Rabbi Roundtable: June 30, 2026

In partnership with the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, the AJT’s monthly Rabbi Roundtable brings together spiritual leaders from across Atlanta representing each denomination.

For this month’s discussion, each spiritual leaders was asked the following question:

What’s one blessing you wish every graduate could hear before stepping into what comes next?

Dr. Rebecca Winter

You will forget a lot of what you learned, but the most important things will remain with you.
There is a striking passage in the Talmud (Temurah 16a) that describes what happened after Moshe’s death. According to the Gemara, the people forgot 3,000 laws. Three thousand! Faced with the loss of their teacher and leader, they turned to Yehoshua, hoping that he would simply restore what had been lost. Instead, he reminded them that the Torah was no longer in Heaven; it had already been entrusted to the Jewish people. And ultimately, the people found their way back to those laws.
As an educator, I find this passage deeply reassuring. Our students will forget a lot. In fact, if we’re being honest, our recent graduates already have. They will forget facts, details, and even some of the lessons we worked hardest to teach. But they also remember more than we give them credit for.
The goal of education was never perfect recall — it was internalization. At some point, ideas become convictions, values become choices, and learning becomes part of a person’s character. A student may forget a particular source but remember a value. They may forget the details of a class discussion but remember how to ask a thoughtful question. They may forget a lesson, but not the person they became while learning it.
None of our graduates have everything figured out. Frankly, most adults don’t either. But my blessing for them is this: when they encounter uncertainty, as they inevitably will, may they trust that the most important things have not been forgotten — only absorbed.
May they carry with them the Torah they have learned, the values they have developed, the relationships that have shaped them, and the resilience they have built. And may they discover, again and again, that these gifts remain with them wherever they go.

Rabbi Edward Harwitz

At the dawn of the 20th century, a generation of young Jews recognized that they lived in a unique historical moment — one filled with both extraordinary opportunity and profound challenge. Inspired by Zionist leaders such as David Ben-Gurion and Ze’ev Jabotinsky, they launched a movement that would change history and establish the modern State of Israel.
How is it that you have earned both the distinction and the burden of being the greatest generation of Diaspora Jews in more than a century? The answer lies not in who you are, but in the moment that has formed you.
That moment was shaped by the two defining communal traumas of your teenage years: the pandemic and lockdown of 2020, and the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7 and their aftermath. Amid war in Israel and the resurgence of antisemitism around the world, you responded not by withdrawing, but by leaning in — taking initiative, assuming responsibility, and seeking opportunities to serve.
Like the young Jewish pioneers who helped build the State of Israel, you understand the complexities and challenges of our world, as well as the opportunities that emerge when intellect, talent, passion, and leadership are placed in service of a cause greater than oneself.
I do not call you our greatest generation because of what you have already accomplished, but by virtue of what this moment now demands of you. It is a charge and a sacred responsibility.
To paraphrase the refrain from the Broadway musical that provided the soundtrack for your lives: “history has its eyes on you.” Know that your parents, teachers, and community believe in you, support and love you, and are counting on you to lead and serve the Jewish people in the years ahead.

Rabbi Larry Sernovitz

My middle child just graduated from The Davis Academy and will be headed to high school next year. As I watched her ascend the steps to the stage to receive her diploma, I felt my eyes well up with tears, mostly happy ones. It feels like it was just yesterday when we welcomed her into the world, gave her a Hebrew name, and prayed that her life would be filled with love, learning, and lessons that would guide her along the way. She made us immensely proud about a year ago when she became a bat mitzvah. But time is our most precious possession, a gift which we can never take for granted or recover once it becomes the past. I hope she, and other graduates, know to make the most of the time we have as the years go by.
The words of Genesis 12:1, Abraham’s call, help us understand the precious nature of time. G-d tells Abraham to, “Lech Lecha,” go forth to the land that G-d will show him. Yes, there is a journey before each of us, and in this case, Abraham. He has to leave the comforts and rituals of home and head out, finding his own way. But, before he does, he must “lecha,” look inward to understand who he is and who he wants to become. This is one of the most complex challenges of our lives. Does Abraham, or any graduate, truly know who it is that they want to become? Hillel says, “If I am not for me, who will be for me.” We must look out for ourselves and make sure we have what we need to create lives of meaning and purpose. But, as anyone who has lived, doesn’t that change depend on our experiences and the people who guide us along the way? What is our true potential and how can we achieve it when challenges come our way? The second lesson any graduate needs to know is to look within to find our own potential and know that the destination is not the key but the journey itself.
Lastly, I received a lesson from a mentor of mine about 24 years ago when I first began rabbinical school that has been a grounding principle in my life ever since. Rabbi Michael Klein Katz stood in the front of my first-year class in Jerusalem and said to us, “Rabbis, in order to be good rabbis, you have to be yourself unless you are not a good person. In that case, be someone else.”
Graduates, be true to yourself, be kind, compassionate, and filled with empathy. For the most part, people are filled with goodness. Treat them that way. It is amazing to see what happens when you recognize the humanity in the people around you.
Mazal tov on your journey. Enjoy the learning along the way. Open your hearts to it all.

Rabbi Bios:

Dr. Rebecca Winter, Orthodox
Originally from Toronto, Canada, Dr. Winter spent time learning in Israel at Midreshet Lindenbaum, MATAN, and at Stern’s Graduate program for Advanced Talmudic Studies.
She recently completed Ohr Torah Stone’s prestigious 4-year International Halakhic Scholars Program and was recently selected as a Sacks Scholar. This is her eighth year teaching Tanach at Atlanta Jewish Academy (AJA), and she loves the genuine curiosity and enthusiasm of AJA’s students. Dr. Winter holds a PhD in clinical neuropsychology, and when she is not at AJA, she enjoys seeing patients in private practice nearby.

Rabbi Edward Harwitz, Conservative
Rabbi Edward Harwitz has been the head of The Weber School in Sandy Springs since 2014. For more than 30 years, Rabbi Harwitz has taught and served in leadership of Jewish organizations, including Jewish camps, high schools, and educational organizations. Rabbi Harwitz earned a B.A. in history and philosophy at George Washington University, a master’s degree in Hebrew letters from The American Jewish University, and a Master of Arts and rabbinic ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He also studied extensively at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, Reform
Rabbi Sernovitz is CEO of Hillels of Georgia. He has served the Jewish community for nearly two decades, including as Senior Rabbi at Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta, and previously as Founding Rabbi and executive director of Nafshenu of Cherry Hill, N.J. He earned his rabbinic ordination at Hebrew Union College, where he also received the Rabbi Edwin N. Soslow Memorial Prize in Jewish History. He is deeply involved in the Atlanta community as member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2023 and, in 2022, was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.