Menschlichkeit was the theme of the 82nd annual Ramaz dinner, which was held on January 13th at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel. While the temperature outside was well below freezing, the Ramaz dinner proved to be warm and inviting. With over one thousand people watching, the students from the Lower, Middle and Upper school ensembles truly showcased what Ramaz has to offer.
Sherry and Neil Cohen—parents of Becky ’16— were this year’s honorees. Both are strong advocates of the importance of a Jewish education and have been active participants in the Ramaz community. Attendees watched an informative video describing Sherry’s role as a Ramaz teacher and parent. She explained that her goal as a teacher was to teach each individual child and show them how they could succeed.  Even after Sherry stopped teaching, she still returned to her true passion and read to numerous Early Childhood classes. In the same video, Neil spoke about his commitment to Teach NYS and the goal of making Jewish education more affordable so that anyone who wants a Jewish day school education can receive one. Most importantly, the Cohens lauded the education and opportunities that Ramaz provided for their child.  

Michael Reidler ’09 was also honored at this year’ dinner with the Alumni Menschlichkeit Award for his chesed work and for founding the Kol HaNearim program, which organizes summer camps and year long programming for children at risk in Israel. He spoke about the way that his Ramaz education emphasized the importance of Chesed and the significance of being a socially responsible individual. Since its inception, Kol HaNearim has expanded to provide programming for 1,600 children in eight homes throughout Israel and one in the Ukraine.

The students from all divisions had been preparing for their performances for months, with lengthy rehearsals and brainstorming sessions. The Ramaz Development department has also been preparing for this evening since soon after last year’s dinner. Erica Tannenbaum, Director of Development says, “The Institutional Advancement team begins planning for the dinner as early as the summer before the next school year. While most of the school is on break, our team is hard at work planning for the launch of our Annual Campaign for once school begins in September. The Annual Dinner is the highlight event of this campaign. Beginning as early as June we meet to talk about the theme and honorees for the dinner.”
On the evening of the dinner, the guests arrived at 5PM to a sumptuous dinner buffet.  A floor plan and guide was provided so that guests would be able to navigate the numerous carving stations, sushi stands, and refreshments.  The student participants, Ramaz faculty members, security, and staff had been hard at work from the early hours of the morning. Tali Sitruk ‘22 said, “Waking up early on Sunday morning was tiring, especially with having finals that week, but it was all worth it because the show was truly amazing!”
A band played during the dinner buffet and guests were invited to simcha dance with the honorees. After dining, the guests were seated in the ballroom and treated to student performances by the Upper, Middle and Lower School Choirs, the Upper School Bands, the Middle School String Ensemble, the Guitar Ensemble and the Dance Ensemble. Mr. Henkin dressed as the ringmaster in top hat and tails and the students arrived on stage and walked down the aisles to music from “The Greatest Showman.” In addition to songs in Hebrew and English sung by the choirs, a duet by Talia Leifer ’23 and her father Ethan ’97 of Birchas Habonim was enjoyed by all.  One of the highlights of this year’s dinner was a short clip called “Mensch Moment,” featuring Sophie Dahan ’19 and a few younger Ramaz students, in which the group went out into the community searching for the true definition of a “mensch.” Building on last year’s theme of Hineni, this year’s dinner showed all that the Ramaz community values education, chessed, and, of course, menschlichkeit. It was truly the greatest show on earth.