Testimonials

As the High Holidays approach, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the Partners In Torah staff for all of your assistance to me throughout the year. Not a holiday goes by for me as a Chaplain without the use of the literature supplied by Partners In Torah. May HaShem continue to bless you and yours, and give you the strength to continue your outstanding work.

B'kavod,

Bruce (Baruch) Bublick

I just wanted you to know that my mentor/partner (Malka Miller) has been so helpful in helping me re-discover my Jewish roots. I have been Jewish only in name for the major part of my life. 4 years ago, after my mother died, I was drawn to learn more and participate in the religion. Learning on my own was OK but I have learned so much from Malka in just a few months, it is amazing.

I would be embarrassed to mention all of the basic things that I didn't know but suffice it to say that my knowledge was on par with a child. There is still so much to learn but at least I am progressing and making different decisions on how I want to deal with situations and live my life. My eyes are beginning to open.


You have a wonderful program.

Myra

My Torah Partner and I have been learning together for the past three years. As soon as we were matched, I felt extremely fortunate. Aside from being the same age and sharing the same name, we had a similar outlook in life, yet hers was infused with an understanding of Judaism and Torah that I did not yet possess. My partner and I first met at the Partners in Torah Appreciation Dinner in May of 2006. I spent the night in her house in Brooklyn, walked around Brookyn, and enjoyed seeing one another face to face. Since then we have met numerous times—at Rabbi Gewirtz's house for Shabbas, at her parents' house for Shabbas several months later, for a friend's wedding, and, most recently, for my own wedding. I felt extremely blessed to have my Torah Partner attend my wedding; she was an amazing presence and really brought to life the lessons we had learned together about marriage and partnership. My Torah Partner is a wonderful teacher and friend, but she is also one of the people I admire most in the world. She truly lives her life by the Torah, always doing her best and helping others. She is an inspiration and I feel truly blessed to have her in my life.

With Warm Wishes,

Rachel

(formerly Rachel Becker)

I have been learning with my Partner in Torah for about three years now. We’ve worked our way through several volumes of Talmud, having just finished Maseches Megillah, and now we’re on Taanis.

When I started this learning, I really didn’t have much in hand in the way of learning skills, nor even a clear idea how to learn, or even really why to learn. Because of developing a personal relationship with my well-skilled, experienced, and patient Partner through Partners in Torah, the doors of learning have opened wide for me. I still struggle with some of the learning skills, but I am supported every step of the way, and that has resulted in much learning and a real appetite for more. I see how I am growing and changing in my everyday life because of my learning relationship, and it would not have happened without Partners in Torah.

Todah rabbah,

Alan Morinis

Vancouver, BC

Yes, I am a rabbi’s mother. But I never had a bat mitzvah and I received very little training in the Hebrew language, Torah study, the prayers, the ethical teachings, and on and on. I am so proud of my son and all that he has become in our Jewish community, but I am frequently embarrassed at my own lack of education during our services.

My mentor, Cheryl Jacobson, has been a perfect partner for me. For the first three consecutive years of our work together we read each of the parashiyot via three different editions of the Chumash, and she helped me complete my introductory work in Hebrew. We are currently studying and translating from The Path of the Just and the book of Joshua, while at the same time continuing my Hebrew studies using Ha-Yesod. I cannot tell you how many times she has kept me from throwing up my hands and saying I was giving up on learning Hebrew because I was just too old. More importantly, she has always kept me on track while making me laugh.

I am so grateful for my wonderful teacher and for all that I have learned being her Partner in Torah. Next year, we will study the siddur, and soon when my son looks down from the bimah, his mother will be fully taking part in the prayers. Thank you so much!

Frayda Glass

Canton, MA

Tobie and I have “been together” via Partners in Torah for almost five years. She has been unbelievably committed to our relationship and my biggest supporter in learning about Judaism.

I discovered that both my parents were Jews when I was in my sixties. I have had the wonderful good fortune to have found a rabbi who has been totally supportive of me, teaching me and helping me feel accepted into my local Jewish community. I applied for membership in Partners in Torah, and this has been the perfect combination to speed my education along. I have said many times that I have had “many Jewish mothers.”

