(Courtesy of RYNJ) The Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey is very much looking forward to its upcoming 84th annual dinner to be held on Monday, January 17, at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck. The Yeshiva is thrilled to be honoring Nomi and Yechiel Rotblat as its guests of honor and Rabbi Chaim Block as its educator of the year, all of whom have been pillars of the RYNJ family over the past two decades.
The Rotblats joined the RYNJ family 21 years ago and are the proud parents of Tzvi (’11), Ezra (’14) and Malka, Benzion (’17), Sariel (’19) and Tova (’22). Throughout this period, Nomi and Yechiel have served the yeshiva in multiple lay leadership capacities. Their sincere and passionate dedication to Torah, gemilas chasadim and the yeshiva community is unparalleled, as they have dedicated their time, counsel and wisdom to the yeshiva’s board and administration. Nomi has served as a member of the board of directors and is now a highly valued member of the executive board. Over the years, she has served on PTA, administrative search and student life committees. Yechiel has always been, and continues to be, a strong supporter and advocate for the yeshiva.
Beyond their involvement in RYNJ, Nomi and Yechiel spend much of their time serving the broader Jewish community. Nomi, an attorney in private practice, is president of the Teaneck Mikvah Association and serves as a director-at-large of the Orthodox Union and as co-chairwoman of the OU Women’s Initiative Commission. Yechiel, a partner in the Capital Markets group at Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft LLP, is the founder and chairperson of the Teaneck Simcha Gemach and a weekly Daf Yomi maggid shiur at Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck. Yechiel is on the board of directors of Torah Academy of Bergen County as well as on the advisory board of the Bergen County YUConnects initiative.
“The Rotblats are a family that values Torah and tefillah while also treasuring the tzibur. It has been a bracha for RYNJ to have such a family in our yeshiva,” said Rabbi Yehuda Rosenbaum, RYNJ chairman of the board.
With Tova’s upcoming graduation, the Rotblat family will join the ranks of RYNJ’s graduated families. “Nomi and Yechiel are pillars of the RYNJ family and Jewish community at large. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to express our sincere hakaras hatov to them for their dedication, wisdom, hard work and the indelible mark they have left on our yeshiva,” said RYNJ President Yaacov Apfelbaum.
For the last 17 years, Rabbi Chaim Block has been teaching, enlightening and inspiring his fifth-grade talmidim at RYNJ. Rabbi Block treats his classroom as a home for himself and his talmidim and often refers to it that way. The warm and close-knit atmosphere that Rabbi Block creates enables him to develop an everlasting relationship with each talmid that enters his “home.” Through his successful keriah, mishnayos and milim challenges, Rabbi Block encourages his talmidim to strive for greatness in their own unique way, always with a great prize at the end to celebrate their accomplishment. It is no wonder that many former talmidim are frequent visitors to Rabbi Block in his classroom.
Rabbi Block uses his musical and athletic talent to connect with his talmidim outside of the classroom. A basketball legend, Rabbi Block plays ball with the boys, and serves as a role model not only on good sportsmanship, but even more importantly on how to be a ben Torah in all situations. Rabbi Block uses his musical talents and magnificent voice to help connect his talmidim to Torah and tefillah. The moving and inspiring tefillah in his classroom has motivated many talmidim to become baalei tefillah. Rabbi Block also created the RYNJ Boys Choir, attracting 40 participants in its first year. Over the years the choir has gone on to produce CD’s, perform at the yeshiva’s annual dinners and spread simcha to residents at assisted living facilities in the community.
“Rabbi Block is a beloved rebbe who’s warmth and chochma fills our halls with much Torah, music and simcha,” said Head of School Rabbi Daniel Price. “His ability to connect and tap into the unique strengths of each of his talmidim serves as a model for what we seek to accomplish across the entire yeshiva. We are so happy to bestow this year’s Educator of the Year award on Rabbi Block.”
Rabbi Block and his wife, Toby, live in Monsey, New York, and have five children, including Dovid, a current talmid in the eighth grade. “Our yeshiva family is indebted to Rabbi Block for the everlasting impact that he has had on our talmidim and the greater Yeshiva community,” said Apfelbaum. “We feel most fortunate to have Rabbi Block as a rebbe in our yeshiva and look forward to celebrating this well-deserved honor at the upcoming dinner.”
Please join RYNJ on Monday, January 17, at 6:30 p.m., at Congregation Keter Torah as the yeshiva expresses its hakarat hatov to these dedicated honorees. To make a reservation and/or donation, please visit www.RYNJ.org/dinner.
