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Golf contests include Longest Drive, Closest to the Hole, Hole in One, Putting Challenge, and Hole in One Contest at the 19th Hole. A raffle will be held for prizes including Knicks, Mets, Vikings and Devils game tickets; a ski villa vacation in Winter Park, Co.; a kosher cruise from Kosherica; dinner for four at 656 Ocean Restaurant in Long Branch; foursomes at Woodlake in Lakewood, Jumping Brook in Neptune, and Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster; a vacation in a North Miami Beach condo; a gift certificate from Acqualina Resort & Spa in Sunny Isles, Florida; and a gift certificate from Continental Airlines.

“The Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore Golf & Tennis Outing is a rare opportunity to play at a private Trump country club. Last year’s event drew hundreds of golfers and rave reviews. This summer’s outing will be better than ever, and will also include a tennis tournament,” said Dr. Eddie Boim, committee member. “Come meet your friends, and make new ones, at this unforgettable summer celebration.”

Boim continued: “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the Trump Organization, and to the YJS Board of Directors and event organizers Jerry Ostrov, Alan Bresler and Rabbi Nasanayl Braun, for their tireless efforts to bring this event to fruition.”

Participation and sponsorship fees range from $150 to $10,000. Proceeds of this second annual event, named after the late benefactor Nick Schwartz of Oakhurst, will benefit the scholarship program at Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore, a modern Orthodox day school in Deal Park, NJ.

For registration information, please visit www.yatjs.org/golfouting or call 732-222-6666. Rain date is August 28, 2011.

–Jill Garbi, July 13, 2011

Imprinted on the front of the shirt was the motivation behind Rabbi Elie Tuchman’s first marathon: “Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore.” 

Head of school at the Modern Orthodox day school in Deal Park, Tuchman ticked off the 26 miles on the route through the scenic barrier islands of Cape May County, raising funds for YJS tuition assistance along the way.

Tuchman so far has raised more than $8,500, at a rate of about $327 a mile. Donations are still being accepted.

The race enabled Tuchman, 43, to realize two dreams at once — completing a marathon, and raising critical scholarship funds, he said. He trained for the race for four months, logging thousands of treadmill miles at home and at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Monmouth County in Deal, and hitting the streets around his home in Passaic on Sundays.

“I run for my own health, but I thought if I was going to put myself through this personal challenge, I wanted to make it meaningful and help others in the process,” said Tuchman, who recently earned a doctorate of education from Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. “My true love is Jewish education and YJS. We want to continue to make it possible for everyone to get a Jewish education because it’s the key to the future of the Jewish people.”

Tuchman finished the race in five hours and 39 minutes, through frigid, windy weather and light snow flurries. Cheers from his family and spectators along the route helped keep him on course, he said.

When he trudged into school the morning after the race, he told NJJN, his muscles were screaming with each step.

“I am in enormous discomfort and pain. It takes a big toll on your body. I keep a gallon of water on my desk to keep myself hydrated, but also because it hurts too much to keep getting up for refills.”

Pain and anguish were not in the job description when Tuchman was hired to lead the school in 2006, quipped YJS board president Sydney Lekach of Oakhurst.

Tuchman’s run, he said, “shows his extreme level of commitment and dedication to YJS. It is so gratifying to see the rabbi, as well as his entire staff, go the extra mile to ensure YJS offers a progressive top-notch education.”

Tuchman earned the kudos of JCC members who watched his progress in the fitness center. “Only a very small percentage of the general population achieves running a marathon,” said JCC assistant executive director Randi Freed Cohen, who has completed 10 marathons herself. “I applaud him for using his effort and time toward raising money for what he has dedicated his life to — Jewish education.”

–Jill Garbi, April 8, 2011

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The 2009 OU Fair attracted nearly 1,000 visitors

Is Long Branch, New Jersey an up-and-coming relocation destination for observant Jewish families? 

The Orthodox Union seems to think so. The Long Branch/Elberon section of Monmouth County is one of 36 Jewish communities around the nation selected to be featured at OU’s “Emerging Communities Home and Job Fair,” on Sunday, March 27 at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan. Congregation Brothers of Israel (CBI) in Elberon and Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore (YJS) in Deal Park will represent the region at the fair. 

The third OU fair of its kind, this year’s event expects to attract up to 1,000 people. The fair was created to encourage residents from the New York metropolitan area to consider relocating to smaller communities that can offer a high quality of observant Jewish life in a more affordable setting. 

“Our goal is to let people know there is vibrant Jewish life outside the New York area, and that Judaism is alive and well in places like Southfield, Michigan and Phoenix, Arizona,” said Frank Buchweitz, national director of community services and special projects with the New York based Orthodox Union.  “In many cases housing outside the New York area may be more affordable, and the sense of community may be warmer or closer-knit. Sometimes people feel they have the opportunity to have a real say in smaller communities.” 

