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October 11, 2013

Does the End Justify the Means?

This week in Torah we meet Avram and Sarai, who will later become Abraham and Sarah. As we see their journey unfold we also see their humanness. We see worry emerge and faith wax and wane as a couple suffers with infertility. We watch relationships dissolve over jealousy, and we leaders lie and mistreat others. […]

Iris Koller
Filed Under: Parsha, Parsha, Parsha
Tagged With: Abraham, Lech Lecha

October 4, 2013

Shhh, Let’s Surprise God

Each day we are faced with challenges in our interactions and personal choices.It is so very hard to always behave and speak in ways that are considered ‘good’, even when we have ample strength and resources to resist the temptation to misstep It is hard to eat right, exercise, make appropriate ethical choices, stop at […]

Iris Koller
Filed Under: Parsha, Parsha, Parsha
Tagged With: behavior, choices, Noach, Noah

September 25, 2013

Turn it, Turn it.. Don’t Turn From It

As we approach the festival of Simchat Torah and prepare to roll the Torah back my mind wanders to images of circles and spirals. We are indeed circling back to our beginnings – to the first stories of Torah and the first steps on our collective journey. The opportunity before us is to not see […]

Iris Koller
Filed Under: Parsha, Parsha, Parsha
Tagged With: Rabbi ben Bag Bag, Simchat Torah, Torah

September 24, 2013

Learning From…Diana and Team Nyad

(“Learning From…” posts are inspired by people and events often those which are far removed from the world of Jewish Education.) Throughout the High Holiday period, an image has been floating around in my mind. I mean, really floating! Think back to September 2, Labor Day – ancient history in terms of the rapid relentless […]

Ronni Sims
Filed Under: Kfar HaMorim

September 18, 2013

Sukkot – a most wonderful time of year.. for whom?

I love the festival of Sukkot. To me it represents the ability to “kick back and relax” after the seriousness, rush and formality of the High Holy Days. It is time to move out of the formal dining room and into blue jeans and the backyard. As someone who spent much of my life in […]

Iris Koller
Filed Under: Parsha, Parsha, Parsha

September 18, 2013

Seeing The Stars

“All seven days one makes his sukkah permanent and his home temporary.” Mishnah Sukkah 2:9 Sukkot is a holiday that is centered on the little structures we build and eat and sleep in for a week every fall. In our tradition, the sukkah is referenced often, but really only in two contexts. The first is […]

Rabbi Jonah Geffen
Filed Under: Ish Ben Partzi

September 13, 2013

Because I Knew You…

This Saturday Jews throughout the world will focus on prayers of reflection, apology, regret, and forgiveness. We will speak in one voice, acknowledging our own mistakes and the missteps of the community. The list is long, for we are perfectly imperfect humans. In the rush of everyday life it is all too easy to take […]

Iris Koller
Filed Under: Parsha, Parsha, Parsha

September 12, 2013

Memories of 9/11 – Eric

Our son, Eric, and his wife lived and worked in NYC in 2001. He wrote these poems in the days following 9/11. Bus Poems The sky is blue, and the bus is crowded. A woman in black gets on, pays, argues with the driver, and leaves. Beautiful people walk beautiful dogs. Cel phones ring and […]

Ronni Sims
Filed Under: Kfar HaMorim

September 12, 2013

Memories of 9/11 – Ronni

We were excited that day – busily packing for a trip to Israel. My husband was watching CNBC and cried out, “Come here! A plane crashed into the World Trade Center!” We watched in horrified disbelief as another plane exploded into the second Tower. In a stomach-wrenching cloud of smoke, the Towers collapsed. Then a […]

Ronni Sims
Filed Under: Kfar HaMorim

September 3, 2013

It’s Time for a New Box of Crayons…

When I was going off to kindergarten my mother bought me my very first Big Box of Crayola Crayons. Sixty-four shiny, pointy new crayons in colors I had never heard of. It even came complete with a sharpener built into the box! I was beside myself with excitement as I dreamed of the possibilities of […]

Iris Koller
Filed Under: Parsha, Parsha, Parsha
Tagged With: Chodesh, community, Crayons, Days of Awe, Tishrei

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Iris Koller
Iris Koller is the Executive Director of the Friedman Commission for Jewish Education of the Palm Beaches.Immediately prior to coming to Friedman CJE, Iris was national Director of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s PJ Goes to School pilot project, a professional development program for preschools in PJ Library communities.

Prior to her position with the Grinspoon Foundation, Iris served as a synagogue educator in Syracuse NY, the Central New York PJ Library Program Coordinator and as a national consultant for PJ Library.

Iris holds a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education, a master’s degree in Special Education and Reading, and Advanced Certification in School Leadership and Administration. Her experience as a secular educator and educational leader in congregational and community settings spans over 20 years. She is also a lay leader in Jewish organizations on the local and national levels. Iris served as the President of CAJE – the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education, which was the largest member organization for Jewish educators in the country.

Latest posts by Iris Koller (see all)
  • May My (and Your) Yom Kippur Be Filled Meaning – October 3, 2014
  • We All Are Standing Here.. Now What Will You Do? – September 19, 2014
  • ‘Tis the Season of Transitions – September 12, 2014

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