FEBRUARY 2014   |  ADAR I 5774

IN THIS ISSUE
PHOTO ALBUMS!

Great pics from our Alumni Reunions + Events
 
CLASS MEMORIES SLIDESHOWS
This Year:
*Class of '88 : 25th
*Class of '88: 5, 10 & 20
 
Prior Years':

REUNION SLIDESHOWS
This Year:
*Classes '04, '99, '94 | 10, 15, 20 Reunion
*Class of '88 | 25 Year

Prior Years':

EVENT SLIDESHOWS
*KICKOFF Benefit | Young Professionals Society (formerly Millennium Society)
 
OLDER ALBUMS

WANT A BIRTHDAY GIFT FROM RAMAZ?

Surprise!  We have begun sending birthday presents to our alumni community.  To receive your gift, please 
click here to make sure we have your birth date. 
 
GET A FAIRWAY CARD...

Fairway logo
 
And support Ramaz with your everyday grocery shopping. 

 

Cards sold in $100 increments can be ordered ONLINE and picked up Wednesday mornings each week in the Lower School lobby or during Parents Council office hours.

 

For more info or to make other pickup arrangements, please contact Lisa Chetrit at lisachetrit@gmail.com or 646-286-9679.

 

Cards benefit Parents Council, can be used at any store location, and do not expire!

 

NOTE!  Fairway contributes 10% of card sales to Ramaz's Parents Council, which in turn supports activities for current students. 
 
GET INVOLVED!

Your Reunion and other Alumni Programs and Initiatives will be enhanced (and more fun!) with your involvement.  To help plan an event or to serve on a host committee, please be in touch with Lauren Katz, Director of Alumni Relations, at
alumni@ramaz.org or 212.774.8054.
 
STAY CONNECTED!

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Last month, over 150 alumni and former faculty attended a gathering in Israel, which featured alumnus Isaac Herzog '78, Leader of the Opposition (the Labor Party).  In his remarks that evening Isaac said he was "bitten by the political bug" when he ran for Vice President of the student government (and won!).

Members from the Class of 2013 
 
 The event was hosted by Rachel (Abrams) Pear '94 and Rabbi Ian 
Pear at Shir Hadash in Jerusalm.  As Chendy (Kornreich) Harkov '78 
shared, "our family has three generations of Ramaz connections: 
my sister, Leron (Kornreich) Altman '91, and I, along with my 
daughter, Lahav (Harkov) Levine '05, studied at Ramaz. My mother 
taught at Ramaz. We are proud to be part of the Ramaz family.  Thank you 
for the lovely evening in Jerusalem.  It was great to see how much the 
school has developed and how it just continues to get better and better." 
 
Lahav (Harkov) Levine '05, Chendy (Kornreich) Harkov '78, 
Leron (Kornreich) Altman '91


CLICK HERE to see photos from the Israel Gathering

Twenty-five alumni students at Columbia University and Barnard 
College got together recently for a Ramaz Alumni Shabbat Dinner.  
The annual event was coordinated by Raquel Wildes '11, 
Talia Lefkowitz '11, and Philip Merkin'10.  
 
 
As Philip "Poppy" Merkin shared, "It's always great to reminisce with 
old classmates and meet freshman who can update upperclassmen 
on how much the school has changed, and in many ways how it's still 
the same Ramaz we all fondly remember. Plus, having the Friday 
chocolate chip cookies was a perfect way to cap a great Shabbat dinner."
 
CLASS NOTES

KOL HAKAVOD | MAZAL TOV TO...

Ariela Dubler '89, on being named Head of School of the Heschel School

 

BIRTHS | MAZAL TOV TO...

Rachel (Heller) Bernstein '70 + Nathan Bernstein, on the birth of 

her 24th grandchild

Shifra (Aronoff) Nussbaum '87 + Naftali Nussbaum, on the birth of 

their twins Nechama Esther and Shmuel Uriel

Allison + Leo Esses '90, on the birth of their son Elias Abraham

Vicki + Joe Shammah '91, on the birth of their daughter Shelly

Etti + Gavriel Fagin '95, on the birth of their daughter Elisheva; and 

to grandparents Judy and Allen Fagin '67

Marisa (Savitsky) Leibowitz '95 + Jason Leibowitz, on the birth of 

their daughter Hannah

Rebecca (Grauer) Schreck '95 and Chaim Schreck, on the birth of 
their daughter Avigayil

Davida (Friedman) Yehaskel '95 + Marc Yehaskel, on the birth of 

their daughter Nina Na'ava; and to grandparents Rosie (Gluck) 

Friedman '68Mark Friedman

Jordana (Riklis) Cooperberg '96 Ben Cooperberg, on the birth of 

their son Noam Ezra

Jillian (Gross) Miller '96 + Daniel Miller, on the birth of their son, 
Samuel Sheldon ("Sammy"); and to grandparents Georgette + 
Steven Gross '64
Erin (Leib) Smokler '96 + Daniel Smokler, on the birth of their son 
Nadiv Chen Betzalel

