As she was interviewing the students and hearing their stories, she said that some of these students’ stories would fit better under the D’var Torah category rather than a Sippur, saying that some of the stories are “connected to stories in the Torah, and teach the same lessons that certain parshas teach us.”
After years of hearing about students wanting the opportunity to express themselves and their life stories to Rabbi Laura Sheinkopf for many years, she created the Senior Sippur program, which allowed for the seniors to share stories and lessons they learned in their lives to the rest of the school. Although this program turned out to be a huge success, Sheinkopf believed that there needed to be another opportunity for students to express themselves.
Sheinkopf says that for years she had wanted to start a D’var Torah program. She also notes that the students pay “far more attention to the students than they do to a faculty member as the student can provide much more relatable insight for their classmates.” She now felt that she had a golden opportunity to debut her D’var Torah program for this year.
She wanted to create a program that was appealing for students, and in the same way she grew the Sippur program, she began expanding the D’var Torah program as well. Sheinkopf’s biggest belief is that “the best way to learn is to be able to teach it yourself” –a valuable concept for this program. Judaism teaches people to have debates and think deeply, and she believes that this program would be the perfect connection between the students and Judaism.
Students used to have a small role in the D’var Torahs. Every time there is a D’var Torah, Senior Jonah Prossin will get up from his chair in Ma’amad on Friday and chant “D’var Torah D’var Torah D’var D’var D’var Torah!” Now, the students are able to express themselves through their stories rather than just having one student yell before the students listened to a teacher give a speech.
So far this year we have had two students, Prossin and Angel Almaraz, give a D’var Torah, one over Shabbaton and one during Ma’amad. Senior Cooper Sabloff will be giving one in the coming weeks and is looking forward to sharing his story and how he is able to connect to Judaism. When asked about why he joined the program he said, “I’ve always been attached to Judaism, and I wanted to share my experiences with the school through this lens … I wanted to connect comedy with Judaism, and I think this program will allow all students to do so.”
Recently, we heard our first story from a student. Senior Angel Almaraz shared a reflection on Parsha Noach. Almaraz was able to relate his own life and high school experiences to the story, and while it was very funny, it felt refreshing and relatable to hear from a student.
By giving the students a way to teach and reflect on their past, the program allows the students to learn and gives them the opportunity to express themselves. As more students like Sabloff join the program, the school will be able to hear about many different experiences through Judaism, making a lasting impact both spiritually and personally on the entire community. Senior Eitan Nezer is grateful to be able to hear from a student rather than an adult, and was “inspired by Almaraz’ courage, and cannot wait to hear from the rest of the students.”
