About Lamplighters // Lamplighters Yeshivah Parent Handbook
2. BE A “P’NIMI”: LIVING FROM THE INSIDE OUT
WHAT WE BELIEVE:
Not everything can be understood at face value. Sometimes we need
to dig deeper to hit the truth - to go beyond what’s obvious. To seek
the potential we aim to actualize.
To be a “p’nimi” is to live from this “inner” place of wholesome-
ness. P’nimyut means integrity, thoroughness and consistency - the
opposite of superficiality and distortion. In the p’nimi, knowledge
cannot be separated from experience, and what we know and feel
cannot be divorced from what we do. You will never encounter only
parts of the p’nimi -- his brain, his heart, his actions -- rather, you’ll
always find the whole person there. The p’nimi doesn’t merely think
a thought, experience a feeling, do an action -- he lives them. And
when the p’nimi devotes a portion of time -- whether it is an hour, a
day or a minute -- to a certain task, she is totally invested in what she
is doing, as if there exists nothing else in the world.
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE AT LAMPLIGHTERS YESHIVAH:
• We teach our teachers and children to be reflective, introspec-
tive, deep, and sincere: to communicate with integrity and aware-
ness of self.
• At Lamplighters, we believe in the potential of every single one
of our students. And when we are oriented toward the potential
of a child, to what’s beyond the surface, we never give up on him.
There’s always something we can adjust in our environment to meet
the needs of each child -- it is our duty and our privilege to do so.
“The human being is compared to a tree. We
must recognize the wonderful potential within
every person and every event, and we must
commit ourselves to bringing out that poten-
tial.”
— The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Farbrengen, 15 Shevat, 5741 • January
20, 1981
• The Torah, in a certain very real sense, has to be given to each of us individually. How do we accomplish this?
Lamplighters teachers use Impressionistic Lessons, multisensory lessons on Jewish practices and ideals, to
create an experience that stirs the child from within - to feel deeper, ask questions, and remain curious. Edu-
cation cannot be complete or fully successful unless there’s internalization of what we learn and experience.
• We educate our children in a choice-driven environment where students are afforded the opportunity to con-
centrate, uninterrupted, on their work. When a student is given the responsibility and power to choose and to
fully attend to her work, she takes ownership of her learning - and internalizes what she learns. It’s personal.
It belongs to her.
• When our children find their truest selves in our Heritage - in the way that suits them best - they will be trans-
formed, forever. We don’t need to impose Jewish values onto our children. As courageous educators, we are
devoted to create a fully-customizable model of education, backed by science, that serves each individual and
acts to unearth his inherent connection to Jewish heritage -- already there, deep within their souls.
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