CAJE-Miami: The Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education

𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 | Few figures in the Torah are as perplexing as Korach. Unlike Pharaoh, Balak or Amalek, Korach was not an external enemy seeking to destroy the Jewish people. He was one of their own. A Levite of distinguished lineage, he belonged to one of the most prominent families in Israel. He lived in the generation that witnessed the Exodus from Egypt, stood at Mount Sinai and experienced Divine revelation firsthand.

Yet despite all this, Korach launched one of the most destructive rebellions in Jewish history. On the surface, his challenge seemed noble enough: “For all the congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them. Why do you exalt yourselves over the assembly of the Lord?" (Numbers 16:3).

At first glance, Korach sounds almost democratic. He speaks in the language of equality and inclusion. Why should Moses and Aaron hold positions of authority? Why shouldn’t leadership be shared more broadly? But the Sages saw through Korach’s rhetoric.

Read more at https://caje-miami.org/latest/shabbat/korach_social_media/

𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗭𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 | By Mark Kravitz (), CAJE Board Chair

A number of years ago, after one of my first major Jewish speeches, a close friend walked up to me with a grin and said, "Good code switching." I laughed, thanked her, and immediately asked what she meant. She laughed even harder.

At the time, I wasn't entirely sure I knew what the term meant. She explained that I had spent years moving between different worlds: Jewish, professional, civic, and LGBTQ+, and had become adept at adjusting my language, references, and presentation depending on the audience.

Without realizing it, I had become fluent in multiple cultural dialects. In other words, I had learned how to code switch. For many LGBTQ+ people of my generation, it wasn't simply a social skill. It was often a survival skill.

Read more at https://caje-miami.org/latest/blog/pride_zionism_and-the-art_of_code_switching/

🏳️‍🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Join Wisdom Without Walls (.without.walls) for God, Human, Machine: Reading Genesis in the Age of AI with Dr. Marina Zilbergerts, Wednesday, July 1st, 2026, 7:00PM - 8:3PM ET.

As artificial intelligence challenges our assumptions about the meaning of speech, intelligence, and creativity, the creation story in Genesis comes into new focus. Read from the vantage point of the age of AI, it offers a timeless account of what it means to wield these capacities in a human way rather than as an algorithm. This lecture explores consciousness, perception, and how the mind creates the boundaries of our world through a fresh reading of the biblical creation story.

Learn more and register at https://wisdomwithoutwalls.org/marina-zilbergerts

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱 | In the 1950s, a psychologist named Solomon Asch ran one of the most unsettling experiments in social science. Asch brought subjects into a room with other individuals seemingly just like them. The group was shown two cards – one with a single line, one with three lines of different lengths – and asked which line matched. The answer was obvious. A child could see it. But Asch had actually filled the room with actors. And the actors, who always answered first, unanimously chose the same wrong line. And then it was the real subject’s turn to choose.

Read more at https://caje-miami.org/latest/shabbat/the_jewish_formula_for_resisting_the_crowd/

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗼 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀 | By Igor Shteyrenberg, Executive Director of the Miami Jewish Film Festival ()

Over the past week, one of the most troubling stories in the international film community has unfolded largely outside public view.

Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid — an acclaimed and internationally recognized director in his generation-- withdrew from the FIDMarseille film festival following a campaign of pressure surrounding his participation.

Several filmmakers reportedly withdrew their own work in protest of his inclusion, prompting a broader debate about artistic freedom, cultural boycotts, and whether artists should be judged according to their work or according to their nationality.

In response, an open letter signed by Natalie Portman along with numerous prominent filmmakers and cultural figures defended Lapid and warned against what they described as a campaign to exclude an artist not because of his films, but because of who he is.

Before anyone rushes to debate Nadav Lapid's politics, or even the merits of his films, a more fundamental question deserves our attention.

What principle is being established when an artist’s participation in cultural life becomes conditional not on their work, but on their identity?

Read more at https://caje-miami.org/latest/blog/the_blacklist_no_one_wants_to_discuss/

𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 | By Dr. Yehudis Smith Yehudis Smith, M.S.Ed (.smith), Director of CAJE’s Robert Russell Early Childhood Department

On Sunday, May 17, 2026, American Jewish University () held its inaugural graduation ceremony at the House of the Book on the Brandeis-Bardin Campus in Los Angeles for the first cohort of Ed.D. candidates in Early Childhood Education through an explicitly Jewish program.

I am proud to say I was among the graduates who earned their Doctorate in Early Childhood Educational Leadership that day. This milestone was not only a personal achievement. It was also a meaningful moment for our Miami Jewish early childhood community.

I was honored to be asked to give a graduation speech on behalf of the entire class and in it, I reflected on a quote I first heard from a four-year-old child during my early years as a teacher: “Growing is invisible until suddenly, it isn’t.”

