Kol Bogrei Rambam, March 2013 - Maimonides School

March 2013 ~ Adar-Nisan-5773Page 2 of 4Kol BogreiRambamConnecting Maimonides Alumni WorldwideAlumna Shares Uplifting Message With StudentsAfter Chesed Day on Post-Sandy Long IslandThe spring issue of the Orthodox Unionmagazine Jewish Action is replete withreferences to Maimonides School’svolunteer effort last Nov. 11 in supportof victims of Hurricane Sandy on LongIsland. This includes a mention in acolumn by OU Chair Steven Savitsky. Mostdetailed was a first-person account byLeah (Rosenfield) Lightman ’78, whohosted the busload of volunteers at herhome in Lawrence, NY for dinner. Here isher account:My alma mater, the Maimonides Schoolin Brookline, MA, sent out an e-mail toall alumni that a busload of Maimonideshigh school students would be travelingto an area ravaged by Sandy to help withthe storm cleanup.I called the school and offered to host thestudents for dinner. Even with a secondloss of power that Erev Shabbos, I wasnonetheless determined to feed thesekids who cared enough to leave theircomfortable homes and travel via busover four hours each way to help stormvictims in Long Beach. A call to Carlos &Gabby’s, a restaurant in Cedarhurst, andwe were ready.While the teens ate dinner in my home, Itold them, “When you go away to collegeand go out into the ‘real’ world, you willbe exposed to many challenges. Yetalways remember today and that whatyou’ve done connects you to a mesorahthat dates back to Har Sinai, which hascontinued, uninterrupted, despite countlessvicissitudes.Take pride in being Jewish! Rememberwhat we say every Shabbos at Minchahand in Mussaf on Yom Kippur: ‘Mike-amcha Yisrael?’ You are part of theJewish brotherhood — whereby we allhelp each other and do for one another.The hallmark of a Jew is to always beinvolved in chesed and that’s what you’vedone today. Walk as proud Jews at alltimes.”I think these kids saw that they are tetheredto something so beautiful and timelessand so much greater than they everrealized.Michael Stern Cohen, left, and 2007 classmate EliHutton pose at center court at TD Garden before arecent game. Michael says that as a Celtics seasonticketholder he had access to the floor for onegame and also met guard Jason Terry.Graduate Regards Her Work with Animals as a Quest for Informationcontinued from page 1A lot of times owners blame themselves.I can tell them, ‘This is what happened.You couldn’t have done anything’. Or,alternatively, ‘Here’s what happened andhere’s how to prevent it from happeningto your other pets’.”Lisa and her husband, Dr. Jordan Booty,a radiologist, ended up at Ohio Statebecause it was one of the few placeswhere they could have simultaneousresidencies. “I also really liked the factthat there was a combined program witha Ph.D. You need a Ph.D. to really haveas many job opportunities as possible.”They plan to return to the Philadelphiaarea this summer — with their two dogsand two cats — after they complete theirrespective residency programs. “Peoplewho don’t have pets don’t understandthe amount of pleasure and comfortpets give you,” said Lisa. “As a pet owner,I treat each case like I want one of myanimals to be treated.”“I feel like a big part of Jewish traditionis to search, ask questions and delve intothings,” she remarked. “Look at all theposkim and their quest for answers andknowledge and debate.” As a pathologist,she said, she also asks questions andsearches for answers “Pathology is bothan art and a science. It’s nice to havebeen raised in that environment.”