MIAMI, FL — Students at Miami Hebrew Academy were shocked to their core this Friday morning when physics teacher Christine Harlan bid them “Shabbat Shalom.” Junior Ahuva Wexler said she felt “caught super off guard” at the fact that her teacher knew words in their secret language. Her classmate Evan Rosenthal said, “Most of our Jewish teachers aren’t even that religious. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Mrs. Cohn or Dr. Goldblatt mention Shabbat in math or biology. And honestly, they’re the ones that normally give homework over holidays. I kind of figured the teachers didn’t know it was a Jewish school.”
“Now that I think about it, Ms. Harlan even goes to the Rosh Chodesh assemblies sometimes,” Wexler said. “Maybe she is Jewish.”
“Nope, not Jewish,” Harlan commented. “I just work in a Jewish school. It seems only logical that I would learn some phrases.”
Mrs. Melissa Cohn said, “I think it’s weird she does that. It’s like she’s showing off that she’s learned more about Judaism from this school than any of the kids have. I told them I’ll give them holiday extensions when they can tell me what the holidays are about.”
When asked what “Shabbat Shalom” actually means, Wexler, who has been in Jewish day school since 4th grade, said, “It’s something about having a nice weekend.”
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