40 Years Later, Alumni Find that a School's Spirit is Still Palpable
by Susan Evans, Akiba-Schechter class of '79
For most of us alumni, it had been 40 years since we walked through the halls of Akiba-Schechter. While many things are different now (such as multi-age classrooms, a maker-space and modern playground equipment), the ruach (spirit) of the school and the bond we had formed with each other because of school, felt more than familiar. Since 1979, when we graduated, that ruach has been part of who we are, both individually and as a group.
In early September, I was in Hyde Park with several of my former classmates to tour the school and join the “Back to School Picnic.” The event came together because one of our classmates, who now lives in Israel, was going to be in town officiating at her sister’s wedding. Recognizing that it had been 40 years since we graduated (and last gathered as a group), we aimed to organize a visit for that time, which fortuitously coincided with the start of school.
So, five of the eleven 1979 Akiba-Schechter grads convened over a weekend to reconnect, share a meal and perhaps most importantly, reminisce about our experiences at Akiba. Most of us had been in school together since Kindergarten or first grade. Several of us went on to attend high school and even college together. We have kept in touch over the years – attending weddings, funerals, bar/bat mitzvot and visiting one another across the US and in Israel. As lives got busy, contact may have been sporadic, but those childhood bonds and our shared history provided the bedrock upon which we built our lives. Reconnecting, at least for me, has always felt familiar and easy.
Over Shabbat dinner, our conversation flowed as if it had not been decades since we had all been together. We spoke not only about our current lives, children, siblings and parents (many of whom are of blessed memory) but also about modern-day Israeli politics, our connections with organized Jewish life—all that shaped us as Jews, and how we have faced and dealt with the inevitable adversity of life. At times the conversation was bittersweet. More often, it was filled with laughter as we recounted our school memories, some of which others recalled, but many of which were our own to share.
Apparently the word ruach appears 389 times in the Torah. Due to this frequency, it can have multiple meanings. When applied to a person, ruach can mean vital powers or strength. So it was intentional to say that the ruach in the school felt familiar. Our lives at school back in the 1970s were exciting, interesting, academically challenging, and, at times, (as preteens and teens) perplexing. But overarching all that was the strength of the love that flowed freely around us.
There was a love for learning, a love for the Jewish people and for the state of Israel. There was the love we felt from our teachers, from Mille and Rose Miller, and from our rabbis (I would be remiss were I not to mention specifically Rabbis Well, Bateman and Biber). Perhaps, however, fostered by all the love around us, our love for one another was the most important.
That feeling of love is still palpable. Being back together, even for a few hours, reminded us of what it felt like to be students at Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School. Those of us who were able to visit the school were grateful to be back in those familiar classrooms and hallways.
We want to thank the staff for the “behind-the-scenes” tour. We are truly grateful for what happened in those classrooms and hallways 40+ years ago: the strength of the love that enriched our lives and enabled us to map our own future paths. Those paths were not always easy and never perfect, but they were forged with the understanding that we were important, that we had learned not only the aleph-bet, math, history and Judaic Studies, but that we had also learned about the strength of true and steadfast friendships.
Susan Evans is a class of 1979 Akiba-Schechter graduate, a new board member, and the sister of Michael Evans z’l, for whom the school’s playground is named “Mike’s Place.” She is a formerly a broadcast news producer and currently works as a Government Relations and policy officer at the Canadian Consulate in Chicago. Susan is intensely interested in tracking down Akiba alumni. Please help by sharing this article with any Akiba grads you know, or contact Director of Development Levi Zeffren for more information on getting involved with the new alumni network Akiba-Schechter is trying to launch.
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| Class of '79 alumnae Shelly (Weinbaum) Ashkenazi, Miriam Raider-Roth
and Susan Evans visit the Purple Room
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Graduates of Akiba-Schechter’s
Class of 1979
at Mike’s Place, the preschool playground:
Elliot Frohlichstein-Appel,
Shelly (Weinbaum) Ashkenazi,
Susan Evans, and Miriam Raider-Roth
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So, five of the eleven 1979 Akiba-Schechter grads convened over a weekend to reconnect, share a meal and perhaps most importantly, reminisce about our experiences at Akiba. Most of us had been in school together since Kindergarten or first grade. Several of us went on to attend high school and even college together. We have kept in touch over the years – attending weddings, funerals, bar/bat mitzvot and visiting one another across the US and in Israel. As lives got busy, contact may have been sporadic, but those childhood bonds and our shared history provided the bedrock upon which we built our lives. Reconnecting, at least for me, has always felt familiar and easy.
Over Shabbat dinner, our conversation flowed as if it had not been decades since we had all been together. We spoke not only about our current lives, children, siblings and parents (many of whom are of blessed memory) but also about modern-day Israeli politics, our connections with organized Jewish life—all that shaped us as Jews, and how we have faced and dealt with the inevitable adversity of life. At times the conversation was bittersweet. More often, it was filled with laughter as we recounted our school memories, some of which others recalled, but many of which were our own to share.
Apparently the word ruach appears 389 times in the Torah. Due to this frequency, it can have multiple meanings. When applied to a person, ruach can mean vital powers or strength. So it was intentional to say that the ruach in the school felt familiar. Our lives at school back in the 1970s were exciting, interesting, academically challenging, and, at times, (as preteens and teens) perplexing. But overarching all that was the strength of the love that flowed freely around us.
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| The four visiting alumni in their class picture from 1979: Top row from the left: Susan (2nd), Shelly (4th), Miriam (6th); Elliot is in the bottom row, 2nd from the left. |
That feeling of love is still palpable. Being back together, even for a few hours, reminded us of what it felt like to be students at Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School. Those of us who were able to visit the school were grateful to be back in those familiar classrooms and hallways.
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| At Akiba-Schechter's September 8 Indoor Picnic, from left to right: Head of School Dr. Eliezer Jones and his son, Miriam Raider-Roth, Shelly (Weinbaum) Ashkenazi, Susan Evans, Principal Miriam Kass, and Elliot Frohlichstein-Appel |
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Susan Evans is a class of 1979 Akiba-Schechter graduate, a new board member, and the sister of Michael Evans z’l, for whom the school’s playground is named “Mike’s Place.” She is a formerly a broadcast news producer and currently works as a Government Relations and policy officer at the Canadian Consulate in Chicago. Susan is intensely interested in tracking down Akiba alumni. Please help by sharing this article with any Akiba grads you know, or contact Director of Development Levi Zeffren for more information on getting involved with the new alumni network Akiba-Schechter is trying to launch.
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