The Jewish Home at Rockleigh has established a special relationship with Wurzweiler School for Social Work at Yeshiva University as a field placement site for their graduate students. The field placement is a central component of the social work program. The intern spends 21 hours a week from September through May providing services to our residents and their families under the close supervision of the Director of Social Services.
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Left to right: Luba Itskova, Ary Markowitz, Chuck Berkowitz, Avi Riber, Rabbi Simon Feld
This year our intern is Avi Riber. Avi has worked as a mashgiach for the Jewish Home for the last 2½ years. He continues to work part-time while matriculating as a full time student. Avi focused on Hebrew and Judaic studies throughout his academic career. He graduated from Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Denver, Colorado, studied at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem from 1999-2002 and studied for one year at Betz Midrash Govoah, a yeshiva in Lakewood, New Jersey. His commitment to the social work field was the result of his work as tutor, teacher and mentor of high school boys and young men who had behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Avi feels keenly that he wants to be part of the “helping profession” and assist those in need.
Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University was founded in 1957. Wurzweiler offers a master’s degree with a concentration in social casework, social group work or community social work, a doctorate in Social Welfare and a certificate in Jewish Communal Service. In addition, Wurzweiler offers a joint MSW-Masters of Divinity degree from the Yale Divinity School and a joint MSW-JD program with the Benjamin N. Cardoza School of Law.
The Jewish Home’s own staff members Charles Berkowitz, Rabbi Simon Feld, Luba Itskova and Ary Markowitz are proud Wurzweiler alumni. By assuming the responsibilities of a field placement site, the Social Services Department plays an active role in promoting professional education. The entire Jewish Home family is enriched by our collaboration with the Wurzweiler School of Social Work.