I'm looking forward to seeing many of you as we gather to celebrate 36 years of Yavneh with our students tomorrow at Kabbalat Shabbat and on Sunday evening with the broader community. It will be a wonderful celebration of our past as we prepare to plan for our future.

As often is the case when Jewish institutions embark on construction projects, I can't help but think of the process described in the Torah involving the construction of the Tabernacle. The Talmud notes that God gave direction to Moses to "make a tabernacle (structure), ark and vessels". When Moses passes the directions on to Bezalel, the craftsmen, he reverses the order to prioritize the contents over the structure. Bezalel points out to Moses that without first building a structure, there will be no place to house the contents (thus fulfilling God's intention).

As I look at Yavneh's future, I realize the importance of focusing on both structure and content. We need a strong sense of future program to design the most effective facility. As we begin to create plans for our future, I would like to include the vision of as many stakeholders as possible. Please mark your calendars for a special town hall meeting, to be held on February 22nd, 7:00PM - 8:30PM. The evening will give us an opportunity to dream together as we focus on imagining the Yavneh of our future, both in terms of program and facility. The results of our discussions, along with similar discussions held with the board, faculty and other stakeholders, will inform the planning of our next phases of construction and the continued evolution of our program. I hope that you can bring your creative juices and join us for this important evening!