What exactly
is ruach? Dictionary.com does not have a definition for ruach (surprising
no?) but it does suggest that “spirit” is the vital principle in humans,
mediating between the body and soul. Around our school I’ve heard it said that spirit is
tough to define or describe but, much like the wind, while it can’t be seen or
touched, you know when it’s there and you can feel it.
Our unique Davis spirit
is can really be sensed at different times, even when we are not at school:
It was there this summer when so many of you gave up days,
or in some cases weeks, and dedicated personal time this summer to professional
development;
It was felt when you opened your homes to your grade level
teams to create impactful teaching teams;
It was present when you made it important to connect with
and mentor a new faculty member;
And it soared when you reached out with concern for our
teachers, our Davis families and our alumni who were on the ground in Israel
experiencing first-hand the pain and struggle of those who are currently living
in and defending our homeland.
The list could
go on of the many ways that you live and model our values in ways that “scream
Davis” and ultimately have tremendous impact on our community.
I felt a
sense of personal ruach and
connection just a few weeks when I visited the Canadian Immigration Museum this
summer (in of all places Halifax Nova Scotia). I was able to track down the
details of the travels of 3 of my 4 grandparents and even several of my
great-grandparents who emigrated from Eastern Europe to Canada, leaving behind
all they knew to escape the pogroms and seek freedom in this side of the world.
While many of us have similar personal stories, my discoveries created a truly overwhelming
experience for me as my family stories were affirmed in great detail with
papers indicating the exact family members, dates, places and times of their journeys,
to learn of who sponsored their travels and how much money was actually in their
pocket when they arrived. I read about the towns they departed from and the ships
that brought them, and what really got me was to actually witness their
signatures on such important documents.
I tell you all this because it was one
of those experiences where you could feel something much larger than yourself -
what I would call ruach - a spirit that infuses you with perspective and
meaning, and in my case, inspired me even further to do the sacred work that I,
and all of us, are blessed to be able to do at Davis - to live out our core
values - of respect, righteousness, wisdom, community, and spirit - and then to
ensure that our children are not only skilled and well educated, but that they
know and live these values - that they know who they are, where they have come
from, and how to carry out their responsibility to live in a way that
positively impacts the Jewish and the greater world. This is the Davis journey
that we build upon for the next generations.
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