To anyone who grew up in Fair Lawn, the names Liesel and Norbert Schloss, z”l, will be quite familiar. This unassuming couple were stalwarts of the Fair Lawn community and contributed so much to its growth. They moved there in 1973 from Paterson and immediately got involved with Congregation Shomrei Torah.
“They always worked for shuls and schools,” shared their daughter, Marsha Friedman. “That was their thing. First Yavneh, the shul in Paterson, and then Yavneh, the school. In fact, my father was a gabbai at the shul. My mom volunteered in Yavneh as well and when they moved, she got active in Shomrei Torah.” Liesel Schloss managed the kitchen, preparing kiddushim and shalosh seudot and was an active member of the bikur cholim committee, served on the sisterhood board and was part of the Chevra Kadisha. Norbert Schloss was a member of the board of directors and treasurer of the charity fund at Shomrei Torah. He was also an active member of the ritual committee and handled all details for the cemetery committee. This was in addition to working 12 hours a day, six days a week, managing a picture frame company.
Both Norbert and Liesel were Holocaust survivors. Norbert Schloss passed away in 2013 and Liesel Schloss passed away in 2020. Last week, on the first yahrtzeit of her mother, Marsha; her husband, Tom; and their extended family dedicated a sefer Torah to The AMIT Sderot Religious High School.
“My parents were all about shul and Torah,” Marsha told The Jewish Link. “Dedicating a Torah in their honor was an obvious way to honor their memories. My dad couldn’t wait to retire so he could go to shul three times a day, every day, and learn with his rabbi, Rabbi Yudin. I felt, therefore, that the Torah should go somewhere where their Torah would be used every single week, and we were fortunate to find a wonderful yeshiva high school in Sderot, which had just lost its sefer Torah.”
The Friedman’s oldest son, Mordechai, and his wife, Limor, live in Israel, and Limor works for AMIT. Marsha asked if they knew of any communities that could use a Torah and Limor said that The AMIT Sderot Religious High School was in fact in need of a Torah. The school had been using a loaned Torah but the family wanted it back. The timing was perfect. And to make it even more appropriate, Liesel Schloss was a long-time member of AMIT.
The school children of Sderot, like all of the city’s residents, struggle with ongoing security challenges. Located less than a mile from the Gaza border, this city has been hit by thousands of rockets over the past years. And yet, they are amazing in their abilities to keep going, live happy and resilient lives, and continue with their studies.
AMIT runs the entire education system in Sderot, aiming to bring excellence, innovation, personalized learning and values-based education to all of the city’s youth. The AMIT Sderot Religious High School comprises four tracks and includes 735 students. Thanks to small-group learning, individualized tutoring and a truly personalized educational approach, the school’s rates of students successfully earning a full bagrut certificate have been rising steadily and are well above the national average.
Limor shared, “Our family’s sefer Torah is being dedicated to the school’s yeshiva track, a program that puts a more rigorous emphasis on Judaic studies and Torah learning. We feel that Sderot is an appropriate home for our Torah, specifically because of the story of the town. Our grandparents, Holocaust survivors, epitomized resilience, a strong desire to live and prosper and a steadfast commitment to Judaism. How fitting that a Torah in their memory be dedicated to a school in Sderot, where our youth embody these very values. We believe that they would be so proud to see the students of AMIT Sderot building strong futures for themselves in the sovereign state of Israel, despite the many challenges they face, and this is a wonderful and meaningful way to commemorate such special and beloved people.”
Following the hachnasat sefer Torah, Marsha observed, “The excitement to have a brand new sefer Torah was unbelievable. It’s evident this is a school of caring and love for student and teacher and is an ideal place to house and use the Torah in memory of my parents. My parents were a perfect shidduch and together lived a life of Torah, maasim tovim, mitzvot and love of learning, and this is the perfect shidduch for their Torah. My mom would have loved the party and seeing the children, and my dad would be glowing to see that out of the Holocaust, the future of the Jewish people is in good hands in Sderot for sure!”
By Sara Kosowsky Gross
