Congratulations to Rich Birfer ’12 (pictured, above) for being a part of the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers, working as their manager of pitching analysis.
Ben Shore ’17, claimed first place in this year’s Sporting Life 10K. He achieved an impressive finish time of 29:54, outpacing more than 15,000 fellow runners. Mazal Tov!
Congratulations to Zach Hyman ’10, for an incredible NHL season, culminating in the Edmonton Oilers nearly winning the Stanley Cup. TanenbaumCHAT continues to cheer him on this season!
Writer and star Noam Tomaschoff ’09, composer Ryan Peters ’09 (current TanenbaumCHAT teacher), and producer Russell Citron ’09 celebrated the international premiere of their musical, Our Little Secret: The 23andMe® Musical, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This award-winning, completely true story swept audiences off their feet and earned seven five-star reviews.
Troy Seidman ’96, founder of the art gallery Caviar20 and one of the directors of Israel Museums and Arts Canada, attended the Israel Museum’s International Council in Jerusalem. Troy was not just an art tourist but also brought an early example of the Syzk Haggadah to the Israel Museum. Troy mentioned how “It was so meaningful to be in Israel to support and celebrate the museum…especially with Israel at war.” According to Troy, “the experience was a reminder that the Israel Museum is unquestionably the most important Jewish cultural institution in the world.”
Rafi Yablonsky ’04, was honoured with the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Pin, awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to their communities. This recognition emphasizes Rafi’s unwavering commitment to community service, channelling TanenbaumCHAT’s mission to encourage communal involvement as a lifelong endeavour.
Founder and CEO of Wealthsimple, Michael Katchen ’05, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his company, a Canadian online investment management service. Wealthsimple has been chosen by over three million Canadians as a trusted place to invest, trade, save and more.
Mazal Tov to Jordana Ansel ’18, on the founding of Oy Vey Consulting, a consulting company for film and television productions to ensure accurate representation of Jewish customs and characters on-screen.
Congratulations to Sami Brown ’16 and Kyra Pollak ’17, who took their strong friendship forged by TanenbaumCHAT basketball to the realm of business, co-founding Eleven15, a sweatsuit brand for the next generation of female entrepreneurs and athletes.
Mazal Tov to Daniel David ’19 on being awarded the prestigious J.B. Stirling Gold Medal award upon graduating from Queen’s University, as well as the Mathematics & Engineering Medal. The J.B. Stirling Gold Medal is awarded annually to a student of the graduating class who had the highest standing throughout a four-year program. Daniel attributes his involvement as President of Chabad at Queen’s and participation in Jewish life at Queen’s in general as one of the driving forces for maintaining his academic success at school.
ALUMNI IN ISRAEL
Risa Levitt ’83 completed her Ph.D. in History at the University of California, San Diego. After teaching and chairing two departments at San Diego State University for 27 years, Dr. Levitt made aliyah in January 2023 to take the role of Executive Director and acting Chief Curator of the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. She attributes former teacher Alex Gropper’s history classes at TanenbaumCHAT as the start of her love of the study of ancient history.
You might recognize Jeremy Urbach ’19 from his viral Instagram and TikTok videos, where he posts as herring review influencer, Gishmak Herring. Jeremy is a recent TanenbaumCHAT alum who made aliyah and has fostered a unique online brand where he seeks to show that Judaism, despite being rooted in ancient texts and practice, can be fun, vibrant, and relevant in 2024. As a proud TanenbaumCHAT alum, Jeremy shared that the school “made him proud to be Jewish,” and “helped him feel comfortable standing up for Israel both on campus and in the streets.”
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