MEET THE HONOREES

Our Guests of Honor are Drs. Israil and Inna Pendrak. Born in Kiev, Ukraine in the 1960’s, the Pendraks immigrated to the United States in the 1970’s, where Israil and Inna both attended Temple University, majoring in chemistry. After completing his graduate studies, Israil began working for GlaxoSmithKline, where he is still employed as a medicinal chemist. Inna, after graduating from Temple and PCOM, practiced family medicine for 10 years before transitioning to the pharmaceutical industry 15 years ago.
The Pendraks were married in the 1980’s, but it wasn’t until 2003 that Israil and Inna began their journey to Torah observance. In 2008 they moved to Lower Merion and immediately became involved with the Kollel. Israil has a daily seder at 5:30 a.m. with Rabbi Bauminger, in addition to the other learning he does at the Kollel. They have four children: Karen and Yitzchak Kraftmann who live in the community with their children Aaron and Aleeza; Avraham Dovid; Yaakov Asher, married to Chana Basya, and their son Mordechai; and Michelle, a junior at KTA. The boys can be found davening and learning in the Kollel Beis Medrash whenever they are home.
In their words: “The Kollel yungeleit are role models for our family of how to live a Torah-true life. Their children reflect their Torah upbringing and enhance our schools. Their wives are great examples for our daughters. Not a day goes by that ‘the Kollel’ is not mentioned and visited at least a few times. The Kollel is our connection to Torah in this community.” It gives us great pleasure to honor such an exemplary and worthy couple at this year’s dinner.

The Young Leadership Award will be presented to Rabbi and Mrs. Ari Silver. After spending his youth in Bala Cynwyd, R’ Ari and his family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, where eventually he met Netanya, a Silver Spring native, and they married in December of 2001. In 2006 the Silvers moved back to Bala Cynwyd for Rabbi Silver to take a position as a rebbi at Torah Academy, after receiving semicha from Rabbi Gedaliah Anemer, and he is now in his 10th year of teaching 5th and 6th grade boys. He is a very effective and beloved rebbi to hundreds of students. Rabbi Silver is also the Youth Director at LMS and heads Torah Youth/Pirchei on Shabbos afternoons, and he and his wife are involved in many other community institutions. R’ Ari has been learning in the Kollel’s Mechanchim Kollel in the evenings while Mrs. Netanya Silver recently joined the Kollel staff as office manager. They have 6 wonderful children: Moshe Tzvi (13), Avraham Chaim (11), Shayna Basya (9), Shira Miriam (7), Gedaliah (5), and Dina Leah (3).
In their words: “We love how the Kollel works to include everyone in the community, the diverse programs for men, women and children. We love that there is an established place that is always full of people learning Torah and that is open to everyone to join. For years, every time we would pass by the Kollel, the boys would say, ‘That is the Masmid place.’ The girls anxiously look forward to each Kesher program, and Netanya cherishes the set time and opportunity to focus on spending quality learning time with them. Rabbi Silver attests, ‘Since moving to Bala Cynwyd I have been fortunate to consistently have a night-seder chavrusa. To be able to set aside an hour every evening for personal learning in an environment of Torah study is invaluable.’ ”

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION OF OUR HONOREES!