TABC’s Book Day is an annual opportunity for interdisciplinary learning, as the entire school joins together to discuss the same novel. This year the school read “Outliers, The Story of Success,” by Malcolm Gladwell, an enjoyable and thought-provoking work. The day began with an address by Mr. Yoni Ellman, TABC’s wrestling coach and partner at Group 8A, a boutique digital marketing agency in NYC, which set the tone for the day with his objective and then personal discussion of success. This was followed by the keynote speaker, Mr. Cory Richman, an entertainment agent for Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame and countless other celebrities, who engaged the students with a powerful discussion about being an Orthodox Jew in the entertainment world and the importance of maintaining one’s principles.
The day continued with workshops in the morning and afternoon, given by both TABC’s faculty and outside presenters. In a display of the model of Torah U’Madda, the sessions covered a large gamut of topics in the realm of Torah and otherwise, including “Calculating 10,000 with Malcolm and the Meiri,” “Why Planes Crash” by pilot Captain Bruce Meyer and “From Geometry to Cam Jansen” by author David Adler. It was particularly gratifying that so many highly successful TABC alumni presented as well. Rabbi Ben Skydell ‘95 addressed success in the rabbinate and Jewish education; Yonatan Pomrenze ‘96 described his journey as a producer and reporter for CNN; Yitz Rosenberg ‘99 described his path to success in finance; Dov Rosenblatt ‘99 and Ami Kozak ‘04 described (via Skype from Los Angeles) their path as musicians; and Chaim Kagedan ‘00 told of his success in law. Further, Aaron Safier ‘01 described his ventures in finance, Gabe Gilbert ‘03 and MB Klyman ‘03 described their success in marketing healthy eating and exercise, Chaim Strauss ‘07 explained his path to success in bioengineering and Tzvi Solomon ‘09 explained how students should begin in high school to forge their path to success.
TABC is proud that so many of its alumni can serve as role models for its current students. In the afternoon, the students had the treat of an additional option of participating in a student-led workshop given by the twelfth grade speech class. The day concluded with a talk by Mr. Lior Hod, famous YU basketball player and founder and president of ELLKAY, one of the world’s premier healthcare information technology companies, who closed the day with his amazing personal story. Book Day helps bring the school together as a community of learners and serves as a paradigm for the rest of the year.
