Husband-and-wife team Avi and Aviva Vogel of Teaneck will be honored by SINAI Schools at its upcoming annual dinner on February 23, 2025, recognizing them together as Avi steps down as president after 10 years. The Vogels, both sincerely dedicated to community and service, have shepherded SINAI through a decade of immense growth—including the opening of two new yeshiva day schools for children with learning and developmental disabilities, at SAR in the Bronx and YCQ in Queens—and helped the organization not just survive but thrive through the COVID pandemic and an all-encompassing war in Israel.
“Avi and Aviva have given selflessly of their time and talents to SINAI in so many quiet and unassuming ways. Everyone associated with SINAI—the leadership, the staff, the families, and most importantly, the children—have benefited from their wisdom and generous spirit in countless areas,” said Rabbi Mark Karasick, SINAI’s chairman.
“SINAI is so much better for having had both Avi and Aviva Vogel as leaders for many years,” said Sam Fishman, SINAI’s managing director. “As president, Avi brought out the best in SINAI’s professional leadership. He gave us both the leeway and the guidance to help SINAI
thrive. Aviva is a dedicated and passionate volunteer for SINAI, having played a leading role in a number of important fundraising events. She has also been a strong advocate for SINAI and our mission—and especially for students she introduced to our schools because she believed they would benefit from enrolling in SINAI.”
What the Vogels said they love the most about their SINAI experience is the interaction with students, seeing their ability to thrive and integrate with the larger Jewish community. Their impact is illustrated by an annual post-Shavuot event when the Vogels bring a Dippin’ Dots ice cream cart to their home, inviting SINAI students and staff to all come and enjoy. Avi recalled a moment that encapsulated his love of involvement with SINAI.
“About two years ago. I was walking on the street and happened to pass by a SINAI student who I recognized, and I said, ‘Hey, we still have the Dippin’ Dots cart; please feel free to come by and bring friends.’ A few hours later, he came back and brought 10 or 15 friends from RYNJ. It was so amazing because one of the biggest goals is to integrate our students into the broader community, and to see that integration and inclusion in front of us was really special,” Avi told The Jewish Link.
Avi’s first introduction to SINAI was during childhood, through his friendship with Zev Karasick, a son of Rabbi Mark and Linda Karasick, who were among the early lay leaders at SINAI who are still involved today. Also, previous president Moshe Weinberger and Avi were childhood classmates and friends at Moriah since first grade. When Weinberger was honored as president in 2008, the Vogels attended the dinner for the first time. In their words: “We were blown away.”
It was while Weinberger was serving as president that Avi joined his friend, got involved and joined SINAI’s general board. Several years later he was asked to serve as president.
Aviva got involved with SINAI soon after that 2008 dinner as well, working on various projects including a massive joint SINAI and RYNJ Chinese auction, which raised considerable funds for the school and was a huge project with many moving parts. “Aviva has contributed amazingly as both a professional and lay leader,” said Arielle Greenbaum Saposh, SINAI’s associate managing director. “She has done so many things professionally for SINAI but also organized big fundraisers as a volunteer. She’s not afraid to get hands dirty, and is a doer.”
“Basically my sister Gila [Jaffe, also of Teaneck] and I abandoned our kids for a few weeks with about a dozen other volunteers,” Aviva said. “We assembled a lot of things for the auction, like a huge
barbeque, and coordinated volunteers of high school students. Avi was emcee for the evening. He was really funny, completely unscripted.
“It was a feel-good event and we got a taste of what an impact one event can have. It was successful and raised a lot of funds and awareness. These events were early seeds in raising awareness and the scope of who SINAI can help, and that there’s a place in our community for children with varying needs to get the help they need.”
Weinberger, who also remembers Avi fondly since being classmates together in elementary school, spoke about his attributes and what he sees as his friend’s greatest skill. “Avi is an amazing listener. It’s so important in a role like the president of SINAI,” he said. “He is quiet and listens intently, and takes time to fully digest what he is hearing. He puts aside any preconceived notions and just listens. So then when Avi is ready to talk, people listen.”
Aviva’s Professional Contributions
Aviva’s experience as an early childhood assistant director and subsequently director at RYNJ helped her see the children whom SINAI would be able to help, and she was also able to provide insights during the opening of subsequent schools, encouraging them to start welcoming students at the kindergarten level rather than first grade.
