Mining the weekly Torah portion for insight into educational leadership.
A few months back I embarked on a search for my next leadership opportunity in Jewish education - and soon afterwards I found myself at Mens' Wearhouse in search of some new suits.
You see, for the last five years I have lived in Israel and South Florida, environments and cultures that tend to punish/shun suit-wearers. And in that time my suits had become obsolete (and outgrown), so I bought some new ones for my inevitable interviews elsewhere in the United States.
Now I've been told by many people that I "clean up well" and I even had it as my personal tagline in my email signature ("Avi Spodek - He cleans up well"). But it was only after I sat through Skype interviews in a suit (at least the top half) that I became mindful of the impact that my appearance had on me and cognizant of its influence on those who saw me. Not ten minutes earlier I was walking around the house in shorts and a t-shirt, relaxing and unwinding from a long day of teaching and parenting. But when I put on that suit, "mild mannered" Avi was transformed into a living breathing contender for a senior leadership role in one of North America's premier educational institutions.
I worry, though. Will I be able to go out in public without a suit/sports coat/collar again? What about jeans? And I don't think I need to even ask about my beloved shorts and t-shirts combo.
When I read through this week's Parsha (or just looked at the pictures in Artscroll) I found myself projecting my own experience onto that of the Kohen Gadol. From the Torah's description we learn that the garments were made from some the finest, most expensive and precious materials that Bnai Yisrael possessed. As the Kohen Gadol's exclusive wardrobe, we understand that the clothes were custom-made and custom-fit to his size. Through parshanut, we are able to visualize how these clothes actually looked.
When the Kohen Gadol looked in the mirror he must have realized his prominence amongst the Jewish people, and those who came into contact with him surely understood that they were in the presence of a holy man, And it didn't really matter what he had been wearing just minutes before arriving at the Mishkan/Beit HaMikdash because when the Kohen Gadol donned the priestly garments he became what he was intended to be: a conduit between Hashem and the Jewish people.
But what did he wear on his off time?
I'm short on time, but here are some other questions that came up for me this week:
A few months back I embarked on a search for my next leadership opportunity in Jewish education - and soon afterwards I found myself at Mens' Wearhouse in search of some new suits.
You see, for the last five years I have lived in Israel and South Florida, environments and cultures that tend to punish/shun suit-wearers. And in that time my suits had become obsolete (and outgrown), so I bought some new ones for my inevitable interviews elsewhere in the United States.
Now I've been told by many people that I "clean up well" and I even had it as my personal tagline in my email signature ("Avi Spodek - He cleans up well"). But it was only after I sat through Skype interviews in a suit (at least the top half) that I became mindful of the impact that my appearance had on me and cognizant of its influence on those who saw me. Not ten minutes earlier I was walking around the house in shorts and a t-shirt, relaxing and unwinding from a long day of teaching and parenting. But when I put on that suit, "mild mannered" Avi was transformed into a living breathing contender for a senior leadership role in one of North America's premier educational institutions.
I worry, though. Will I be able to go out in public without a suit/sports coat/collar again? What about jeans? And I don't think I need to even ask about my beloved shorts and t-shirts combo.
When I read through this week's Parsha (or just looked at the pictures in Artscroll) I found myself projecting my own experience onto that of the Kohen Gadol. From the Torah's description we learn that the garments were made from some the finest, most expensive and precious materials that Bnai Yisrael possessed. As the Kohen Gadol's exclusive wardrobe, we understand that the clothes were custom-made and custom-fit to his size. Through parshanut, we are able to visualize how these clothes actually looked.
When the Kohen Gadol looked in the mirror he must have realized his prominence amongst the Jewish people, and those who came into contact with him surely understood that they were in the presence of a holy man, And it didn't really matter what he had been wearing just minutes before arriving at the Mishkan/Beit HaMikdash because when the Kohen Gadol donned the priestly garments he became what he was intended to be: a conduit between Hashem and the Jewish people.
But what did he wear on his off time?
I'm short on time, but here are some other questions that came up for me this week:
- The impact my appearance has on the culture of the school. Do I need to wear a suit AFTER I get the job or can I become a little more relaxed? What is the acceptable norm in private and Jewish day schools?
- The benefits of uniforms in school (I've been in schools with and without uniforms). Do we want our kids all looking the same or is the benefit of individual expression part of the educational experience? Where does dress code fit in?
- The headband (Tzitz) that the Kohen Gadol wore had the words "Kadosh L'Adonai" (Holy to Gd) embroidered on it so that the people could simply look at him and realize/recognize who he was serving.
If you wore a Tzitz as part of your job, what would it say?
Kadosh to whom/what?
Shabbat Shalom!
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