DIANA LIEBERMAN
StairWriter

T

wo new educational leaders will take over
at Yeshivat Akiva, a Southfield Orthodox
day school, on July 1. Together, they rep,
resent more than 60 years of teaching and
administrative experience — one in the world of
Jewish day school education, the other in Michigan's
public schools.
The new administrators are Rabbi Yigal Tsaidi,
who replaces Rabbi Karmi Gross as principal, and .
Charles Domstein, who takes over the post of secu-
lar studies director (formerly held by Rosalie Lake).
The Akiva family had a chance to meet the
administrators May 7 at the 36-year-old school's
annual meeting at Congregation B'nai Moshe in
West Bloomfield.
But some of the Akiva parents were acquainted
with their new secular studies director well before
the dinner, and even before the interview process
began.
In the late 1970s, Domstein taught Akiva parent
Linda Lefkowitz at Oak Park High School, where he
spent most of his 30 years as a teacher and then
chair of the social studies department. Domstein
also served as summer school principal.
"He was really special," recalled Lefkowitz, who
now lives in Southfield. "If any of us had a problem,
we knew we could go to him."
Another parent, Julie Sherizen of Huntington
Woods, agreed: "He was one of my favorite teach-
ers. ,,
Although Domstein is officially retiring from the
public schools, he prefers to call it a "job change."
"The positive atmosphere at Akiva is its chief
strength — the excitement and dedication of the
staff, the enthusiasm of kids and parents," he said.
A graduate of Detroit's Mumford High School,
Domstein, 59, received bachelor's and master's
degrees from Wayne State University. In 1992, he
earned a doctorate in education from Wayne State,
with a specialty in educational administration.
He has three grown children, living in Waterford,
Bethesda, Md., and Bangkok, Thailand.
"My philosophy of education is that education is
something that can be offered to all kids of all abili-
ties," he said. "We have to recognize the need to
keep up with technology, and to provide the broad-
est possible program of liberal arts."
His goals at Akiva include increasing enrollment
and adding advanced-placement courses. "We can't
forget we have a responsibility as educators to meet
the needs of the kids who have been placed in our
care," he said.
Since its founding in 1964, Akiva has been corn-
mitted to providing a day-school education in the
modern Orthodox tradition. Rabbi Tsaidi, who
comes to the school after two years as head of the
Hebrew Academy of Montreal, is very clear about
what he means — and doesn't mean — by this
term.
"We don't want people to have a concept that a
modern Orthodox school is a school that is lenient
with Jewish law," said the Israeli-born rabbi and
educator. "That is a mistake."
Rather than diluting Jewish law, modern

5/19
2000

12

Principally Spe king

A new team of administrators takes over at Yeshivat Akiva.

Above: Getting to know the students
is Dr. Charles Do mstein,
Akiva's new secular studies director.

Left: Akiva students
Daniel Greenbaum, eft, and
Yisroel Gotifried greet new
principal Rabbi Yigal Tsaidi.

'

Orthodoxy combines strict adherence to Shulchan
Aruch (the inclusive code of Jewish law published in
1565) with open-mindedness toward the outside
world, he said. Graduates of Akiva should be able to
qualify for positions in the best colleges and univer-
sities in the United- States as well as the best yeshivot
in Israel. -
Rabbi Tsaidi, 50, studied at two of Israel's top
Orthodox yeshivot, Yeshivat HaDarom in Rehovot,
and Yeshivah Merkaz-Harav in Jerusalem. His secu-
lar studies include a master's degree in Jewish educa-
tion from Boston Hebrew College and a doctorate

in educational administration from
Yeshiva University, under the supervi-
sion of the Jewish University of
America. in Chicago.
He and his wife Shulam t have four
sons. The oldest two live in Chicago,
the third just graduated from high
school and will attend a yeshi va in
Israel and the youngest will be a
fourth-grader at Akiva.
In discussing his goals for Akiva students, Rabbi
Tsaidi said his top priority is derech eretz, which he
defines as "values, behavior, respect — not only for
parents and teachers, but for friends and classmates
as well. The way they behave and act is very impor-
tant to me, much more important than the grade
they get in every subject."
Modern Orthodoxy also includes a devotion to

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING

on page 14

