Alumni of Lubavitch Educational Center Salute Rabbi Yaakov Roth
It was the 1970s and Mark Russo, five years old, had just moved to Miami. “Our family did not have much money,” he remembers, “and the only school that would accept me was Landow Yeshiva, now Lubavitch Educational Center.”
The budding school was still in its infancy and most of the students were children from unaffiliated backgrounds. “No school would take them,” Russo says, “but Chabad never turns anyone away.”
A yarmulka and tzitzis were given to the students who came without one. They were taught to daven, to learn, to connect with Hashem. They even went to New York, to join the Rebbe’s farbrengen. But one teacher went a step further.
In this video presentation premiered at Lubavitch Educational Center’s Gala Dinner this year, Russo and fellow alumni salute their teacher, longtime educator Rabbi Yaakov Roth. After the video, the alumni themselves appeared onstage sparking an emotional reunion with their beloved teacher. They hadn’t seen each other in 45 years.
“There is nothing better you can do for a child than letting them know how important they are,” says Russo. “Without Chabad, I probably would have nothing to do with Judaism today.”
Produced by Rabbi Yakov Garfinkel
Video by Dov Gurewitz
Produced for the LEC Gala Dinner, February 25, 2025
