This past Sunday, over 200 people gathered together for the TABC Annual Scholarship Breakfast. The honorees this year were Miriam and Ezra Lightman of Bergenfield, and the Community Service Award was presented to Michele and Ben Cooper of Teaneck. Additionally, there was a special tribute to the achievements of TABC’s academic teams.
Chaim Book, TABC co-president, opened up the program thanking everyone for attending and contributing to the Bruce Ritholtz, z”l, Scholarship Fund. Bruce, z”l, and his wife, Michelle’s, impact and legacy were brought up several times throughout the morning, and all donations raised throughout the year for scholarships are directed toward the fund bearing his name.
Rabbi Asher Yablok, head of school, reflected on the success of this year and invoked the parsha and the importance of moving forward at TABC, as Moshe emphasized to Yitro on moving forward to Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Yablok tied that in to the Lightmans and their impact at TABC and presented them with a decorative wall hanging thanking them for their contributions to the school and the larger community. Miriam Lightman spoke beautifully and movingly on behalf of the couple, relating the impact TABC has had on their son, Meir, his fellow students and their family.
Rabbi Yosef Adler, Rosh Yeshiva, continued the program with a d’var Torah relating it first to Bruce, z”l, and Michelle Ritholtz and the quiet and unassuming way they contribute to the community, and continuing that thought to Michele and Ben Cooper, who also have great impact in a very modest way. He presented them with a tzedakah box as a small token of the school’s appreciation. The Coopers also spoke about TABC and its impact on their son Avi, as well as their family as a whole, and reflected on their involvement over the last four years.
The program concluded with Mr. Arthur Poleyeff introducing a panel of students who talked about just a sampling of the school’s stellar academic teams and the impact the team participation has had on them personally, on their skills and on the school community. TABC had tremendous success with its academic competitions this year. The Science Olympiad team competed against over one dozen yeshiva high schools and impressively came in first place overall. Both the JV and Varsity College Bowl teams won the championships this year with a stellar season and decisive wins. For the fourth year in a row, the Model Beit Din team finished in first place at the competition hosted by Landers College. The Torah Bowl team came in first in the NJ region. The JV History Bowl team won the NYC Regional History Bowl and took home the Lorenz Cup while competing in Washington, DC. After six math competitions throughout the school year, the Math League finished as the top-ranked yeshiva team in New Jersey and ranked as the number four school out of 34 schools in Bergen County. Model UN, Mock Trial, Model Congress and Envision Shakespeare all performed well and had individual successes. The intellectual challenge, sharpening of skills and teamwork that are fundamental to the success of these teams are also crucial components of the TABC mission to develop critical thinkers and the next generation of B’nai Torah and leaders of klal Yisrael. TABC was proud to pay tribute to each academic team participant who has worked so hard and has attained much success this year.
TABC prides itself on making its education accessible to all families regardless of financial circumstances. The 2016-2017 Scholarship Fund was able to assist 120 students with over $1.4 million of financial aid. TABC thanks and appreciates the community’s participation in this very important campaign. Special thanks go to Yechiel Rotblat, campaign chair; Bonnie Silfen, program chair; and Sharon Rifkind, TABC’s director of development, whose hard work and commitment were key to the event’s success.
