by Lori Silberman Brauner
NJJN Staff Writer

July 31, 2008

When it came time to consider a new candidate for principal at Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy, the yeshiva’s leadership did not need to look outside the school for the most qualified person.

Nor did they look within their own cadre of rabbis; rather, they turned to an educator they considered a natural for the role — the Elizabeth yeshiva’s general studies principal, Chanie Moskowitz.

In doing so, she becomes the rare woman to serve as principal of an Orthodox boys’ school.

While she will, she said, “be carrying out the full slate of responsibilities that my predecessor carried out,” there will be some changes in her fulfillment of the position.

She will not lead prayer services, make announcements during that time, or give formal divrei Torah; she will, however, pray alongside the boys — albeit from behind a mehitza — and may address them afterward.

The JEC’s rabbis offer much praise for Moskowitz, who is entering her 13th year as an administrator at RTMA, the boys’ high school at the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth. She replaces Rabbi Elchanan Weinbach, who is now the head of the Shalhevet School in Los Angeles.

“There was a tremendous amount of buy-in from the faculty,” said the JEC’s associate dean, Rabbi Eliyahu Teitz, noting Moskowitz has helped train two principals herself. “The transition has really been very smooth.”

Moskowitz came to the JEC from Rabbi Jacob Joseph School for boys in Staten Island, where she taught junior high school English and later became curriculum coordinator. She previously taught in public and private schools, and has two master’s degrees: one in English literature from Brooklyn College, the other in administration and supervision from Saint John’s University in Queens, where she is a doctoral degree candidate.

The transition from the Staten Island school to the mesivta in Elizabeth, which has about 200 students in grades six through 12, was a natural one for her, she said, because so many of RJJ’s students had come to RTMA when it came time to enroll in high school. Moskowitz also believes her hashkafa, or religious outlook, correlates with the mission of the JEC, which combines Torah studies with a college-preparatory curriculum in a single-sex environment.

Really ‘phenomenal’

While it is common for women to assume the role of head of a girls’ high school, for a boys’ yeshiva, “this is truly a unique situation,” said Rabbi Ellis Bloch, codirector of the department of yeshivot and day schools at the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York.

While Bloch could not speak for the rest of the country, he believes her role is rare in such an educational setting. “That’s really a phenomenal thing,” he said.

Moskowitz, who studied Gemara in her youth, said her responsibilities would include “pedagogy and instruction.”

“Because I have a background in education, I can assist someone in teaching Torah,” in the use of the best teaching methodologies. “My training and my own skill set and years of experience will provide me with the means to be effective.”

“I will be working with the full faculty,” said Moskowitz, who organized joint faculty meetings of the Jewish and general studies staff while she was general studies principal. She promoted Rabbi Noach Sauber, a religious guidance counselor at RTMA, to assistant principal for Jewish studies.

“All the changes that were made were an internal reordering of staff,” Teitz said. “The buck stops with her.”

As for her specific goals, Moskowitz said she would like RTMA — which she called a “good, solid school” — to become “the best it can be.”

This past year, the school earned accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. As faculty, students, and parents came together to assess the school’s direction, “it gave us the means to take a good, long look at what we were doing,” she said. “We’re looking to grow” in all areas.

Only 25 percent of the school’s population is from the Elizabeth area, with the rest from such communities as Highland Park, Passaic, East Brunswick, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and even Pennsylvania. Almost all the RTMA graduates attend college; 90 percent of them enroll in Israeli yeshiva programs prior to college enrollment.

“It’s not about me; it’s about what the kids need,” said Moskowitz, herself the mother of four sons. She maintains an open-door policy in her office — provided she is not on the telephone or in a meeting — and stocks jellybeans and pretzels for her hungry students. “If you feed them, they will come,” she quipped.

“I have no feminist agenda,” she said. “I’m just looking to do what I can do in terms of the kids I work with.” Moskowitz noted that she has kept in touch with students after graduation, and has been invited to their weddings. “It’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.”

“We have wonderful, wonderful rabbis here,” said Moskowitz, who added that Teitz and his father, Rabbi Elazar Mayer Teitz, the leader of Elizabeth’s Orthodox community, would be the ultimate spiritual guides, with the elder Teitz the final halachic arbiter.

Likewise, her faculty speaks highly of her.

Sauber said that with Moskowitz’ educational background, “I think we actually have an opportunity to broaden the department this way.”

“I’m behind her 100 percent,” said Rabbi Moshe Snow, who has been on the faculty since 1969. “Her manner in dealing with people is outstanding.”

“I think the school will get better and better as time goes on,” he said.

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