Mr. Yossi and Mrs. Sora Rivka Vann, an exemplary coupledistinguished by their dedication to Torah and Chesed, will be the Guests of Honor at the upcoming Dinner. Their two sons, Reb Boruch – who has been learning in the Yeshiva for about eleven years and currently a member of its Kollel, as well as Yisroel Aryeh, a distinguished alumnus, reflect the devotion and ideals of their parents, which extends beyond their home into the far reaches of the greater community.
“Before sending our boys to Toras Moshe,” Yossi explains, “I spentmore than 10 years observing how their alumni were a head above many others. I noticed that they were diligent both in their avodas Hashem as well is in their bein adam l’chaveiro, their mentchlichkeit. In today’s shidduch world, if a shadchan recommends a Toras Moshe boy, everyone understands that you’re talking about a top-notch young man, who’s not only serious about Torah and Avodah, but is also a mentch.”
“In shul, I sit next to Shlomo Mayer, a ToMo alumnus and a talmidof Rav Mosheh Twersky, zatzal. I observe his hasmada, the way he sits and learns early in the morning and late at night, while holding down a very serious professional job. I also see Mordechai Golombeck at the Agudah every night from 9 o’clock on, when he learns for several hours. He’s also there in the morning, before beginning his busy day at work; this is what Toras Moshe stands for. It’s a Yeshiva that addresses a person’s entire being – making sure that the Torah he learns is affecting him properly. The talmid must understand why he learns Torah, and how he will go on to create a lifetime of it.
“What often goes unrecognized is that parents also have an opportunity to develop a kesher with the Rosh Yeshiva and the rebbeim. You’re like a junior partner who will seek out and rely on the advice of his senior partner in business. You recognize their gadlus in Torah, and you respect and rely on them almost the way you respect your own Rav. This is something that we truly cherish.”
A product of Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch,Yeshiva University (where he was a talmid of Rav Nisson Alpert, zatzal)and a graduate of Cardozo Law School, Yossi currently practices law at the law firm of Cohen, Tauber, Spievack and Wagner. Yossi finds his day starts best when he is able to attend a daily seder with his chavrusa at the Agudas Yisroel of Passaic Park, where he also spearheads the annual Chassan Torah drive in honor of his Mora D’Asra, Rav Yonoson Sacks, shlita. For the past thirty years, he has served as a ba’al teflla for Yamim Noraim, most recently at Kehilas Eitz Chaim of Passaic-Clifton, led by Rav Yonah Lazar.
Mrs. Sora Rivka Vann is a fitting partner, balancing home, community and work with her calm smile and good word for all. Those Meshulachim making their annual visit to the Vann household are greeted by Yossi by name, as old friends, and Sora Rivka makes sure to inquire whether they would like food and drink for the road.
The Vanns have an extraordinary way of avoiding the limelightwhile assisting the needy and supporting yeshivos, mechanchim and rabbonim (but of course, given their incredible sense of Hakoras Hatov to the Rosh HaYeshiva, shlita, the Vanns agreed to participate as Honorees at this year’s 35th Anniversary Tribute Dinner). Eschewing participation on boards of organizations, they are better known among leaders of community organizations as “Anonymous”.
Both Yossi and Sora Rivka credit their own respective parents forteaching parenting by example. Her parents, Rav Tuvia and Mrs. Bayla Roth, have served a number of communities with selfless devotion. Yossi’s parents, Mr. Avrom and Mrs. Shirley Vann, residents of Fairlawn, NJ for almost thirty years, have long supported many organizations in their community as well as in Eretz Yisroel. Yeshivas Toras Moshe is very proud to recognize Mr. Yossi and Mrs. Sora Rivka Vann as the Guests of Honor at the Thirty-Fifth Anniversary Tribute Dinner.