Reunion Thoughts

I think it was worth having my elementary school reunion if only to remind Ira Noveck of a childhood memory. I told him that I remembered a birthday party in his house circa third grade. One of the games his parents' (seemed to be his mother's doing) arranged was a game where we were perched on these big bar stools and had to pop balloons by sitting on them. He said he didn't remember that. But it was of great interest to him because he now does that game at his kids' parties.

Later, I was talking with Alan Stadtmauer, who is not only smart but truly wise, particularly in his observations about human behavior. I mentioned the article I wrote about Mr. C. And he said, "he deserves it." The article was an entry to the Jewish Week, which solicited pieces about favorite teachers. I mentioned the teaching that I recalled Mr. C. teaching us in sixth grade. He wrote the word yir'ah on the board, and under it the word ahava. The he made a horizontal line between the words. Then he drew a vertical line down the middle of each word. The he covered the left side revealing the word yir'ah on the right, and then covered the right to reveal ahava on the left. The idea is that love and fear are intertwined.

I explain this more simply in the article about Mr. C. Here is the article for your perusal.


In A Class By Themselves (01/09/2003)

The stories of some teachers who made a lasting impression.

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Love And Respect

The best teacher I ever had was Phil Chernofsky in sixth grade in the Heller Hebrew Academy of North Queens. “Mr. C,” as we called him, was purposely not Rabbi C. By virtue of not being a rabbi, he taught me that there are things more important than title.

Mr. C was a great teacher because he set a worthy example. He was strict and kind, bright and accessible, creative and traditional, and very human.Mr. C made me feel that I mattered. I recall sitting and chatting with him in his car during recess on a cold winter day, comparing notes on growing up and cherishing the moment.

I once made a comment in class that Mr. C considered good enough to significantly boost my entire report card grade. After my bar mitzvah he took me shopping to help me spend my gift money wisely. That night I bought my first Jewish book and then we celebrated with ice cream.

When a kid once bullied me during class, Mr. C looked him straight in the eye and the world stopped as he said, “If that’s going to be your attitude you will be out of my class right now.”

He shared his love of Torah in original ways. Once a week a button on Mr. C’s lapel announced, “If It’s Thursday There’s Mishmar!” — advertising his afterschool Torah class. He reconstructed his small sukkah in class and told us how he sat and listened to news of the Yom Kippur War. His enthusiasm and creativity seemed endless.

Today, as a teacher, I am a shadow of Phil Chernofsky’s model. Mr. C once showed us how the last Hebrew letters of the word yir’ah, respect, and the first letters of the word ahava, love, are the same, illustrating the connection between love and respect of God. Years later I’ve learned that this lesson applies to the ingredients of a good teacher. Mr. C earned my love and respect 30 years ago and continues to inspire me today. - Rabbi Neil Fleischmann