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NJOP's 35th Annual Dinner

SUNDAY, April 30th, 6PM EDT

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Honor Roll

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Dinner Theme

"The Joy of Judaism"

Over the past 35 years, NJOP has touched the lives of many hundreds of thousands of Jews in North America and many tens of thousands more in a total of 44 countries around the globe introducing them to the “Joys of Judaism” through positive, joyous Jewish experiences and exciting educational programs. As a result of NJOP’s efforts many tens of thousands of our Jewish brothers and sisters have been inspired to become more actively engaged in Jewish life, establishing a more meaningful connection to their glorious, rich and joyous Jewish heritage.

NJOP Celebrates 35 Years of Achievements

Karine & Michael BlochX

Michael Bloch has had an enormously successful business career and, with his wife, Karine, have created an extremely significant spiritual/religious family life. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Michael was educated in the finest schools of Europe and the United States. In 1996-1997, while studying in the United States, Michael joined the Beginners Service at Lincoln Square Synagogue, and has remained in contact with Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald since then. Professionally, Michael worked with the prominent consulting firm, McKinsey for 23 years. For 17 of those years, he served as a Partner or Senior Partner, based in succession out of Switzerland, France and Israel. During his tenure at McKinsey, he advised the senior leadership of global enterprises on technology, innovation, business operation and strategy. After the Bloch family made Aliyah in 2010, Michael continued to work as a Senior Partner at McKinsey. In early 2021, Michael left McKinsey to focus full-time on the social sector, and founded Israel Impact Partners to help philanthropists and foundations address the social issues and to accelerate the growth of the non-profit organizations they support.

Karine was born in France, where she lived until her marriage to Michael, who by then had returned to Europe. With a master’s degree in financial mathematics, she worked in private banking for 10 years. After the family made Aliyah, Karine worked for many years on projects that helped children integrate into Israeli society. She recently founded OhLala’s Kitchen, cooking and pastry masterclass workshops, in order to share her passion for gastronomy. OhLaLa recently celebrated its first birthday and is in full expansion.

As expected from extremely organized professionals and consultants, Karine and Michael have placed Judaism at the head of their family agenda. Both Karine and Michael use every spare moment to study Torah, and have built a home that is punctuated by Torah. They are the proud parents of three children, Eitan, Yoel and Tali.

Ronny HershX

Ronny was born in Netanya, Israel in 1952. His parents were both Holocaust survivors. They moved to Brooklyn when Ronny was 4 years old.

He attended Crown Heights and Yeshiva Rambam elementary schools and went on to graduate from Yeshivah of Flatbush High School.

He began his career working for friends in the handbag business and eventually started his own company, Rosetti, in 1994. He and his Taiwanese partner eventually sold the company in 2006.

Ronny married Toby Zytelny in 1977, raised their five children (all of whom are married) in Brooklyn. Ronny and Toby eventually moved to the Five Towns, where most of their children and 14 grandchildren live.

Ronny contributes to a wide range of causes but is most passionate about those relating to Jewish identity and Jewish education.

Ronny was one of the founders of RAJE – Russian American Jewish Experience, and an early and ongoing supporter and advisor of the Mazel Yeshiva for Russian Immigrants. He is a major supporter and active member of several intellectual think tanks and educational powerhouses including Tikvah and Shalem College and is involved in his adopted and beloved Syrian community.

Ronny is currently working on opening a Sephardic student center at Yeshiva University and is active in launching a Sephardic Rabbinical College at YU.

Debbie Schiller RosalimskyX

Debbie grew up in Hartsdale, NY with a limited Jewish background, but considered herself a proud Jew. That said, she had a non-Jewish boyfriend throughout high school and college and during summers in college, she sold Bibles door to door in the South!

