May 22nd, 2013
Mpls. Talmud Torah to honor longtime Jewish educators
Annual Yom HaMorim dinner, which is open to the public, will recognize long service of Rabbi Avraham Ettedgui and Mary Baumgarten
By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN / Community News Editor
[You must] appoint teachers in each and every city, and a city that does not have a teacher is to be excommunicated until it appoints a teacher. — Shulchan Aruch
The Talmud Torah of Minneapolis hosts the annual Yom HaMorim dinner to celebrate its teachers and mark the significant milestones reached by individual educators. It’s the highlight of the year for the teachers, according to Head of School Susie Chalom.
The event, sponsored by the Rabbi Marc and Dr. Henia Liebhaber Family Yom HaMorim Fund, will honor Rabbi Avraham Ettedgui for 50 years and Mary Baumgarten for 40 years of service to the school and its students. The fund was established in the 1970s, and endowed several years later, by former AJW publisher Rabbi Liebhaber, who started his career in Minneapolis as a teacher at the Talmud Torah.
“This year, because it’s Rabbi Ettedgui’s 50th year, which is so unique, and Mary Baumgarten’s 40th, we decided to open up the dinner to the community,” Chalom told the AJW. “It’s somewhat of a small fundraiser that will go towards teacher recognition and teacher enrichment at the school.”
The dinner and program will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12 at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park. All are welcome to attend or send a tribute to Ettedgui and Baumgarten.
“I know the impact that they have had on the lives of so many people in this community,” Chalom said. “When you have a teacher who has been very impactful on your life, and you feel thankful and you feel gratitude toward them, you don’t always get a chance to express it.”





