River Edge—The Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, in its largest fundraiser of the year, is honoring the 13 faculty members of the school who have also matriculated from its ranks. “There is no greater nachat than having our alumni return as rebbeim, morot and teachers,” said Rabbi Daniel Price, RYNJ’s head of school. The scholarship reception will be held on Sunday, May 3, at 7:30pm, at the school’s campus in River Edge.
Honorees are Naomi Danzger, Rabbi Raphy Goldstein, Chana Greenberg, Deena Katz, Gail Landerer, Daniella Lejtman, Sarah Levy, Penina Richman, Yedida Rosenbaum, Bracha Schreiber, Miriam Stanislavsky, Mira Stokar and Chana Rosman. The event will feature tributes to all the honorees, highlighting their unique contributions.
Several of the honorees spoke to the Jewish Link about the experience of being an RYNJ graduate who has returned as faculty. Penina Richman, who has been teaching at RYNJ for 15 years, also spent kindergarten through eighth grade at the school. With a ‘brief break’ for high school, Israel and college, she has spent more time at the school than any other institution. When asked what keeps her anchored so securely here, she indicated that her strong, positive impression about RYNJ when she was a student, essentially remain true today. “When I was here as a student, it was such a small, close-knit family. Even over time, as it has grown much bigger, it still remains that small, close-knit family where everyone is friends, works together and collaborates,” she said.
Honoree Daniella Lejtman said that RYNJ is a place truly beloved in her heart, which is ‘most definitely’ among the reasons she came back to work here, teaching math and science. “It is a place that fostered within me a love for Hashem, for Torah and for Israel, a place that taught me what it means to be a well-rounded, educated individual, a place that helped me grow into the person that I have become today,” she said. “Being an alumna and a teacher, I truly feel that teaching at RYNJ is a small way for me to ‘pay it forward,’ a small way for me to give back that which I myself was fortunate enough to receive,” Lejtman added.
This is Honoree Deena Katz’s seventh year working at RYNJ, where she identifies not just as an alumna and a teacher, but also as a parent. “I have taught in other schools, but I really feel that the values at RYNJ, between the middot and Torah values, are something really special, and it’s something that I want my kids to grow up with. I grew up with that; my parents chose that for me, and I want that for my children. As a teacher, I feel lucky that I am also able to give that over to my students,” Katz said.
The scholarship reception, which is chaired by Yehuda and Shira Isenberg, Jonathan and Mindy Neiss, Menachem and Rachel Schechter, and Barry and Joy Sklar, is the anchor for RYNJ’s largest fundraiser of the year. “RYNJ Scholarships are funded entirely from the success of this campaign and other fundraising initiatives,” said Schechter.
To contribute to the scholarship fund, or for more information, please email [email protected].
By Elizabeth Kratz
