Rabbi Moshe Kurtz serves as the Rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel in Allentown, PA. He is the author of Meoros Moshe (Aleh Zayis, 2025), a Pirkei Avot anthology of scholarship and stories about HaGaon HaRav Moshe Feinstein zt”l. Rabbi Kurtz writes about contemporary and Halachic issues in forums such as the Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society (RJJ Journal), OUTorah, The Lehrhaus, Torah Musings, and Jewsih Action. He hosts the the As I Walk Through the Valley podcast, and is currently working on writing a book based on unpacking the Iggerot.

Gems:

• Education is an area of Halacha that is very important that nobody asks questions about.
• Never give up on a child!
• When there is a child who is disturbing the class, remove him from the class and pair him with an older student, if possible.
• Jewish education is not just about giving over information, and it also can’t just be experiential.
• Jewish education needs to be conveyed through a Rebbe/Talmid relationship, this is how the mesorah is passed down.
• There needs to be respect for Rebbes.
• Learning Torah and Jewish education needs to be first and foremost, and everything else revolves around it.
• Educators must exude that the Torah is our life and length of our days, we must feel it deeply that we live for.
• Is the Torah driving our agenda, and are we being that example to our students?
• Parents have an obligation to educate their chilren.
• Though keeping Torah and Mitzvot are hard, it shouldn’t be a question whether parents are going to observe them, and children pick this up.
• What’s the message we’re telling our children?
• Impress upon children the importance of being an honest, upright Jew.
• There are certain things we do even when we don’t feel like it, or don’t like to do it.
• What is the will of Hashem?

*Rabbi Daniel Korobkin

*Joanna Powers

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