Big Stakes & Stakeholders

Mr. Ludwig (Lou) Bravmann and his wife Lotte z”l were part of the founding leaders of SAR and provided their vision and support through the last five decades.  Mr. Bravmann was the quintessential “mentsch” whose heart of gold and principled discipline empowered him to make things happen to improve the world. 

As a lay leader and trusted advisor, Mr. Bravmann was wholly dedicated to the mission of SAR. His daughters Judy Kaufthal and Carol Berlin, said that he considered SAR “his baby”– the Bravmanns were thrilled that three of their grandchildren were SAR alumni. Mr. Bravmann served the school as Chairman of the Board, a valued member of the Executive Committee, and was the most successful fundraiser in the school’s history. Together with his wife, Lotte z”l, he led by example as an involved and inspiring philanthropist in Jewish communities across the world.

The Bravmanns’ compassion, generosity, humility, and positive spirit established them as sterling role models of responsibility and leadership. In his final act of generosity, love and commitment, Mr. Bravmann left a legacy gift of $3 million to the school through his last will and testament. This gift is the cornerstone gift in this campaign for our BIG BOLD FUTURE.

We grew up in families that prioritized Jewish education and so, being involved with our children’s school was natural and of great importance to us. From the beginning of our volunteering at SAR, we knew there was something very special about the school that went much further than the education in the buildings. We recognized that the school was itself a community– a unique and special community. 

SAR is both open and committed.  These are two adjectives that appear to be contrary to one another but they actually work and move together perfectly. SAR is committed to a Torah way of life and open because it engages in the struggle of being in the modern world and how it can be done. This is a creative endeavor and an extremely important idea in modern Orthodox life. 

We have a very rare and special culture at SAR– it is something worth protecting, working at, working for, investing in and preserving. This campaign represents a capstone project for the school to provide generations of students with the space and opportunities they need.  We are excited to participate and as always, we are all in.

The Jesselson name and SAR are so connected that when one is mentioned, the other is thought of. But it’s not just in name. It’s in heart and soul. Starting in the late 1960s my parents worked tirelessly to help build SAR into a major player in Jewish education. They wanted to do it their way which was to build an institution that would serve the Jewish community without the stranglehold and financial pressure of debt. When the original mortgage was paid off– it was burned, symbolically to mean that from now until forever, SAR would not weigh itself down with the burden of debt. 

I have stayed involved in a multitude of ways over the years– from the Investment Committee to the Executive Committee. And now, the journey is all that much more fulfilling as my children have returned to SAR as parents giving me the new title of SAR grandparent. 

We continue to do big things at school under the leadership of the best principals in Jewish education. Our family’s ongoing commitment to invest in SAR to ensure a vibrant, relevant, and inspiring Jewish journey for generations ahead is not a choice. We will continue to invest– what SAR does for Jewish education is nothing less than transformational.

Our relationship with SAR started over three decades ago in 1990 when we enrolled our oldest child who was followed by his five siblings. We continued to be involved in the years and decades since that because of many reasons– the community is so unique– and the positive energy of the students lifts us up. The community’s values are incredible as are the middot that SAR models and imprints in its children. Its ability to educate Jewish children in a holistic way, who grow up to be adults with tremendous impact on the Jewish communities in New York, Israel and around the globe, is incredible.

Now we see the joy of our grandchildren, their friends and their classmates. We are thrilled to invest in the next generation.