Torat Chayim is excited to announce that Avygayl Zucker
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
Avygayl Zucker is a junior in Yeshiva University. Born and raised in New York, Avygayl has dedicated their time towards community work. Throughout high school, Avygayl worked in the Jewish Center nearby and then went on to intern with the New York State Assembly in their district. After high school, Avygayl moved to Israel for two years to study in-depth Talmud and philosophy at Midreshet Amudim. There, Avygayl got involved with volunteering for special needs organizations, and continues to do so today. Avygayl has marched several times in New York with both the Israeli Day Parade and the NYC Pride March, and has participated in multiple educational initiatives on topics such as American politics, Middle Eastern relations, Zionism, and Israel as a whole. Most recently, Avygayl participated in the Uri L’Tzedek Racial Justice, Immigrant Rights, and Torah fellowship. From there, Avygayl joined Uri L’Tzedek’s “Tav HaYosher” initiative, taking on the streets of the Upper West Side and ensuring workers are treated ethically. Getting to be an advocate for social justice and celebrating workers rights has been an amazing experience and hopefully only the beginning of Avygayl’s work with Uri L’Tzedek
Torat Chayim is excited to announce that Ruben Gerczikow is the recipient of the
J.J Greenberg Youth Leadership Award
J.J Greenberg Youth Leadership Award
Ruben Gerczikow is a communication scientist and author living in Germany. He researches about antisemitic, right-wing extremist and Islamist structures and he regularly publishes texts about them. From 2019 to 2021 he was the Vice-President of the European Union of Jewish Students and the German Union of Jewish Students.
Torat Chayim is excited to announce that Nick Jagdeo
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
Nick resides in Trinidad and is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and holds a BA in Business Administration, an MA in International Business and an MSc in Strategic Leadership and Innovation. He currently works as the Engagement Manager for Uri L'Tzedek and is organizing the Sukkot Fellowship for Jewish Immigrants. He is also pursuing an MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University and is pursuing a passion project to document and highlight the role Trinidad and Tobago played in opening its borders to Jewish refugees during World War 2. He hopes this project will give rise to a more welcoming attitude on his islands to the Venezuelan migrants who have fled the situation in their home country and are seeking a new start in Trinidad. Born in the UK, raised between Essex, Canada and Trinidad, and then later having moved to Israel, Nick defines himself as the quintessential immigrant and he would like to see a world where all immigrants are treated with more dignity, warmth and respect. He has nine-year-old dogs, George and Puggles, and is a stong advocate for animal rescues and animal rights.
Torat Chayim is excited to announce that Aryeh Kalb
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
Aryeh Kalb is a Junior at the Macaulay Honors College at Lehman College, CUNY, and is pursuing a degree in political science. He currently serves as a member of the Macaulay Scholars Council, a Senator on the Lehman College Senate, and a Senator on The University Student Senate of the City University of New York. He is currently a consultant for 21 in 21 an organization dedicated to electing womxn to the New York City Council. Previous political internships include the Jessica Haller campaign for New York City Council and The Office of New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. Aryeh was a curatorial fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, and a curatorial intern as part of their Schomburg Teen Curators Program.
Torat Chayim is excited to announce that Emile Ackermann
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
Emile Ackermann was born in Strasbourg, France, where he has been learning Torah since he was
young. Emile went to Yeshivat haKotel after graduating from high school, and then moved to Paris to
study international Law. He then studied at the French rabbinical school and taught in several Jewish
schools and Sunday schools to children as a Bible teacher, while contributing to different newspapers.
Emile is a fierce advocate of religious freedom and has vocally opposed the anti-religious, intolerant side
of French secularism in the media, where he repeatedly took a stand against antisemitism and
islamophobia, defending the right of Jews and Muslims to wear religious signs in public. He has also been
active in interfaith groups such as Coexist and believes in meaningful dialogue between different religious
traditions. With his wife Myriam, he created AYEKA, the first Modern Orthodox organization in France
with the goal of building a community in Paris. In 2019, Emile became a student at Yeshivat Chovevei
Torah, and he will be graduating in 2023.
young. Emile went to Yeshivat haKotel after graduating from high school, and then moved to Paris to
study international Law. He then studied at the French rabbinical school and taught in several Jewish
schools and Sunday schools to children as a Bible teacher, while contributing to different newspapers.
Emile is a fierce advocate of religious freedom and has vocally opposed the anti-religious, intolerant side
of French secularism in the media, where he repeatedly took a stand against antisemitism and
islamophobia, defending the right of Jews and Muslims to wear religious signs in public. He has also been
active in interfaith groups such as Coexist and believes in meaningful dialogue between different religious
traditions. With his wife Myriam, he created AYEKA, the first Modern Orthodox organization in France
with the goal of building a community in Paris. In 2019, Emile became a student at Yeshivat Chovevei
Torah, and he will be graduating in 2023.
Torat Chayim is excited to announce that Myriam Ackermann-Sommer,
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
Myriam Ackermann-Sommer, BA, MA, was born and raised in Southern France and has lived in Paris
for four years with her husband Emile before becoming a student at Yeshivat Maharat (NYC) while
working on her PhD in Jewish American literature, after ranking first at the agrégation, a French national
exam that enables graduate students to become junior lecturers. In the course of her Master’s Degree in
English literature at the Sorbonne and the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Myriam focused mainly on Jewish
American authors and Jewish philosophy, writing essays on novelist I.B. Singer and Bernard Malamud.
