The Leffell School 19th Commencement

Opening Montage

Processional*

 (Hatikvah) and TheStarSpangledBanner*

Led by Ella Ben-Yishai, Ari Estrin, and the Class of 2023

Opening Prayer

Rabbi Abby Sosland

Student Speaker (Hebrew)

Maya Glick

Faculty Speaker

Rina Schulberg

Musical Presentation

Face the River by Gavin DeGraw

Emily Khabie and Daniella Silver

Accompanied by Micah Katchen and Raf Katchen

Presentation of Class Gift

Stephanie Wechsler and Danielle Zuckerman

Head of School’s Remarks

Dr. Michael Kay

Awarding of Diplomas

Musical Presentation

(Fly My Little One)

Led by Ella Ben-Yishai, Ari Estrin, Emily Khabie, and Daniella Silver

Accompanied by Micah Katchen, Raf Katchen, Daniel Patchen, and Ethan Stein

A Blessing of Gratitude

Rabbi Harry Pell Presentation of the Class

Eric Bassin Recessional*

Student Speaker (English)

Daniel Patchen

*Audience Please Rise

If you look at the scoreboard on the field outside, you will see the words that describe who we have become. In the Book of Amos Chapter 3 Verse 8, we read, “A lion has roared, Who can but fear?” Standing here today, with high school behind us, we feel like lions who are ready to find new territory and make our own mark.

To have an impact on others like a lion, to create fear and awe, requires development of core traits that influence the community around us. But lions don’t start out as fearsome creatures. They first rely on their pride for their strength. As they grow, they develop their own personalities. After perseverance, trials, and hard work, they become creatures exemplifying the quote on our scoreboard. But always, despite their incredible strength and power, lions derive their true strength from their pride.

I’ve spent time thinking about why a group of lions is called a pride, and not a pack, group, or even family. If it were called simply a “group” of lions, it denotes a number - more than one. But elevating a simple “group” by renaming it a “pride” connotes qualities and characteristics that transcend simple numbers. It is an anthropomorphism that speaks about its members. In the case of the Leffell Class of 2023, it describes us, but also charges us with responsibility.

Pride is a complicated emotion - embracing it comes with risk. If pride is not based on actual accomplishment or if we put too much stock in being proud of what we have done, we can lose sight of what is in front of us. As it is said in the book of Mishleh, Chapter 16, Verse 18, “Pride goeth before the fall.” But pride justly earned is an emotion that is so natural and so sweet.

A group of lions is called a pride because they are special. And the qualities that a group of lions possesses - courage, strength, grit, unity - earn them the title of a pride. I believe the Class of 2023 has shown these attributes again and again over the past four years.

In the fall of 2019, we entered the High School as mere cubs - restless, a bit nervous, and full of playful energy. As we settled into our new routine, we formed new friendships with each other and our teachers and began to feel comfortable in our new lives. To be a freshman takes courage - one of the key traits of a lion. You have to speak to peers you don’t know, advocate for yourself in class, and figure out who you want to become. That took a lot of courage for us in freshman year. And then, just as we were feeling more comfortable, Covid hit and we were shut down from all our new beginnings. We needed new courage - to adapt and still find connection with each other. We needed our courage to survive. And survive we did.

By sophomore year, we needed not just our courage, but power and strength as we returned to school still in uncertain times. Simply making it through each day, masked and separated, took incredible stamina. Everyone in school needed the strength of a lion to survive. One of my teachers taught behind shower curtains and many had to roar beneath their masks to be heard. Sophomore year forced us to

adapt and to meet challenges on our own, similar to a young lion testing its independence for the first time.

Junior year required a different trait. In addition to the courage necessary to face our tasks and the strength demanded by our courses, standardized tests, and the college process, we needed to dig deep into our grit. Junior year tested every one of us in ways we could never have expected but, like the lions, we persevered together.