Debbie’s life changed dramatically in 1988, when she “happened upon” a New York Magazine article called “The New Orthodox” that discussed NJOP and the Beginners Service. She decided to check it out…and the rest, as they say, is history. Debbie attended the Beginners Service at Lincoln Square Synagogue from 1989-1994 and quickly integrated into the religious community of the Upper West Side, and met many life-long and cherished friends. 30+ years later, when Debbie is not working as a legal recruiter in New York City, she is very involved in Jewish outreach as a city leader for MOMentum and is active with Project Inspire.

She enjoys hosting Shabbat guests and Torah classes in her home. Debbie feels that learning Hebrew is a critical component in a person’s Jewish journey. She has taught many sessions of NJOP’s Crash Course in Hebrew Reading. Debbie’s passion has impacted on hundreds, if not thousands of Jews she has taught and engaged in Jewish life. Debbie is also passionate about teaching the how-tos of challah baking (and braiding). She has organized many challah bakes, including the Great BIG Challah Bake in Northern New Jersey and has many instructional challah braiding videos on YouTube.

Debbie is the proud mother of three grown sons (one an ordained rabbi) and a daughter-in-law. For the past 27 years, Debbie has enjoyed living in Teaneck, NJ.

Marc WeinerX

Marc was born in Queens, NY and grew up in the suburb of Mahopac, NY. Marc went to Monmouth College, and then worked on the Clearwater (environmental) Sloop, started by folk singer Peter Seeger. From 1977-1979, Marc performed outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twice working with Robin Williams. To get out of the cold, Marc became a regular at the Improvisation Comedy Club, as well as at The Comic Strip, Catch A Rising Star, and The Comedy Cellar. In 1981, he made his national network tv debut as a regular on Saturday Night Live, and The Secret Life of Milton (1984) (Showtime), a series of four delightful short films showing the vivid fantasies of a Hasidic Jew named Milton (whom he played), who imagines himself the hero of popular movies. In the following years, Marc appeared on many top-rated television shows. Marc created and hosted the popular daily children’s show Nickelodeon Weinerville, which ran on Nickelodeon from 1993-1996. In the UK, Marc starred in Trebor Mighty Mints commercials. Currently, Marc is providing the voices of the “Map”, “Swiper”, “Fiesta Trio” and a few other characters on Nick Jr.’s hit animated series Dora the Explorer.

In 2004, Marc developed the Empathy Labyrinth, a tool to teach empathy skills and Nonviolent Communication.

Marc attended the Beginners Service at Lincoln Square Synagogue during 1982-83, and became very close to the Buchwald family. After becoming religious, much of Marc’s (Moshe) comedy included Jewish and religious themes, and are considered classics in the traditional religious community.

Abigail and Isaac SheinkopfX

Abigail and Isaac met in 2014 while attending the University of Rochester. Abigail and Isaac were introduced by a mutual friend who knew that their shared values around Judaism, family and intellectual curiosity would be strong foundation blocks for a life-long partnership. Abigail and Isaac were introduced to Rabbi Buchwald in 2020 and began attending the Beginner’s Service together and have enjoyed several Shabbat lunches at Rabbi Buchwald’s home. Abigail also helps facilitate Rabbi Buchwald’s and NJOP’s various programming over Zoom. Rabbi Buchwald and NJOP have been transformative in both Abigail and Isaac’s relationship to each other and to Judaism.

Abigail is a head teacher at an early childhood center on the Upper West Side and Isaac works at a corporate public relations and communications firm. They were married in 2022 and together have a dog named Lily.

