands of Jews were murdered, sensing these precious souls in this quiet place of sorrow. 

   

  Tears flowed down the cheeks of our students as they heard an eyewitness account of 800 young children snatched from the Tarnow orphanage by the Nazis and trucked to the forest where they were dumped into a mass grave and buried alive. A neighbor reported that the dirt continued to heave for hours afterward. We stood silently at the mass grave, lit candles, prayed, and sang softly. 

   

  Our students were not passive witnesses to these places of horror. They had come prepared by our staff and their parents to share family memories, each helping us connect to a place of unspeakable horror. Several presented remarkably detailed accounts of their family histories, stories of death for many, and survival for some. Several students wore Israeli flags like superhero capes on their shoulders, as if they had flown in to raise up the precious memories of our people.

   

  Rabbi Rob Kahn has led Israel trips for GOA these past ten years, and he has a remarkable gift for allowing emotions to develop at a natural pace, assuring students that all responses are authentic, whether they weep or cannot cry. Four Israeli counselors–Shakked, Ravid, Itai and Yuval–also shared their family histories and modeled for our students the possibility of honoring the sorrows of the Shoah, while rebuilding and defending Jewish life in Israel.

   

  We had worried in advance about visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau on a Friday. Would the contrast with Shabbat feel too extreme? Yet, hours later, on a chilly Friday night in Krakow, in the unheated Temple synagogue, we joined 200 visitors for a boisterous evening of singing, dancing, and encouraging words of Torah. On this Shabbat mevarchim, anticipating Adar and Purim, we traced the depths and heights of Jewish experience, replaying the traditional passage mi’yagon l’simchah, from despair to joy.

   

  For dinner we stepped next door into the Krakow JCC, a vibrant building of Jewish revival which, under the leadership of Jonathan Ornstein, has become a food pantry and resource center for Ukrainian refugees, most of them non-Jewish. This reminded me of the great Hillel, who taught, “If I am not for myself, then who will be? If I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, then when?” We Jews must defend our own people, of course, but that does not give us an excuse to ignore the needs of others, or to fail to act with urgency. 

   

  That evening I shared words of Torah with the students, telling them stories about the greatest sage of Krakow and Polish Jewry, Rabbi Moshe Isserles, the Rem”a. According to one legend, his merchant father Israel’s commitment to Shabbat was so strong that he passed up a major sale on a Friday afternoon that would have enriched him. As a reward, his family was granted a son who would become one of the greatest halakhic authorities in our history. 

   

  After telling the students about Rema’s great halakhic works, I noted that he also wrote a commentary on the book of Esther called Mechir Yayin. Rabbi Isserles argued that the Megillah’s central message is the importance of making good decisions. We must remember that free will is given to each person to decide whether to pursue the good or to take the seductive path of evil. Mordecai’s message to Esther was not that she would be safe if she approached Achashverosh, but that given the danger to her people, it was worth the personal risk to act in their defense. In our day too, our choices matter, and we must find the clarity and the courage to do the right thing.

   

  While standing in Auschwitz and Birkenau had been powerful experiences, praying in the ancient synagogues of Krakow with our students was even more moving. In the morning most of us visited the Rem”a synagogue, joining locals and visitors, some in modern attire and others in shtreimels, singing the prayers that are our shared inheritance. I kept looking up at the painted ceiling, amazed that the Rema daavened here nearly 500 years ago. True, this wasn’t the normal GOA style of daavening. The girls who came were stuck in a back room with little visual contact to the service. But they too were moved by the opportunity to join their prayers to those of our ancestors. 

   

  Back at the hotel we met with Christina, the daughter of a woman who rescued her Jewish friend Helena during the Nazi occupation. Helena later moved to Israel and nominated her friend for recognition by Yad VaShem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. She reminded us not to walk away from Poland feeling alienated from humanity. Rather, we must look at the world with clarity, recognizing and welcoming friendship where it is found, and strengthening ourselves to confront evil when necessary. 

   

  I parted from Neshama as they continued on to Israel, where they have already marked the transition to celebrating the renewal of our people in its ancient homeland. Back in New Jersey, where I have the privilege to witness GOA students embracing the Torah with dedication and skill, I likewise experience the transition mi’yagon l’simchah, from despair to joy. I send your family blessings for a peaceful Shabbat and a joyous month of Adar. 

