One thing about Rabbi Daniel Loew is abundantly clear; when he tells you that the Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva (RPRY) in Edison is a truly special place, he has a broad and well-informed perspective to make that assertion.

Rabbi Loew started in the field of chinuch teaching for two years in the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy in Overland Park, Kansas, as part of his responsibilities as a member of the Community Kollel. He then taught limudei kodesh for three years in the Columbus Torah Academy. He went on to serve in the Hebrew High School of New England in West Hartford, as both the director of Judaic studies and a limudei kodesh teacher for one year, then as head of school for nine years while also teaching classes. After working as principal of the Seattle Hebrew Academy and teaching classes for one year, he became the head of RPRY’s school in 2015 and has served in that capacity for seven years.

As he prepares to leave this post at the end of July, to fulfill a long-held dream to make aliyah with his family, Rabbi Loew spoke with The Jewish Link and shared three anecdotes that illustrate the truly unique character of RPRY and its powerful impact on its students.

The Recent Arrival

In October 2020, an eighth grade student transferred to RPRY from public school. Though some might have expected culture shock or a struggle to “get up to speed,” the student flourished. Rabbi Loew observed that he was embraced by the rest of his class and developed great relationships with his peers and his rabbeim.

As part of his role as head of school, Rabbi Loew would help each graduate with his or her speech for their eighth grade graduation (each graduate presents a brief speech). He sat with this young man, spoke with him about his speech, and could readily see how moved the student was by his experiences at RPRY. The student went on to attend the Jewish Educational Center and Rabbi Loew took pride in RPRY’s role in his Jewish journey. He had a short, eight-month stay at RPRY, but that time definitely had a long-lasting impact.

This was a fine example of how RPRY excels at bein adam l’makom — building the students’ connection to HaKodesh Baruch Hu.

Interrupted Basketball Game

A few weeks ago, a custodian in the school was moving three red carts through the gymnasium, towards the kitchen. The carts had been used to deliver lunches sponsored by the federal government to classrooms around the school. As the custodian was moving the carts, one of them overturned and, as Rabbi Loew watched from across the room, the leftover food spilled out and created a colossal mess. Rabbi Loew stopped what he was doing and started walking over to help.

Before he got there, however, he saw four fifth graders, who were enjoying their recess and playing a game of basketball, immediately stop their play and rush to help the custodian. No one prompted them to assist or asked them to do so; they saw the opportunity and took action. As Rabbi Loew describes it, “I got there too late,” and he was very inspired to see their instinct to help others.

This was a fine example of how RPRY excels at bein adam l’ chaveiro — forging the students’ connection to and eagerness to assist their fellow man and woman.

The Reluctant Speaker

In preparing for this year’s graduation in June, Rabbi Loew met with one female student, not a native English speaker, who was very very hesitant to speak. “What if I start laughing in the middle of my speech?”

“What if I start crying in the middle of my speech?”

“Do I have to do this?!?”

Rabbi Loew kept calmly reassuring her and expressing his belief in her, that, like all of her peers, she could get up there and deliver her speech.And she did a beautiful job, presenting the speech at graduation without a problem. Afterwards, she deservedly felt both relieved and proud of herself.

Rabbi Loew states that this situation reflects RPRY’s many efforts to instill self-confidence in its students. This moment is a gift the student will take with her, as she moves forward in life — the gift of overcoming her fear.

This was a fine example of how RPRY excels at bein adam l’atzmo — enabling students to develop their self-confidence and to exceed their own expectations.

As Rabbi Loew explains, these three vignettes are indicative of the entire school and they demonstrate the many efforts of the teachers to instill these three essential values in all their students. “It is the teachers,” says Rabbi Loew, “who deserve a tremendous amount of credit for these three small success stories … and countless others.”

Harry Glazer invites feedback on this news story and suggestions of other developments that may merit coverage. He can be reached at [email protected].