Scheck Hillel Community School recently welcomed and celebrated a new Sefer Torah with dancing and singing on its campus in North Miami Beach.
Scheck Hillel dedicated the new Sefer Torah to honor the life and legacy of Yuval Miara, who was the school’s director of Judaic studies and Hebrew language for its Juda and Maria Diener Lower School. The celebration followed the school’s recent 2018 Annual Event that featured Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, an international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author, as the keynote speaker. The event benefited the school’s Kulanu Scholarship Fund.
“It is gratifying to see how many people came together for the Annual Event to support Kulanu,” said Ezra Levy, Scheck Hillel’s head of school. “We are incredibly thankful to our generous community, as it is through our Kulanu Scholarship Fund that we are able to give the gift of Jewish education to students every year.”
Levy noted that Sacks’ message at the event “brought home the importance of Jewish education.”
“He commended our parents for the effort that they make on a daily basis to make sure their children have the opportunity of receiving a Jewish education and reminded us all of the importance of fostering a lasting Jewish community through Jewish education.”
Levy said that the Torah celebration was “a vibrant, joyous community celebration.”
“Everyone came together for this touching event. This Sefer Torah will be used in our school for generations to come.”
Levy also said, “The event itself was an ultimate representation of our school’s mission and values.”
This new Torah scroll joins others on campus. Levy said there are three other previous noted Torah donations in the school. He said this new Torah will be used at least twice a week during prayers.
“We will use it at our Torah reading in school. It is something that the children will learn from every single week, and it will be a part of their education.”
Levy thinks it is of utmost importance that the students have access to a Torah scroll as part of their education.
“All of the lessons our students learn, from Judaic Studies to how to act on a daily basis, are lessons that we learn from the Torah itself.”
Levy noted that Miara, who died just under a year ago, was an integral part of everyone’s lives on campus.
“His passion and his love for Jewish education, and his caring for all the school’s children were visible in his actions every single day. He will be missed. This Torah dedicated in his memory reminds us of how much he meant to our school, our community and our children.”
Daniel Mundlak, a ninth grade student at the school, said, “Yuval was a big inspiration for me when he worked here, so dedicating a Sefer Torah in his name was something that I found to be meaningful and liked a lot.”
Yam Kohen, an 11th grade student, said, “Yuval was always really nice and really funny. I had Tefilah with him, and he was always happy, no matter the situation.”
Yam thought the recent event was exciting in general.
“It made me realize the responsibility we have as Jewish people and how much it’s important to preserve Judaism.”
Mundlak was proud at the event.
“It was like celebrating a bar mitzvah. You’re all in unison for one thing and it was a really nice moment.”
Visit ehillel.org for more information on the school.