“I started working at RYNJ in 2012, and was part of assessments and observations,” said Aviva. “Throughout the years I’d find a student who would need more support than a mainstream class could offer. And at the time the place they would best belong would be public school. It was so obvious to me that it’s the youngest students who do best with early intervention. To have a student struggle for a bunch of years until they’re eligible or be in crisis and then have to work backwards? It seems like the earlier we start the better.”
A side benefit of working at RYNJ was seeing the impact of lives changed just from helping to welcome children from the carpool line, seeing children thrive in the school-within-a-school model. “I got to really create relationships and watch these children blossom year after year. It was an amazing front row seat to see their development. Some of these students are in high school and beyond and are still in touch.”
It was also while Aviva was at RYNJ that SINAI began to see benefits from its students sharing their insights, charm and special talents with fellow students. “Annie Safier was a SINAI student who is blind and came to [early childhood] class when we were talking about the five senses. She brought her braille typewriter and made name tags in braille for all the students. It was wonderful and really a great lesson and experience,” said Aviva.
Opening Two SINAI Schools in New York
One of Avi’s true accomplishments was setting aside preconceived blocks or failures when considering opening SINAI schools in New York. “One of the first things I noticed when beginning to work with Sam Fishman [SINAI’s managing director] was that because of the amazing and unique services that SINAI provides, many students were coming from Brooklyn, Lakewood and Far Rockaway, traversing great distances to come to school every day,” said Avi.
“It was a time when we were looking at the numbers and we knew we needed to expand and look for another school. It was a big effort of going and visiting other local schools and thinking of where the next partnership would come from.
“I decided to reach out to the New York schools, even though in the past there had been roadblocks for a New Jersey school system to open in New York. I contacted a close friend who sends his children to SAR, as I thought SINAI might be interesting for them. Working with Rabbi Bini Krauss, it could not have been an easier sell. It’s been a partnership that made a lot of sense.
“What that showed me was that attitudes change, and leadership needs to change with it,” Avi continued. “What might not be possible or might not make sense right now, five years later it might work.
“Our relationship with SAR has blossomed. And from there it grew to other exposure. Eventually the YESS School at YCQ asked us to take over the running of their school and SINAI Schools at YCQ was born.”
“If there’s an idea, Avi does not see the parts that would be impossible, but rather he sees the seeds of possibilities,” said Rabbi Yisroel Rothwachs, SINAI’s dean. “He didn’t think about why it wouldn’t work. SAR was an amazing example,” he added.
“Opening these two schools, I look at it as my greatest accomplishment at SINAI,” said Avi.
Looking to the Future
Tzvi Solomon, SINAI’s incoming president, watched Avi as part of the board and executive board the last few years, and watched how he led and what he chose to pursue. “Avi models what it means to be an outstanding leader. His commitment to SINAI’s mission is an inspiration to all of us who have had the privilege of working with him,” said Solomon.
Avi, for his part, is thrilled at the notion of his successor. “Tzvi is amazing. His passion is contagious. I have known his family for many years and got to know him over the last 10 or so years on the SINAI board. He is extremely thoughtful and clearly passionate about SINAI and wants to help every child in every which way possible.
“What’s unique about Tzvi as our new president is that he had direct exposure to SINAI as a student in a member school, at TABC. Having that exposure has led to many insights and he is the kind of person who can play an integral role and understand the impact of our work on the students in our member schools.”
Avi has also agreed to stay on the board as a past president, as have many other past SINAI presidents. “The fact that so many past presidents stay deeply involved on a day-to-day basis is really special. I don’t know that every past president stays on the board forever in other organizations. It says something about what we do and the value of our mission. I am ready to pass the torch, but it’s not a question of leaving,” said Avi.
The Upcoming Dinner
The SINAI Dinner will take place Sunday, February 23, 2025 at Marriott Glenpointe in Teaneck. Honorees are Avi and Aviva Vogel and Abigail Hepner Gross. The Community Partner Award will be given to Bear Givers—Joseph Sprung, Michele Mirman and Diane Lempert. Learn more and sign up at sinaidinner.org or https://sinaischools.org/dinner/2025/.
