(Courtesy of Bruriah HS) Rabbi Steven Miodownik, Morah D’Asra of Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park, NJ and longtime beloved rebbe at RPRY, will join the outstanding educational team at Bruriah as a Halacha and Torah Shel Baal Peh rebbe next year.
“As part of the Bruriah family for many years I am excited to join a great institution like Bruriah and teach its wonderful students,” shared Rabbi Miodownik.
“Rabbi M,” as his students affectionately refer to him, is already a strong part of the Bruriah family. His rebbetzin, Gila (nee Silbiger), is an alumna, their daughters Ariella and Kayla are Bruriah graduates and Rosa is an incoming ninth grader. Their son, Sam, currently attends the JEC Mesivta High School.
“We are thrilled that Rabbi Miodownik will be joining our team,” said Rabbi Zev Goldberg, chairman of Bruriah’s Torah Shel Baal Peh Department and Morah D’Asra of the Young Israel of Fort Lee, “He is a renowned and beloved mechanech whose grasp of Halacha is matched by his passion for conveying our mesorah to the next generation. Torah comes alive in his classroom and learning is an exciting, engaging activity.”
More Bruriah and JEC alumni are joining the Bruriah team, further bridging the incredible Bruriah legacy with its bright future. Talia Kronenberg (nee Yudin) of Passaic, a Bruriah alumna, who joined the Bruriah faculty last September, will expand her role in the Tanach department and serve as a grade advisor. Rena Witkin, also a Bruriah graduate, who works in Bruriah’s learning center, will expand her role and also serve as a grade advisor. Alumni who return to work at their alma mater have a profound commitment to continuing the “Bruriah Magic,” inspiring the next generation of students.
Dassie Okin, another Bruriah alumna, and Aryeh Barrish, a JEC alumnus, are each joining Bruriah’s history department.
“Bruriah educates and empowers young women to lead meaningful, productive and inspired lives dedicated to Torah, family, community and the world at large,” said Esther Eisenman, principal of Bruriah. “Building on Bruriah’s legacy of excellence, we are excited to welcome new members of the team who have a deep connection to Bruriah—past, present and future. There are some more exciting announcements that we will be making soon and we cannot wait to share them.”
These additions are part of Bruriah’s commitment to reinforcing its core values while building a more student-centered environment. Dr. Bethany Strulowitz of Passaic, will be joining the Bruriah team as the new assistant principal this summer. Next year, Yael Kaisman will serve in an expanded role as school-wide mechanechet and the guidance department is being revamped to provide more full-time support for students. This year, Bruriah ran its first ever student-teacher conferences and is introducing a unified health curriculum to cover an array of issues pertinent to young women growing up in our communities from character development, to healthy body image, self esteem, phone use, digital citizenship, relationships, self-care, substances, physical and emotional safety and more.
As Bruriah continues to build on its proud legacy, its new leadership will be engaging parents, students and communal leaders in the process. “Dr. Strulowitz and I cannot wait to get out into the communities in the coming weeks to meet with parents, students, alumnae and communal leaders to hear more about their dreams for Bruriah’s future and to share further details of what’s to come,” said Eisenman. “These partnerships and relationships are so important and working together, Bruriah’s future is bright.”