   

  And to our Neshama students, may they experience a spectacular three months exploring the complexity, power, and beauty of Israel. Click here to see photos and to read student updates.

   

  Rabbi Danny Nevins

  Head of School

• November 27, 2024: Head of School Message: Thanksgiving Gratitude

  Dear GOA Community,

   

  As we gather with family and friends to celebrate the great American holiday of Thanksgiving, we at Golda Och Academy feel special gratitude for the blessings of our school community. We are grateful for:

   

  • The dedicated and talented teachers, administrators and staff who make the education of GOA students their top priority, bringing wisdom, and kindness, and belief in the unique potential of each child.
  • Our awesome students, from Ganon all the way to senior year, for their curiosity, skill, friendship, and commitment to continued growth.
  • Our awesome alumni who represent GOA values out in the world, leading Jewish communities in college and modeling the integration of proud Jewish identity with academic and professional success in the broader society.
  • Our visionary parents, grandparents and donors whose commitment to Jewish education has built and sustained the school, for investing in their own children and in our broader enterprise of bringing the light of Torah to illumine the world.

   

  On this Thanksgiving eve, we are also grateful for the new cease-fire on the Israel/Lebanon border, which we hope will lead to true tranquility and the opportunity to rebuild and repopulate the devastated northern communities. At the same time, we continue to hold the Israeli hostages held in Gaza in our hearts and minds, praying for their safe release, and for the end of Hamas terrorism that has caused so much destruction. 

   

  May God bless our community with peace and prosperity, and may our expression of Thanksgiving inspire each of us to acts of kindness and generosity for those in need.

   

  Happy Thanksgiving,

   

  Rabbi Danny Nevins

• October 23, 2024: Head of School Message: Sorrow, strength and joy on Shmini Atzeret

  Dear GOA Community,

   

  The final days of the Jewish fall festivals are intended to achieve a crescendo of joy, a fulfillment of the prophecy in Deuteronomy that we will become “completely happy” on the festival (והיית אך שמח). 

   

  Yet even in normal years, there is an underlying anxiety to our festive gatherings. The temporary Sukkah reminds us of our essential frailty. The Hoshana prayers (“Rescue us!”) are a catalog of calamities from drought and famine to disease and war. Yizkor reminds us of the beloved people whom we have lost. Because we read about the death of Moses on Simchat Torah, there are also ancient poems of lament for the loss of the greatest of our prophets. 

   

  This year Jewish communities around the world have responded to the horrors of October 7, 2023, and the war that followed with many modifications to our services. Some synagogues will add a new lament (kinnah) to their Yizkor prayers tomorrow. Some will walk in silence, or sing mournful songs for one or more of the normally festive hakafot on Simchat Torah. And yet most communities, even those hit hardest by the losses of the past year, will make room for a defiant assertion of joy. 

   

  At GOA we marked the secular anniversary of October 7 with special programing on each campus. However, we also wanted to use the liturgical calendar to deepen our engagement. Today at the Upper School the Hoshanah Rabba prayers became the occasion for reflections on the anxieties of this time of war in Israel and division in America. For each of the circuits (hakafot) our students and staff called out the challenges of our time, pleading with God to rescue the captives, and to finally bring us peace. Naming our sorrows is an ancient method for summoning communal strength to face them with resilience and hope. 

   

  As our families close out the festive season of 5785, we pray that God will spread over us a Sukkah of peace, blessing our people here, in Israel, and everywhere with true joy.

   

  Chag sameach,

   

  Rabbi Danny Nevins

• October 1, 2024:L Head of School Message: Today's Attack on Israel and Commemorating Oct. 7

