Ben Porat Yosef in Paramus will hold its 13th annual dinner on Tuesday, March 10, at 7 p.m. at Closter’s Temple Emanu-El.
The dinner will honor several families who have contributed to the school’s growth: Jennifer and Shmuel Bieler, Tzivia Bieler, and Joan and Warren Enker; Erica and Arnaud Bensoussan; Kara and Oren Epstein; and Samantha Katz and Lawrence Koutcher. Teacher recognition awards will be presented to Morah Yocheved Rappaport and Morah Robin Yucht.
Erica and Arnaud Bensoussan have three children attending BPY: Abe (third grade), Sammy (second), and Lily (pre-K), with a fourth, Joseph, to join Nursery next year. Erica Bensoussan has worked for Corporate Insight, a boutique research and consulting firm, since 2001. Arnaud, who grew up in Paris, was an active member of the Association des Juifs des Grandes Ecoles, a French-Jewish student association, and had the opportunity to be a French representative at the World Union of Jewish Students congress in Jerusalem. He has lived in the United States since 1996, and is employed by Prudential as a vice president of product and market development for the Longevity Risk Transfer business, part of Prudential Retirement’s Pension Risk Transfer group. The Bensoussans live in Englewood, where they are members of Congregation Ahavath Torah’s Benaroya Sephardic Center.
Jennifer and Shmuel Bieler, who joined BPY five years ago, are the parents of Danit (third grade), Adi (first), and Chaya Bieler. A former day trader, Shmuel Bieler returned to school to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and has worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Jennifer is a member of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Pediatric Day Hospital’s nursing staff. She also spends a week each summer as part of the medical staff at Chai Lifeline’s Camp Simcha. Jennifer has volunteered in her daughters’ early childhood classrooms, during BPY’s Discovery Learning Days, and at various PTO events. She also cochaired BPY’s annual “Reading Rocks” book fair at Barnes and Noble for two years. The Bielers are active members of Congregation Shaare Tefillah, Teaneck.
Joan and Dr. Warren Enker of Teaneck, parents of Jennifer Bieler, have 10 grandchildren. Joan Enker is involved in BPY’s Grandparents Association and volunteers in the school’s fourth-grade writing program. In 1995, Warren became the Vice Chairman of Surgery and the Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center, where he developed and directed a leading cancer program for Continuum Medical Center, encompassing Beth Israel Medical Center, Roosevelt Hospital, and St. Luke’s Medical Centers in New York. The Enkers are members of Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck.
Tzivia Bieler, the mother of Shmuel Bieler, moved to Teaneck with her late husband Bruno in 1974. Tzivia devoted much time to the Parents Association of Yavneh Academy, including serving as president. In 1991, she began working at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, where she is now Director of the Executive Office.
The Bielers and Enkers are being recognized for their multi-generational commitment to BPY.
Kara and Oren Epstein of Englewood are the parents of two BPY children, Max (third grade) and Zoey (first), and two future students, Hank (age three) and Leo (one). Kara has worked part-time as a legal assistant for Jennifer W. Fowler, P.C., and has volunteered at Camp Dream Street at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades. Oren, who obtained his JD from Harvard Law School, is Counsel in the Intellectual Property and Technology group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP. The Epsteins are members of Kehilat Kesher of Englewood/Tenafly.
Samantha Katz and Dr. Lawrence Koutcher are the parents of Jacqueline (third grade), Odelia (Pre-K), Charlotte (toddlers), and Elizabeth. They joined the BPY family five years ago. Samantha has been an active member of BPY’s parent body, currently serving on the PTO and Chesed committees, and cochaired the PTO for two years. Lawrence completed medical school at Cornell University and his residency at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and works in private practice as a radiation oncologist. The couple are members of Congregation Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck.
Yocheved Rappaport has been an early childhood teacher at BPY since 2001, its founding year, in Leonia. She graduated from Stern College and has lived in Fair Lawn for the past 26 years. Active at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Fair Lawn, she has been chairperson of its Chesed committee since 1999.
