Torah Umesorah Dinner Journal 72nd Annual Dinner Journal | Page 8

AVODAS HAKODESH AWARD MR. Shuli HALPERT GESHER L’YESHIVOS A man with a tremendous heart, Mr. Shuli Halpert saw the uphill battle and frustration faced by so many of our young boys and girls trying to find suitable high schools, Batei Midrash, or other institutions where they could thrive and develop, and felt he could do something about it. Together with Moishe Rosenthal – his good friend since childhood – he founded Gesher L’Yeshivos, an organization comprised of these two men working the phones, meeting and conferring with students and their parents, and convincing menahalim to open their doors and hearts for these youngsters. Shuli’s sterling personal qualities make him uniquely suited to this herculean task. He quickly establishes a rapport with boys and girls who have difficulty communicating with their parents, teachers, or peers. Once familiar with the issues, he can properly match them with what might be a suitable school. He then uses his special blend of humility and tenacity to gently convince the school that this is our child - a member of Klal Yisroel - who has a right to a proper education. A talmid of Mesivta Torah Vodaath, Shuli was zoche to learn under two of the great Roshei Yeshiva of yesteryear, Harav Aharon Yeshaya Shapiro, zt”l, and Harav Elazar Kahanow, zt”l. Shuli’s life was also significantly influenced by his family’s strong connection to the Bluzhover Rebbe, zt”l. Both Mr. an d Mrs. Halpert hail from prominent families known for their ahavas Torah and chessed. Shuli’s father, Harav Bentzion Halpert, was an outstanding talmid chochom and his mother, Mrs. Ruchi Halpert, was well-known for her chesed activities in the Borough Park community. Shuli’s wife, Pamela, is the daughter of Meir and Gitty Rieder, who were the pioneering force behind the building of the frum community in Highland Park, NJ. A successful real estate manager, Shuli is a respected member of Bais Medrash Ahavas Shalom in Flatbush, where he has maintained a nightly chavrusa with the rav, Rabbi Aharon Gulkowitz, for thirty years. He is also a mispallel in Khal Beis Avrohom with Harav Bentzion Halberstam. The Halperts have established a home that is a bastion of Torah and Chessed; they are very proud of their children and grandchildren Dovid and Esther Gelbwachs, Mordy and Chaya Bogen, Moshe and Mindy Deutsch, Mayer and Chaichi Halpert and Gitty Halpert, all of whom are continuing on the family’s path of avodas hakodesh. HOME HONOREES JOURNAL YEAR IN REVIEW WEBSITE BIRKAS HAMAZON