Providence Hebrew Day School to hold awards dinner on June 11

The Providence Hebrew Day School’s 70th annual awards dinner will be held on Sunday, June 11, in the newly renovated Victor and Gussie Baxt Social Hall at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence. 

This year, the Amudim Awards Committee honors the Gladstone Family Tradition. Bernard and Harriet Gladstone lived lives of selfless devotion to family and community. Their children, Bruce, Jeffrey and Scott, take time from their busy schedules as successful attorneys to carry this tradition forward.

Bruce is dedicated to promoting educational opportunities for our youth: he is a board member and legal counsel for Young Leaders Fellowship, which supports inner-city youth, and special counsel to the Providence Hebrew Day School. He is a former board member and legal counsel for Congregation Beth Sholom, in Providence, and an original member of Rhode Island Judges and Lawyers for Israel. He is also a primary contributor to the Gan Adina Mikvah, in Warwick, dedicated in memory of the brothers’ beloved sister, Andrea Gladstone Saltzman.

Jeffrey is a tireless advocate for Israel: He is president of Stand With Us Rhode Island, a founding member of Rhode Island Judges and Lawyers for Israel, and a member of the Jewish Alliance Israel Task Force. Jeff is also a member of the Building Committee for the Gan Adina Mikvah, a past co-president of the Jewish Community Day School and a past chairman of the Diabetes Foundation of Rhode Island.

Scott is active in the Jewish community in Brookline, Massachusetts: He is president of Temple Emeth and on the board of directors of Camp Yavneh. He has been an elected member of the Brookline Town Meeting since 2001, Scott is carrying on his father’s tradition of public service.

The Providence Hebrew Day School salutes the Gladstone brothers, who, like their parents before them, are true amudim (pillars) of Jewish education and community.

Paul Fradin and his wife, Janet, of blessed memory, are this year’s recipients of the Generation to Generation Award.

The Fradins lived in Providence and Newport. They were married for more than 60 years and have two children: Marjorie, who lives in Pawtucket, and Charles, who lives in Boston with the two Fradin grandchildren.

Paul is a graduate of Classical High School, where he was an all-state football player, and the University of Rhode Island.

He worked with his father, and then with his son, establishing a successful business in the alcoholic beverage industry. Loved and respected by his employees, Paul served as chairman of the New England Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund.

Paul has wide-ranging philanthropic interests, including the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island / Jewish Alliance. He has served as a board member at both The Groden Center and The University of Rhode Island Foundation. The Fradins are long-time members and supporters of Temple Beth-El, in Providence.

This year’s Providence Hebrew Day School Alumnus Award is being awarded to Pesach Shafner.

Pesach grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts, and graduated from PHDS in 1997. His parents were – and continue to be – very active in supporting the school.  

Pesach attended the Ner Israel Rabbinical College, in Baltimore, where he earned a master’s degree in Talmudic Law. He settled in Baltimore with his family and continued his studies at the Ner Israel Kollel for several years before attending the University of Maryland and earning a doctorate in pharmacy.

He currently works as a clinical pharmacist at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. As the hospital’s pharmacist, responsible for medication safety, he is involved in the development and implementation of safety enhancements related to administering medications throughout the institution.

Outside of work, Pesach devotes his time to caring for his family and engaging in his passion for studying Torah, as he continues to pursue his goal of completing all tractates of the Talmud.

The Shafner home is centered on Torah values and Torah study. The Shafner children attend Jewish day schools, perpetuating the legacy of Jewish education that Pesach received at the PHDS.

The awards program promises to be an enjoyable and inspiring event. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. and is open to the public at $65 per person. To attend or to make a contribution in honor of the event, please call the school at 401-331-5327, Ext. 21.

RUCHAMA SZENDRO lives in Providence and is a member of the Providence Hebrew Day School’s Amudim Awards Committee.