December 1, 2000
Honoring
the Past, the Present and the Future
Spring
Valley Resident To Be Inducted into the OU’s
Ben Zakkai Honor Society
The Orthodox Union is
pleased to honor long-time affiliate of the Orthodox Union’s (OU)
National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NSCY), Chaim Neiditch, by
inducting him into the Ben Zakkai Honor Society at the annual Ben
Zakkai Dinner, Sunday, December 10, in Manhattan.
It
is alleged that Chaim began his NCSY career shortly after he was old
enough to walk and talk, by joining his local Junior NCSY.
A born leader, he quickly accepted many responsibilities within
his chapter and took upon himself the mantle of leadership by holding
many chapter board positions throughout the years.
This culminated in his senior year position as National Yachad
Chairman.
Chaim's
summers were also busily occupied with NCSY.
Not only was he one of the pioneering participants of the Summer
Kollel in Israel, but for three summers he was also a dynamic
counselor in NCSY Camp
Sports in Baltimore. When his parents moved to New York, he found himself in a new
Region, Ohr Chadash,
for his senior year. He
began to build a chapter in the Bronx where there had previously been no
NCSY activity for over a decade.
Thanks
to Chaim’s efforts, this chapter became an extremely successful
outreach/public school chapter in the New York region.
After graduating from high school Chaim attended Yeshivat HaKotel
for two years and, upon his return, he went back to his Bronx roots,
this time as a chapter advisor. At
the same time, he was attending a rigorous learning program in Yeshiva
Torah Mitzion, which culminated in his receiving semicha from its Rosh
Yeshiva, Rabbi Dovid Rhodes, while attending Touro College in the
evenings.
Chaim
found his true calling when he joined the Southern Region and initiated
CAP (Community Assistance Program).
The CAP program helps bring Judaism to the Southern Region,
to places where many wouldn't even believe Jews reside.
His tireless efforts in these small communities has positively
affected the lives of many teenagers.
Besides being their first exposure to Torah Judaism, a number of
these young men and women have started observing the Sabbath, keeping
kosher and a few have even gone on to attend yeshiva.
OU President Mandell I.
Ganchrow, M.D., explained, “Chaim Neiditch has demonstrated tireless dedication to the youth
of NCSY and has provided them with a supreme example of Torah
scholarship and commitment to kiruv
(outreach). We are very proud to recognize his dedication to
instilling in countless NCSY teenagers a deep love and enthusiasm for
Judaism.”
Since
it was founded in 1954, NCSY has
pioneered the Jewish outreach movement and today is the world’s
largest Jewish youth program. With
chapters in 39 states, 215 communities across the nation and 3 Canadian
provinces, NCSY reaches 40,000 boys and girls annually by offering 750
major educational events and programs and 10 summer camps – in the
U.S., Israel and the Ukraine.
When the Ben Zakkai
Honor Society was created in 1965, its mandate was to honor those
exceptional men and women who “have demonstrated personal Torah growth
and the promise of future meaningful service to the Jewish people and
the Orthodox community.” Chaim
Neiditch has lived up to that mandate and epitomizes those very
qualities.
The
Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish
community of America and beyond, is the world leader in youth
work,
advocacy for the disabled, synagogue
services, adult education and
political action. Its kosher
supervision label, the
 ,
is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over
250,000 products in 68 countries around the globe.
###
www.ou.org
Comments?
Requests? Questions?
 Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
of America
Department of Public Relations
Sharyn Perlman, Director
Main Office:
11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-613-8321 Fax: 212-564-9058
E-mail: media@ou.org |
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