Episode Details

As Jonathan Levy prepares to preside over his final Grade 12 graduation ceremony as head of school on Wednesday June 17, the outgoing leader of TanenbaumCHAT says the mission of Jewish education has never been clearer.

"We need an incredibly strong ark so that we can go out and be among the people," Levy told teachers, students, parents and staff during a speech at a recent farewell tribute, reflecting on a 17-year tenure that ends in June.

The American-born educator saw Canada's largest private Jewish high school navigate declining enrolment, mergers, then rapid growth, the COVID pandemic, and most recently, the challenges facing Jewish students after Oct. 7.

But Levy says, throughout it all, his goal has always been the same: helping to build a new generation of Jewish leaders ready to engage confidently with the wider world.

He is leaving Toronto for a new leadership role beginning July 1 running one of the most prominent Jewish private schools in the United States: the Charles E. Smith JDS in Rockville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. It has a smaller enrolment and is spread on two campuses spanning Grades K-12.

Levy, one of Canada's most influential Jewish educators, joins today's episode of The CJN's North Star podcast with host Ellin Bessner to discuss what pluralistic Jewish education looks like now.

Related stories

• Read The CJN’s coverage from just after Oct. 7 2023 when CHAT was targeted by bomb threats and also when some students were even physically threatened, in The CJN
• Discover how TanenbaumCHAT added 14 new classrooms beginning in the summer of 2023 due to booming enrolment, in The CJN.
• Learn more about the Tribute event held for Jonathan Levy on May 25, 2026 at TanenbaumCHAT

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner )
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Izzy Helenchilde (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director)
• Music: Bret Higgins

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