Her favourite subjects are gender representations and the challenge of egalitarianism in Orthodox
Judaism, the exchange of ideas between Judaism and contemporary critical theory, and Jewish ethics. A
dedicated musician and songwriter, Myriam has earned a diploma in transverse flute in 2015 and loves to
enhance the spiritual dimension of Judaism by singing her heart out in prayer groups and Youtube
videos. With her husband Emile, she created AYEKA, the first Modern Orthodox organization in France
with the goal of building a community in Paris. She will be graduating from Yeshivat Maharat in 2023.
for four years with her husband Emile before becoming a student at Yeshivat Maharat (NYC) while
working on her PhD in Jewish American literature, after ranking first at the agrégation, a French national
exam that enables graduate students to become junior lecturers. In the course of her Master’s Degree in
English literature at the Sorbonne and the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Myriam focused mainly on Jewish
American authors and Jewish philosophy, writing essays on novelist I.B. Singer and Bernard Malamud.
Her favourite subjects are gender representations and the challenge of egalitarianism in Orthodox
Judaism, the exchange of ideas between Judaism and contemporary critical theory, and Jewish ethics. A
dedicated musician and songwriter, Myriam has earned a diploma in transverse flute in 2015 and loves to
enhance the spiritual dimension of Judaism by singing her heart out in prayer groups and Youtube
videos. With her husband Emile, she created AYEKA, the first Modern Orthodox organization in France
with the goal of building a community in Paris. She will be graduating from Yeshivat Maharat in 2023.
Torat Chayim is excited to announce that Isaac Blumenthal
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
Isaac Blumenthal is a force for good. He graduated from Frisch (a Modern Orthodox High School in New Jersey), studied his first year at Baruch College in NYC and transferred to Northeastern University in Boston. At only 20 years old, he has committed himself to service. He has dedicated five months to volunteering at a church in Harlem. He has tutored underprivileged children in NYC in math and literacy. He worked at Beit Elazraki in Netanya for a summer. He has been a NJ Cares and NY Cares volunteer. He serves as a counselor on a help hotline for those at-risk. He has supported children who can’t afford to go to camp, as a counselor for them. He has interned for Uri L’Tzedek, the Orthodox Social Justice movement, and done so much more. He is a proud Modern Orthodox Jew committed to a more inclusive community and passionate about social justice.
Torat Chayim is excited to announce that Meir Mouyal
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
is the recipient of the J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award
"My name is Meir Mouyal, I'm 21 and I live in Barcelona, Spain. Since I was young, I have always been involved in the Jewish community. It all began at the Jewish school of Barcelona, meanwhile I was also a Janij at the Tnuá and eventually became a Madrij. Currently, I'm finishing a Bachelor's Degree in Informatics Engineering, and in my free time I like to think, read and learn about philosophy and psychology. For this reason, with the help of Rabbi Daniel Ashkenazi, the Rabbi of my jewish community, and Andre, the youth director of my jewish community, we decided to start the Hevruta project. The goal of Hevruta is to encourage young jews to debate relevant controversial topics present in our day to day. Hevruta sessions not only promote critical thinking, but they also always provide the point of view of Judaism towards the topics in the discussion. And that's why we love it."
פרס "תורת חיים" למנהיגות צעירה בישראל – על שם נתן יוסף (ג׳יי. ג׳יי.) גרינברג
הזוכה לשנת תשע"ט היא: אמונה קליין בר נוי
The 2020 J.J. Greenberg Young Leadership Award for Europe goes to Dubi Michael Glikman!
Torat Chayim is proud to award the J.J. Greenberg Torat Chayim Young Leadership Award for Europe to Dubi Michael Glikman of Berlin for his work in creating community around the Shabbat table. In the words of Torat Chayim rabbinic member Rabbi Rebecca Blady of Base BERLIN:
"Dubi is a phenomenal leader for students and young adults living in Berlin. He is currently leading a program called "Host-It," a project of Morasha in Berlin, which encourages young people to host their own shabbat dinner. He is passionate about providing them with education and tools to expand young Jews' knowledge and abilities to make Judaism a part of their lives. He is one of the first residents of a new home-based organization through Morasha and frequently hosts young people at home for inspiring programs that he often creates on his own. Dubi has a proven track record of chessed work and encouraging other Jewish students and young adults to participate in chessed. Most notably, Dubi has assisted in organizing clothing drives and food donation to the needy in Berlin over the past couple of years and feels strongly about involving as many people as possible in these initiatives."
"Dubi is a phenomenal leader for students and young adults living in Berlin. He is currently leading a program called "Host-It," a project of Morasha in Berlin, which encourages young people to host their own shabbat dinner. He is passionate about providing them with education and tools to expand young Jews' knowledge and abilities to make Judaism a part of their lives. He is one of the first residents of a new home-based organization through Morasha and frequently hosts young people at home for inspiring programs that he often creates on his own. Dubi has a proven track record of chessed work and encouraging other Jewish students and young adults to participate in chessed. Most notably, Dubi has assisted in organizing clothing drives and food donation to the needy in Berlin over the past couple of years and feels strongly about involving as many people as possible in these initiatives."