By Monica Arkin and Jared Skoff, Staff Writers

Students often wonder what teachers are like outside of the BHS halls. We have taken it upon ourselves to investigate.

Hebrew teacher Sarah Kudroff, commonly known as “Morah” or “Gveret,” lives in Beachwood with her husband, Murray.

When we were at her house, Kudroff greeted us.

“Come fix my computer,” she says to us, in Hebrew, “you can work wonders with your hands.” As always, Kudroff holds her students in such high regard.  After several unsuccessful attempts at fixing the machine, her husband Murray had an idea.

“I know nothing about computers,” he said, “but let’s see how this works.”

He then proceeded to strike the computer monitor with several powerful blows of the fist.  “Tsk, maspeek,” Kudroff said.  Then they retired to the living room to read the Israeli newspaper and watch a PBS special on traditional Russian dancing.

Mostly Hebrew is spoken in the home, but English pops up here and there. Kudroff lives in a kosher home, with a mezuzah on her doorpost, separated milk and meat products, and even two dishwashers and two sinks to keep meat and dairy dishes separate. The home is decorated with beautiful Judaica from Israel, and with gifts from former students. There are many unique objects that may be found in the Kudroff home. One such object is a picture frame from the 1990 BHS prom, which her son received when he was a student. Rather than fill the frame with a prom picture, Morah inserted a photograph of an orthodox Jew.  Lama lo?

Another interesting feature of Kudroff’s home is her collection of water from various seas throughout the world. She has little bottles on display in her family room, filled with water from the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean, and other bodies of water. A real treasure that can be found in the Kudroff household is Robyn Silver’s senior picture, in keychain form. Kudroff loves to keep in touch with old students, and Robyn’s picture is truly a gem.

Kudroff certainly leads an interesting life outside of school. She stays in Israel every summer for long periods of time, and travels around the country. Kudroff can be found walking around the streets of Beachwood with friends on weekends, wearing her signature long skirt and tennis shoes. At home, she enjoys working on her laptop, which has a desktop image of her favorite students.

Also, Kudroff has a serious passion for food, as she can always be found cooking Middle Eastern delicacies, such as falafel, cholent, and Yemenite soup, seasoned with such exotic spices as Za’atar and Hawaiij.  She also enjoys making Mayim Im Nana, chilled water that has been infused with mint leaves.

Many aging parents suffer from Empty-Nest Syndrome, but Kudroff is fortunate to have her son and grandson living right next door. Her grandson Zach likes to go to Kudroff’s house after school and watch iCarly on TV or play with the toys that he keeps at her house. Recently, Zach was awarded the “School Bus Rider of the Month” award, given to an obedient bus rider at Schechter each month. This has made Kudroff extremely proud, and the certificate is available for viewing in her home.

Sarah Kudroff is a pleasure to be with both in the classroom and at home, so (with invitation) go visit Morah at home and get to know her better. Most likely, she will give you large helpings of food.

Hebrew Vocab:

Morah = teacher

Gveret = Mrs.

Maspeek = enough

Lama lo = why not?