Like the lions who are strongest with a pack, senior year solidified our bonds and reliance on one another. We cultivated community and became closer on Lev v’Nefesh. We learned how our greater family, Am Yisrael, can strengthen and sustain each one of us. And we learned the final lessons of how to succeed as we each staked out our new territory. Like the lion who reaches adulthood and leaves its first pride to start another, we have absorbed all the lessons, and focused all the characteristics, to forge successful new paths. We were a pride in the truest sense.

Today we are leaving our Leffell pride and venturing out to find our own paths. We are all on our way to follow our passions, continuing to develop our identities and make a mark in the way that feels right to us. And as we say goodbye to our Leffell family and venture out, we know that our greatest strength, even as individuals, will come from forming a new pride drawing on the character we built here.

The 2023 Class Gift

To express our gratitude for the invaluable education and care we have received, we decided to purchase two picnic tables to put in the courtyard at the Upper School campus. This gift has two special meanings specific to the Class of 2023.

We started high school in September of 2019, which means that we were only freshmen when Covid hit. Throughout the pandemic, we realized that if we wanted to be able to see the new friends we made in those first six months and stay connected with the ones we had known before, we had to do so outside. This meant that we were spending the majority of our time with our friends in the courtyard during all of the sophomore year and even the beginning of junior year. We wanted to make sure that the classes below us would be able to have a place to eat lunch, socialize, enjoy the beauty of the courtyard, and, most importantly, create and strengthen their relationships, just as we did.

In December of our junior year, our classmate and friend Gavri Benson, z”l, passed away. One of the ways we chose to honor him was by planting a cherry blossom tree in the courtyard. By placing the picnic tables in the courtyard near this tree, we connect with and stay close to Gavri’s memory. We hope that students will be able to make connections with their peers and remember to cherish all of the memories they make with their friends.

Logan D. Abramowitz

Class of 2023

Ilan Meir Brusso

Elijah Lewis Gilbert

Tal Kleinhaus Aizenberg

Joy Amidror רורדימע יו׳ג

Elijah David Arnowitz

Destiny Castillo וליטסק םירמ

Maya Glick קילג םולב הלארשי םירמ

Benjamin Elias Cohen ןהכ והילא ןימינב

Shloimy Goldberger רעגרעבדלאג ימולש

Erin Simone Bader

Ella Ben-Yishai

Noah Darwin Bessler

Drew E. Cohen ןהכ רתסא

Moshe Tzvi Creditor

Gal Drotman ןמטורד לג

Sarah Eder רדא

Gabrielle Lily Greene

השאב

Maya B. Grossblatt

אלייב היאמ

Aidan Gurvitch

םייח םהרבא

“Fly My Little One” /  

בולאירבג יקימ / ןייטשנייא קירא

My little ones have left the nest. They’ve spread their wings and flown. And I’m an old bird, I’ve remained in the nest. I deeply hope that everything will be OK.

I always knew this day would come. That they would need to separate. But, now, it has come upon me suddenly. So, what’s the surprise that I worry a bit.

Flymylittleone. Openthesky. Flytowhatevercomestoyou. Butdon’tforget, Thereareeaglesinthesky.Beware.

Now, we remain alone in the nest. But, at least, we’re together. Hug me tight, tell me “yes.”

“Don’t worry, it is good to get old together.”

Flymylittleone...

I know that this is the way it is in nature. And, that I, also, left the nest. But now, that the moment has come… So, it catches me, a bit, in the throat. It catches me, a bit, in the throat.

Flymylittleone...

Awards and Prizes

(Award recipients announced on Friday, June 9)

Core Value: לארשי תבהא - Love of Israel

LITAL GAMLIEL Z”LPRIZE FOR STUDY IN ISRAEL Danny Maybaum

In the spring of 2006, our school suffered a tragic loss–the loss of a student just weeks before her graduation. Lital Gamliel was a unique and creative student who loved life, loved Israel, and always sought to help those around her. She learned in her own unconventional way and took great pride in her accomplishments, challenging her teachers to be the best educators they could. She was a cherished friend to many in our school, but was also always ready to offer advice or a warm, caring ear to anyone who needed it friends, mere acquaintances, even teachers. Yehi zichra baruch may her memory be for a blessing. This prize is awarded annually to a deserving senior who has committed to a year of post-high-school study in Israel and who most embodies Lital’s zest for life, creative energy, and love of Eretz Yisrael.

