The Warrior Word sat down with the newest member of the Judaics staff to learn about his Brazilian roots, his multiple college degrees, and whether he thinks a hot dog is a sandwich.
Michal Cohen: Where did you come from?
Rabbi Kahane: So, I was born in Brazil.
MC: I’m half Brazilian. The whole side of my mom’s side is completely Brazilian.
RK: Oh, wow.
MC: Yeah, so that’s really cool.
RK: Cool yeah. Ok, so I’m originally from Rio which is a little bit of a smaller community than San Paulo, but then I lived in New York for a long time. Then I moved back to Brazil, then I moved to Chicago.
MC: Wow.
RK: Then back to New York and D.C. and I moved to Miami and I’ve been in America for about 20 years now.
MC: How did you find us?
RK: Suzie, Dr. London, so she is married to my best friend from High School.
MC: Wow.
RK: Yeah.
MC: Small World.
RK: Yeah, so she told me about it. Also there are students here that I had at Klurman, Mesivta, LEC, so also there was that connection too.
MC: That’s really cool.
RK: Yeah.
MC: And what is your impression of Hebrew Academy so far?
RK: So far I really like it. I’m really impressed with the diligence of the kids, how dedicated they are to their learning. I really like how Israel is so prominent in this school, and I’m really impressed with all the staff and the students.
MC: And where did you go to school, like University?
RK: Okay. I did a lot of studying. So I went to Princeton for Undergrad. I had a Jewish Studies certificate there, a religion major. I also went to Woodrow Wilson School in Princeton. We went to Jerusalem to learn about terrorism and the peace process. That was really good and then after that I went to YU for a year to learn there, and then I went to Law School at Georgetown. And then recently I also got an MBA at FIU while working there part-time.
MC: And can you tell me a little bit more about your crazy schedule?
RK: Oh okay. Yeah okay. So I was able to work out with the government, for me to be able come in in the morning three times a week. So I come here, after ten I go to work and I work till, like, eleven to seven and then the day that I don’t come in, I work. You know on Tuesday I actually work a ten hour day, and then Friday a little bit less.
MC: So what do you do outside of school?
RK: So I’m a lawyer for the Department of Health.
MC: Wow.
RK: It’s called “Office of Medicare Viewings and Appeals.” It’s a group of judges. There are about 20 of them in Miami and about 120 or so nationwide. So I used to work for one of them and then I got promoted to work at headquarters where I do the Quality Assurance Program. I have a team where we go through the decisions and the hearings and make sure everything is done correctly.
MC: And last question- is a hot dog a sandwich?
RK: That is a great question. I’m gonna go with yes.
MC: Great. Great answer. Great answer.
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