Orloff CAJE Honors Educators Dedicated to the Enhancement of Jewish Learning

Davie, Florida, September 17, 2015 (Newswire.com) - The Orloff Central Agency for Jewish Education (Orloff CAJE) recently presented its educator awards and installed its 2015-2016 executive officers and board members during a brunch at David Posnack JCC. More than 80 people were in attendance.

The Orloff CAJE’s mission is to develop, provide and promote educational opportunities for members of Broward County’s Jewish community.

Orloff CAJE believes that teachers are the core of any educational enterprise and should be acknowledged for their "avodat kodesh," or sacred work, which often goes unrecognized.

Rochelle Baltuch, Orloff CAJE Interim Executive Director

“Orloff CAJE believes that teachers are the core of any educational enterprise and should be acknowledged for their “avodat kodesh,” or sacred work, which often goes unrecognized,” said Interim Executive Director Rochelle Baltuch.

Rabbi Elazar Bloom is this year’s recipient of the Dr. Abraham J. and Shulamit Gittelson Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award, endowed by Carole and Dr Laurence Skolnik in memory of their parents. Rabbi Bloom is Rav Ruchani, Tanakh curriculum coordinator, and guidance counselor at Brauser Miamonides Academy in Fort Lauderdale. The award is given to a day school educator who has dedicated his or her life to the enhancement and enrichment of Jewish learning.

Sherri Ensel, a VPK teacher at Bnai Aviv’s Early Childhood Education Center in Weston, received the Bernice and Maurice Goldstein Early Childhood Educator Award. During her years as an educator, Ensel also has taught in elementary school and dropout prevention programs. 

The Dr. Sidney and Rose Esterson Award for Synagogue School Educator was given to Faigie Kaufman who teaches seventh grade at the Rabbi Solomon Geld Religious School of Temple Beth Am in Margate. Kaufman takes an active role in her students’ lives, often inviting them to her home for Shabbat and holidays. 

Amiee Sarajian, a teacher at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, was presented with the Pola and Ludwik Brodzki Family Award for Holocaust education in the public schools. The award is presented to an educator who exhibits excellence in the teaching of the Holocaust in the public school system.  Sarajian is working with the Florida Department of Education’s Commissioner’s Task Force on Holocaust Education in developing curriculum for high school subject areas.

Orloff CAJE also recognized Dr. Sandra Ostrowicz Lilienthal. She was one of three national 2015 winners of the prestigious Covenant Award for excellence in Jewish education, as announced earlier this year by the Covenant Foundation. Dr. Ostrowicz Lilienthal, who is curriculum developer and instructor at the Orloff Central Agency for Jewish Education, was the first winner of the award from South Florida.

In addition to the awards ceremony, the Honorable Stacey Schulman, Circuit Court Judge, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, presided over the installation of the agency’s Executive Board and Board of Directors for 2015-2016. The Executive Committee members are: Bruce Greenberg, Lynn Wolfson, Lisa Enfield, Alan Cohn, Judy Weiner, Stuart Mermelstein, Amy Weinberg, Barbara Johnson, Sharon Friedman and Karen Saster.

The goal of the Orloff Central Agency for Jewish Education, a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Broward County, is to build a stronger Jewish community by working together with synagogue schools, day schools, the JCC, and all Jewish organizations and institutions devoted to Jewish life. Orloff CAJE serves all segments of the Jewish Community - Children, Teenagers, Adults, Special-Needs Children, Jewish Educators through a variety of services and educational programs. For more information, go to orloffcaje.org