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Rising to the Challenge

March 27, 2020
By Adam Tilove

We made it through the week! By all accounts this has been a good week. Not an easy week, but a good week nonetheless. Our kids are engaged in classes and working (or are about to be). Our teachers are in touch with the students. We are up and running, and for that I want to express my admiration and awe of our teachers and administrators.

The other night, I was watching The Avengers with my family. There is a scene in which all of the Avengers turn on each other, arguing bitterly about absolute nonsense. At the very moment they were about to lose control, they were attacked by their enemy. Suddenly realizing that they shared a common enemy, they instantly reunited to fight their attackers. And in the end, they were, of course, victorious. My hope is that humanity learns and grows from this experience. If there is any silver lining, perhaps we will learn that we are all one team, and turning on each other is simply foolishness.

We are in the midst of a major event in human history that stands to shape the way we think, work, govern, learn and behave for years to come. The Jewish people have been through worse - and we survive and thrive because we are able to quickly adapt, innovate, and evolve. We will rise to this challenge and find new ways to support and sustain each other. 

HBHA has experienced a great deal over the past 55 years. From landing a man on the moon, to the Civil Rights era, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the advent of the internet, to the 2008 financial crisis, HBHA has seen it all and keeps on doing what it was created to do: preparing students for fulfilling lives as Jews and honorable contributing citizens.  

There is a saying that, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” As a community of educators, we will always strive to provide a consistently top-tier education. Simultaneously, we are learning and thinking deeply about the innovative practices that will emerge to sustain us and help us thrive.