Lander College for Men Celebrates Ordination of 43 Rabbis

“We pay tribute to our most worthy musmachim, whose exemplary commitment to Torah, avodah and gemilus chassadim has enabled them to reach this celebrated milestone,” said Rabbi Yonason Sacks, Rosh HaYeshiva of the Beis Medrash L’Talmud. “We take great pride in their erudition and commitment to Klal Yisrael.”

The smicha program at the Beis Medrash L’Talmud immerses students in sugyos hashas and deepens their understanding of Halacha, while providing the practical education necessary for success in chinuch and rabbonus. This is LCM’s second Chag HaSmicha; the first took place in 2010.

“I see in our musmachim, in our alumni honorees and their fellow alumni present the wondrous fruits of our labors when back in 2000 we opened our doors for the very first time,” said Dr. Moshe Sokol, dean of LCM. “In your presence and in your manifold accomplishments we have come to see that the rewards of those labors are immeasurable.”

Rabbi Shmulewitz was presented with the Harbotzas Torah Award in acknowledgement of his numerous accomplishments in spreading Torah. He studied under his uncle, the famed Rabbi Chaim Shmulewitz, at the Mir yeshiva in Jerusalem, and at the Kollel Beis Yosef in Brooklyn, and has had a distinguished career teaching in Jewish schools in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Long Island and Brooklyn, before joining the staff of LCM. In addition to his responsibilities as menahel, Rabbi Shmulewitz also delivers a daily shiur.

Rabbi and Mrs. Hasten were honored as the Parents of the Year for their steadfast commitment to Lander College and to all of Touro. They have six children and their son, Yonatan, is currently studying business at LCM. A pillar of the Indiana Jewish community and an accomplished talmid chacham, Rabbi Hasten established the Rabbi Naftali Riff Yeshiva High School in Indianapolis in 2008. For three years he traveled 1,400 miles each week, commuting between Indiana and New York while he was working toward his masters in Jewish studies at the Touro College Graduate School of Jewish Studies, and simultaneously teaching at the Lander College for Women-The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School. Rabbi Hasten is the son of Dr. Mark Hasten, chairman of the Touro College Board of Trustees and its Board of Overseers for over two decades.

The Milgraum brothers, who grew up in Edison, NJ and have three other siblings, were named the LCM Alumni of the Year. All four were very active and accomplished at LCM: Koby was presented with the Talmud Award his senior year; Meir, who remained in the Kew Gardens Hills area after graduating before moving to Hillside, NJ last year, is very active in alumni events and his wife, Natanya, is a Touro alumna; Elchanan appears each year at LCM Accounting Society events to discuss the profession, and he serves as vice president on the LCM Alumni Executive Board; and Micha, the youngest member of the Milgraum family, served as the vice president of the LCM student government and upon graduating received the College Service Award.

Upon arriving guests offered well-wishes to the honorees and musmachin, and enjoyed an elaborate buffet in Da Mikele Illagio’s spectacular reception hall. During the formal ceremony each honoree was presented with a plaque following an introduction which included a short video tribute featuring interviews from friends, family and colleagues.

Over the past four years 43 students from several states and countries—including New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California, Georgia, Washington, Rhode Island, Jerusalem and Venezuela—received rabbinic ordination from LCM:

Rabbi Elie Bashevkin; Rabbi Jeremy Bekritsky; Rabbi Yoni Berkovitz; Rabbi Jeremy Caplan; Rabbi Ezra Cowan; Rabbi Benji Drory; Rabbi Daniel Eisenberg; Rabbi Hillel Feuerman; Rabbi Amichai Gez; Rabbi Shalom Glas; Rabbi Yehuda Goldin; Rabbi Aryeh Gottlieb; Rabbi Micha Holtzer; Rabbi David Kalish; Rabbi Jordan Kaplan; Rabbi Danny Konigsberg; Rabbi Dovid Liechtung; Rabbi Ari Manheim; Rabbi Ruby Markowitz; Rabbi Yudi Ness; Rabbi Nafi Orlofsky; Rabbi Avrohom Panish; Rabbi Daniel Parness; Rabbi David Rabinowitz; Rabbi Joey Rosenfeld; Rabbi Yehoshua Rubenstein; Rabbi Dovid Rubin; Rabbi Shmuely Saklad; Rabbi Yossi Samet; Rabbi Josh Sarner; Rabbi Jon Savage; Rabbi Yossi Schultz; Rabbi Elan Segelman; Rabbi Aryeh Shapiro; Rabbi Tzvi Shapiro; Rabbi Avraham Soleimani; Rabbi Ephraim Soloveichik; Rabbi Avi Weber; Rabbi Avishai Weiss; Rabbi Daniel Witkin; Rabbi Danny Yaeger; Rabbi Nathaniel Yankelev; and Rabbi Aryeh Young.

The Lander College for Men is an undergraduate division of Touro College, in service to the Jewish community. Established in the fall of 2000 and located in Queens, N.Y., the Lander College for Men is grounded in a dual curriculum of intensive Torah study and a wide range of academic programs, and students major in professionally oriented disciplines. Lander College for Men provides students with an environment that produces ethical, mature, and well-rounded professionals committed to scholarship and career growth. Dedicated to Touro’s mission of perpetuating the Jewish heritage, Lander College for Men prepares students to uphold the ideals of Torah and pursue positions of professional and communal leadership. 

About the Touro College and University System

Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris and Florida. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/.