The last word on Yeshivat Rambam

Tonight was the last Yeshivat Rambam Dinner.

I would like to share with you my words from the evening. The text is below and I am 

also attaching the video that I put on youtube. 

My name is Mollie Sharfman and I am a proud Yeshivat Rambam Alumnae

My name is Mollie Sharfman and I am a proud Yeshivat Rambam Alumnae.

There is a page in my Rambam high school yearbook, it was the reunion page.

It was about the future-our 15 year reunion.

It was to take place in this very room in 2021.

Instead of coming to this room in 10 years for my class reunion, I stand before you today-in this room for one last time, saying goodbye.

I grew up on Rambam. I don't remember a time when my family was not involved in Rambam, dedicated to making our school the best place for us.

I did not have to look too far for role models.

My parents Dr. Bill Sharfman and Paula Guttman Sharfman always did everything that needed to be done for Rambam since the beginning.

And they are among the few who stayed until the bitter end.

Mom, especially you - all of your hard work and your passionate advocacy for Rambam will not be forgotten.Thank you for setting the bar so high and being the number one person who inspires me.

I had the privilege to grow up across the street from Danny and Phyllis Sykes. Danny and Phyllis: my entire life, I watched as you individually an as a team fight for Rambam. Please know that I was watching and so were your children and you are our role models. We will carry on what you fought so hard for. I always look forward to coming home because of the annual friday night visits by Adriane and Harry Kozlovsky. Harry Kozlovsky, thank you for always being positive for your children and for us, and working so very hard. Adriane, you act with grace and dignity and always take the high road. Your dedication and love for Yeshivat Rambm knows no bounds. For all that you do and continue to do-you should have a special zechut. I would be remiss to not mention Roz Goldberg who was irrefutably the driving force behind the foundation of Rambam.

When I am a parent one day, I hope to be as good of a person as you all have been. I will never forget what you all have done for Rambam, for our community, for your families, and for me.

I also want to wish mazal tov to the Meyer and Yehudit Shields and Dr. Steven and Melanie Fleisher who are being honored here tonight – you too are examples of passionate dedication to Yeshivat Rambam and the community.

So, how has Yeshivat Rambam influenced who I am today? .

It is just part of who I am. 

Yeshivat Rambam prepared me for both the religious and secular aspects of my life. 

It taught me to work hard, to be the best that I can be and that  it is okay to fulfill my dreams(thank you Mrs. Gray for believing in me. Whenever I have to face an obstacle I don't think I can overcome, I say to myself but Mrs. Gray said I could succeed at A.P Chemistry-I can do anything!) 

Yeshivat Rambam gave me the tools to succeed in life, to be a proud Jew and stand at the front lines of the Jewish community and the greater world. 

As a college student, I majored in Jewish studies and English Literature - I love to sit and learn in the Beit Midrash but I also love to read Chaucer(thank you Mrs. Cohn)

But the most important thing that I learned from Yeshivat Rambam was to be involved and committed to the Jewish community. 

Rambam instilled in me the responsibility of being passionate about a cause and not being afraid to act upon it. Some say that dedication to passion and idealism is just a passing phase. But I know that for me it is different .It is a part of the fabric of who I am .  And that was first learned and cultivated right here. Right here in this very building. In this very room . So many times on this very stage. (for anyone who was around-the hills are still alive with the sound of music!) Right here at Yeshivat Rambam.

While I was at Rambam, the high point of my community involvement was America Eats for Israel .  As high school  students, we put Rambam on the  map by  raising  $32,000 for Almagor – the Terrorist Victims association.

During my college years , I spent my summers and my winter breaks interning at Yad Vashem,  participating in community service programs, and leading youth in leadership training programs across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Israel.

This past June, while I was on a Jewish youth mission to Germany, I stood in front of Martin Luther's 95 grievances in Wittenberg, Germany.

All I wanted to do was call my 7th grade history teacher, Mrs. Laurie Austen - the history that she taught me so long ago was now coming to life!

And it is not just me.  As a student at Yeshiva University, I made an interesting observation -   every  community service or Israel action program is populated by Yeshivat Rambam graduates. 

No wonder why.

Not bad for a small school from a small city.

We have made and are still making our marks as leaders locally, nationally, and in Israel.

I really hoped I would be back here in this room in 2016 for my sister Arianna's graduation from Rambam but instead I will have to go to her graduation in an unfamiliar school, in an unfamiliar room, surrounded by unfamiliar people.  

I will not be able to greet and hug my teachers because I will not know them.

My friends won't be standing by my side.

It has been very hard on everyone: but all of your hard work, the hours of trying to find a way to keep Rambam afloat  was not for naught and will not be forgotten.

And to my teachers – I am what I am because of you.

To the Senior Class of 2011 and to all of the students who will not graduate from Yeshivat Rambam – always carry yourselves with pride dignity and confidence.

Be proud to defend yourself and your school -  there are people out there like you who came before you -  like me.

We are still a family and we will tell the world who we are because nothing has changed...this will not break me...

I am still Mollie Sharfman a Yeshivat Rambam graduate who is proud.