Yaira (Singer) Binstock '97 + Matthew Binstock, on the birth of their 

daughter Talia Tzipora

Shari Damast '97 Jeff Mosenkis, on the birth of their son Shia

Dana (Feldschreiber) Becker '98 + Pinny Becker, birth of their 
daughter Eleanor Judith (Leora Yehudit)

Tamar (Wachs) '98 Josh Kahn '98, on the birth of their daughter 

Temima Chana ("Temi")

Sarah (Morduchowitz) Nissel '98 + Tzvika Nissel, on the birth of 

their daughter Orly

Sarah Dunitz + Michael Grunfeld '99, on the birth of their son 

Alfie

Karen (Bochner) Kerem '99 + Yaniv Kerem, on the birth of their 

son Adin

Danielle (Molofsky) Levine '99 + Yehoshua Levine, on the birth of 

their son Gavriel; and to grandparents Brenda Kohn '68 

+ Walter Molofsky

Jill & Matthew Levy '99, on the birth of their son Jonah Aaron

Rebecca (Tenenbein) Weitman '99 +  Aaron Weitman, on the 

birth of their son Joshua

Gabriella + David Fridman '00, on the birth of their daughter 

Tziporah

Daniella Kahane '00, on the birth of her daughter 

Mia Emanuelle

Pamela Gelman + Michael Talansky '00, on the birth of their 

twins Benjamin and Kate

Talia Falk '01 + Elie Hassenfeld, on the birth of their daughter 

Noa Carmel

Yael (Friedman) Farkas '01 + Pinny Farkas, on the birth of their 

son Yaakov Tzvi; and to grandparents Rosie (Gluck) Friedman '68 

+ Mark Friedman

Sassy (Fisch) Hanauer '01 + Gabe Hanauer, on the birth of their 

daughter Eliana Gittel

Avigail Sugarman '02 + Menachem Danishefsky, on the birth of 

their son

Jessica + Andrew Mener '03, on the birth of their son; and to 

grandparents Betty + Leon Mener '63

Dori (Straus) Mirvis '03 + Eric Mirvis '00, on the birth of their 

son William Joseph

Adena + Jeremy Rosenfeld '03, on the birth of their 

son Tzvi Alexander

Aliza (Berkowitz) Black '05 + Gideon Black, on the birth of their 

son Natan Yishaya Yonatan

Alexandra (Pike) Lerner '05 + Mordechai Lerner, on the birth of their 

son Bentzion David

Daniella (Neiman) Spier '07 +  David Spier '06, on birth of their 

son Samuel Joshua

Aviva + Michael Epstein '07, on the birth of their 

daughter Raquel Rose

Lesley Sklarin '09 + Josh Herbert, on the birth of their 

daughter

 

MARRIAGES | MAZAL TOV TO...

Lewis Trencher '69, on his marriage to Sandy Meller Laskin

Aliza Ganz '96, on her marriage to Ron Pantofaro

Elad Dror '99, on his marriage to Desiree

Erica Fishbein '02, on her marriage to Jeff Newelt

Marissa Rosenberg '04 and Zack Berg '04, on their marriage to each other (another Ramaz Couple!)

Yitz Landes '06, on his marriage to Daphna Ezrachi



CLICK HERE to submit Class Notes for the Spring Edition.
 
ALUMNI PROFILE

Alyssa Barrie Weiss '94

 

We recently caught up with Alyssa Barrie Weiss '94 at her 20-year reunion this past January and were thrilled to learn of the launch of her new eCommerce venture, Travel Beauty (www.travelbeauty.com)Travel Beauty takes the guesswork out of creating the consummate beauty regimen by offering the very best luxury beauty and grooming products from around the globe, curated by its panel of industry experts.  Travel Beauty specializes in travel size beauty and grooming products and enables its customers to create customized travel kits filled with just the products they want, need, and love.  Since launching 
the business, Travel Beauty has gained significant traction in the press.  Two recent articles include: 
Alyssa (left) with COO Claire

CLICK HERE to read the article in Town & Country: New Hope for your In 
Flight Beauty Kit.

 

CLICK HERE to read the article in 

The HuffingtonPost: 7 TravelBeauty.com 

Products to Get You Ready for Your Next Trip.

 

Prior to founding Travel Beauty, Alyssa 

worked in the marketing, media, 

and communications fields for 

The New YorkTimes and Omnicom 

Media Group. Alyssa conceived of Travel Beauty while taking an entrepreneurship 

class at Fordham Business School.

 

Alyssa credits Ramaz for exposing her, at such a young age, to serious critical thinking as well

as always encouraging students to question the world around them.  

She also appreciated the level of exposure that Ramaz provided to music, 

art, and athletics - the emphasis on these disciplines contributed to making her a well-rounded person.  Best of all, two of Alyssa's closest 

friends, to this day, are women she met at Ramaz, Regina (Foont) 

Haberman '94 and Laura (Schwartz) Konieczny '94 (whom she met in Kindergarten).  Additionally, classmate Ezra (Friedland-Wechsler) Amichai '94 was the officiating rabbi at her wedding in Jerusalem.  "Knowing who 

you are - your traditions and where you come from is important - Ramaz played a large role in connecting me to my Jewish roots.  This gave me confidence and played a role in my success."


