Award recipients set to travel and learn
B’nai B’rith has recently announced the recipients of the 2022 Bernard J. Lustig Scholarship.
B’nai B’rith has recently announced the recipients of the 2022 Bernard J. Lustig Scholarship.
Now in its 67th year, the scholarship has been awarded to Rabbi Sammy Brygel (full scholarship), Isabel Gelb (full scholarship) and Rabbi Alon Meltzer (partial scholarship.)
The scholarship seeks to support outstanding tertiary students in the achievement of their potential as scholars and as leaders in the Jewish community, consistent with one of the organisation’s core objectives of celebrating the community’s achievers.
The fund offers awards in two categories, as a travel grant for students with demonstrated leadership capabilities, and as a research grant for those pursuing a thesis at masters or doctoral level, and the full scholarship is valued at $2500.
The trustees determine the scholarship winners based on their academic ability, leadership ability, involvement in the life of the Jewish and wider community and financial need.
Rebecca Forgasz, chair of trustees, expressed the trustees’ delight with the standard of all of the applications received, both the level of academic achievement of the applicants and their involvement in Jewish and communal life.
Forgasz said, “We were also particularly pleased to have received such a good number of submissions and to have been able to make an award, after not having done so last year due to COVID-19.”
Sports enthusiast and Mount Scopus Jewish studies teacher Rabbi Sammy Brygel has been awarded a travel grant to enable him to attend Shapell’s – Yeshivat Darche Noam for a year.
Additionally, Rabbi Brygel and his wife Esther will be joining the World Mizrachi Shalhevet program – a program designed to train young educators and rabbinical couples as they lead communities in the Diaspora.
Forgasz noted that the trustees “are confident that Sammy and his wife Esther will return to Melbourne with even greater passion and experience to continue to serve the Jewish community.”
Isabel Gelb, a student at Monash University, holds Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce degrees and will be using the scholarship travel grant to further her studies abroad at King’s College London.
Rabbi Alon Meltzer is the rabbi of Or Chadash synagogue in Sydney and the director of programs at Shalom. He serves as a board member for the Relationships Australia NSW Research Ethics Committee, and is on the board of the international organisation, Grow Torah.
Rabbi Meltzer is currently studying a PhD at LaTrobe University’s law school and has been awarded a research grant to enable him to write his thesis on “Digital Fidelity: how social media has impacted on Modern Orthodox Jews and their relationship with Jewish law and the rabbinic establishment.”
Forgasz said, “We wish all our scholarship recipients the best of luck with their travels and their studies.”
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