Featuring

Special Performance by

Marc Weiner

Comedian & Actor

BIO

Master of Ceremonies

Lisa Glazer

Former TV News Correspondent

BIO

Special Messages by

Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald

Founder and Director of NJOP

BIO

Marc WeinerX

Marc was born in Queens, NY and grew up in the suburb of Mahopac, NY. Marc went to Monmouth College, and then worked on the Clearwater (environmental) Sloop, started by folk singer Peter Seeger. From 1977-1979, Marc performed outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twice working with Robin Williams. To get out of the cold, Marc became a regular at the Improvisation Comedy Club, as well as at The Comic Strip, Catch A Rising Star, and The Comedy Cellar. In 1981, he made his national network tv debut as a regular on Saturday Night Live, and The Secret Life of Milton (1984) (Showtime), a series of four delightful short films showing the vivid fantasies of a Hasidic Jew named Milton (whom he played), who imagines himself the hero of popular movies. In the following years, Marc appeared on many top-rated television shows. Marc created and hosted the popular daily children’s show Nickelodeon Weinerville, which ran on Nickelodeon from 1993-1996. In the UK, Marc starred in Trebor Mighty Mints commercials. Currently, Marc is providing the voices of the “Map”, “Swiper”, “Fiesta Trio” and a few other characters on Nick Jr.’s hit animated series Dora the Explorer.

In 2004, Marc developed the Empathy Labyrinth, a tool to teach empathy skills and Nonviolent Communication.

Marc attended the Beginners Service at Lincoln Square Synagogue during 1982-83, and became very close to the Buchwald family. After becoming religious, much of Marc’s (Moshe) comedy included Jewish and religious themes, and are considered classics in the traditional religious community.

Lisa GlazerX

Lisa Glazer is a former TV News correspondent, working for Fox News Channel, CNBC, and WCBS Channel 2 in New York, where she won an Emmy for her coverage of breaking news. Lisa started going to Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald’s Beginner Service in 1993 after taking a trip to Israel and realizing that she didn’t really know much about her Jewish heritage. She especially enjoyed the Q & A part of the Beginners Service where Rabbi Buchwald combined wisdom, warmth and humor to make the service so meaningful to everyone.

A (mostly) stay at home mom now, Lisa and her husband Paul are raising two sets of twins. Lisa is a frequent speaker at various Jewish outreach programs, and has given occasional classes on news writing and public speaking at Yeshiva Ketana of Manhattan and Manhattan High School for girls.

Lisa and Paul, frequently host young professionals for Shabbat and Yom Tov meals at their home on the Upper West Side.

Rabbi Ephraim BuchwaldX

Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald is one of the leaders in the movement of Jewish return in America today. He has pioneered and developed many of the most dramatic and effective outreach programs in this country.
Ordained at Yeshiva University, where he was a student of Rabbi Dr. J. B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Buchwald served from 1973 for 15 years as the Director of Education at Lincoln Square Synagogue in New York, which, during his tenure, became one of the largest and most successful centers for adult Jewish education programs in America. He also established and coordinated Lincoln Square’s celebrated outreach program. Since 1975, Rabbi Buchwald has led the now-renowned “Beginners Service,” a special Shabbat service for people with little or no synagogue experience.
In July of 1987, Rabbi Buchwald founded the National Jewish Outreach Program. NJOP sponsors the acclaimed Shabbat Across America/Canada and READ HEBREW AMERICA/CANADA campaigns, establishes Beginners Services and offers the TURN FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SHABBAT, PASSOVER ACROSS AMERICA and SUKKOT ACROSS AMERICA programs, as well as free “Crash Courses” in Hebrew Reading, Basic Judaism and Jewish History. These programs have been hosted by more than 5,193* locations across North America, and in 41 additional countries worldwide.
Over the last 35 years, more than 1,717,995* North American Jews have been engaged Jewishly through NJOP’s positive, joyous Jewish programs and experiences. NJOP’s ever-expanding efforts, and its keen ability to recognize the most current cultural trends, have allowed it to become an acclaimed leader in Jewish social media. Every day, tens of thousands of fans and followers are presented with a means to positively and joyously participate in Jewish life through @JewishTweets on Twitter, NJOP’s Jewish Treats daily email and Facebook fan page. NJOP’s Jewish Treats’ YouTube channel boasts more than 2 million views.

