By Amy Sapeika, PTO President My first clue that this family trip was going to be different was the loud cheering when we first told our children that we had booked flights to Israel for Sukkot. My 9-year-old and 7-year-old … Read More
Blog Archives
We Have a Problem – Israel
As exquisitely expressed in the Torah, Israel has inextricably been integral to who we are and why we exist. There is a direct and clear connection between the land, God, and how we should act. This can be found in … Read More
For the Love of Israel
We live in complicated times where almost everything seems to be politicized. Israel is no exception, and is a lightning rod when it comes to political divisiveness both globally, and more concerning, within the Jewish community. It is not that … Read More
What Makes Us Family
When I arrived at Hillel, in 2003, everyone loved calling Hillel a family. At the time, I did not like the concept of the “Hillel Family;” I preferred calling us a community. We were the Hillel community. Five years ago … Read More
Only At a Jewish Day School
This time of year I am especially proud to be Head of Hillel Day School. These past two weeks have been very special as we observed Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha-atzma’ut. These three holidays emphasize our Jewish peoplehood … Read More
Why We Need Free Preschools
This past Sunday reminded me why the Detroit Jewish community is special. In the morning, my wife, Joan, and I attended an AIPAC breakfast featuring Dennis Ross and James Woolsey. Both speakers were amazing – and so was the turnout. … Read More
Israel: A Cry for Truth!
With each passing year, the truth about what has led to the endless cycle of violence in Israel falls deeper and deeper behind a dark cloud of distortion, misinformation, collective amnesia, and lies. As history is overrun by revisionism, politics, … Read More
Standing By Israel on Israel Independence Day and Every Day
At Hillel, Tzionut – Zionism is a core Jewish value: “We believe in the importance of Israel, Zionism and the Hebrew language. The modern State of Israel is a place where Jewish values come to life, and a home for Jews from … Read More
Hillel, Israel, and Ten Years Later
In the winter of 2005, just one year after the end of the second Intifada, I announced that Hillel would be instituting an eighth grade class trip to Israel, beginning in 2006. My letter announcing the trip read, in part: … Read More
2058
I often imagine what it must have been like to be in the Detroit homes of Rabbi Jacob E. Segal and others, back in the 1950s, when a group of visionaries discussed the possibility of opening a Jewish day school. … Read More