The Max and Ruth Schwartz Sderot Hesder Institutions Annual Dinner will be held on Tuesday evening, May 9, at Terrace on the Park, located in Flushing, New York, with the buffet dinner reception beginning at 6 p.m., followed by the program at 7:30 p.m.
Max and Ruth Schwartz of Great Neck, New York, have enabled the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva to grow into the jewel that it is through their generous endowment in memory of their parents. In addition, each of this year’s dinner honorees has enabled the flourishing and addition of new programs and projects.
This year’s Keter Shem Tov honoree is Dr. Abraham Peller, chief of endoscopic anesthesia and attending physician at Winthrop University Hospital, as well as a partner in Nassau Anesthesia Associates. Residents of West Hempstead, Abe and Sara Peller and their four children display a tremendous love and dedication to Israel. Their son Tyler served as a lone soldier in the IDF, soon to be followed by their second son, Miles. Their daughter Hallie spent her gap year studying at Midreshet Harova and is an inspiration to her younger sister, Olivia, a freshman at YU High School for Girls.
The Community Service and Chesed Award will be endowed on Harold Kaplan, Esq., a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP. Over the past three decades, Kaplan has been a leader in the Chicago legal community as well as Jewish philanthropic community. He has served as co-chair of JNF’s National Lawyers for Israel and was instrumental in providing one of the lead gifts toward the building of the JNF indoor playground in Sderot.
The Young Leadership Award will be bestowed upon Dr. Jonathan and Jessica Landa of Bergenfield. Jessica, a Teaneck native, attended The Frisch School followed by a gap year at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Yerushalayim. She currently works as an occupational therapist in the Bergenfield school system, in addition to serving as the co-president of Congregation Beth Abraham’s sisterhood and a board member of the PTA of RYNJ. Jonathan is an attending radiologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. He currently serves as first vice president of Congregation Beth Abraham. Dr. Landa became acquainted with the Sderot community when his father brought the family to Sderot in 1981, where he practiced dentistry as a volunteer. The Landas are the proud parents of four children, Daniel, Ephraim, Ezra and Atara.
The Parent of the Year designation goes to Mr. Yaakov Shama, a practicing CPA residing in Brooklyn, and proud father of Erin, Irving and Ronny. His son Irving, having spent his first gap year studying at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh, has decided to continue his studies at the Hesder Yeshiva in Sderot and eventually join the IDF.
The Rabbinic Leadership award will be presented to Rabbi David Eliach, world-renowned Jewish educator and innovator who served as dean and principal of the Flatbush Yeshiva, and to his son Rabbi Yotav Eliach, principal of the Rambam Mesivta in Lawrence, Long Island, New York. The award is to be bestowed in memory of their beloved wife and mother, Dr. Yaffa Sonenson Eliach, z”l, a pioneering educator in Holocaust studies throughout the United States. Millions annually view with awe her Tower of Life at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., illustrating Jewish life in her hometown of Eishyshok prior to the Holocaust. Her 880-page chronicle “There Once Was a World” and her Forest of Life in Rishon L’Tzion are perpetual monuments to her scholarship and sensitivity.
An additional tribute will be paid to the 16 American yeshiva day schools that participated in the “Swish for Sderot” basketball tournament in November. Funds from the tournament went toward enhancing life for the youngsters of Sderot.
Established in 1995, the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva has grown into one of the largest hesder yeshivot in Israel. Located on two campuses, one in Sderot and a second in Kiryat Gat, the yeshiva now boasts a student body of more than 700 young men and a staff of more than 40 full-time faculty. As the yeshiva grows, the surrounding community flourishes with the influx of young yeshiva graduates and continuing students who opt for the picturesque surroundings and affordability of housing for their families. This creates a spirit of camaraderie among the residents of Sderot that positively impacts every segment of the community.
This growth did not occur seamlessly or without years fraught with fear and, too often, devastation from incoming SCUD missiles from nearby hostile Arab villages. Through an esprit de corps and a huge dose of emunah, the communities of Sderot persevered and are now working to make Sderot a popular venue for yeshiva couples as well as diverse populations from throughout Israel.
Rosh HaYeshiva Rabbi Dovid Fendel exudes tremendous pride in the history of the yeshiva, which he has navigated since its inception. “From a tiny ‘hick town’ we have become a thriving capital of Torah and Zionism in the south of Israel,” he said. “Our undaunted spirit has been re-kindled and we are preparing future leaders of Israel in our institutions.”
Rabbi Fendel discussed several new projects being undertaken to benefit the yeshiva. “Our two branches have been upgraded with new dormitories and dining halls. Our yeshiva is contributing significantly to the real estate boom in the area by buying and developing land for new housing and simultaneously providing financial backing for the yeshivot. Most significantly, we are enabling our young yeshiva graduates to remain in Sderot by offering them a program of Torah and academics by partnering with the College of Sammy Shimon, which offers courses in several fields including education and engineering.”
He continued, “We are particularly proud of our newly created and innovative program for young women. Israeli teenagers graduating from high school are often without clear direction, especially young women. We have created a midrasha preparatory program for girls, prior to their year of Sherut Leumi, which will strengthen our young women in their learning, religious observance and leadership skills so that their Sherut years will be productive and successful and will lead them onto a positive life track.”
“Our annual dinner enables us to provide the resources for all of our new projects,” he said. “I call upon our supportive U.S. communities to join us at our upcoming dinner. For just as Esther responded to Achashverosh when she was asked what she desired, ‘Just come to my dinner,’ that is what I am asking from you. I also invite you to visit our community on your next trip to Israel. Visit our stunning JNF Moskowitz City Sderot Park and Tourist Center, visit our museums and town greens and, of course, visit our yeshiva campuses to see and hear the continual uplifting rhythm of Torah.”
Dinner attendees will be treated to presentations by the Honorable Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s justice minister, and the Honorable Alon Davidi, mayor of Sderot. In addition, the Honorable Ambassador Dani Dayan will pay tribute to Sderot with his presence at the dinner.
Couvert is $300 per person. Please RSVP to www.sderot.org/dinner or 718-650-6091.
By Pearl Markovitz
