YESHIVA
TORAH MITZION
Long Island School Taps
Boxers as Top Parents
By TIM BOXER
YESHIVA Torah Mitzion Institute
of Judaic Studies honored Nina and me as Parents of the Year at its annual
dinner at the Merrick Jewish Center in Merrick, Long Island.
It took Rabbi Dovid Rhodes ten
minutes to present us with the appropriate plaques and citations, but he
allotted me only two minutes to respond.
Two minutes? It takes me that
long to clear my throat!
I had prepared a speech that was
twenty minutes long. Due to what Nina said, I got it down to a reasonable
length. She said what she says every night: Take out the garbage.
This was one of those rare
occasions when my wife lets me speak. When I open my mouth at home, she
laughs. My kids never laugh – they never listen.
I can tell you that I don’t
deserve a Parent of the Year award. A medal for Husband of the Year –
yes! – for surviving.
Our wedding was wonderful –
it’s the living together that was tough. I was in the Army, so I’m
trained for combat duty.
Actually, Nina and I are always
holding hands. If I let go – she goes shopping!
For putting up with these jokes,
Nina deserves an Oscar. She’s a true ayshes chayil [noble wife].
Through
the years, we put our two boys through private schools in New York and
Israel.
Gabriel
recently married a wonderful young lady, Rebeka,
who about to enter medical school. He goes to Queens College for business
and is continuing his Hebrew studies at Torah Mitzion.
Our second son, David, is
at Cornell, where in his first semester as a freshman this year they put
him on the Dean’s List.
The only list I made was the
principal’s list. You don’t want to hear about that!
I tried bringing up our kids the
right way. Boy, it was hard! The only thing children wear out faster than
shoes are parents and teachers.
My boys complained that I was not
a good father. I never played ball with them. I rarely came out to watch
them play in Little League.
I was always too busy writing a
column, editing a website, producing a book. In other words – I was a
lousy Dad.
Now take my wife…please! She
deserves to be honored…as Wife of the Year…for putting up with these
jokes every day.
Two other couples really deserved
their honors. Jerry Gil
and his wife received the Pillar of Chesed Award, and Dov Greenberg
and his wife were named Alumni of the Year.
In paying tribute to the guests
of honor, Rabbi Rhodes said the mission of the school is to help students
function in the world of business.
“There is no separation between
the secular and holy lives,” he said. “We integrate Torah values in
our lives.”
Three
local politicians presented certificates and citations: New York State
Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr., Nassau County Executive Thomas
S. Gulotta, and Nassau County Legislator Norma L. Gonsalves.
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