Tobie and I have studied many things together, including the weekly parashah, and are now studying Pirkei Avos together. She has been generous in teaching me about the holidays with stories and examples from her own family. She sent me an excellent Hebrew letters booklet when I was struggling to learn Hebrew. She, her daughters, and even her kind husband listened to me stumble through the letters as I tried to read and say them. Thanks to all of them and my rabbi, I can now read most Hebrew.

Tobie has become a wonderful friend and Jewish sister to me. She has shared her life, her family, and her stories with me. It has been an exquisite pleasure to have learned about her life and to have gained her help in understanding Judaism and in understanding my own parents, who had hidden their lives for so many years. I have said so many times that our relationship has been a match surely made in heaven!

I thank Partners in Torah for their organization, which can make such a tremendous difference in a person’s life. With sincere thanks,

Diane Torgersen

Wilmington, NC

My hometown of Victoria, British Columbia, has a surprising array of Jewish opportunities, considering its size and location. The absence of Jewish day schools, however, limits the depth of learning available, especially for children.

Our nine-year-old, Graham, dislikes attending Hebrew school after full-time secular studies. I can’t blame him; I felt the same way as a child in Vancouver. Both of us have at times been passionate about our resistance to Hebrew school. This summer I surfed the Net to investigate the possibility of teaching Graham about our heritage at home. This fall, after Graham returned reluctantly to Hebrew school with his friends, I got a call from a program I had contacted through the website Torah.org. TelePartners in Torah matches adult learners with volunteer teachers and pays for the long-distance calls between them.

Though they had nothing for children, their New York office staff invited me to participate in their program to see if I could support Graham’s Jewish learning by deepening my own.

I hesitated at first, wondering whether it would really help Graham and where I would find the time. My Jewish skills and community involvement had already increased over the past six years since arriving in this cooperative, egalitarian community where lay leadership is encouraged. Congregants often lead portions of synagogue services here.

I began studying by phone in October with Devorah Farrell, an Orthodox mother of four from New Jersey. Although Devorah has degrees in psychology and French, with an undeclared minor in Judaic studies from the University of Southern California, she now pursues her intellectual growth mainly through Torah.

Each week, Devorah juggles ideas, books, and a spirited toddler with marvelous aplomb while teaching me about Torah, prayers, holidays, blessings, women in Judaism, and halachah (Jewish law). We have traversed the Torah from Abraham and Sarah to the Tabernacle’s construction, with many digressions in between. When I ask questions that she, her husband, or their Jewish library cannot readily answer, Devorah consults with Orthodox rabbis and women teachers across North America.

Though she is steeped in Jewish theology, Devorah is often so busy caring for her family and observing mitzvot (commandments) that she has little opportunity to share her knowledge. Since volunteering to teach with the Partners program, she finds she contributes more to Shabbat table conversations at home. Her kavanah (spiritual intention) increases along with mine. “The program is truly a terrific one,” she effuses. “It’s very energizing and rewarding to have a chance to share what I’ve learned throughout the years.”

Knowing my goal to understand Hebrew better, Devora sent me The Complete ArtScroll Siddur, a well-translated prayer book. She also recommended the Stone Chumash, which has reliable translations to study from each week, and introduced me to e-mail courses linked with Torah.org. Regular study, accompanied by Devora’s well-researched commentary, has deepened my appreciation for Jewish learning as well as practice.

Last month, Devorah arranged through Partners in Torah for a rabbinical student at Ner Israel College in Baltimore to call Graham at home. Each week, Raffy Davidovich, an articulate twenty-three-yearold from Montreal, provides tutorials tailored to a nine-year-old boy’s interests. So far, he has enthralled Graham with graphic accounts of the conflicts, rivalries, and battles during the time of King Saul and the prophet Samuel.

There is an ineffable sweetness to Graham’s demeanor after talking with Raffy. Graham expresses interest now in Jewish topics instead of dismissing them as irrelevant. His contributions are often insightful and he is more willing to attend Hebrew classes. Learning Judaica by phone has not replaced Hebrew school, but at least it gets him there!

