Brandeis Today

 

On June 8, 2025, the Brandeis community came together to celebrate the retirement of our beloved Director of Jewish Learning, Debby Arzt-Mor. The afternoon was filled with warmth, laughter, and heartfelt tributes to Debby’s extraordinary impact on Jewish life at our school. We’re honored to share the text of the speech delivered by Head of School Dr. Dan Glass, capturing the spirit of the moment and Debby’s enduring legacy.

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the moment of celebrating Debby’s retirement. Not because it was unexpected—Debby has approached this transition with her characteristic thoughtfulness—but because it’s nearly impossible to imagine Brandeis without her daily presence. For over two decades, Debby has been at the heart of Jewish learning at our school, shaping not just curriculum, but community, values, and a shared sense of purpose.

From the beginning, Debby has led with vision, integrity, and compassion. She redefined what Jewish education could look like at Brandeis—not something limited to a classroom or a subject line on a report card, but something lived. One of her earliest moves after I became Head of School was changing her title from “Director of Judaic Studies and Hebrew” to “Director of Jewish Learning.” It was a small but powerful shift that reflected Debby’s deeply held belief: Jewish learning is everywhere. It happens during tefillah, on field trips, in acts of justice, in lunchtime conversations, and in the stories we tell and hear every day. It belongs to all of us.

 

That expansive, inclusive vision is the hallmark of Debby’s leadership. She invited every member of the Brandeis community—students, teachers, parents, visitors—into Jewish learning with warmth, humor, and deep respect. She helped create a culture where we all saw ourselves as educators and learners, where Jewish practice was joyful, meaningful, and relevant.

Debby also empowered our teachers to keep learning and growing. Under her guidance, faculty pursued advanced degrees, brought new traditions into the classroom, and deepened their own relationships with Jewish texts and practices. She nurtured a spirit of inquiry and curiosity that radiates through our hallways.

As a tribute to her remarkable impact, we commissioned a special artwork by Brandeis alumni parent and artist Aimee Golant. Inspired by Debby’s love of walking by the sea and her commitment to Torah and learning, the piece features a quote from Pirkei Avot:

When I think of Debby, I picture her laughing with us as we wrestle with big questions about Brandeis and Jewish life—and I see her leaning in close as a fifth grader chants Torah for the very first time. She has lived her role as a disciple of Aaron, seeking peace and embodying a profound love for Judaism, for the Jewish people, and for humanity.

Debby, you have been a teacher, mentor, thought partner, friend, and colleague. You’ve left an indelible mark on this school and on all of us lucky enough to work and learn alongside you. On behalf of the entire Brandeis community, and all those whose lives you’ve touched—thank you.

Mazal tov on your retirement. You will be deeply missed and always celebrated.

Debby’s retirement speech shared here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f6T7wXtMJ2lM-OpNHzwEIo7n4f-XYKz8_u6yUbnJIxw/edit?usp=sharing

 

Reflecting on this exciting new chapter, Rabbi Greinetz shared:

“Years ago, I was struck by the writing of one of my favorite thinkers, Gaston Bachelard. He reflected on the necessity of reverie in the workplace and wrote about how important it is that our occupations offer a space for dream and wonder, which will, in turn, illuminate what we do in the world. I fell so in love with his words as I read them that I didn’t know what to do! So, I wrote them into a notebook and always held onto the idea. As I sought a new role, my dream was to find work that elicited something as soulful as what Bachelard described. I didn’t need the handwritten paragraph to tell me that I had found such a position when I started to get to know Brandeis.

Already, I feel so inspired and excited to dedicate my professional energy and skills toward Jewish learning at Brandeis. I can feel that sense of dreaming that Bachelard gestured toward, and I hope to offer that sense of wonder and imagination to others in Jewish learning and tefillah at Brandeis.

I would have moved across the world for this amazing opportunity, but lucky for me, Brandeis is right here at home in San Francisco. There are many ways that becoming the Director of Jewish Learning feels brand new—there is certainly much learning and growing to be enjoyed, and there are also ways that transitioning into this role feels like coming home. The ability to work here in San Francisco is clearly a plus, but the true feeling of homecoming is radiating from Brandeis’ refreshingly authentic community. I am so excited to continue to get to know Brandeis and to become a part of your community. I can’t wait to see what we dream up and discover as we engage in Jewish learning and practice together.”

Rabbi Greinetz will officially begin her role in July and will have dedicated time to collaborate with Debby Arzt-Mor as she transitions into this position. We are also looking forward to celebrating Debby’s extraordinary contributions to Brandeis at a special school-wide gathering on the afternoon of Sunday, June 8. Please stay tuned for more information about this important and festive event.

