(Courtesy of TABC) The 41st TABC annual dinner, set for Wednesday, Jan. 10, will have a very special theme. “Am Yisrael Chai: Honoring Our Past and Building Our Future” is more resonant today than ever. It is precisely the resilience we have fostered throughout our collective history and our investment in the next generation that will enable us to overcome this latest threat to our people as we look toward a vibrant future.
TABC is thrilled to be paying tribute to Guests of Honor Amy and Daniel Gibber. The Gibbers are paradigms of dedicated service to TABC as well as to numerous chesed organizations and worthy causes across the Jewish community. Amy and Daniel both grew up in homes where leadership and dedication to the Jewish community were paramount, and they are both proud to continue the legacies modeled for them. From the time that their boys walked into TABC, Amy and Daniel took on leadership roles across numerous programs and initiatives at the school.
Daniel Gibber has served as a longtime member of the Board of Directors and Executive Board, working diligently to enhance the growth of the yeshiva and secure critical financial support. “Daniel’s leadership and expertise in areas of the school’s growth and development have made an incredible impact on TABC that will be felt for years to come,” TABC Board President Chayim Kirschenbaum said. “We are so fortunate to have benefited from his time, wisdom and unwavering commitment.”
Amy Gibber has utilized her creativity, passion and organizational skills while chairing several TABC dinners and planning numerous TABC functions and events. She always volunteers to help, generously hosts programs in their home, and she and Daniel both care very deeply about making co-curricular activities financially accessible for TABC students. Together, the Gibbers are generous supporters and incredible ambassadors for TABC. Amy and Daniel are the proud parents of Jonathan, Charles ’20, Zachary ’22, Kayla, and Eva. “The Gibbers exemplify commitment to volunteerism and communal responsibility, and TABC is privileged to benefit from their unparalleled dedication to our yeshiva. We are so proud and fortunate to have them as part of our TABC family,” Sharon Rifkind, TABC’s director of institutional advancement, said.
TABC Faculty Recognition Awardees are Rabbi Raphi and Rabbi Yoni Mandelstam. Rabbi Mandelstam has been a rebbe at TABC for over 12 years. In addition to teaching Gemara, Chumash, and Nach, Rav Raphi has served in a variety of roles throughout his years at TABC, including director of student activities, head of the Night Seder program, and most recently, as the rosh Tanach and rosh Gemara. Rav Raphi grew up in Jamaica Estates, New York and attended MTA and Yeshivat HaKotel. A YU musmach and talmid of Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, he pushes his talmidim to establish a deep understanding of each and every sugya and connection with the text. Rav Raphi forges lifelong relationships with his talmidim and can often be found spending time with them at lunch, in the beit midrash, or in the gym. He lives in Fair Lawn with his wife, Ashley, and their two children.
Rabbi Yoni Mandelstam has been teaching at TABC for 10 years. In addition to teaching Halacha, Gemara and Chumash, Rabbi Mandelstam facilitates the weekly Friday night oneg program as well as TABC’s community shabbatonim. Hailing from Jamaica Estates, New York, Rav Yoni graduated from DRS Yeshiva High School and went on to learn at Shaalvim for two years. After graduating from Yeshiva University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Rav Yoni earned a master’s degree in education from Azrieli and semicha from YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). Rav Yoni looks up to his high school rebbe Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky as his role model in the field of chinuch, and he continues to draw inspiration from his rebbeim, Rabbi Mayer Twersky and Rabbi Shlomo Hochberg. In addition to working at TABC, Rav Yoni serves as the rabbi of the beit midrash minyan at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Fair Lawn and spends his summers in Israel with NCSY. Rav Yoni and his wife, Talya, reside in Fair Lawn with their four children.
Rabbi Shlomo Stochel, TABC head of school, said: “Rav Raphi and Rav Yoni are simply outstanding mechanchim. TABC is blessed to have them each bring a distinctive personality, background and approach to teaching and interacting with our talmidim. Their breadth and depth of learning, their instructional instincts, and their spiritual strengths elevate the Talmud Torah at TABC. The success our students experience and achieve is a tribute to their dedication to our yeshiva’s values and mission.”
Michael Levy ’12 will receive the Alumni Tribute Award. While a student at TABC, Mikey was a member of TABC’s hockey teams and coordinated the TABC Teen Learning Program for middle school students. After graduating from TABC, Mikey went on to learn at Yeshivat Torat Shraga for a year-and-a-half before attending Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business. During his time at YU, Mikey served as the president of the Stone Beis Medrash Program, managed the TABC Junior Hockey League, and taught and mentored in TABC’s Friday morning Kollel Program. Most recently, Mikey founded the popular TABC Alumni Summer League for basketball and hockey, which provides a wonderful, informal outlet for alumni to return to TABC for some exercise and fun. He and fellow alumni have also started a Shabbat morning minyan in TABC’s beit midrash. TABC Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Joshua Kahn said: “Mikey is one of those people who bring out the good in everyone. He was always ready to lend a hand as a student, and now continues his efforts as an active alumnus. He feels so strongly about keeping alumni connected, and his support and continued involvement are incredibly valuable and appreciated.” After graduating with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Yeshiva University, Mikey worked as an auditor at KPMG. He currently works as a senior associate of lender finance at Cross River Bank. Mikey and his wife, Ahuva, live in Teaneck.
TABC invites the community to join them on January 10 and contribute to the Bruce Ritholtz z”l Scholarship Fund in honor of this year’s honorees, and in honor of its students and alumni, the future of the Jewish people. Current circumstances in Israel and around the world only serve to highlight the urgency of TABC’s mission to educate and inspire the next generation of Jewish leaders.
To register/donate, please visit tabc.org/dinner2024 or contact [email protected].
