T

hroughout her education 
at Hillel Day School and 
Frankel Jewish Academy, 
Amira Soleimani realized her pas-
sion for Judaism at a young age.
“I felt this was my life calling,
” 
the 36-year-old recalls. “My 
dream was to be a Bible teacher, to 
inspire the next generation in the 
way that my teachers inspired me.
”
The current director of Judaic 
studies curriculum and instruc-
tion at Hillel Day School never 
strayed far from her origins, even-
tually working at both schools that 
she attended as a kid. With her 
mother from Israel and her father 
from Detroit, Soleimani grew up 
in the best of both worlds with 
roots in both countries.
After a senior class trip to Israel 
with FJA, Soleimani grew even 
closer to her Israeli roots. “My 
mom’s connection to the country 

suddenly felt like it was my own 
connection,
” she recalls. “I began 
fostering an independent relation-
ship with the country.
”
To pursue Jewish study further, 
Soleimani attended the University 
of Michigan following the senior 
class trip to Israel, where she 
received a triple major in Judaic 
studies, Hebrew and Jewish cul-
tural studies, and ancient civiliza-
tions and biblical studies.
“I soaked in the academic world 
of everything Jewish,
” she says.
 When it came time for her 
master’s degree, Soleimani felt an 
urge to step away from Michigan. 
“I wasn’t sure where I wanted to 
go,
” she remembers. “I thought to 
myself, ‘If I moved to any other 
big city in North America, how 
am I going to find community 
there?’”
Instead, Soleimani looked to 

her roots in Israel, and decid-
ed on a joint program for her 
master’s degree between Tel 
Aviv University and the Shalom 
Hartman Institute.
“For the first time, I brought 
to life my independent relation-
ship with the country and moved 
there,
” she says. “It was an incredi-
ble two-year experience.
”
Living in Israel, Soleimani says 
she got to know the country inside 
and out. “I had a car, and I was 
fortunate to drive and learn about 
Israeli culture in the most intimate 
of ways on the roads, through the 
smells, the tastes, and sounds of 
my grandparents, my extended 
family.
”
Yet after two years in Israel, 
Soleimani had a longing for home 
and moved to Farmington Hills. 
She took a position teaching high 
school Judaics at FJA and became 
head of the Bible department, 
where she worked for five years.
While working at FJA, 
Soleimani had her first daughter 
Alma, now 7. After her fifth year 

at FJA, she transitioned into a new 
role at Hillel Day School. “It was 
an exciting opportunity returning 
to the school that gave me that 
foundation of a love for Judaism,
” 
she says, noting that her mother, 
Clara Gaba, also teaches at Hillel.
 In her first years at Hillel, 
Soleimani had her second daugh-
ter, Micah, now 5. Since starting 
her role, Soleimani has worked at 
the school for seven years, with 
her third year serving on what’s 
known as administration in lead-
ership. In her role as director of 
Judaic studies curriculum and 
instruction, Soleimani oversees 
middle school Judaics.
“That role allows me to have 
an eye on integration of Judaics 
through specialty classes,
” 
Soleimani explains. “Not only do 
I have that opportunity, but I’m 
blessed to be able to share my 
vision through the teachers and 
help them become experts in their 
capacities in their roles, to seek 
fulfillment as humans, [to seek] 
spiritual fulfillment in their work.
”
Through teaching Judaism, 
Soleimani believes youth also 
connect with their deeper souls, 
especially when the topic of God 
is explored with confidence and 
intent. 
To help fulfill that mission 
even further, Soleimani is also in 
the middle of writing the Tanach 
Sadna, a Torah curriculum that 
is skills-based and uses universal 
reading strategies.
It’s a major undertaking: so far, 
third and fourth grade curriculums 
are up-and-running, with more 
work to be done for other grades. 
Outside of work, Soleimani 
enjoys slowing down and appreci-
ating the simple things, especially 
time with her daughters. Together, 
they cook and make memories. A 
family favorite is sabich, an Iraqi-
Israeli street food. They also cook 
meals passed down through the 
family from Soleimani’s grand-
parents. 
“I enjoy the simple things in 
life,
” she says, “and connecting 
with others.
” 

42 | MAY 19 • 2022 

Connecting Youth 
to Judaism

NEXT DOR
VOICE OF THE NEW 
JEWISH GENERATION

Hillel’s director of Judaic studies 
shares her passion for being Jewish.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Amira with daughters 
Alma and Michal

