Weslyan University – BA
Brandeis University – MA
UNC, Chapel Hill – MA
Joseph Gindi teaches Modern Jewish History at JCHS. He is a pluralistic Jewish educator and scholar of modern Jewish studies with over fifteen years of experience teaching Jews of diverse ages and backgrounds. He has a Bachelors in Anthropology from Wesleyan University, Masters in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Jewish Professional Leadership from Brandeis University, and a Masters in Religious Studies from UNC, Chapel Hill, where he wrote a thesis entitled Greening the Torah: The Use of Classical Texts in Jewish Environmentalist Literature. Joseph has also studied in batei midrash at the Pardes Institute, Mechon Hadar, and The Jewish Theological Seminary.
Most recently Joseph taught Jewish Studies at the Kehillah Jewish High School in Palo Alto, CA. Before moving to the Bay Area, Joseph was the Senior Program Officer for International Education and Jewish Engagement at American Jewish World Service (AJWS), where he ran a human rights education fellowship for rabbis and cantors. Prior to AJWS, he taught at Prozdor at Hebrew College, the Slifka Center at Yale University, and a variety of synagogues across the denominational spectrum.
Joseph’s scholarly interests focus on the transformations of American Judaism in the 20th and 21st centuries, including the Jewish environmental and social justice movements, Jewish feminism, changing Jewish relationships to the nation-state, and the evolution of Syrian Jewish Orthodoxy. In his teaching, Joseph uses historical, anthropological, and religious studies frameworks to help students understand how Jewish culture operates and inspire them to craft lives of meaning.
Joseph grew up in the Syrian Jewish community in Deal, New Jersey, and now lives with his wife and son in Oakland, CA. Though he loves life in the Bay Area, he deeply misses lachmagine and east coast bagels.
Jewish Community High School of the Bay
1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone: 415.345.9777
The Jewish Community High School of the Bay (JCHS) is a unique college preparatory high school committed to integrating deep learning, universal wisdom, and Jewish values. We empower each student to embrace their Jewish identity, generate empathy and compassion, delight in lifelong education, and improve the world.
JCHS is Title IX compliant. Find out more here.
JCHS is grateful for generous operational, programmatic, and financial support from:
This calendar is subject to change.
Please refer to the JCHS website calendar for the most up-to-date information
Tuesday, August 23 | Freshman Welcome Retreat |
Wednesday, August 24 | Transfer Orientation |
Thursday, August 25 | First Day of Classes |
Monday, September 5 | No Classes – Labor Day |
Thursday, September 8 | Back to School Night/New Parent Orientation |
Friday – Sunday, September 23-25 | All-School Shabbaton |
Monday – Tuesday, September 26-27 . | No Classes – Rosh Hashanah |
Wednesday, September 28 | No Classes – Professional Development Day |
Tuesday, October 4 | Virtual Day – 2:20 Early Release – Erev Yom Kippur |
Wednesday, October 5 | No Classes – Yom Kippur |
Monday – Tuesday, October 10-11 | No Classes – Sukkot |
Monday – Tuesday, October 17-18 | No Classes – Shemini Atzeret/ Simchat Torah |
Thursday, November 10 | No Classes – Faculty Meeting Day /Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences (Evening) |
Friday, November 11 | No Classes – Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences |
Monday, November 21 | Virtual Day – 3:20 Release – Thanksgiving Week |
Tuesday, November 22 | Virtual Day – 3:20 Release – Thanksgiving Week |
Wednesday – Friday, November 23–25 | No Classes – Thanksgiving Break |
Monday, December 19 – Monday, January 2 | No Classes – Winter Break |
Tuesday, January 3 | Classes Resume |
Monday, January 16 | No Classes – MLK Day |
Thursday, February 16 | Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences (Evening) |
Friday, February 17 | No Classes – Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences |
Monday, February 20 | No Classes – Presidents Day |
Sunday – Monday, March 5–20 | Journey (Grade 11) |
Sunday – Thursday, March 12-16 | Journey (Grades 9, 10 & 12) |
Friday, March 17 | No Classes for Grades 9, 10 & 12 – Journey Recovery Day |
Tuesday, March 21 | No Classes for Grade 11 – Journey Recovery Day |
Monday – Friday, April 3–14 | No Classes – Pesach Break |
Friday, May 26 | No Classes – Shavuot I |
Monday, May 29 | No Classes – Memorial Day |
Friday & Monday – Thursday, June 2 & 5-8 | Final Exams (Grades 9-11) |
Thursday, June 8 | Graduation |