samuel i. stern memorial
TRANSCRIPT
Thousands of Girls Have Lost Their
Father
Born
Brooklyn, New York 1935
Educated
New York and Maryland
Degrees
Rabbinic Ordination
Certified Public Accountant
Aliya
Settled in Jerusalem 1958
Married
Sarah Kahn 1961
Career
Hired by Bayit Lepletot 1958
Appointed to the Directorate of Bayit Lepletot 1962
Expanded Bayit Lepletot campus
Founded Girls Town Jerusalem campus 1973
Achieved world-wide recognition in the field of fundraising
Spent nearly six months per year overseas on behalf of Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem
Community Leadership
Actively involved with charitable organizations including Vision Impaired, Synagogue and American-Israel relations
Blessed with nine children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren
Diagnosed with cancer 2008
Continued working on behalf of Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem
Died
Jerusalem, 2012
Died
Jerusalem,
LifeLifeEducatedLifeEducated
New York and MarylandLife New York and MarylandLifeDegreesLifeDegrees
Rabbinic OrdinationLife Rabbinic Ordination
Certified Public AccountantLife Certified Public AccountantLife Aliya Life Aliya Aliya Life Aliya
Settled in Jerusalem Life Settled in Jerusalem LifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeLifeA Life of Dedication
Reflections
of a staff member…
Rabbi Stern was a leader, he gave
us direction and kept things moving.
Rabbi Stern’s demeanor bespoke
respect, dignity, determination and
strength of character.
Rabbi Stern knew what his goals were,
knew what it took to complete the
task and carried out each step to
perfection.
Rabbi Stern had such a warm heart
and such keen perception. He knew
just the thing to say to bring out the
best in others.
Rabbi Stern had such a great sense
of humor and such a dynamic
personality.
Things will never be the same without
Rabbi Stern, but his legacy of kindness,
sensitivity and dedication will endure.
Rabbi Samuel Isaac Stern, of blessed memory
Born
Brooklyn, New York 1935
Educated
New York and Maryland
Degrees
Rabbinic Ordination
Certified Public Accountant
Aliya
Settled in Jerusalem 1958
Married
Sarah Kahn 1961
Career
Hired by Bayit Lepletot 1958
Appointed to the Directorate of Bayit Lepletot 1962
Expanded Bayit Lepletot campus
Founded Girls Town Jerusalem campus 1973
Achieved world-wide recognition in the field of fundraising
Spent nearly six months per year overseas on behalf of Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem
Community Leadership
Actively involved with charitable organizations including Vision Impaired, Synagogue and American-Israel relations
Blessed with nine children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren
Diagnosed with cancer 2008
Continued working on behalf of Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem
Died
Jerusalem, 2012
Founder and Director, Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem
January 14, 1935 - July 31, 201210 Shvat 5695 - 12 Av 5772
Rabbi Samuel Isaac Stern,
The Man and hisDream
A Refuge for Refugee Girls
By 1948, thousands of Holocaust survivors had made their way to Israel, including many orphaned children. Rabbi Naftali Rosenfeld and his family first took in two refugee girls; then four and then eight girls. Eventually, the girls were moved into an old warehouse building in Jerusalem. Bayit Lepletot became the name that people remembered as a shelter for refugee girls. The accommodation were functional yet very basic.
Rabbi Samuel I. Stern arrived in Israel from America in 1958 with the intention of helping to build the country and aid the disadvantaged. He joined the staff of Bayit Lepletot and was soon promoted to director, taking on the responsibility for fundraising overseas and expanding the premises into a multi-level, fully equipped orphanage.
He vowed to never turn away any girl who needed a home.
Building a Better Future
After the Six Day War, land that had been ‘no-man’s land’ was both available and inexpensive. Through Rabbi Stern’s efforts, the Girls Town Jerusalem campus was established with additional dormitories, recreational facilities, and a complete academic and vocational training center. When the Russian Aliyah in the 1980s brought hundreds more children who urgently needed a family, including orphans and girls from disadvantaged or broken homes, Girls Town Jerusalem was already operating and ready to accommodate these forsaken children.
A Father to Thousands
Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem was Rabbi Stern’s life’s project and his dedication knew no bounds. He left his family and traveled for months at a time to raise funds for the Homes. He also became closely involved in the lives and development of each of the hundreds of children in his care.
Rabbi Stern led numerous brides down the aisle with the pride of a father who has transformed a lost and tearful child into a happy and successful woman. At their graduation ceremonies for every educational accomplishment, if he was in the country, Rabbi Stern was there clapping the loudest for “his girl”. Over 6,000 women have grown up with Bayit Lepletot as their family and Rabbi Stern as their ‘father’.
Now, these girls have lost their ‘father’, so many of them for a second time.
Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem: THE home for orphaned girls in Jerusalem.
Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem currezntly accommodates hundreds of girls from the age of three until they leave either to pursue a career or as married women ready to build homes of their own.
Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem provides so much more than just food, shelter and clothing. It creates for its girls a family atmosphere and a childhood devoid of stress and anxiety.
Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem provides medical, dental and ophthalmic care for every girl, over and above what is provided by the Israeli healthcare system.
