YTC Alumni Newsletter

On 3 Sivan, 5770 (Sunday, May 16), in a ceremony that was at once joyous and bittersweet, the High School division of Yeshiva Toras Chaim/Toras Emes was officially dedicated in memory of Dr. Abraham Chames Z"L, a most beloved chaver of the Yeshiva. The school will henceforth be known as Yeshiva Toras Chaim Dr. Abe Chames High School.

Gathered in the Cantor David Jacob and Dovid Jacob Bais Medrash, the crowd of 500-plus participants was comprised of distinguished community Rabbonim, family members, Yeshiva parents and board members, talmidei HaYeshiva, and countless friends who felt privileged to have the opportunity to join together on this momentous occasion.

The program began with the recitation of Tehillim, which was led by YTC President Aron Lampert and Vice-President Rabbi Moshe Lehrfeld, after which former YTC/TEAM Roshei Yeshiva HaRav Akiva Grunblatt Shlit"a, currently Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim (Queens, NY) and Rabbi Bentzion Chait Shlit"a, currently Director of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim's National Torah Initiative, spoke about the magnitude and importance of chesed and recalled the legacy of Dr. Chames.

Next to speak was Jacob Chames, a talmid in the High School and youngest son of Dr. Chames, who thanked everyone for being a part of this special day. He then shared some personal remembrances of the length his father went to in performing countless acts of chesed.

Continuing on the theme of doing chesed, Rabbi Binyomin Luban Shlit"a, Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshiva Toras Chaim/Toras Emes, charged the community to seek ways to become actively involved in doing chesed, as this would be the very best way to honor the memory and emulate the ways of an individual to whom doing chesed was so very dear. Additionally, he announced that chesed initiatives are being undertaken in all divisions of the school to perpetuate Dr. Chames' rich legacy.

The crowd was then invited to move outside, where they were treated to beautiful nigunei d'veikus by the YTC Choir, after which the sign bearing the new name of the school was revealed. The dedication culminated with delicious refreshments and leibidig dancing in the Yeshiva's David and Sally Samuels Dining Hall.

Abe's unparalleled love of chesed made him a driving force in the growth and development of our Yeshiva and the entire South Florida community. May his illustrious legacy continue to inspire all those whose lives he touched, and to illuminate the path for the hundreds of talmidim who are zocheh to attend the school that will so lovingly bear his name.