(Courtesy of The Moriah School) Almost 700 guests gathered at the Hilton Meadowlands hotel on motzei Shabbat, March 2, to celebrate The Moriah School’s 54th annual dinner. Moriah administrators and teachers, current and former Moriah families, the Moriah eighth grade class, grandparents and friends all came to pay tribute to this year’s honorees Orit and Seth Gribetz (Guests of Honor), Livia and Elias Marcovici (Young Leadership Award), and Rachael Schwartz and Morah Janet Stavsky (Rabbi J. Shelley Applbaum, z”l Service Award).
“It would be impossible to celebrate Moriah without every one of you,” said Rabbi Alter, head of school, as he addressed the crowded room. “Moriah is the house that you built, that we built, that each and every one of us can say I built. Tonight [we celebrate] individuals—two of our teachers, and two of our lay leader families—who personify this message of active involvement on a daily basis.”
“Moriah is so fortunate to have so many excellent, experienced, and loving teachers,” said Aaron Yunis, board of trustees president. “I am so excited to present this award to [two of] these deeply accomplished teachers. In a very important sense, they represent the best of what we try to do at Moriah: a love for Jewish learning, and a deep appreciation of secular learning and its connection to Jewish history.”
Janet Stavsky, also known as Morah Yehudit, has taught at Moriah for over 25 years. She joined the limudei kodesh support staff as a learning center teacher and for the past 15 years has taught Judaic studies in kitah alef and bet. Morah Yehudit’s proudest moments at Moriah are when she sees her students receive their very own Chumash for the first time.
During the course of her 19 year tenure at Moriah, Rachel Schwartz’s role in the school has evolved into becoming the chair of the middle school English department and overseeing several of the middle school’s most prominent programs like the Heritage Fair and the eighth grade Holocaust project, “Names, not Numbers ©.” In 2016-17, Rachel’s accomplishments were recognized beyond Moriah as she was named the Northern NJ Jewish Federation’s Grinspoon Educator of the Year for Excellence in Jewish Education.
“Since they moved to Englewood, Livia and Elias Marcovici have distinguished themselves at Moriah and beyond,” continued Yunis. “Eli has volunteered as a tour guide for new Moriah families, and Livia, who in addition to being in charge of our highly successful recruiting effort at Moriah, is first and foremost a Moriah mom. Together Livia and Elias have been event chairs for our annual golf outing for many years.” Together, the Marcovicis have held leadership positions within the community and are involved with numerous other charitable causes, as well. Elias has been a member of the fundraising committee for both the Moriah Annual Dinner and Summer Outing, and Livia has volunteered in multiple other capacities leading up to her role as director of admissions.
“In all of its 54 years, hardly any family has dedicated more time, effort and love to Moriah than the Gribetzes,” continued Yunis. Orit and Seth Gribetz have been involved in a variety of leadership roles at Moriah. Orit has served as a class liaison, Barnes & Noble event chair, “Names, Not Numbers©” mentor, chesed committee member and, most recently, as the inspiration behind Moriah’s new Educational Garden. Seth has served as the annual dinner chair, finance committee chair, capital campaign chair, construction committee chair, executive committee member and board president.. He currently serves as the co-chairman of the Board of Overseers. Perhaps Seth’s most notable accomplishments are his successful initiatives and focus on staff and faculty morale.
For more information on Moriah or the Annual Dinner, please contact Ari Lewis, events and marketing manager, at 201-567-0208 ext. 393 or [email protected]. To view the online journal and dinner photos, visit www.themoriahdinner.org.