Picture at the Class of '94 20 Year Reunion: Arielle Freedberg '95,
Aliza Dzik, Tamar Prager,  Alyssa Barrie Weiss, and Rachel Andron

Amram Shapiro '68

 

Amram Shapiro '68 is the latest alumnus to be added to the Ramaz Alumni Authors List.  He is the author of "The Book of Odds: From Lightning Strikes, to Love at First Sight, the Odds of Everyday Life."  It is definitely a book you'll want to check it out!  The Book of Odds is a "dictionary of probability," a reference book of sorts, collecting the "odds" of everyday life, from health and disease to beliefs and fears.  The project began in 2005 as a dream of making uncertainty itself less frightening.  Although it deals with the "odds of everyday life," and many light-hearted probabilities, the project looks squarely at hard topics.  Here is a link to a Book of Odds interview with a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

 

Amram and his partner began collecting "odds" over several years (eventually amassing 400,000!) and then launched their website, now being redesigned, all leading up to the publication of his book this past January.  CLICK HERE to read this article featured in the New York Post.

 

Following Ramaz, Amram graduated from Columbia College with a BA in Psychology (perhaps sparking his interest in human behavior?) and then went on to Harvard Business School for his MBA, living in the Boston area ever since.  Amram devoted his career in management consulting, first at Arthur D. Little (11 years), and then 17 years as a partner at PRTM, a small firm when he joined, but which grew ten times in revenues by his retirement.  Amram has since devoted himself to his family, special consulting projects, and, of course, to Book of Odds.

 

In reflecting on his experiences as Ramaz, Amram writes "the positive influences of Ramaz were many, including some that even influenced Book of Odds."  In particular, two teachers stand out: Mrs. Schrank, who taught him English and helped start him on a lifelong love affair with poetry, and Rabbi Bakst, who taught him about ethical behavior.  "As is the fate of teachers, probably neither of them knew the impact of their teaching and friendship."  Amram describes Rabbi Bakst as someone with a "combination of rectitude and sweetness." 

 

To this day, Amram's closest friends are those he made at Ramaz: Joel Schwartz '68 (who he became friends with as they travelled from the Upper West Side to Ramaz on the JayVee bus) and Richard Wolf '68, and has stayed in touch with other members of the class as well.

 

As Amram says, "the main pride of my life is not my work, but my family."  He and his wife, Rosalind Wright (an award-winninig novelist) whom he met at Columbia, have two daughters, Elizabeth and Luca.

 

CLICK HERE to email Amram, he looks forward to hearing from you!

 

UPCOMING EVENTSupcomingeventsanchor
SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA AT KJ

Friday, March 7 | 7:00 pm

Shabbat Program + Dinner | Ramaz Middle School

 

Join KJ for the 18th Annual Shabbat Across America program and dinner.  

Last year, some 500 people participated and they hope to do it again this year. Special seating for young professionals.  Contact Rabbi Daniel Kraus for more information at rdk@ckj.org, or 212.774.5696.

 

 

PARENTS COUNCIL | SPRING AUCTION

Thursday, March 12 | 7:00 pm

Chinese + Online Auction | Ramaz Upper School

 

Admission Packages purchased before March 11 will receive an

additional $50 in Chinese auction tickets.  Look out for a message 

about the online auction.  GREAT PRIZES!  

 

CLICK HERE to register and purchase tickets.

 

 

ALUMNI HOCKEY GAME vs VARSITY HOCKEY

Wednesday, March 26 | 6:30 pm

Ramaz Upper School

 

Reception to follow Alumni Game.  For more details and to play in the game, contact alumni@ramaz.org.  CLICK HERE to go to the Facebook event. 

HOST COMMITTEE: Harry Poloner '86, Ilya Grozovsky '89, and Jeffrey Esses '93

 

 

CELEBRATE ISRAEL PARADE "AFTER PARTY"

Sunday, June 1 | Afternoon, Time TBD

The Terrace | Ramaz Upper School

 

MILESTONE REUNIONSreunionsanchor
30, 35, 40, 45, 50 YEAR REUNION | 
CLASSES of '84, 79, '74, '69, '64

Sunday, March 9, 2014 | 11:30 am

Ramaz Upper School

 

There's still time to RSVP.  CLICK HERE to join the festivities!

 

Reunion Facebook Events: 30 Year-1984 | 35 Year-1979

40 Year-1974 | 45 Year-1969 | 50-Year-1964

5 YEAR REUNION | CLASS of '09

Thursday, June 12, 2014 | 7:00 pm

The Terrace | Ramaz Upper School

 

To get involved in the reunion committee, email us!

 

25 YEAR REUNION | CLASS of '89

Saturday, November 8, 2014 | 7:30 pm

Ramaz Upper School

 


The Ramaz School Alumni Association | 212.774.8054 | alumni@ramaz.org | www.ramaz.org/alumni
114 East 85th Street | New York, NY 10028

Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved.