The Spark: Recent Episodes
Bornblum Jewish Community School
The Spark, hosted by Bornblum Jewish Community School's Head of School Daniel R. Weiss, Ed.D., hopes to ignite inspiration in the Memphis Jewish community through storytelling, student involvement, and insights on Torah portions.
On this week’s episode of The Spark, Dr. Weiss is joined by Harry Samuels, writer and Memphis Jewish community figurehead, to talk about what he's learned throughout his astute observations serving the local and even international Jewish community.
Interestingly, Harry served as the president of the Memphis Jewish Federation and was nominated by Bert Bornblum. Harry had previously consulted with Bert Bornblum and gave him advice on donating his fund to our school.
Harry tells stories from two of his popular books—Beshert: Stories of True Connection and Crossroads: Chance or Destiny?—and gave Dr. Weiss the poignant reason behind his decision to give back to the community.
On this week’s episode of The Spark, we kick off Season 2. Bornblum Jewish Community School’s theme for the 2023 school year is Community. Throughout the year, 8 different keywords will play a central role in how we understand the word community. Each of those eight words is the name of one of our Bornblum Mishpachot, families.
This week, our word is Manhigut, leadership. Last year at our Eighth Grade Graduation, Dotan Weiss won the Jerome and Evelyn Makowsky Leadership Award. Dotan was not only a leader in our school and in our Jewish community, but so too in the Memphis community, through his participation in the Bridges Institute. When Dr. Weiss asked Dotan what stuck out most about his Bridges experience, he reflected on meeting new people and learning about their differences, including times when they may have encountered, racism, anti-semitism, or other actions directed at them because of the way that they look or what they believe.
Dr. Weiss is joined on this episode of The Spark by Mario Hendrix, the Vice President of Programs at Bridges. They talk about his 20+ years in the Bridges community, the long-term effect of the Bridges programming on youth, and how students can be leaders of today.
In this episode, Dr. Weiss sits down with Bornblum alumnae and parent, Ellee Breit, for a conversation about the immeasurable qualities children gain from attending a Jewish day school and the impact of giving back to the Jewish community.Ellee relays her journey through Bornblum from First through Eighth grade, Ridgeway High School, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then to New York City where she worked as a fabric/print designer, down to Houston, Texas, and then back to Memphis. She talks about her decision to enroll her son Ryan at Bornblum, the enthusiasm and empathy he brings back home, and how she still stays in close touch with friends she made at Bornblum.
In this episode, Dr. Weiss sits down with Temple Israel's Rabbi Micah Greenstein for an enlightening conversation on gratitude, kindness, social justice, and how Bornblum teaches students how to be good humans.
Rabbi Greenstein talks about what led him to Memphis 32 years ago, how Memphis Jews can be torch bearers for the betterment of the city, ways to speak out against anti-Semitism, techniques on building trust and relationships, and an exercise he led with surprising results.
In this episode, Dr. Weiss speaks with Sally Baer, Bornblum's Director of Student Services, who has been with Bornblum since its inception in 1988. Over the last three years, Sally has spearheaded social-emotional learning, helping students become more self-aware and empathetic toward others. With November being National Gratitude Month, Sally talks with Dr. Weiss about her "Attitude of Gratitude" mission, how Bornblum is weaving gratitude into lessons, and the importance of social-emotional learning.
In this episode, I sit down with Isaac James, the DEI Coordinator with Refugee Empowerment Program, which is one of the phenomenal education programs the 2nd Annual Ride for Education is supporting.
Isaac tells his story of being a refugee, how his mother started REP over 20 years ago, the real-life impact of their adult and youth education programs on thousands of students, and how we can all make a difference in the lives of refugees and immigrants.
What are the Kindergarteners up to? In this episode, I speak to some of our youngest friends at Bornblum, five of our Kindergarteners: Amariyah, Ellie, Parker, Sabe, and Samara. They share with me the story of what the first month of Kindergarten has been like for them at Bornblum. Listen, and enjoy the sounds of these amazing young people.
On the very first episode of Bornblum Jewish Community School's brand new podcast, Daniel R. Weiss, Ed.D., defines what a spark means to him and how sparks are ignited each at Bornblum. He talks about the books he's read over the summer that informed him how to make Bornblum's culture flourish.
In the upcoming episodes, he will be interviewing students, faculty, and members of the community with hopes to ignite inspiration and entertainment. Plus, you'll hear stories written and told by our students.