Hillel Academy announces honorees for 56th Annual Journal brunch

Hillel Academy recently announced its honorees for the upcoming 56th Annual Journal brunch: Rabbi Aaron and Rivkah Slonim of Chabad of Binghamton, who will receive the A.M. Pierson Award, and Sima and Neil Auerbach, who will receive the N. Theodore Sommer Community Service Award.

Rabbi Aaron and Rivkah Slonim, along with their son, Levi, moved to the area in 1984 from Brooklyn to found and direct Chabad of Binghamton. The Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life is now one of the nation’s largest Jewish student centers. He is currently the executive director of Chabad of Binghamton and is one of the founding board members of Chabad on Campus International. She is the education director at the Rohr Chabad Center and serves on the Editorial Board of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, which serves more than 1,600 communities. 

Sima and Neil Auerbach’s commitment to Jewish life long preceded their relocation to the area. Among numerous endeavors, they founded and ran a Jewish summer camp in the Catskills. Sima is a former executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton, having retired at the end of June this year. She began working for the Federation in 2008, when she and Neil moved to the area from Great Neck, NY. She was initially a member of the Federation board and eventually became the executive director. During her tenure, Sima spearheaded several programs for the local Jewish community, such as 92nd Street Y Live, the PJ Library, the Yasher Koach awards, the Jewish International Film Fest of Greater Binghamton and a dinner celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary.

The deadline for submitting ads for the journal is Monday, October 28 (note change from the original October 20 deadline). To place an ad, contact Hillel Academy at 304-4544 or send an e-mail to hilleljournalgroup@gmail.com.

The journal brunch will take place at 11 am on Sunday, November 10, at Temple Israel and the cost is $35 per person. Those who would like to attend should RSVP by Friday, November 1, by contacting the Hillel Academy office. More information on the dinner will appear in future issues of The Reporter.