For now, please join all of us at Brandeis in giving a warm welcome to Rabbi Greinetz!

by Dr. Dan Glass, Head of School

We invited alumni from the Classes of 2017-2024 to participate in a survey reflecting on how Brandeis influenced their journeys. Over 120 alumni shared their experiences, highlighting the lasting impact of The Brandeis School of San Francisco and Judaism on both their personal and academic lives. Many described their Brandeis experience as transformative, sparking a passion for learning, a commitment to social justice, and a strong sense of purpose in their studies. Jewish traditions and teachings at Brandeis have made a lasting impression, helping graduates deepen their identities and strengthen their connection to their heritage. Together, these influences provide a strong foundation that empowers alumni to move through life with confidence and direction.

Brandeis alumni also shared how the school’s academic excellence and Jewish values have prepared them to tackle life’s challenges with thoughtfulness and integrity. They value the sense of community and moral grounding they found at Brandeis, which often inspires them to become leaders and active contributors to positive change. Alumni remain deeply connected to the Jewish community, enriching it while applying the lessons and values they gained at Brandeis to make a broader impact. This enduring legacy reflects the school’s extraordinary ability to nurture graduates who are both accomplished and dedicated to making a difference.

“To be spiritual is to be amazed.” ~Abraham Joshua Heschel

In October, Brandeis revived the beloved community event, Sukkot in Yosemite, after a three-year hiatus. Over 180 families traveled to Yosemite Valley for several days of exploring, hiking, meditating, praying, singing, and celebrating together. This tri-annual journey to Yosemite is freeing. Being immersed in nature gives us space to re-establish balance in our lives. It calms our nervous system and urges us to leave behind the demands of our busy lives and to instead focus on the basics - meals with friends, bike rides across the park, and an awareness of being a small part of a very large and timeless universe. This community gathering invites all of us to cultivate awe at the natural wonder surrounding us while reorienting our perspective to the immediacy of the present moment. After four days of wow in the Sierra Nevadas, there is no doubt the time nourished our spirits, strengthened our friendships, and imprinted memories deeply tied to the Brandeis experience. 

For the past four years, Brandeis has been one of fourteen schools participating in Dr. Lisa Miller’s Collaborative for Spirituality in Education, a project developing curricula for teaching spirituality in schools. Professor of psychology and education at Columbia University, Teachers College, Dr. Miller’s research asserts that spirituality supports health and happiness and that spirituality also encourages our children to be more engaged and better citizens. Her research also shows that a spiritual practice can be a panacea for depression and anxiety, conditions seemingly prevalent in children today. This work intersects naturally with one of the three core tenets of in the Brandeis 2023 Strategic Plan. which also guides our planning and core practice at the school: "Ethics and spirituality are good for our children and our world." We believe that the challenges of this century will require ethically-fluent and spiritually-grounded leaders. Our students are given many tools to develop their authentic spiritual identity that is rooted in each child’s own life experience and background. Spirituality is practiced in many ways at Brandeis with an emphasis on social and emotional learning, mindfulness, Jewish rituals and traditions, and the values of chesed (kindness), ometz lev (integrity), and tikkun olam (service).” 

How do these practices impact our students? Our students use mindfulness and breathing techniques to calm their bodies and minds. They celebrate Shabbat and practice gratitude for a week well-done. We see our students organizing projects of tzedakah whether collecting toys for children in need, or serving meals to the poor, hungry, and homeless at local shelters. Our values are embedded into our curriculum and our students are encouraged to reflect on how they appear in everyday interactions. These regular practices of service and gratitude nurture a mindset of abundance, and foster growth and learning in our students while reinforcing the idea that every person can make a meaningful and positive contribution to create a better world.

Spiritual satisfaction reminds us and our children that we have everything we need and more. The things you can’t buy, the screen that turns off, is our individual power to experience radical amazement in our everyday lives. From stargazing under a dark night sky to a community-led tefillah in an amphitheater surrounded by trees, taking time to actively nurture our souls and be reminded of our interconnectedness, is something that is profoundly important for our collective psyche. A trip to Yosemite with a view of Half Dome can jumpstart your journey of awe, but so can simply looking up into the sky at sunset on your drive home. It is our goal to give our students the vocabulary, the skill sets, and a safe space to hone their spiritual awareness and their understanding of themselves as they grow and mature at Brandeis.

Take a moment before 2022 draws to a close to fill your bucket with something you find transcendent. Revel in it and breathe it in deeply. I wish you sacred moments like these and the ones we shared in Sukkot in the year ahead. 

 

 

Like schools around the country, Brandeis has had to marshall a variety of resources to enable students to safely attend classes in person during the pandemic. A particularly invaluable source of expertise and creative thinking has been our Medical Advisory Group.

 

We are excited to launch Brandeis Connects, a new quarterly communication tool that will make it easy to learn more about the Brandeis community present and past, stay connected with classmates, and learn about the many ways you can engage with our school. We hope it will help you continue to remain connected and be part of the sustaining and caring community for which Brandeis is known.