In October 2000, then head of school at Perelman Jewish Day School Jay Leberman held a focus group to determine who Perelman should hire as its inaugural spiritual leader at the new PJDS middle school.
A Perelman parent and member of the focus group knew a perfect candidate, so in the midst of some of Leberman’s remarks, he slipped the head of school a note. Its message was simple:
“Chaim Galfand — get him.”
More than two and a half decades later, Perelman Jewish Day School Head Rabbi Chaim Galfand oversees Jewish education and guidance for all Perelman students, and that note is paying dividends for him and the school.
“The two of them saw something in me and set me on a two decades-plus path of soul-filling work,” Galfand said.
Work as a school rabbi is a far cry from his life not long before that note was passed.
While Judaism was always central to his life, Galfand did not always work in a professional Jewish space. He left a successful six-year legal career to become a rabbi in the late 2000s, although he wasn’t sure what realm he wanted to work in.
Education first piqued his interest after a class he took in his final year of rabbinical school called “How to Teach Theology.”
Galfand said he immediately felt a calling, and he knew that he would enjoy contributing to a Hillel or school environment as much as a synagogue. The challenges at a school are different but worthwhile, he said.
“I help students grapple with big questions and develop their spiritual signature. I’m part of the process of building a love of Jewish texts and an indelible bond with Israel. I appreciate the opportunity to wear many hats — spiritual guide, educator and community builder,” Galfand said.
Importantly, Galfand said he feels this mission is extra important because of the malleability of young minds.
“The elementary years represent an unrepeatable opportunity to build the foundation for lifelong Jewish connection and literacy. [We] plant seeds for a lifetime of Jewish learning and show kids that engaging with Jewish wisdom can provide guidance throughout their lives,” he said. “Ultimately, this role is about shaping the future of the Jewish community, one student at a time.”
Galfand comes from a Conservative Jewish family, but the Perelman class of 1976 graduate, Wynnewood resident and Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El member said that label is reductive in terms of the complex and rich Jewish upbringing he experienced. He spent time at Perelman, the Germantown Jewish Center and Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, among other places. The rabbi’s parents guided him in his journey, but they weren’t his only influences.
“A pivotal moment came when my nine-year-old sister Wendy returned from Camp Ramah in the Poconos and requested a kosher home. My parents thoughtfully considered this, gathered information and ultimately transformed our kitchen and lifestyle,” he said.
Around this time, Galfand began attending Perelman, which only accelerated his love for his culture. His family, while always practicing Jews, became more involved around this time.
“My parents took on hosting the first night of Pesach for my father’s extended family, regularly accommodating at least 45 at our seder table,” he said.
All of this helped plant the kernel in Galfand’s brain that, maybe, Judaism wasn’t just part of his identity, but his purpose.
“I get to witness the beautiful ripple effect our graduates and their families create throughout Philadelphia’s Jewish community. Having taught so many students who now remain active in the area, I get to see them grow from eager learners into accomplished adults who are deeply committed to Jewish life and values,” Galfand said. “There’s nothing quite like bumping into alumni students or their parents who are now leading synagogue committees, organizing community events or even sending their own children to Perelman.”
Galfand said the biggest difference in how he worshiped as a young man and how he does now is that it is less about dogma and more about community.
“In my youth, I focused on behaviors and beliefs, often wondering which came first. But now, I see Judaism through the lens of belonging. It was all about the rituals in my elementary years to middle school years. Then in high school, I got into Jewish culture. After college, I really connected with the community aspect. But mourning the death of my father and becoming a father a year later was a game changer,” he said.
He is a believer in the Conservative Jewish law, but he still keeps what he calls “traditional-egalitarian masorti practice,” and he is also interested in becoming personally closer with God.
“It’s like I’ve found this sweet spot where behaving Jewishly creates this incredible sense of belonging. For the last 25 years in my Wynnewood neighborhood, my family and I have been part of a group of wise and loving friends who’ve met most Fridays in one another’s homes for joyful and soulful Kabbalat Shabbat services with words of Torah and generations around the table,” he said.
Galfand is sure that he made the right choice years ago when he left law and decided to work in Jewish education. He said he still feels at home sitting cross-legged on a colorful carpet next to the youngest Perelman students.
As a student, Galfand never imagined coming back to Perelman as a staff member one day, but he said that signs were present.
“I felt nurtured and shaped during those years, connected to my friends and their families. I have vivid memories of our head of school telling stories. Those moments sparked my own love for storytelling, and then there was the music and Hebrew and love of Israel,” he said. “They weren’t just subjects we studied; they became a part of me. It’s like they washed over me, saturating my very being.”
