Avner Tarica-Lechter, or Reb Avner as the students call him, never planned to become a teacher. He studied marketing in college. He says it was divine providence (hashgachat pratis) that led him to the field of education.
Years ago in Crown Heights, he and his wife would go to people’s homes for Shabbat, and he would be asked to share some words of Torah. “People were very mesmerized, I guess, especially the kids. At one of the meals the parents said, ‘our kids never sit at the table like they do when you’re sharing ideas and stories, you need to become a teacher.’ So that week they got in touch with the school and the principal called me. It just kind of fell into place.”
That was 10 years ago, and Reb Avner has been teaching ever since. He came to Bader Hillel High from the school in New York, and this is his fifth year teaching at both the boys and girls schools. He teaches Torah, Mishna, and a class called “Living with Hashem (God).” Reb Avner believes that, “nothing is more important for a Jewish student to learn about than how to build a personal relationship with Hashem. Getting in touch with their own abilities to think and explore their feelings about the idea of God. [The course is] meant to help them learn to experience, inwardly, and not through force, their own relationship with God and Torah. There is journaling, questions, contemplation time. A lot about divine providence.” His goal as a teacher is focused on it being an inner experience, to help students realize their own thoughts about things.
Reb Avner says he is, “much more invested in the lives of my students. It took time for me to learn how to harmonize the academics with the people. This year I’ve started to find that balance between academic progress and building relationships.” In addition to teaching, Reb Avner builds those relationships as the school’s basketball coach. This has become a family effort, because his father, Mitchell Lechter, the school’s Student Success Manager, also helps coach the team. Reb Avner said one of the things he’s most proud of is bringing his father into the school.
When asked to share a successful teaching moment, Reb Avner talked about a recent farbrengen (Chasidic gathering) at the boys’ dorm. A student shared really difficult things that happened to him during the summer. To give the student space to process his emotions, Reb Avner started singing the song Keli Atah. He explained the meaning: You are My God and I will thank you, I will exalt you. He shared that even though the tune seems sad and yearning, it reminds us that during difficult times, we need to thank Hashem and know that God will take care of us. He asked the boys to focus on their friend and ask Hashem to take care of him. The singing was beautiful, and afterwards, the students told the boy they will always be there for him, day or night.
Reb Avner did not grow up in an observant Jewish home. As a child, he didn’t feel much of a connection to his Judaism. In high school, he was influenced by connecting with Rabbis Yisroel Wilhelm, Avremi Schapiro, and Shmaya Shmotkin at the Shul in Bayside. He felt that they cared about him, with no ulterior motives. In college, his sister Misia, also newly religious, lovingly invited Reb Avner to Jewish programing and Shabbat meals. Then he got involved with JEM and Chabad in Madison, which led him to study in Yeshivas in Israel and Morristown, New Jersey. Reb Avner’s whole family has learned to grow and harmonize together with different degrees of appreciation and relationship to religious Judaism.
Reb Avner and his wife Gavrielah have three children: twin 9-year-olds who attend Yeshiva Elementary School and a 1-year-old. Gavrielah is an assistant to the principal at YES. He loves to write, spend time with his family, and runs. He especially loves playing for The Black Hats Softball team (part of the JCC league). Reb Avner is so devoted to learning Torah that he studies with his chevrutah (study partner) Dr. Fox early every morning! Reb Avner wants you to know, in case you invite him over for Shabbat dinner, that his favorite Jewish food is sushi salad.
If you would like to hear more of his thoughts, check out his YouTube channel: A Milwaukee Maggid – YouTube.
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The Coalition for Jewish Learning of Milwaukee Jewish Federation is celebrating local educators with this regular feature. To suggest someone for coverage, contact Jewish Education Community Planner Tziporah Altman-Shafer, at TziporahA@MilwaukeeJewish.org.
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