Guests of Honor
Cheryl and Evan Borenstein have been proud and active members of the Moriah family since 2003. Cheryl, originally from Miami Beach, Florida, and Evan, originally from Brooklyn, NY, have called Englewood their home since 2000. Evan is a partner in the Corporate Department at the law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP based in New York City. Cheryl is a pediatric occupational therapist at Trinitas Children’s Therapy Center and is based in Bloomfield, NJ. Over their 17 years at Moriah, Cheryl and Evan have held a variety of leadership roles at Moriah. Cheryl has served as a Names, Not Numbers mentor, bat mitzvah event committee member, Middle School Shabbaton committee member, Golf committee member and graduation event committee member, among other Moriah-related volunteer efforts. Evan has served as Chairman of the Board, Co-Chairman of the Board of Overseers, Executive Committee member, Legal Committee member, Capital Campaign Co-Chair, member of Annual Campaign and Golf committees and a member of the Board of Trustees since 2013. Beyond Moriah, the Borensteins are involved in many other Jewish organizations including Ahavath Torah, where Evan is a former trustee and The Frisch School, where Evan has served on multiple committees. Cheryl has served as past President of the Emunah Englewood Chapter Emunah and an active volunteer of the Bikur Cholim at Englewood Hospital. Cheryl and Evan are the proud parents of Lauren (‘14), Jacob (‘17) and Jordana (‘20).
Alumni Leadership Award
Ayelet and Brian Rosen have had Moriah as a part of their lives now for over 32 years. Their childhood was spent in the same hallways that their children now run through each day. The warmth and love they felt from the days of Rabbi Applebaum has continued to permeate through the hallways, the same way it did when they graduated in 1993. When they moved back to Englewood eight years ago, there was no question that the community school which filled their childhood with so many wonderful memories was going to be the place for their own children. Since moving to Englewood in 2011, Ayelet and Brian immediately got involved in the community following what they had seen from their parents years before. Brian joined the Moriah Board of Trustees and assisted on the Moriah Dinner Capital campaign committee. Ayelet joined the Moriah Association of Parents Board, has been the Moriah Early Childhood Parent Liaison, spearheaded the Annual Early Childhood Mother’s Chesed event and volunteers regularly in the school. She is also a board member of the East Hill Synagogue, has served as the Co-head of the East Hill Synagogue Youth Department and was the Co-President of the Englewood Emunah Chapter. Brian’s father, Joseph Rosen a’h, was the building consultant for the first Moriah expansion in 1993. He was a supporter of Moriah and a big believer in Yeshiva education for all Jewish children. Brian hopes to continue in these footsteps and to serve as a consultant as Moriah hopes to build a new state of the art Early Childhood Center in the upcoming years. He is a co- founder and principal of Apptitude Development, a Real Estate Development company focusing on Student Housing. Ayelet and Brian are proud to have all of their children in Moriah, their second home. They are thankful to the administration and amazing teachers who have helped shape their children- David (20’), Sam (22’), Judah (26’) and Joelle (28’) over the years. They continue to see a strong support system for each of their four children- all of them so different in their own ways and appreciate the devotion of every teacher and administrator they have been fortunate enough to work with over the past eight years.
Hakarat Hatov Award
Rachel Tkatch has been a proud member of the Moriah Family since 2013, when she, Dovid, Ayelet ('20), Eliana ('25) and Naomi ('26) moved to Englewood from Miami Beach. Rachel is originally from Los Angeles and she and Dovid are thankful to have been welcomed so warmly into the Englewood Community. Rachel is a Program Manager for the Jersey City/Newark Urban Areas Security Initiative Grant Program, a public safety grant program.
Rachel's involvement at Moriah began with her role organizing the Englewood Shalom 5K Run/Walk. Since then Rachel has been serving on the Moriah Board and has been chairing the Lower School Parent Council. She also manages the MAP website and is involved with the MAP Kids' Mishloach Manot Program. Additionally, for the last two years she has coordinated the Moriah Lower School Musical Theater Club. Rachel is grateful to Moriah for the wonderful education it is giving her children. She is extremely impressed by all of the other parent volunteers at Moriah who give of their time to enhance the programming at school and make volunteering together so enjoyable!
Rabbi J. Shelley Applbaum, Z”L Service Award
Robin Fishman joined the Moriah family in 1994. She had just returned to teaching after several years as a stay at home mom and graduate student when she met Rabbi Applbaum, who convinced her that Moriah was a great fit. Robin began her tenure at Moriah as a resource teacher. After two years in that position she became the first teacher of our Gesher Yehuda program.The Gesher program flourished under her leadership, adapting readily to the changing needs of our students. After two years, the program was moved into the classrooms so that participating students could benefit from the more flexible environment.
At around the time of this change, Robin began splitting her days between Gesher and a third grade class. While teaching, Robin promoted continuing teacher education programs for the staff. She attended Teachers’ College at Columbia for an additional 18 credits beyond her Masters, became certified in the PAF (Orton) Reading and Writing programs, received certification as a Teacher Mentor through the Jewish New Teachers Project, and attended several ASCD (curriculum development) workshops during the summers. Six years ago Moriah received a grant to ensure that learning is personalized for each child through the usage of a variety of tools and techniques including digital content and rotation models. This grant initiated a restructuring of staffing roles and duties. At that time, Robin assumed the newly created title of Curriculum Coordinator, a role that she still currently holds. Her duties include planning programs and trips and vetting various curriculums. In addition, she is responsible for adjusting and restructuring teaching methodology, working with the teachers to create benchmarks and report cards that reflect our standards, as well as mentoring teachers. Currently, Robin teaches third grade in the morning and continues in her role as Curriculum Coordinator for the afternoon. Teaching remains her passion. The more she teaches, the more she learns. The love, laughter, mischief, creativity and imagination of children are an eternal source of joy for her. She loves seeing Moriah—and the world at large—through the eyes of her students. Robin presently resides in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey with her husband, Marty, who she has been married to for forty five years. She raised her children, Jared and Julie, in Suffern, New York. Jared and his wife Joanna reside in Larchmont, New York with their two wonderful children, Nathan (9 years old) and Daphne (6 years old). Julie and her husband, David, live in Los Angeles with their two awesome daughters, Evie (5 years old) and Ayla (2 years old).
Rabbi J. Shelley Applbaum, Z”L Service Award
Sharon Weiskopf, known to her students as Morah Sarah, has taught in Moriah for over 25 years. She joined the Limudei Kodesh staff as an assistant teacher in Kitah Gimmel and has remained in that grade as a classroom teacher ever since. Sharon graduated from Stern College with a BA in Jewish Studies and an AA in psychology. Throughout her years at Moriah, Sharon has participated in many professional development opportunities which have enabled her to become proficient in a variety of curricula such as Tal Am and iTalam, which help her to create an enriching Hebrew language environment in her classroom. Additionally, Sharon was one of the first teachers at Moriah to successfully learn and implement the Lehavin Ulehaskil Chumash skills curriculum, created by the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. Sharon has always considered it a privilege to teach at Moriah and to collaborate and innovate with an outstanding team of professional educators. Sharon’s children Daniel, Tovah, and Avi have had the privilege of benefiting from an education at Moriah. Sharon and her husband Steven are members of Congregation Beth Abraham in Bergenfield, where Sharon often has the opportunity to reconnect with former Moriah students and to take pride in hearing about their accomplishments.