Perelman Receives New Sefer Torah in Honor of Gary Charlestein's 80th Birthday

We were thrilled and honored to receive a new Sefer Torah from the Charlestein family in honor of their father Gary Charlestein’s 80th birthday. 

Gary and his family enjoy a decades-long relationship with our wonderful school. Gary is a proud alumni parent and grandparent and a valued donor and supporter of this treasured institution. When we wanted to expand our new Ganon program and build a new classroom for our youngest learners, Gary helped underwrite the project. And it is Gary’s unwavering generosity that ensures that Perelman continues to provide students with an unparalleled experience fueled by Jewish values and wisdom, uniquely preparing them to build lives of contribution and purpose. 

Our students in grades 3-5 witnessed the completion of the Torah, as members of the Charlestein family, along with Rabbi Chaim, Head of School Mitchell Daar, and two of our 5th graders had the opportunity to write the last letters. Our celebration included dancing, singing, and students’ reading from our new scroll. 

It was a privilege for all of us to participate in this meaningful ceremony with members of the Charlestein family and their invited guests. As Head of School Mitchell Daar shared with attendees, in Gematria, a numerological system that substitutes numbers for the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the number 80 is the same value as the Hebrew word yesod – foundation. How fitting it is that we came together to celebrate Gary Charlestein’s 80th year by dedicating a Torah to Perelman, whose mission it is to provide an essential Jewish foundation for the next generation. 

We are grateful that the Charlesteins chose to donate this Torah to Perelman, a place where every day students are writing their own Torah. May this new Sefer Torah inspire us all to deepen our commitment to learning and living by its teachings.