Remembering Ida Rosen a"h

On November 14, one of the Academy's founders, Ida Rosen a"h, passed away at the age of 98. Per her request, the levaya was held in the school gym, with the entire student body and staff present, along with hundreds from the community.

She was the mother of Moishe (Laurie) Rosen, Lee "Lobby" Rosen and Tzvia (the late Bruno) Bieler. She was the devoted grandmother of 10, the cherished great-grandmother of 32 and great-great-grandmother of 3. Among her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are Academy alumni or students are: Michelle Friedman ('75), Michael Rosen a"h ('78), Deni Rosen ('80), Robin Rosen ('83), Leslie Rosen ('86), Aaron Friedman ('03), Sara Hirsch ('05), Talia Kirshenbaum ('06), Kayla Kirshenbaum ('08), Josh Kirshenbaum ('09), Jonah Kirshenbaum ('12), Zack Bernstein ('12) and Emma Bernstein ('14).

Following is an excerpt from Rabbi Matanky's hesped.

Last week I received a call from Michelle Friedman. Michelle and I have known each other since our days in the Academy, and we’ve worked together for years on behalf of this school.

Michelle was calling me on behalf of her father, to tell me that Bubbie Ida wasn’t doing so well, and it was only a matter of time…and that her father wanted to know if it really wouldn’t be too much of an imposition…that when the time would come…to have the funeral in the Academy.

Of course, Michelle assured me, the family would understand if it was too hard, and I shouldn’t hesitate to suggest an alternative site.

But without a second thought, I told Michelle, “No, your grandmother’s funeral would be in the Academy – because years ago, your grandmother made me promise that it would be so – and how could I renege on something like that?”

But why would anyone want his or her funeral here? In a school? In a gym?

For those of us who were privileged to know Ida Rosen, the answer was simple: because as much as any home in which she had lived, this school was her home; this building was her pride; and this faculty, student body, and all of the faculties and students bodies for the past 70 years, her family.

Because as much as Ida was proud of her family, of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and now great-great grandchildren; she was proud of the Academy – and she worked for this school tirelessly, with ever-present determination and joy.

And so she was the one who convinced the Crown family to rename this school in memory of their mother, Ida Crown; and more recently when we began to work on a new campus, she was the one who approached the Crown family again to set the stage for generations to come.

All of which explains why she gave me “honorary family standing,” because I was the principal of her school – and therefore she drew me in, and she challenged me and she quizzed me, and she encouraged me.

In Hebrew there are three terms we use to describe a cemetery: a burial ground, an eternal abode and a house of life.

Why three and not just one?

Perhaps, because the meaning of death can be so different from one person to the next.

For some, death simply means the END of life – a person was born, and then they died – and what happened in between, tragically, regretfullyis lost and forgotten.

For that person, his or her final resting place is simply a burial ground.

But then, there are those who are fortunate to leave families who will remember, and through those memories keep the values and the traditions of that parent or that grandparent, alive.

When that’s the case, then a cemetery is an eternal abode – a place where memories stay alive.

And finally, there are some who achieve so much, who live so well, whose example and life looms so large – that even after their passing – they continue to inspire, continue to live on. And for those rare individuals, a cemetery is a source of life.

And while, without a doubt, Ida Rosen’s family will always keep her memory alive, Ida was also the rare individual whose final resting place is a source of life - because she was a person who dared to dream and had the courage to bring those dreams into reality.

And the dreams she sought, the reality she realized is both her family and this place.

I know, if Ida was still able to – she would tell each one of you to do everything you can for the Academy – to our lay leadership she would challenge you to raise those scholarship dollars and build the new building; to our teachers – she would urge you to continue to inspire our students and prepare them for life; and to our students – she would implore you never to forget the opportunities you have been granted and always remember this school.

That’s who Bubbie Ida was, she was a seemingly endless fount of energy—a person whose life mattered and whose legacy will live on with her family – both her biological one and her Academy one.

And so I am so grateful to have known her – and to have had her friendship and to have earned her trust.

On behalf of the entire Academy family, I pray that all of the Rosen family find comfort in the extraordinary memories of this extraordinary person – who, though small in stature, was larger than life, and therefore whose life was filled with blessing, goodness, determination and warmth.