Baltimore, MD - Sept. 7, 2015 - After dropping my boys off at T.A. on Labor Day, I informed them that I will be at T.A. later that morning to hear Rabbi Dovid Katz speak at the T.A. Alumni Associations’ inaugural event. T.A. has always been near and dear to my family as my boys are third generation beneficiaries of the quality Jewish and Secular education that T.A. has to offer. Beginning with my father, Dr. Morris Lasson, there is a tradition of educational excellence that gives me a sense of pride every time I walk through the doors of the Yeshiva.
Close to 75 alumni took time off to reconnect with friends and their beloved teacher, Rabbi Katz. The coordinators of the event, Rabbi Yanky Lefkovitz, Director of Development, Rabbi Yaakov Cohen, Executive Director, Shmuel Luxenburg, Yanky Statman, Gary Guttenberg, Dr. Kenneth Friedman, Chaim Finkelstein and Aryeh Malitzky all had the same impetus for this event and that was to “get alumni more connected with the school”.
Harry Rashbaum attended the event which was especially meaningful because Harry was in T.A.’s first graduating class of 1947. Harry reflected on the physical and spiritual growth of the school. “T.A. went from a row house to a beautiful building. That was the physical growth. However, the spiritual growth occurred as young men went on to become great scholars which has done wonders for the Jewish community.”
Each table had several old yearbooks. On my table, I noticed the 1971 yearbook and read an article that Rabbi Katz wrote when he was a senior, called The Challenge. In that article, young David Katz discussed the challenges facing Jewish education. He concluded the article by saying “We must commit ourselves to the goal of restoring the spirit of true Yiddishkeit. The hour is late." This was and always has been the commitment of T.A. over the past 100 years.
The yearbook also contained a summary written by fellow students about young David Katz. In his bio, fellow students wrote, ‘David's forte is history in which he is the schools recognized authority’. Indeed, many years later, Rabbi Katz has become one of the world’s leading authorities on topics pertaining to history and Jewish History in particular as evidenced by his increasingly popular Motzai Shabbos Lecture Series on Jewish History.
Rabbi Yehuda Lefkovitz, President of T.A., introduced the event by commenting on the word “Kulchem” which is in the first Posuk of this week’s Parsha-Nitzavim. He noted that according to Meforshim, the deeper meaning of the seemingly superfluous word is to look out for one another and to do one good deed that can tip the scales for all of K’lal Yisroel. “In this day and age”, Rabbi Lefkovitz noted, “we need a sense of oneness. An alumni event helps achieve that task of bringing the Achdus that we need.” He concluded his remarks by marveling at the crowd with pride. “When I see the alumni, it gives me great Chizuk moving forward”.
Yanky Statman, representing the alumni and current alumnus of the year, then introduced Rabbi Katz. Rabbi Katz noted that although T.A. officially started as Yeshivas Torah V’Yirah in 1917, most boys attended only until the sixth grade after which they would go to local public schools. It was not until 1947 when T.A. graduated its first class that included Harry Rashbaum. Rabbi Katz spoke about the primary role in education which is developing long lasting connections with a Rebbe or a teacher. He pointed out Rabbi Yosef Rottenberg who had a ‘unique personality’ that endeared him to his Talmidim. “Those who made it were those who developed a connection and clicked with someone. That is called successful Chinuch”, said Rabbi Katz.
Rabbi Katz went on to discuss the importance of Bein Adam L’Makom and Bein Adam L’Chaveiro. He pointed out that Rosh Hashanah is more about the qualitative changes that we make as humans than the quantitative changes. Sometimes it is difficult to put aside our feelings for those who have wronged us but while we cannot always make it right, we can at Least try and make it a little better. Rabbi Katz told over how Lewis Strauss who was a right hand man to President Eisenhower and the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) felt terrible that he could not help Jews out during the Holocaust. In an effort to assuage his guilt he implored Eisenhower not to discuss Israel’s secretive efforts to defend themselves by developing their own weapons. Eisenhower listened to his friend and Strauss felt comforted that he at least tried to make things a little better for his fellow Jews. The message is especially meaningful during a time in history where Jews are disenchanted with their Judaism where we all can do some things ‘a little better’ to achieve true Achdus.
Alumnus, Zevi Daniel remarked how wonderful it is to be able to reconnect with friends in such a meaningful way. The Alumni Association is planning on many more gatherings in the future. Mrs. Reva Gold who has been working as the school’s beloved secretary for 50 years became emotional when asked to speak about this event. “It’s very hard for me to put into words what I feel when I see all of the alumni gathered here. It makes me want to veint (cry)”, said Mrs. Gold and added “these were the best years of my life.”
Talmudical Academy of Baltimore continues to grow and the current facilities can no longer accommodate the 1000 plus children. Many of these children are children and grandchildren of T.A. alumni. The challenges that T.A. faces are wonderful challenges as the yeshiva moves past 100 years of dedicated excellence in education. Our alumni are involved and continue to help the yeshiva with its growth. We hope that this event will foster continued relations between the students, faculty and the Yeshiva.
May we all be Zocheh to a Kesiva V’Chasima Tova!
If you are an alumnus of Talmudical Academy of Baltimore and would like to be informed of upcoming events, please email Rabbi Yanky Lefkovitz at ynk@talmudicalacademy.org