  October 1, 2024 28 Elul 5784    Dear GOA Community,   Our normal anticipation in celebrating Rosh HaShanah this year has been profoundly affected by the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. Today’s missile attack by Iran on Israel, and Israel’s continued campaigns against Hamas in Gaza and Hebollah in Lebanon, have shaken us even as we prepare for our festive prayers and meals. We pray for the safety of our family and friends in Israel, and for the ultimate peace of this entire region. May God inscribe and seal us all in the great book of life for a good new year.   Next week is the first civil anniversary of the most horrific attack on the Jewish people since the Shoah. The past year has affected us very personally. Many GOA students and staff have been directly affected by these attacks, and all of us have felt anguish over the suffering of our people in Israel and of their neighbors. The greatest consolation has been our students — to witness their curiosity and commitment as young Jews is to feel hope for our people’s future.   We will commemorate October 7 as a school community. We are grateful to our Israel educators, Rabbi Meirav Kallush and Ms. Noa Kolomer for organizing a meaningful day for our students on Monday. Upper School and Lower School students will be engaged in developmentally appropriate learning to honor and respect the sorrows of that day and the strength of our people in responding to this calamity. Our youngest learners will light a memorial candle and highlight messages of hope and resilience. Our older students will hear from our Rishonim, experience artwork connected to October 7, and pray in memory of those who have been cruelly taken from our extended family.    May God strengthen the hostages and their families, and comfort the many families who have lost loved ones. May the people of Israel and its neighbors know the blessings of peace and prosperity in this new year.     Shanah tovah umetukah,   Rabbi Danny Nevins

• September 1, 2024: Head of School Message: Tragedy in Israel

  Dear GOA Students, Parents, and Staff,

   

  At Golda Och Academy, community is not limited to the people present in our buildings, but extends to our families, our congregations, to our large alumni population, and in a real sense, to our extended family of the Jewish People. Today was the first day of school in Israel, but it became a day of sorrow as the nation learned the names of six hostages who were killed just as their rescuers approached. Our hearts go out to the families of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi and Alexander Lobanov, and to the nearly 100 remaining captives, whether or not they are alive. May they soon be returned to their families.

   

  The wisdom of our tradition teaches us to hold conflicting emotions together – the joy of new beginnings, the sorrow of horrific losses, and hope, always hope, for a peaceful future. Our children nurture that hope in their parents and teachers, and we will continue to model it for them. As Jeremiah says, there is hope for your future, that your children will return to their place.

   

  May God grant strength to our people, and may God bless us all with peace. 

   

   

  Rabbi Daniel Nevins

  Head of School

• August 21, 2024: Head of School Message: Welcome to the 2024-25 School Year!

  Dear GOA Families,

   

  The halls of GOA on both campuses are buzzing with excitement for the arrival of our students and the start of the 2024-25 school year. Over the summer, our administration, faculty and staff have been focused on making the coming year an outstanding opportunity for learning and personal growth. There are 61 new students and 37 new families joining us at GOA. Welcome! Or, as we say in Hebrew, berukhim ha’baim.

   

  Our educational leaders at the Lower and Upper Schools have been working in close coordination all summer to ensure that the GOA experience is consistently outstanding from Pre-K through 12th grade. I am deeply grateful to our Lower School leaders, Principal Carrie Siegel, and Assistant Principal Heather Brown, our Upper School educational leaders, Acting Principal Paul-Michael Huseman and Middle School Director Jamie Himmelstein, and our all-school Student Services Director Lori Jaffe. 

   

  You will soon hear important information from the Principals about how to log on to access your child’s schedule and other essential information for the year. In partnership, parents, teachers and administrators will support our students to grow in knowledge, skill, and character in the coming year. Also, keep a look out for a parent survey. We have engaged a firm called Thrive Hive to help us better understand and respond to the needs of our community, to retain and recruit students, so that GOA will continue to flourish in the years ahead. Please respond to this important survey.

   

  As we begin this new year, let us be reminded of the Torah's words, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18). Let us model for our children an enhanced level of kindness, empathy and understanding, so that they can explore new ideas and friendships, confident that they are part of a loving community here at GOA.

   

  Warmly,

   

  Rabbi Danny Nevins

  Head of School

• May 3, 2024: College Campus Unrest

  Dear GOA Community,

   

  This year’s celebration of Passover, “our season of freedom” was marred for many by intense anti-Israel activism on college campuses across the country, sparked by a student encampment and then building takeover at Columbia University. I live just three blocks from this Morningside Heights campus, and I walked the perimeter in dismay as the citadel of learned discourse devolved into an intolerant sea of angry chants. I wasn’t frightened for my safety walking about in my kippah, but I was shaken deeply. Amid the sound of helicopters overhead, the sight of young people wearing keffiyehs, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “free Palestine” was all around. In the closing hours of the holiday on Tuesday evening, we watched from our rooftop as the NYPD moved onto campus and arrested hundreds of students who had refused to evacuate — a sad, if necessary, outcome. 