Suzanne Kort

Victoria, British Columbia

A year ago I didn’t know the alef-bet. I kvell to myself because I can actually read now, not too fast, but when I get going, I can really cover ground! I really look forward to learning each week. David has given me so much insight and knowledge, and he treats me like a mensch instead of like some heathen. Partners in Torah is a wonderful opportunity to become somewhat informed, and this program whet my whistle to strive to take more classes. I learn from my kids, who are part of Partners in Torah, and they learn from me. My daughters live a Torah life, and I am very proud of them. I emulate them in my own way. Now that I know how to put on tefillin and a tallit, my kids gave me a gorgeous bag, red with a lion on it, embroidered with my Hebrew name, Yosef ben David.

Joseph Goldenson

Chicago, IL

I’d like to share with you some of my thoughts about Partners in Torah and the importance of Jewish education.

My family came to the United States from Moscow in September 1993. I’ve been thinking a lot about how my family and many others managed to stay Jewish without knowing either Hebrew or Yiddish, without having the support of a strong community, having grown up in a culture which was completely Russian... Yet we still felt such a strong desire to stay Jewish, even though it was an “inconvenient” stigma. What preserved us and prevented us from total assimilation?

As you might know, in Russia everyone gets a passport at age sixteen. On the passport there is a line where nationality must be shown. If the word Jewish appears on that line, you can expect a lot of additional problems in life. Some people paid money to have the contents of that line altered and changed it to anything but Jewish. But so many people didn’t do that. Why?

My father told me that when World War II began, he was sixteen and too young to be drafted. But he wanted to fight. He falsified his age, saying he was eighteen, and they took him. Everybody was so patriotic and ready to fight for the Motherland, regardless of nationality. In the line of fire, many young men like my father became members of “Comsomol” — a Communist youth organization. I still have the document they gave him when he became a member, dated September 1942.

My father, whose name was Alexander Katz, was asked at that time about his nationality and he replied that he was a Jew. The officer looked at him and said, “You are from the Ukraine. So you are Ukrainian. Let’s just put that on your documents and be done with it.” But my father protested, saying, “No, I’m a Jew.”

Why did he insist, choosing the hardest path? He wasn’t a religious person at all, and he didn’t have a Jewish education. I never asked him and never will have a chance. He passed away at sixty-one. But I still admire him so much for his simple answer. I’ve given lots of thought to what being Jewish means. What defines us as a people? If it’s a religion, then how can the history of my family be explained? Our family didn’t have any intermarriages. All our relatives were Jewish. That’s why there was no question in my mind that I would never marry a non-Jewish guy.

My sister and all my first cousins all have Jewish spouses. When my son was eight and in second grade in Moscow, his teacher decided one day that every morning would start with a prayer. She didn’t ask any parents, and it took my husband and myself totally by surprise. When I picked up my son after school one day, he looked very upset. I asked him what had happened, and he told me that the teacher started classes that morning with a prayer. She said the words and the whole class repeated after her.

At some point she noticed that Michael wasn’t following along. She ordered him to stand up and explain why he hadn’t so much as opened his mouth. Michael stood up and said, “I’m Jewish. I can’t pray with you.” He was the only Jewish kid in his class. There was a silence in the classroom, and then the teacher said, “Then pray in your Jewish way.” But we were not religious, and of course he couldn’t pray “in his Jewish” way.

As a result of this incident, we started going to a Sunday Jewish school which had just opened in Moscow. And the next year we immigrated to the United States. Here in the United States, we’ve gotten involved in Jewish life from the very first. We met with Rabbi Paysach Diskind (a grandson of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky), and he became our teacher and a personal friend, as is the case for many people from the former Soviet Union in Baltimore. My son graduated from Beth Tfiloh School, and my husband and I were so happy to pay for his Jewish education (even with our meager salaries as new immigrants, both of us working two jobs and taking college classes at night). At thirteen he had a bar mitzvah in an Orthodox synagogue. I am so proud and thankful that I had a chance to see this. For many years my husband has been taking classes on Torah, and he himself underwent a brit at the age of fifty. I’m so proud of him. With the help of Rabbi Diskind we had our Jewish wedding ceremony after twenty-one years of marriage.