Our daughters deserve more.
Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem dormitories provide bright and comfortable accommodation for girls of all ages, and they live here 365 days of the year.
Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem outfits the girls with lovely clothes and shoes so that they feel the same as any girl from a ‘normal’ household.
Bayit Lepletot Today
Girls Town Jerusalem
Beyond education
Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem makes education mean more than schooling. Extra-curricular activities like cooking, sewing and handicrafts give the girls important life skills that they will use one day to build their own homes.
Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem’s girls need an excellent education so that they can support themselves for life. Our vocational training program prepares our students for the world of work, in computers, finance, graphic arts and fashion design.
Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem provides camps, outings and fun for its girls throughout the year, especially during the long, summer vacation.
Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem, acting as the family, ensures that every one of its orphaned and/or homeless brides, begins married life equipped with everything that she needs. In addition to the weddings of each bride, Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem generously provides its brides with a complete trousseau, kitchenware, linens and appliances. Annually, there are an average of thirty to thirty-five brides.
Bayit Lepletot – Girls Town Jerusalem has established scholarship funds which have enabled our graduates to acquire advanced education and complete degrees in teaching, counseling, programming and other disciplines.
Protecting His Legacy
There can be no greater legacy for Rabbi Stern, who devoted
his entire life to the establishment and continuation of Bayit
Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem, than to ensure its financial
security and survival. The Rabbi Samuel I. Stern Memorial Fund
must protect the future of Homes and of each of the girls in our
care. There can be no cause more urgent than the welfare of
hundreds of abandon or orphaned girls who have now been
orphaned again.
Perpetuating His Name
We have decided to launch a Memorial Fund in Rabbi Stern’s
memory, to ensure that his legacy will continue and thrive. A
legacy fund will put our finances onto more secure foundations.
We need to reassure the girls that everything is okay, and that
there is no fear of our closing down the orphanage, so that
they can sleep soundly and grow healthily. We urgently need
the financial security to help them to feel secure.
Please remember the legendary dedication and wonderful
work of Rabbi Samuel I. Stern and help us to continue in his
footsteps with your meaningful donation. The outdoor Samuel
I. Stern Memorial Wall will display commemorative plaques
for each tribute.
The Samuel I. Stern Memorial Fund
Main Wing:
$2,000,000North Wing:
$1,000,000East Wing:
$500,000
entire Floor:
$200,000Dormitory Entrance:
$100,000Landscaped Entrance:
$50,000
Legacy Endowments
The Samuel I. Stern Memorial FundPlatinum Tribute:
$72,000
Diamond Tribute:
$108,000
Silver Tribute:
$36,000
Bronze Tribute:
$18,000
Gold Tribute:
$54,000
Marble Tribute:
$10,000
Tribute:
$5,000
Letter from Avraham Y. Stern
De�� F���nd�,Less than a month ago, my dear father returned his holy soul to our Creator. During his difficult illness, borne with fortitude, his main concern was the welfare of the girls in his care. With tears pouring down my cheeks, I reassured him of our complete commitment to working to support them as he had done for over 50 years.
A�b�, h�� ���� �� m�na�� �i�h�u� y��? This cry can be heard in all the dormitories of Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem. Girls who have been orphaned and abandoned once already in their lives have now been orphaned again. They fear for the future. Who will take care of them? Who will put food on the table and a roof over their heads? How can our institution continue without its very foundation, its cornerstone?
As I have pledged to my father, we must continue his holy work. In addition to my own family, I have now inherited responsibility for hundreds of additional Jewish children.
In fulfilling my pledge to my father, I am committed to his vow to never turn away a child who has been abandoned by others. I� i� �� h�n�� �n� � ������e�� t� c�n�����
�� �i� f�ots��p�, but it is also an awesome responsibility. I will need the help and support of all of his friends and supporters around the world, together with our dedicated staff.
We are grateful to the many people who expressed their condolences and messages of sympathy. Knowing that the enormity of our loss is shared is in itself a comfort.
On behalf of the Stern family and the staff and children of Bayit Lepletot - Girls Town Jerusalem, I wish you and your families a Ktiva vChatima Tovah – Blessings for a sweet New Year.
Sincerely,
A�r�h�� Y. S����Director
Letter from Avraham Y. Stern
A�r�h�� Y. S����Director
IRLSOWN
ERUSALEMBAYIT LEPLETOTJERUSALEM
BAYIT LEPLETOTJBJBJJ
a Ho
me w
ith a Heart
Contact:Abraham Y. Stern, Director
Bayit Lepletot -Girls Town Jerusalem
USA: 1362 E. 21st St.
Brooklyn, NY 11210
Tel: 718-252-3172
Fax: 718-692-0993
Israel: PO Box 5115
55 Sorotzkin Street
1 Beharan Street
Jerusalem
Tel: 972-2-625-7986
Cell: 972-50-411-1111
Fax: 972-2-627-8091
Canada: 465 Coldstream Ave.
Toronto, ON M5N 1Y6
Tel: 416-781-2778
www.blp.org.il
ה ק
פה
ה וגי
טטר
סא
ת קי
וושי
ת ר
שוק
ת