That simple observation became a powerful lens for my doctoral journey and for the work of early childhood education itself.

Read more at https://caje-miami.org/latest/blog/celebrating_a_milestone_for_jewish_ece/

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 | This rich Torah portion Beha’alotecha incorporates diverse precepts within Judaism and thus offers many perspectives on how to lead a meaningful life. In it, we see that God leads the Jewish people in multiple ways: through the use of natural wonders, by establishing the Torah as a guide, and by teaching the importance of respectful behavior toward others.

These modalities represent three of the myriad ways to find meaning in life and to develop a personal connection with community and the divine presence. Throughout the parsha, the Jews are physically led by the Ark of the Covenant, which held the tablets of the Ten Commandments and would travel in front of them.

In this way, both literally and figuratively, the Torah served as the people’s guide in the desert. In our lives as well, the Torah can serve as a guide through the challenges we face.

Read more at https://caje-miami.org/latest/shabbat/three_paths

Still reflecting on what a special evening we shared at last night's CMAD End-of-Year Gathering.
CMAD ( CAJE | The Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education's Coalition of Miami Admissions Directors) brings together admissions professionals from Jewish day schools across South Florida's tri-county area. For more than a decade, this network has fostered collaboration, professional growth, and a shared commitment to serving families and strengthening Jewish education.
I continue to be inspired by this remarkable group of professionals who consistently choose partnership over competition and community over individual interests.
Below are the remarks I shared with the group last night, inspired by this week's parasha, Naso:

This week's parasha, Naso, opens with a census of the Jewish people. At first glance, a census can seem like an exercise in numbers and statistics. But our tradition teaches that it is something much deeper. Every person is counted individually because every person has inherent value and a unique role to play in the community. The Torah reminds us that a strong community is not built by making everyone the same; it is built by recognizing and appreciating the unique contributions of each individual.
I think that lesson speaks directly to who we are as CMAD. We represent different schools, different missions, different educational philosophies, and different communities. Yet we come together around a shared purpose: helping Jewish families find the right educational home for their children and strengthening Jewish education throughout South Florida.
One of the things I admire most about this group is that we have never viewed one another as competitors. Instead, we have chosen collaboration over competition, relationships over rivalry, and community over individual interests. That spirit has allowed us to accomplish things that would have been impossible on our own.
Over the years, we have shared ideas, supported one another through challenges, developed common practices, and worked together to serve families with professionalism and care. We have celebrated one another's successes and stepped up for one another during difficult moments. Perhaps nowhere was this more evident than when our community welcomed Israeli families seeking refuge after October 7th. Without hesitation, this group came together to ensure that every child found a place in one of our schools. That response reflected the very best of who we are.
As I look around this room tonight, I see a group of professionals, but I also see a group of partners, colleagues, and friends. Each of you brings your own strengths, perspectives, and expertise, and together you have helped create a model of collaboration that is admired far beyond Miami.
Thank you for your partnership, your generosity, and your unwavering commitment to the families and schools we serve.

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗺 - 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝘀 by Mark Kravitz ( ), CAJE Board Chair

At a recent CAJE meeting inside Miami’s new Holocaust Education Center at the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, I had one of those moments where you stop listening to the agenda for a second and just take in the room around you. A building created to preserve the memory of the Holocaust is now also becoming a place where educators are helping students process October 7th in real time. That’s a staggering shift when you really think about it.

For years, Holocaust education mostly lived in the world of remembrance. Testimony. History. Memory. The responsibility was to make sure future generations understood what hatred could become if nobody stopped it. Now Jewish educators are dealing with something entirely different. They’re helping students understand Jewish history while simultaneously living through it.

Read more at https://caje-miami.org/latest/blog/not_just_teaching_raising_jews

𝗠𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 | Lately, I've been having these strange moments. I'll be reading, or teaching, or cooking—and a quiet thought creeps in: Will AI replace me? It's not always a dark thought. Sometimes it's simple curiosity. But beneath it lies a deeper question many of us are asking. In a world of looming superintelligence and advanced robotics: What makes me irreplaceable?

It's unsettling to imagine that many of the qualities we take pride in — intelligence, creativity, even productivity — might one day be performed better and faster by machines. But alongside those flickers of unease, I've been having another kind of moment — moments of clarity and grounding. Moments that feel utterly, defiantly human.

This past Shavuot, I was lying in a hammock beneath the trees when my five-year-old climbed into my arms. We nestled into one of our "cuddle sessions." I wasn't just hugging her — I was trying to make her feel, deep in her little body, that she is loved. For being her. For being mine. In that moment, I thought: No machine will ever be able to do this. Not like this.

Read more at https://caje-miami.org/latest/shabbat/my_secret_weapon/