Honorees
Eli and Fay Rabinowich
Guests of Honor
Fay Rabinowich was born in Odessa, Ukraine to an unaffiliated family. Growing up in Brooklyn, her family celebrated birthday dinners and Rosh Hashana meals in the same capacity. Food and drink was central to both, without any connection to Torah. Eli Rabinowich was raised by an Orthodox family in New York City on the upper west side. Fay would not have been in Jerusalem over Sukkot in 2007 if it wasn’t for MJE, where she met her husband, Eli. Fay was seeking meaning behind why a Yom Tov meal is different from an anniversary dinner when she came across MJE. The journey began with her first class at MJE, a crash course in reading Hebrew and from that point, a life of Torah began. The Rabinowich family will always be grateful to MJE for instilling love and connection to Torah.
Steven and Taryn (Tanzer) GrunsteinGuests of Honor
Taryn first connected with Manhattan Jewish Experience at a Shabbat Dinner where she had such an enjoyable evening, she signed up for the Winter Ski Retreat and the MJE Annual Trip to Israel - which she believes was the catalyst for transforming her into a proud, learning Jew. Following the MJE Israel Trip, Taryn joined and graduated the MJE Fellowship program and began to participate in MJE one-on-one learning which has been critical to her continuous personal growth as an individual, wife and mother.
Steven and Taryn were set-up by Taryn’s cousins who were longtime friends of Steven. Taryn introduced Steven to the Manhattan Jewish Experience where they attended shul while living in NYC and celebrated their engagement with the MJE Community. In April 2020, Taryn and Steven were married at an intimate ceremony officiated by Rabbi Wildes.
Currently, Steven and Taryn reside in Hewlett, New York where they continue to embrace Torah and Judaism in their home with their 11-month old daughter Estelle.
Todd and Anna (Hertz) Schwartz
Couple of the Year
Anna and Todd both have deep Jewish identities, incredibly strengthened through their experiences with MJE. Anna, a regular at MJE since 2016, attended the 2016 Heritage trip to Israel, joined the 2016/2017 Fellowship program, and has been a Senior Fellow for the past 5 years. Todd first visited MJE with Anna in the summer of 2021 and has been an active participant ever since. Anna and Todd were honored to have Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal officiate their wedding this past March – and delighted to celebrate with so many friends from MJE! They currently live on the Upper West Side and are committed to making a warm and inviting Jewish home together.
Carly Korman Schlakman Student of the Year
Carly Korman Schlakman grew up in Manalapan, New Jersey with a conservative Jewish upbringing. During college she became a leader in the Israel advocacy space on campus, bringing her closer to Judaism. Since graduating from UMass Amherst in 2017 l, Carly has worked professionally in the Israel advocacy space helping to educate students on campus to be strong Zionistic leaders and bringing them to Israel. She currently works for Jewish National Fund as the tri-state Israel Programs Admissions Director. Carly got married in October 2020. She took part in MJE’s fellowship last year and has been an active part of MJE over the last few years.
Shoshana Levitt
Most Valuable Participant
Shoshana is a Silicon Valley native who resides in Murray Hill. She discovered MJE soon after graduating from New York University in 2018 and has since been an active community member. Between Senior Fellowship, weekly Chavruta learning, Shabbat dinners and services, retreats, and much more, MJE has become an integral part of Shoshana’s Jewish life.