Do you know what the Torah is referring to when it says, “You must not partake of it, in order that it may go well with you and with your descendants to come, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord”? Ramaz eighth grader Avi Flatto-Katz knows! And as this year’s national middle school Chidon HaTanach winner, he knows much more than the answer is “blood.”
After competing among 500 contestants from over 80 schools across the country, Avi will be among four American contestants in Israel next year, representing the United States in next year’s international bible competition. He also won last year when he was a seventh grader.
Wise and well versed. “Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power…” is one of Avi’s favorite pesukim that he learned and internalized for this year’s Dr. Shimshon Isseroff USA Chidon HaTanach.
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, principal emeritus of The Ramaz School, proudly shared, “Avi’s feat would be enormous if he did it once. Winning the Chidon for elementary school twice is beyond description. In the history of Ramaz nobody has done this. In addition to his accomplishments in the Chidon, Avi is the personification of “Torah im derech eretz.” He is a young Torah scholar and a true mensch. It doesn’t get any better than that!”
Avi started preparing for this year’s competition last summer learning Devarim, Shmuel II, Megillat Rut, Iyov and Daniel, most of which are not taught to junior high students. He focused on names, dates and what he beautifully refers to as poetic passages. He participated in the Ivrit b’Ivrit competition which has enhanced his Hebrew literacy and attention to nuances in biblical language. Inspired by his mother Dr. Sharon Flatto (Ramaz ‘86) and his uncle Dr. David Flatto (Ramaz ‘89) who were both finalists in the National Bible contest, his father Rabbi Ysoscher Katz, and grandmother who loved to make connections between Tanach and modern Hebrew literature, Avi is propelled to try to learn as much as he can. He is grateful that he is surrounded by discussions of limudei kodesh and modestly says, “my knowledge is not as great as theirs, but now I can understand a little more of what they are talking about.”
In addition to his Tanach success, Avi is the president of his class and is most interested in computers and math. He will be advancing to the Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein Upper School of Ramaz where he will continue to be guided and inspired to explore the world and grow academically, personally, religiously and spiritually.
Avi won last year’s national competition too but was too young to compete internationally. While he was initially disappointed, he now realizes that his previous studies make him more ready for the next stage when he will need to learn most of Tanach. He is looking forward to representing Ramaz and the United States at the celebration of Tanach and to participate in what the Jewish Agency (the competition’s sponsor) calls Bible Camp. Participants in the international competition spend two weeks in Israel and enjoy a biblical tour and the chance to meet with the prime minister of Israel and other celebrities.