Core Value: תוחרזא - Citizenship

TIKKUNOLAM Arielle Maliniak

This award is bestowed on the senior who has worked strenuously to repair the world through service to the community and acts of loving-kindness. This student has taken active steps to improve our community and to make real change in the world.

Core Value: םידסח תולימגו תודימ - Character

DEREKHERETZ Lauren Block and Noah Holmgren

This award is bestowed on the senior who most exhibits the qualities of a tzadik a righteous person. This student is a mensch who acts with derekh eretz above all else. This student acts with integrity, gives of himself or herself, and always treats others with the utmost kindness, compassion, and respect.

Core Value: הליהק - Community

KEHILAH Gabi Greene

This award is bestowed on the senior who has displayed a serious commitment to the Jewish value of kehilah Whether as a leader, a “doer,” or both, this student has both internalized and modeled for others a sense of responsibility to the community, recognizing the need for individuals to step forward to support individual and communal needs in a way that builds strong bonds of interconnection within our kehilah. This award is the only one that results directly from student rather than faculty nomination.

LEADERSHIP Matan Katz

This award is bestowed on the senior who has demonstrated commitment to our community through a positive leadership role in the school, manifested in any number of ways classes, extracurricular activities, athletics, student committees, special projects, etc.

Core Value: דמללו דומלל - Academic Excellence

LOVE OF LEARNING / GENERAL STUDIES

Gabi Greene

This award is bestowed on the senior who is passionate about learning general studies for its own sake. This student may or may not receive high grades, but is motivated by a love of learning and not by grades.

LOVE OF LEARNING / JEWISH STUDIES Jared Schwartz and Bella Malina

This award is bestowed on the senior who is passionate about learning Jewish studies for its own sake. This student may or may not receive high grades, but is motivated by a love of learning and not by grades. This award is dedicated in memory of Arnold Aaron z”l.

REBECCA STEMPEL Z”LAWARD FOR LOVE OF LEARNING IN THE ARTS Sam Stein

Rebecca Anne Stempel, a proud graduate of the Class of 2008, passed away in February 2016 after a valiant battle with fibrolamellar liver cancer. Rebecca was an electrifying performer on the stage, always serious about her studies, and a committed, supportive friend. She was an inspiration to those who had the good fortune to know her, and is missed by the many whose lives she touched. Rebecca was talented in many disciplines, but it was her particular love of theater and dedication to the arts that most distinguished her, including her desire to share her love of the arts with others. Yehi zichra baruch may Rebecca's memory be a blessing in our lives. This award is bestowed on the senior who is passionate about learning and participating in the arts for its own sake, and who embodies Rebecca's love of the arts, commitment to learning, and passion to use every day to its fullest.

CREATIVE PROJECT Destiny Castillo and Lela Hartzman

This award is bestowed on the senior who has demonstrated abstract thinking in a school project. This could include a work of art, a WISE project, a special program, a literary piece, or other project.

Core Value: החמשב הוצמו הרות דומלת - Joyous Jewish Learning & Practice

JEWISH CONSCIENCE Elijah Gilbert

This award is bestowed on the senior who best voices the conscience of our community popular or not as exemplified by leading a life of Jewish values and participating actively in the Jewish community.

We pay tribute to the following families, for whom today’s graduate is the last child in the family to be graduating from The Leffell School:

The Aizenberg Family

The Bader Family

The Ben-Yishai Family

The Bessler Family

The Block Family

The Bond Family

The Borenstein Family

The Brusso Family

The B. Cohen Family

The D. Cohen Family

The Emuna Family

The Estrin Family

The Fortinsky Family

The Gilbert Family

The Greene Family

The Gustin Family

The Hartzman Family

The Holmgren Family

The Kingsbury Family

The Klapper Family

The Klein Family

The Kurlander Family

The Levy Family

The Lipton Family

The Malina Family

The Maliniak Family

The Maybaum Family

The Nachmani Family

The Scheman Family

The Schifman Family

The Silver Family

The Spiro Family

The E. Stein Family

The S. Stein Family

The Wasserman Family

The Weber Family

The Weisberg Family

Dr. Michael Kay, Head of School  Dr. Elliot Spiegel, Headmaster Emeritus

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Karen Estrin, President

Lynette Goldberg, Barry Lovell, Tom Mukamal At-Large Vice Presidents

Ian Dumain, Governance VP  Joel Alsfine, Finance VP

Jeff Teitelbaum, Development VP  David Glick, Secretary

Michael Benn David Landau Milos Silber ’05

Ella Chinitz Joel Levin Stacey Wechsler

Jason Friedlander Sarah Nanus

Ben Golub Noah Oppenheim Lifetime Trustees

Brittany Harris Michael Perl Michael Leffell

Gary Katz

April Klein

Smadar Amidror Chief Operating Officer

Jackie Grosser Director of Admissions

Dr. Ilanit Hoory Lower School Principal

Robert Promisel Gabriel Nechamkin

Heather Rabinowitz

Senior Administration and High School Leadership Team

Dr. Michael Kay Head of School

Elisha Andron Director of Student Services

Tracey Harris Chief Financial Officer

Rose Weinstein, & Kellen Howell Co-Directors, College Counseling

The Werner Family

The Wigodsky Family

Lori Abecassis

Elisha Andron

Dr. Daniel Aviv

Eric Bassin

Lisa Bennett

Dr. Bill Blank

Rishana Bloom

Karen Booker

Scott Boulding

Chris Cleaver

Yaniv Cohen

Joel Davidson

Scott D’Ottavio

Gregory Eichten

Nomi Feinberg

Joanna Frank

Irit Goldner-Khon

Richard Gross

Jackie Grosser

Miriam Helfgott

Honorary Trustee

Jason Friedland

Ex-Officio Board Members

Dr. Michael Kay Allison Kellman

Eric Bassin High School Principal Dr. Bill Blank School Psychologist

Amy Holtzer Middle School Principal

Rabbi Harry Pell Associate Head of School

High School Faculty

Erica Hezi

Dr. Renee Holtz

Brianna Hooijberg

Kellen Howell

Raz Idan

Will Jamieson

Fabio Janeiro

Chelsey Kail

Rachel Kirschbaum

Aaron Kogut

Scott Kornberg

Rafal Krazek

Mark Kronenberg

Lea LaGreca

Cara Levine

Jennifer Lividini

Samantha Mazo

Ariel Menashe

Joseph Modica

Danny Mond

Dr. Renee Holtz Chair, Student Learning

Barbara Shapiro Chief Advancement Officer

Vivian Nadasdi

Briana Orrico

Rabbi Harry Pell

Seth Pertain

Siobhan Reagan

Nir Rikman

Emily Sayles

Rina Schulberg

Harry Shontz

Ariel Simon

Rabbi Abby Sosland

Shelby Tager

Ariana Tullai

Dr. Eric Wasser

Rose Weinstein

Dorothy Weiss

Rabbi Yitzchak Zilbiger

Rabbi Sandy Zisser

Mission Statement

The Leffell School, a Kindergarten through 12th grade independent Jewish day school, is set apart by our comprehensive, intellectually rigorous dual curriculum that empowers and cultivates each student in mind, body, and soul. Through the teaching of Jewish values, critical thinking, and openness to new ideas, we inspire our students to achieve academic and personal excellence, preparing them for college and the ever-changing world beyond.

We are a kehilah, a caring community that fosters the joyous practice of Jewish life. We instill in our graduates the confidence to navigate life's journey with a strong moral compass and apply their passions, knowledge, and skills to the betterment of the Jewish people, the United States, Israel, and the world.

םירפסו ,םמיסלו םירחא תושעלו רוֹמשל ,דמללו דוֹמלל ,

“Help me to begin other tractates and courses of study, and to complete them, to learn and to teach, to observe and to act, and to fulfill all the words of the teaching of your Torah with love.”

HadranforSiyumim