   

  What are we at Golda Och Academy to make of this? As a school that proudly declares “love of Israel” as a core value, how shall we respond to those who demonize the Jewish state and ignore the horrific crimes of Hamas? As Americans who promote freedom of expression, how shall we view expressions of hatred for Israel, at times morphing into crude expressions of antisemitism? And as families that cherish higher education, how shall we regard the universities where so many students and faculty speak not of peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, but of replacing one nation with the other?

   

  First, it does no good to create a mirror image of the hatred and intolerance expressed toward Israel by many of the protestors (some of whom are in fact Jewish). Hamas launched this war, Hamas committed horrific crimes against Israelis, and Hamas has used its own people as a shield. Yet, it gives us only sorrow to see others suffer. We are not full of hatred toward Palestinians or any other people, and we recognize their human rights. The suffering of non-combatants in Gaza is a human tragedy. The Jewish people self-identifies as rahmanim b’nai rahmanim, “merciful people, from merciful people,” and we should never give up this legacy. 

   

  Second, we cannot ignore the fact that the Palestinian leadership, lately of Hamas, but previously of the PLO and others, has employed grotesque violence against Israeli and Jewish civilians around the world, especially when there was a chance for peace. This was the case during the Oslo process of the 1990s, and this was the case again this year when talks between the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia were focusing on a peaceful resolution to the conflict. As Julian E. Barnes reported regarding the current hold-up in negotiations (The New York Times, May 1, 2024, “The Morning Newsletter”), “​​But some involved in the discussions — Americans, Egyptians and Qataris have been mediating — worry that Hamas appears willing to sacrifice even more Palestinian civilians. Its officials believe that the deaths in Gaza erode support for Israel around the world.”

   

  Third, we dare not disengage from the debate on campus, unpleasant and frightening though it may be. While some of the protesters genuinely hate Israel and want to see it destroyed, others are just appalled by the vast suffering caused by this war. I do not know why they were not similarly moved by the initial massacre of Jews on October 7, nor do I understand why they do not protest the deaths caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which are about 10 times as high (estimated at over 500,000). Still, if we who love Israel withdraw from the debate, then an entire generation of young people may conclude that Israel must be entirely to blame for this ongoing conflict and that America should discontinue its support for the Jewish state. 

   

  Fourth, we also must not concede our place at universities, research institutions, and the professions and corporations where the future is forged. Many of my close friends are Hillel rabbis and other campus professionals, and I am in awe of their work. This is a time to support the work of Jews on campus — students, staff, and faculty — to strengthen them and give them the resources needed to reach hearts and minds, not only of Jews, but of all people who genuinely care about a just and peaceful future for all people. Many Jewish families are asking whether a given campus is safe for their students. My advice is to speak with current students and Hillel staff at that school, to learn what the challenges have been, and how the administration has managed the conflict. We must be strong enough to encounter disagreement with courage, but no student should be expected to suffer harassment or intimidation for their identity or views. 

   

  Fifth, we should continue to reach out to our Israeli family and friends, some of whom are more worried about us than about themselves. One Israeli cousin of mine contacted me today from India to make sure that I was okay. The essential fact is that we rely on one another. We rely on the Israeli government to make difficult decisions to secure a more peaceful future for all. Our Israeli family and friends need our support and solidarity now more than ever. They rely on us for encouragement and to bolster their resilience.

   

  To do this, we must be well-informed, deeply rooted, and resilient. We must confront hatred — from whatever direction — with moral clarity. We must invest in Jewish education and recruit other families to join us at Golda Och Academy, so that their children may also have the benefit of a deep, joyous, kind, and proud Jewish identity. I am so pleased that our seniors on Neshama have nearly completed three months in Israel and that our 9th grade students are preparing to go on Na’ale. Our students return from these trips with a depth of knowledge and identification with Israel that allow them to advocate for a better future for Israelis, and indeed for all people who are willing to live together in peace. 

   

  Shabbat Shalom — May God bless Israel and all the world with peace.

   

  Rabbi Danny Nevins

  Head of School