The thriving beachfront community of Long Branch and Elberon was selected to join the fair because of its plethora of Jewish resources, such as synagogues, schools, kosher establishments, mikvaot, and a full service Jewish Community Center, as well as its relatively low cost of living and employment opportunities. It is one of only five New Jersey towns to participate in the fair, including Cherry Hill, Springfield, Linden and Parsippany. 

“Elberon is the place to be for today’s modern Orthodox Jews looking to get away from the heavily congested and high-priced areas of northern New Jersey and New York,” said Dr. Andrew Samuel, CBI’s membership committee chairman. “It offers all the mainstays of a close-knit Jewish community.” 

CBI and YJS will send representatives to the fair, laden with display tables and exhibits touting the Jersey Shore community and all it has to offer. Based in Elberon with a satellite shul on Ocean Avenue in Long Branch, CBI is the largest Ashkenazi synagogue at the shore.  Founded in 1898, CBI is the only modern Orthodox shul in the Long Branch/Elberon area with an OU affiliation. 

CBI Members at a Young Couples Event

“Our residents like to say that Elberon and Long Branch are the best kept secrets in modern Orthodoxy,” said Rabbi Nasanayl Braun, spiritual leader of CBI, which boasts 230 families. Braun and his family moved to the area five years ago from New York, where he served as assistant rabbi at Lincoln Square Synagogue. 

“We are growing steadily every year, especially since the creation of Yeshiva at the Jersey Shore. The growth is also due to the inclusive nature of our shul, the meaningful davening, and our full range of programs and services, from weekly Gemara shiurim and halacha classes, to women’s lecture series, and shabbatot/scholar-in- residence programs,” the Rabbi said. 

In addition to the lower cost of living, this year’s fair will emphasize jobs. While the communities are not expected to guarantee jobs, representatives will be versed to help guide job seekers. CBI will offer lists of the largest employers in the county, as well as information on job postings. 

The health care industry has attracted many of CBI’s newest families to the area, Samuel said. “With three state-of-the-art teaching medical centers within an 8-mile radius of Elberon, many people move here for residencies and internships. They like it so much, they end up settling and practicing here,” said Samuel, a periodontist with a practice in Ocean Township. 

Ocean Township real estate broker Michael Danziger will provide housing information in a wide price range, as well as mortgage rate packages.  

“We are honored to have been selected to showcase our community at the fair,” said Samuel. “We are very fortunate that our community is large enough to offer everything, yet small enough where every family counts.”  – By Jill Garbi

A complete alphabetical list of participating communities at the fair: 

Allentown, PA; Austin, TX;  Binghamton, NY; Cherry Hill, NJ; Chesterfield, MO; Cincinnati, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Fairfield, CT; Harrisburg, PA; Jacksonville, FL; Las Vegas, NV; Linden, NJ; Long Branch, NJ; Malden, MA; Merrick, NY; Metairie, LA; Milwaukee, WI; New Haven, CT; Norfolk, VA; Oceanside, NY; Overland Park, KS; Parsippany, NJ; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Plainview, NY; Rochester, NY; Roslyn, NY; Sacramento, CA; San Antonio, TX; Southfield, MI; Springfield, NJ; Stamford, CT; White Oak, PA; Wynnewood, PA; and Roslyn Heights, NY. 

For more information, contact the Orthodox Union at (212) 613-8188 or visit www.oucommunity.org

Each student selected a state for which to do an in-depth study.  They completed their research at home and then fastidiously worked in class to write their state reports. They learned about outlining, organizing information into paragraphs based on topic, and varying sentence structure to make their writing more interesting.

Additionally, each student created a state float to accompany their report. The floats were creative and high quality, offering us a unique perspective on each state.

We concluded the unit by sharing our floats and reports with the rest of the school. The fourth graders were so proud of their work and did an excellent job at every step in the process!

On November 24, 2010 our first graders perform in the annual siddur play.

The fourth grade observed Veterans Day this year in a very meaningful way.   At a ceremony sponsored by the JCC of Greater Monmouth County, the fourth-graders met the Jewish War Veterans from VFW Post #125.  The students read their original poetry and presented the veterans with handmade medals of honor.

“Thank-you for saving our lives by risking yours.  That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” observed nine-year old Jacob Winters.  “You are some of the best people in the USA, and I thank you for our freedom and peace.  I wish one day I could be someone that important.”

Dovi Einhorn enjoyed shaking hands with each veteran.  “They are really very honorable and selfless.  They left their families and willingly went to war for the freedom of the USA.  It means a lot to me.”

Lisa, Judy, Rabbi Tuchman, Rabbi Braun

On October 24-26 2010, Lisa Shapiro, Judy Lekach, Rabbi Tuchman, and Rabbi Braun attended the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE) conference in Baltimore.