Jack Nahmod, at The Blogs

Apply for a Blog

Mar 11, 2021, 8:00 PM

Education Torah: It doesn’t matter what you teach

"Just because you taught it doesn't mean they learned it." When I heard Dr. Lydia Soifer utter these words, and then repeat them slowly to make sure we understood, nafal ha'asimon: I needed to shift my focus as an...

Mar 4, 2021, 12:24 AM

Perfect misses the point

There they were in Moshe’s hands, arguably the single holiest object provided to humanity: luchot ha’even, the tablets of stone, created and inscribed directly by God… We first learned that Moshe would receive these tablets in the Torah portion Ve’Eileh...

Dec 10, 2020, 9:41 PM

Eight Chanukah Questions

What is Chanukah? The rabbis of the Talmud famously ask (Sabbath 21b), "What is Chanukah?" As we celebrate this week and next, I thought it worth suggesting eight possible understandings of what Chanukah is, and the important questions that each...

Dec 4, 2020, 6:22 PM

VaYishlach – Lessons in Masculinity

What lessons about masculinity can be learned from Yaakov's life? When Yaakov learns that his brother Esav is approaching their reunion with four hundred men, he understandably prepares for the worst by sending ahead peace offerings and dividing his...

Nov 19, 2020, 4:48 PM

Parashat HaShavua: What are your toldot?

If you were asked to provide a chronicle of your life, where would you start? In this week's Torah reading, we are presented with one of three paradigms for where to begin one's chronicle. "These are the toldot of...

Nov 12, 2020, 7:23 PM

Parashat HaShavua – Chayei Sarah

Why do the two Torah portions with “life” in their names actually open by focusing on death? In this week’s parashah “Chayei Sarah / Sarah’s life,” we are informed practically in one breath first that Sarah lived to be...

Oct 27, 2020, 5:46 PM

Offering a Prayer for America

Over the past eight months, as the pace of events in the United States has accelerated with every passing day, it has seemed not only appropriate but essential in the daily school minyan I lead to recite a prayer...

Oct 23, 2020, 9:23 AM

Education Torah: A Proposal for Learning Kashrut

All too often, kashrut is viewed as a set of rules that are meant to be followed and not understood, technicalities with little or no underlying meaning. But these rules do embody values that give them meaning, which in...

Aug 7, 2020, 11:22 PM

Middle School Boys Are People Too

Looking back on my years as a middle school student, I can better appreciate why my favorite shows were Spider Man and The Incredible Hulk. I warmed to the notion that, like Peter Parker, I was misunderstood and had...

Jun 24, 2020, 10:17 PM

Middle School Tefillah in the Time of Coronavirus

In reflecting on the difficult times of remote learning during coronavirus, one of the unexpected highlights for our middle school community was daily tefillah with students and faculty. Along the way we supported each other, we sang, we laughed,...

Load more

About Me

Rabbi Jack Nahmod is a middle school administrator at a school in Manhattan. He has a Masters Degree in Jewish Studies and is also an attorney.