April 29, 2025 by
In early April, students from Pre-K to Middle School celebrated Pesach in creative and often interdisciplinary ways. Check out our roundup below:
December 14, 2016 by
In this parasha, Yaakov confronts Esav, wrestles with a “man” who blesses him by changing his name to Yisrael, loses his wife Rachel in childbirth, and experiences the trauma of the incident with his daughter Deena. Towards the end of Birkat Hamazon, Grace After Meals, we say, “As our ancestors Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov [and […]
December 6, 2016 by
In this parasha, Yaakov flees to his uncle Lavan’s household and lives there for several years, marrying Lavan’s daughters, Leah and Rachel, and establishing a large family. Yaakov gets very angry twice in this parasha. The first instance occurs in chapter 30, verse 2 (“Yaakov became very angry with Rachel…”). The second instance is in chapter […]
December 1, 2016 by
We are delighted to introduce the fourth edition of the JPDS-NC siddur (prayerbook). Nine years ago, we embarked on our quest for a multi-denominational, kid-friendly siddur. Unable to find such a thing, we created our own and have been successfully using it for the past six years. With this newest edition, we have renamed it Siddur Am Echad, literally, […]
December 1, 2016 by
Dear JPDS-NC community, I want to let you know that Adina Kanefield will be leaving her position as Director of Institutional Advancement to take a new position as the Deputy Director of the Edlavitch DCJCC. Adina has been a leader and partner with me, the Board, and our entire community on so many of our […]
November 29, 2016 by
In this parasha, Rivka gives birth to twins, Esav and Yaakov, who struggle with each other, engaging in bargaining and deception to obtain the birthright and Yitzchak’s blessing. Some modern psychologists think that they have homed in on the relatively new phenomenon of sibling rivalry, introduced as a concept by David Levy in 1941. But […]
November 23, 2016 by
We wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving, and extend our thanks to the community for their involvement, commitment and support! Enjoy this Thanksgiving video from our students and staff!
November 22, 2016 by
In this parasha, following the death of Sarah, Avraham purchases a burial plot and sends his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Yitzchak. He finds Rivka and brings her to Yitzchak to become his wife. At the beginning of chapter 24, we read that “Avraham was old, advanced in years, and Hashem had blessed Avraham bakol […]
November 21, 2016 by
The Northwest Current, a local newspaper serving Northwest Washington, DC, recently highlighted the JPDS-NC election project in their “Spotlight on Schools” section! Check it out here >
November 17, 2016 by
JPDS-NC students from Pre-K to Sixth Grade participated in an annual performance in honor of Veterans Day. The First Graders sang the classic American song “You’re a Grand Old Flag” with great gusto. “We practiced every day until the 10th to get ready for the Veterans Day performance!” exclaimed Zecharyah. “It sort of says thank […]
November 16, 2016 by
This week’s parasha continues with Avraham’s journey through life. It begins with the news that Avraham and Sarah will together have a child; takes us through Avraham’s unsuccessful discussion with God, trying to get Hashem to spare the people of S’dom and Amorrah; follows Avraham and Sarah on their sojourn in Gerar; witnesses the birth […]
