The Rampage welcomes Deeni Hass to the Ramaz community! I interviewed Deeni to learn more about her and what she plans to bring to Ramaz.  

Clemi Roth: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where did you do before coming to Ramaz, and where are you from originally? 

Ms. Deeni Hass: I’m originally from Cedarhurst, in the Five Towns, but I now live on the Upper East Side with my husband Manu and son Ezra. Before working at Ramaz I worked at NCSY, Yeshiva University, and the American Society for Yad Vashem. Currently, I work at Ramaz and I’m also the director of JYC, the Hebrew School hosted at KJ.

CR: How would you describe DeeDee Benel’s legacy? How are you going to help Ramaz honor Deedee Benel’s legacy?

DH: I don’t think there are words to describe DeeDee’s legacy and do her justice, and if there are I am probably not the best person for the job. What I can say is that when I took this job and told one of last year’s seniors, his immediate reply was “So you’re never going to sleep again?” and I think that says it all. DeeDee was the ultimate energizer bunny when it came to doing anything to make the world a better place. She was someone who truly woke up every morning thinking, “what can I do today to leave the world a better place than it was yesterday?” All I can do is try to learn from her through the many binders she kept, stories from students and faculty and connecting with the organizations she had relationships with. The hardest part of my job so far has been when I connect with someone at an organization and I have to be the one to share the news of her passing. I hope she knew what a huge impact she had on every person she interacted with. I will do my best in every way to honor her legacy through chesed opportunities and programs at the school and do my best to help instill the true value of chesed in our students not just for their time within the walls of Ramaz, but as a middah they will carry for the rest of their lives.

CR: How are you planning on getting Ramaz students more involved in chesed within and outside of our community? 

DH: The first component of getting students more involved in chesed has been expanding the requirements to 11th and 12th grades along with 10th. It is important to us as an institution, thinking both in terms of the values of Ramaz and in honoring DeeDee’s legacy, to make it clear that chesed is a core part of our curriculum because we believe so deeply that it is the foundation of your life as a Jewish person. In a new world where volunteering in person still isn’t as simple as it was pre-Covid, a lot of creativity will come into play when working to get students more involved. There are pros and cons to the way we need to do things; even though it is sometimes harder to coordinate the opportunities, it’s often because we are finding a way to make it the most accessible to students. I hope having more opportunities within the school building as well as virtually will drive students to get more involved beyond their required hours.

CR: If you could only teach your students one thing, what would it be? What do you want your students to take away from your chesed initiatives?

DH: If I could teach my students one thing in regards to chesed, it’s that chesed isn’t just something you do, it’s part of who you are. I truly believe that it’s an inherent Middah that can be learned even if someone isn’t naturally chesed-oriented.

CR: What are you most excited to do/see/be a part of at Ramaz? 

DH: I am most excited to be back in a position of working with students to help them find what they are passionate about. Chesed is for everyone, individuals just need to find what they love to do and share with others. As part of Ramaz, I just love being back in a school building and seeing students every day. And of course, working with Dov again!

CR: Can you tell us another fun fact about yourself?

DH: Fun facts are always really hard! But fun fact: I worked for Dov on an NCSY summer program in 2017. 

CR: Finally, do you think that chocolates, like Twix or KitKats, are candy? 

DH: NO! Chocolate is its own category.

We are so excited to continue to get to know Deeni and collaborate with her in her Chesed initiatives!