Not even the rainy weather could dampen the palpable excitement and magic in the air on Friday, November 10th as over 900 grandparents, great-grandparents, and special friends came to TA for an unforgettable experience. This was TA’s 6th Grandparents’ Day in recent years, and it proved to be an incredible experience to all those who came.
Upon arriving in the TA parking lot or via shuttle bus from the MTA down the road, the campus was alive with student and volunteer ushers greeting guests, music playing, and welcome banners and signs. After checking in and receiving a “Proud TA Grandparent” pin, a beautiful keepsake gift, along with a personalized schedule for the day, grandparents and special friends proceeded to the gala breakfast buffet.
After spending some time eating, mingling and getting to know each other, it was time for the main event – the opportunity to spend time with their grandchildren. Using their personalized schedules and guided by an army of student ushers, grandparents found their way to their grandchildrens’ classrooms to participate in lessons and projects.
In the classrooms, TA’s dedicated and talented Rabbeim, morohs and teachers treated our guests, and our talmidim, to fascinating and interactive presentations on a variety of topics. Grandparents came away amused, inspired, uplifted, and a little more knowledgeable too!
The final part of the program, the Oneg Shabbos Assembly, took place in two locations on campus. The Early Childhood students and their grandparents enjoyed a beautiful kumzitz and program with Rabbi Yitzchok Dinovitzer in the brand new preschool fun room. The Elementary students and grandparents were welcomed into the gym for a kumzitz with Yehuda Tenenbaum and an inspiring video about TA. Rabbi Yehuda Lefkovitz, president of TA, spoke to the crowd about the matzav in Eretz Yisrael and how this momentous occasion, celebrating our mesorah of grandparents to grandchildren, is the response to our enemies.
At the conclusion of the program, all guests were presented with a piece of Erev Shabbos potato kugel as they departed. TA’s guests left with a feeling of pride in the Yeshiva, promising to join us once again at the next Grandparents Day in Yerushalayim!
Following Grandparents Day, an abundance of positive feedback flowed in. One grandparent shared the following:
Mere words can not describe how blown away we are by your yeshiva. When we first got the email regarding the grandparents day we figured that we will make the trip from NY to Baltimore to “make our grandson happy” and enjoy a weekend at our children’s home, but the ones who were the happiest were us, the grandparents! We were welcomed with the warmest smiles ,we were treated to the most magnificent spread of delicious treats, we sat in our grandson’s class and enjoyed a fun filled chumash shiur, where the Rebbe’s love for his talmidim was felt in the air. In the Enlish class session, we saw right away how dedicated and professional they are. The mass gathering at the closing of the program brought us to tears…watching the achdus of the boys along with their rebbeim singing with such simcha at a time like this gave us grandparents, children of Holocaust survivors, chizuk and hope! You outdid yourself ! Yashar koach to you all!
An incredible event like this could not have happened without the hard work & devotion of many individuals. Thank you to Mrs. Adina Goldstein and Mrs. Hadassah Brodie for creating an amazing breakfast display, together with their group of amazing parent volunteers.
Our TA Administration, Hanhalah, Rebbeim, Morohs, teachers, and office personnel, all worked tirelessly in the weeks leading up to Grandparents Day to ensure the most unforgettable TA experience for our grandparents. Thank you for all of your hard work and everything you do for our yeshiva on a constant basis!
