Dalia Rosenthal
Woman of AchievementHuntington Jewish Center
Dalia Rosenthal has been a devoted member of the Huntington Jewish Center Sisterhood for more than 50 years. Most recently, she collaborated on HJC’s newest cookbook — a true labor of love that unfolded over three years. For the past two years, Dalia has offered the monthly d’var Torah at Sisterhood board meetings and has chanted from both the Megillah and the Torah. She has taught beginning Hebrew reading to congregants, and has also lent her enthusiasm to special events, including the memorable Pesach food tasting and Israeli cooking demonstrations.
Her commitment extends to the broader community as well. For many years, Dalia led erev Shabbat services for the residents of the Carillon Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She helped organize the community-wide Yom Hashoah services in partnership with Kehillath Shalom Synagogue and Temple Beth El. She traveled to the March of the Living in Poland as part of the supervisory team, escorting a bus of high school teens, and described it as a trip of lasting memories. Her work as a consultant to the Salute to Israel Parade in Manhattan brought the HJC community together each year on Fifth Avenue, strengthening bonds and celebrating Jewish pride.
Dalia is a fifth generation Israeli on her mother’s side. Her maternal grandmother came to pre-1948 Israel from Hungary when she was 12 to escape the pogroms. Her paternal grandfather emigrated to Israel with his wife and children and opened a knitting factory in Tel Aviv. A shidduch was arranged for Dalia’s parents to wed during one of her grandparents’ business trips overseas between Israel and the U.S. And now, Dalia tells everyone how lucky she is to have the most wonderful three children and six adorable young-adult grandchildren.
Over the course of her career, Dalia has worked in a wide range of educational roles, including director, classroom teacher, family educator, Israel educator, tutor, and Hebrew language instructor. These varied experiences informed her approach to experiential Jewish education and community-based learning. A significant part of Dalia’s work focused on translating Jewish values into action. She was involved in programs that supported Ethiopian children in Israel, assisted students with special needs as they prepared for Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and responded to individual and communal needs as they arose.
Dalia is passionate about cooking and photography, finding a kitchen wherever she travels. During Chanukah in Africa, she made latkes in a tented camp in the Serengeti; during Pesach in Morocco, she cooked matzo balls for fellow travelers and a shakshuka breakfast for all to share. Her love of travel and family is captured through her beautiful photographs, which tell stories of connection, culture, and home—wherever she may be.
Dalia’s love for Israel has inspired her to volunteer with Sar-El and Jewish National Fund (JNF) a number of times, to be of service in Israel’s time of need. From picking cabbages to sorting, folding, and inspecting uniforms, she helped to free IDF soldiers to do more meaningful jobs and was a part of managing the incredible burden placed on active and reserve citizen soldiers.
Dalia received numerous honors including the UJA Federation Award for Recognition of Service and Dedication to the Jewish Community, the 1999 SAJES Recognition Award for Devotion and Dedication to Jewish Education, the National Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, and was the recipient of the Four Chaplains Award from the Veterans Administration, which was recorded in the Congressional Record.
Dalia is grateful to the Sisterhood of Huntington Jewish Center for selecting her as a recipient of the Woman of Achievement Award.