21: Helping Students Discover Their Place in the Universe with Rabbi Chaim Galfand

Rabbi Chaim Galfand is a former lawyer and is currently the Rabbi of Perelman Jewish Day school which has two campuses: one in Wynnewood, PA and the other in Melrose Park, PA. He was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA where he attended various Jewish day schools including Perelman. Rabbi Galfand trained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, and the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, he has experienced and helped shape various models of what a Jewish spiritual community can and should look like. He has been a guest cantor at Temple Beth El in Lancaster, PA. Rabbi Galfand is passionate about guiding students to discover their place in the universe.

 Gems:

• Focus on the link between individual Jew and their own tradition.
• Build from the bottom up.
• Practice patience and kindness.
• Share stories.
• Engage learners less in the head and more in the heart.
• Be mindful how we talk about G-d.
• Encourage students to ask questions.
• Build upon children’s sense of wonder.
• The home is significant in children’s learning.
• Include the family in learning.
• Empower students to have conversations with their parents.
• We are beginning the journey of learning.
• Guide students to discover their place in the universe.
• Share our values of Torah with the world.
• Do not forget who you are as a person.
• Teach what you do not have to unteach later.

Find him on twitter: https://twitter.com/pjdsrabbi?lang=en