(Courtesy of Ben Porat Yosef) The Ben Porat Yosef (BPY) annual dinner that took place on February 23 at Montammy Golf Club in Alpine, New Jersey, broke previous attendance and giving records. Over 400 community members and leaders were in attendance, with record-breaking amounts raised. The dinner, which celebrated BPY’s 18th anniversary, proudly honored members of the BPY family who have worked tirelessly to strengthen the school and enrich the educational experiences of its students. The guests of honor were Jessica Kohn, Liz and Alan Mitrani, Cheryl Weiner Rosenberg and Ilana Tachauer.
Jessica Kohn, also known as “Morah Jessica,” is the early childhood director, associate principal and founding educator at BPY. Jessica has been at BPY since its inception, and put her heart and soul into creating a child-centered, one-of-a-kind early childhood program rich in child-centered experiences. Her warmth, creativity and personal touch can be felt within every aspect of the school. Jessica has a master’s degree in early childhood education, is a certified reading specialist, and serves as a faculty member at Stern College. All of Jessica’s and her husband Yehuda’s children attended BPY.
Liz and Alan Mitrani have been part of the BPY for family five years and are the parents of four BPY students. They serve as grade ambassadors and chairs of the shlichim committee, which assures a positive shlichut experience for BPY’s 10 shlichim families and b’not sherut. Their love of BPY is rooted in their desire to be a part of a warm, nurturing, academically outstanding school that complements their Sephardic traditions while integrating their children into the greater Jewish community. Liz is a dentist in private practice in New York City, and Alan is a managing partner of Sylvan Lake Asset Management LLC.
Cheryl Weiner Rosenberg is the parent of four BPY children and has been actively involved in leadership within BPY for many years. She has served as raffle chair, dinner co-chair, dinner campaign chair, board member, board secretary and president of the board of trustees. Cheryl is a senior director of marketing and communications for Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools, and serves on the executive committee of Teach NJS and the leadership council of the Jewish New Teacher Project. She recently completed the Berrie Fellows Leadership Program and serves as a city council member representing the first ward in Englewood.
Ilana Tachauer has been a beloved BPY early childhood Hebrew teacher for over 13 years. Along with her husband, Leon, she is the proud parent of three BPY students. Morah Ilana also serves as a coordinator for Jewish and Israeli holiday early childhood events at BPY. Morah Ilana works tirelessly to connect with each of her students and helps cultivate her students’ love of learning by immersing them in the Hebrew language. She helps nurture BPY’s am echad and ahavat Yisrael feeling by infusing the Hebrew curriculum with creative, meaningful content and love of Medinat Yisrael (where she was born and raised).
“We are grateful for the leadership of all our honorees in furthering the mission of Ben Porat Yosef; they truly exemplify what BPY is all about,” said BPY Head of School Rabbi Saul Zucker.
Tzipora Cohen served as event chair, while Selena Malka and Cori A. Robinson served as raffle chairs. BPY director of development Gabrielle Altman and associate director of development Tova Small coordinated the event. The dinner featured addresses by Rabbi Zucker as well as president of the board of trustees Daniel Cohen.
The Ben Porat Yosef Annual Dinner is a critical part of BPY’s yearly fundraising efforts, ensuring that our school is able to deliver excellence in yeshiva education while providing an accessible education, regardless of financial circumstance. BPY strives each day to: develop each child’s ahavat Hashem and yirat Hashem; inspire, challenge and engage each learner; celebrate and transmit our Sephardic and Ashkenazic identity and love of am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael; empower and connect students through Hebrew language fluency; and build a warm, caring and devoted community dedicated to nurturing empathic, happy and self-fulfilled human beings. For more information about our annual dinner, please visit www.bpydinner.org or contact Gabrielle Altman, director of development, at [email protected].
