Capital honor for Rambam

Students and alumni of Rambam Mesivta can take pride in the fact that the school was honored at a special ceremony in Washington as a Blue Ribbon School.

A banner, plaque and Blue Ribbon flag were presented to Rambam’s Rosh Mesivta/Dean, Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, who represented the school at the educators’ conference in the capital.

Representatives from the Department of Education said that Rambam was unique because it was the only high school in New York State to be awarded this year and the only yeshiva in the country to be so honored.

Organizers mentioned that Rambam might also be the only all-boys Jewish school in the entire country to have won in the 40 year history of the program, which is designed to recognize and promote educational excellence.

“It was strange being the only Orthodox Jew present amongst thousands of people,” said Rabbi Friedman. “I felt that I was representing yeshivos in general. The mission of yeshivos is to inspire talmidim and provide them with the tools to excel. We have been fortunate that our students have produced results which have met the standards of excellence outlined in the Blue Ribbon Schools program.”

Only seven high schools across the country were recognized for their educational excellence this year.

“It was clear to me that Rambam was unique, but not in the way that the organizers thought,” explained Rabbi Friedman. “Every school that was highlighted promoted their sports teams, bands, and activities associated with fun. Our picture of boys learning [Talmud] together was a rarity in that it focused on the pursuit of knowledge.” Rav Soloveichik once explained that Avraham Avinu was a role model for all generations to come in that he was a ger toshav.

“He was a resident in so far as he was able to interact with society around him seamlessly and was respected as a community leader. However, in terms of his hashkafah, he was a stranger. He could not eat their food, could not join in many of their activities and his alphabet is also opposite of most languages.

“I believe that our boys have met this standard in being able to demonstrate educational excellence on par with the best schools in the United States all the while maintaining the commitment to Torah and mitzvos.”