As for me, I became involved with Partners in Torah though Beth Tfiloh and I’m now getting what I missed as a child. I’m learning to read Hebrew. I’m learning to pray. My Partner is Ms. Judith Friedman, and she has tons of patience.

Although we haven’t yet had a chance to meet, the encouragement and support of this total stranger have become very important to me. I’m very grateful to Partners in Torah for the opportunity you have given me. Thank you!

Margarita Turovskiy

Baltimore, MD

Dear Rabbi Gewirtz,

I am writing to thank you and the leadership of Partners in Torah for your tireless work in providing Torah learning opportunities for myself and for thousands of others.

I myself grew up in a nonobservant family which called itself traditional. When I grew up, “traditional” was the term we used to refer to someone who sat with his family around a Pesach table, who went to shul for the High Holidays, who fasted on Yom Kippur, and, in my case and in my brother’s, to someone whose parents sent him to a Zionist secular school and learned a good deal of Hebrew. An important part of that tradition was to “have” your bar mitzvah when you turned thirteen. To that extent, my parents took me to one of the main Conservative shuls in Buenos Aires, where I was trained to lead services, to chant the haftarah, to read from the Torah, and to put on tefillin. My early involvement with the secular youth group associated with my Jewish day school took me to Israel, where I finished high school, and upon my return to Argentina, I enrolled myself in the Conservative Seminary in Buenos Aires, one of the two available non-Orthodox institutions for training Jewish teachers. After three years of study I entered rabbinical school, and after five more years I got my rabbinical ordination and became a member of the Rabbinical Assembly, the rabbinical association for Conservative rabbis.

While studying at the Seminario, my level of observance slowly started increasing, but I always looked at myself as a “searcher,” even after I had my own congregation, first in Argentina, then in the Dominican Republic, and then in the United States of America, in Roanoke, Virginia.

It was in Roanoke that I first got in touch with Partners in Torah. I was serving as the rabbi of Beth Israel Synagogue, the Conservative shul in Roanoke, when one of my congregants, Arnold Masinter, brought to my attention a bookmark of Partners in Torah. I suggested that he call, and he got matched with his Torah partner. The positive influence of Partners in Torah on Arnold and on one of his then employees, who also joined the program, prompted me to call and ask for my own Torah Partner. A week later, the rosh kollel of Karlin- Stolin in Boro Park called me, and since that time, almost eight years ago, we have been Partners.

My family and I have visited the Machlis family a few times in the past years and stayed with them for Shabbat, and our daughters developed a friendship. However, my main gain was in a deep and sweet (I don’t have better words to describe it) Torah study, which led me to new levels of Torah observance. Partners in Torah provided me with the greatest gift of all, the gift of Torah, a gift which broadened my mind, opened new doors for me, and made me believe that the best is yet to come.

Partners in Torah did all of the above in a compassionate, yet professional, nonjudgmental way, reminding me always that we are all Jews, and that we all have a chelek in Hashem’s Torah. For all of this, Rabbi Gewirtz, I want to reiterate my personal sense of gratitude and appreciation to you and to Partners in Torah for everything you have done and continue to do for me and for many others like myself.

May you go from strength to strength, and may Hashem crown your efforts with many blessings!

Rabbi Manes Kogan

Queens, NY

Dear Rabbi Gewirtz,

I could count on one hand the number of people who have been able to make an impact on my life. You, my friend, are one of them. Though we have only recently met I feel like I have known you forever. There are not many things that impress me in this world, but I am both impressed and jealous of your love for klal Yisrael, which is contagious and inspiring. I can’t help but think about what the world would be like if we had more rabbis such as you leading am Yisrael. I could easily write a few pages telling you how much I love being a part of your program and how much I look forward to studying with my Partner every week. But I won’t bore you, because I know anything that I write you must have already heard a thousand times over.

I only wish there was a way for me to thank you enough. Since I cannot come up with any good ideas, I will be open to suggestions. If there is anything you feel I could do to help you promote PIT, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will always do my best. Hazak u’baruch!

Freddy Sayegh

Brooklyn, NY