Three renowned Milwaukee Orthodox rabbis — the late Israel Feldman of then-Cong. Agudas Achim, the late David Shapiro of then-Cong. Anshe Sfard and Michel Twerski of Cong. Beth Jehudah— approached Rabbi Raphael Wachsman (plus Rabbis Yehuda Cheplowitz and Moshe Dov Harris) in 1979 to consider forming a Jewish high school here.
“My initial response was ‘Why couldn’t they be from San Diego?’” Wachsman laughed. But the result, he said, “was truly a miracle.”
For his role in helping work that miracle, Wachsman, one of the deans of the Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study, has been named Milwaukee’s 2001 Educator of the Year by the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
At the annual Jewish Education Weekend May 18-20, coordinated by CJL, Wachsman will be honored at a community-wide tea on Sunday, May 20, 2-4 p.m., at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.
Wachsman was ordained in 1978 and in 1979 was an instructor in Jewish philosophy and ethics at the Rabbinical Seminary of America in Forest Hills, N.Y.
He didn’t start out to be a teacher though. Initially a key boarder and music major, Wachsman said he was inspired by his yeshiva studies to become a teacher.
“I decided teaching would be most beneficial and found the challenge of starting something new [in Milwaukee] to be very refreshing,” Wachsman said. He’s been WITS’ dean of administration since the school began in 1980.
“We started in July and opened in September,” he said. “We interviewed kids as they got off the buses from Camp Interlaken and recruited a class of six local students and five from out of town. We rented space in the Henry Clay School in Whitefish Bay and townhouses on nearby Mohawk Rd., which we used as a dormitory. Soon it became nicknamed ‘the kibbutz,’ and we operated there for four years.”
The school has grown from 11 to 135 students and now operates in gracious space on Lake Dr. on the city’s east side. Wachsman is proud to offer a fully-accredited four-year high school program and three-year post high school curriculum for which most students receive college credit.
But even more rewarding to him is seeing the growth of the kids. “Some kids arrive as pretty bratty 13-year-olds and leave as refined young adults dedicated to Torah living and learning,” Wachsman said. “It’s a joy for me to see our students give back to the community wherever they are.”
“I also enjoy going to weddings of former students to see most of their classmates in attendance,” he added. “That makes the day-to-day struggle worthwhile. Our students leave WITS not just with an education, but prepared for an entire lifestyle.”
Other award recipients are:
• Therese Dorfman, a teacher at Congregation Emanu-El of Waukesha, who will received the Gill Incentive for Teachers (GIFT) Award.
• Jeffrey Hansher of Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue; and Ilana Alezra, Aliza Pekier and Sora Rauch of the Torah Academy of Milwaukee, who will receive the Deborah Lifschutz Mitzvah Award.
• Franci Goldberg of Congregation Beth Israel, the Chai Award.
Scholar-in-residence for the weekend will be Dr. Wendy Mogel, clinical psychologist, parent educator and school consultant in Los Angeles. She is the author of “The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children.”
She will speak on Friday, May 18, at Cong. Emanu-El of Waukesha following 7 p.m. services. On Shabbat morning, she will deliver the D’var Torah at 10:30 a.m. at Cong. Shir Hadash, located on the lower level of Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue in Mequon. Following a noon lunch, she will lead a parent discussion from 1-2 p.m. Finally, she will speak at the teacher recognition tea on Sunday.
The event is made possible by a grant from the William and Fannie Kesselman CJL Endowment Fund. For more information, call Alice Jacobson at CJL, 962-8860.
Loading ...