Gil Perl
Head of School of Kohelet Yeshiva. Co-Designer and Creator of Yeshiva Lab School. Fascinated with the Jewish future.
From Lithuania to Lakewood: A Response to American Anti-Semitism
Talk of the relationship between the Jewish community and their non-Jewish neighbors in the United States today almost exclusively centers on the growing threat of American anti-semitism. Depending on the geographic location, religious affiliation, and political leanings of the particular community, the focus may be on the rise of . . .
What vs. Why: Teaching Self-Awareness
A lesson in metacognition
One of our core Learning Principles at Kohelet Yeshiva Lab School and Kohelet Yeshiva Middle School is that "Self Reflection Fuels Progress." In educational terms, it refers to the importance of metacognition in the learning process. Like all other cognitive tasks, however, metacognition or self-reflection is not something we can . . .
Summoning Our Inner Chareidi
Derasha for the 2nd Day of Rosh Hashanah, 5779
There are few phrases that encapsulate the ideals and aspirations of Torah Judaism quite like the phrase, yirat shamayim. Literally translated, the phrase means “fear” or “awe of Heaven.” Yet, in recent years Jewish thinkers have made the rather convincing case that this phrase actually has little to do . . .
Silencing the Satan
Derasha for the 1st Day of Rosh Hashanah, 5779
As one makes their way through the halakhot pertaining to the days and weeks leading up to this moment, a curious creature raises his ugly head time and again. He is one that we, living in the Modern world as we do, don’t often give much credence to and - if we do - we might well dismiss him as a Christian concept foreign to our . . .
זה היום עשה ה' נגילה ונשמחה בו
A Religious Zionist Perspective on Yom Ha'atzmaut
Following an incredibly inspiring communal tekes Yom HaZikaron last night followed by a ruach-filled tefillah chagigit in our Beit Midrash last night, and a spirited tefillah this morning, I took a few minutes out to try and place everything we were doing for Yom Ha'atzmaut in context.
As an institution and as a community we are . . .
The Next Chapter of the Jewish Community
An Armchair Conversation with Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University
It was an honor and a privilege to host Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman this evening as part of our Kohelet Yeshiva Beit Midrash and to engage him in a public conversation about where our community is headed. Over the course of an hour we touched on issues ranging from the relationship between the Modern Orthodox community in the United States and . . .
Ahead of the Curve
Jewish Day Schools and the future of Education Reform
In a recent Op-Ed for the New York Jewish Week I argued that the focus of Education Reform ought to shift from specific teaching techniques and classroom protocols to the harnessing of cognitive science and data science for the sake of improving learning. In doing so I called for the Jewish community to marshal its resources in both . . .