In May 2001, Rabbi Buchwald was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Yeshiva University in recognition of his pioneering outreach work. He has been included in the Forward 50, a list of America’s 50 most influential Jews and Newsweek’s list of the top 50 Rabbis in America. It has been said that, aside from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Buchwald has brought more Jews closer to their Judaism than anyone else.

Rabbi Buchwald was Founding President of the Association for Jewish Outreach Professionals (AJOP). He lectures across the country and overseas, and leads experiential programs in cities throughout the world. He and his wife Aidel, reside in New York City, and are the proud parents of four children, who are married to four wonderful in-law children, who together are producing a growing number of Buchwald grandchildren.

* figures as of 3/2023

Dinner Journal

Memorial Tribute

Ludwig “Lou” Bravmann, z"l

On November 16, 2022, the Jewish community lost a consummate Jewish leader and magnanimous philanthropist, Lou Bravmann. Lou was born in Germany 98 years ago, and served in the American Army, Ski patrol in the Alps. He was a cherished friend of the late founding NJOP Board Member, Jack Nash, z”l.

Lou, together with his beloved wife, Lotte, who predeceased him. were part of the original NJOP Board, having met and become familiar with Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald when he taught their daughter, Dr. Carol Bravmann, at the Ramaz School nearly 50 years ago. Carol’s sister, Judy Bravmann and her husband Uri Kaufthal also became close friends and strong supporters of NJOP. Lou Bravmann was a hands-on Board Member of NJOP, who made certain that NJOP dotted every I and crossed every T in every NJOP publication. He also provided cogent financial and organizational advice to Rabbi Buchwald throughout the last 35 years. As world class philanthropists, he and Lotte were active in Yeshiva University, Gesher, SAR Schools in Riverdale, NY, UJA-Federation, and the Aleph Society, among many other worthy charities.

May his memory be blessed.

Margot Kann, z"l

Margot Kann was born in 1927 in Jersberg, Germany. Fortunately, her family came to the United States in 1939 and settled in Washington Heights, where Margot met her future husband of 68 years, the late Fred Kann, z”l, who was also a German refugee. A graduate of George Washington High School, Margot received her BA and master’s degree in English and Guidance Counseling from Montclair College in New Jersey. The Kanns eventually settled in North Caldwell, NJ, where their three sons, Robert, Barry and Michael were raised. They were deeply involved in their local synagogue and in the greater Jewish community, viewing every Jew as part of their larger extended family. Margot made a name for herself as a popular English teacher and guidance counselor at West Essex High School. As a result of an introduction by the late Lou Bravmann, z”l, the Kanns became involved supporters of NJOP, among many other Jewish organizations, such as the Gesher Foundation, the Aleph Society, SAR Academy/High School in Riverdale, NY, and the Gann Academy of Newton, MA. When the Kanns relocated to the Boston area to be closer to their children, they maintained their connection with Rabbi Buchwald, and were always proud of NJOP’s achievements. Margot’s warmth, charm and grace will be greatly missed. May her memory be a blessing to all.

Joel Barry Levey, z"l

NJOP recently received an extremely generous legacy from the Joel Barry Levey Administrative Trust. In the fall of 2006, Mr. Levey attended NJOP’s Hebrew Reading Crash Course in Los Angeles as part of the READ HEBREW AMERICA AND CANADA campaign. Over the years, Mr. Levey made modest contributions to NJOP but chose to leave a very substantial legacy to NJOP upon his death. NJOP acknowledges partners such as Rabbi Avrohom Czapnik, the Director of The Jewish Learning Exchange, for his yeoman efforts to help Mr. Levey and many thousands of others like him connect to NJOP’s programs, enabling them to become more actively engaged in Jewish life.

About NJOP

NJOP*, an independent, non-denominational, Jewish non-profit organization, was established in 1987 by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald in response to the spiraling losses of Jews from Jewish life due to assimilation and lack of Jewish knowledge.

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