Written by Rabbi Gidon Goldberg
Dear Parents,
I aw writing this letter from Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh as I pre-pare to return to America. Over the course of my trip I had the opportunity to meet with our married alumni living in Israel, as well as our PHDS yeshiva bochurim and eleven of our seminary girls who are spending one or two years of intensive study in Israel. I bring back a message of tremendous thanks from them. Zahava Rubin, a shana bet student in Darchei Bina, organized the seminary reunion together with Chaya Kapilevich; Zahava mentioned that although all of the NEATers feel close, they never have the opportunity to get together as a group and they thank the school for convening this reunion. It was amazing to see the continued growth, studiousness, and desire to take in all the spiritual connections, at the same time enjoying the tours all over Eretz Yisroel. Our students all remarked on the level of preparedness they had received at NEAT and felt that although they are working hard, their years in NEAT had prepared them for the rigors of seminary. In meeting with multiple seminaries the common theme from the principals was that our girls excel in their middos, as well as in their academics, and are the pride of the seminaries they attend.
When we met with our group of married alumni I learned that the three young ladies have all been extremely successful in their endeavors in Israel. One is a Share-Point expert in office 365 and is a consultant to clients all over the country; another is a shaitel manufacturer; the third is a business consultant. Each of them is a testimony to the excellent training they had at NEAT. At the same time, I had the opportunity to meet some of the rebbeim of our PHDS alumni, who shared with me that our alumni are among the top students in shiur.
Over the course of my trip I had the opportunity to visit our alumni in the seminaries of their choice, and to advocate for our girls who are applying to semi-nary. I visited eight seminaries in person and consulted with a ninth seminary. In a number of these seminaries, although our girls rank high as applicants, there is often a 1:3 ratio of applicants to acceptances, but being able to sit in person and share the unique qualities of our girls makes an impression on the principals and, we hope, will have the desired effect.
All the way over here in Israel I heard from one of our past drama stars of the tremendous success of this year’s Production she had Skyped into. While I am sure there will be a more detailed description of the Production accompanied by many pictures, I wanted to thank Goldie Taitelbaum, Production advisor, as well as Production heads, Rivka Kaila Jakubowicz and Yitty Taitelbaum for all their hard work. I also want to thank Mrs. Raskin and the many parents and friends who volunteered in so many aspects of the play. The annual production offers our young ladies the chance to shine in song, dance, drama, art, play bill, costuming, stagehands, makeup, and so much more. We are proud of every one of you and wish you much continued success.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Peretz Scheinerman
Dean