Meet the Honorees

Michael Faltischek is co-managing partner of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek,P.C., one of the more prominent law firms on Long Island with more than 60 professionals and 130 staff members. He has played a key role in the success and growth of the firm for over thirty years.

As a member of the Corporate and Securities Department, he advises entrepreneurs and business enterprises in corporate finance, mergers andacquisitions, succession planning and international business transactions. Mr. Faltischek is a frequent lecturer for the New York State Bar Association in various areas of corporate and business law, including Forming and Advising Businesses, Limited Liability Companies and Law Firm Management.

He is chair of the Energy Industry Practice Group, a multi-disciplinary group, providing diverse legal services which focus on the unique needs of the energy industry and its ongoing efforts to satisfy the energy needs of the regional marketplace. He was instrumental in the formation of the
firm’s Corporate Governance Practice Group, which addresses the needs of corporate leaders in light of recent far-reaching corporate reforms. In this area, he works closely with the Center for Business Ethics at Molloy College and is a member of its Advisory Board.

A former Trustee of the Long Island Power Authority (1995-2001), Mr. Faltischek was actively involved in the acquisition of certain assets of Long Island Lighting Company and the sale of over $8 billion in bonds to finance the transaction. He chaired LIPA’s Economic Development
Committee and was a member of its Finance Committee. He now serves on the Board of Directors of the Long Island Association, the region’s largest business and civic group.

Since 2001, Mr. Faltischek has been consistently recognized as one of the leading members of the legal profession by Long Island Business News in its annual “Who’s Who in Law”.  A long-time leader in community activities, Mr. Faltischek is a member of the Board of Trustees of Old Westbury Gardens Foundation, Inc., an organization committed to maintenance of one of the region’s historical gems - the former Phipps Mansion and surrounding gardens.

Mr. Faltischek chaired the Long Island Regional Board and is a National Commissioner of the Anti-Defamation League, one of the nation’s premier civil rights and human relations agencies that fights anti-Semitism, all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all. He has been a delegate to the annual National Leadership Conference held in Washington, D.C. and received the ADL Torch of Liberty Award in 1992. He served as Co-Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal Rockville Centre Cabinet for more than 10 years and was honored in 1987 with its Man of the Year Award.

He is an honorary member of Jerusalem’s only Conservative synagogue. He is a
past Chairman of the Board, President of Temple B’nai Sholom of Rockville Centre and continues to serve the Temple in various leadership capacities. He is very supportive of AJC and AIPAC. Mr. Faltischek has also served on the Executive Board of the Theodore Roosevelt Council of
the Boy Scouts of America, the Dean’s Executive Council of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University and is currently a Director of Glen Head Country Club, where he has served as Chairman of its Law Committee and various other committees.

Lenny and Susan Lebovitch are prime examples of warm, caring leadership in the local Jewish community. Both were born shortly after the Holocaust and their parents returned to the Carpathian Mountain region of Stalin’s Soviet Union. Having grown up in Communist Russia, they know the value of freedom and the pride of openly practicing Judaism. They saw first hand how Jews – their own relatives and friends – could be thrown in jail or harassed by the KGB without reason.

In that kind of environment, family and a strong sense of connection to history and religion takes on tremendous importance. We can see the proof of how their experiences in Russia shape who they are today. Lenny and Susan are “heimishe” people; they are two of the warmest, most caring and friendly people one can ever meet. Their love of life, Judaism, family and their very large but tight circle of friends, shines forth from their every pore.

It’s no surprise that they realized one of their first life goals when they emigrated to the United States in 1972. They met shortly afterward and they married in 1973. In the beginning, they had nothing but each other and their families. By 1979, they established Alba Designs, a jewelry manu-facturing company. We’re here today because for all the successes with which they have been blessed, Lenny and Susanare always eager to give back to others and to the Jewish community.

Lenny and Susan’s lives together are marked by three ideas – integrity, loyalty and family. If you ask them, they’ll tell you that their greatest accomplishment is their
children. — Mark is an up-and-coming attorney at a prestigious New York City law firm, while his wife, Cory, is a Dentist whose popularity grows with each new patient she sees. Shelly is working toward her PhD in school and clinical child psychology at Pace University, while her husband, Brian, practices the ways and means of New York real estate at Newmark Knight Frank Realty.

Lenny and Susan take great pride in their children’s accomplishments and the kids are equally proud of their amazing parents. And, of course, they’ll never let anyone forget about their precious granddaughter, Chloe. The family has grown to include other very special people: Cory’s parents, Dr. Bruce and Myrna Metzger, and Brian’s parents, Barbara Gural and Tom Steinmetz, and Richard and Vicki Steinwurtzel.

Lenny and Susan are also identified by their very close cousins and friends, who are literally like a tribe. Most of the group grew up together in Russia, and they have been together in thick and thin. From their modest roots in post-war Europe, today the group vacations together each year in St. Martin, where they hold Shabbat services, complete with a Torah and prayer books.

In addition to Chabad of Port Washington, Susan and Lenny support many other worthy causes, including Israel One Fund, Families of Terror Victims in Israel, the Israel Defense Force, and orphanage houses in Israel.

Lenny and Susan have been involved with Chabad of Port Washington for eleven years. The Lebovitch Family – Lenny & Susan, Mark & Cory, and Brian & Shelly, have started The Lebovitch/Steinwurtzel Family Endowment Fund to ensure that the shul has new taleissim for the High Holidays services each year. Lenny is on the Sukkah committee for Chabad and is a regular at Shabbat services. They have introduced numerous family members and friends who have also made Chabad House their spiritual home. They support Chabad’s various educational programs.

Lenny and Susan always taught their kids that education and hard work can be “the great equalizer” – with hard work and a curious mind they could achieve whatever they wanted. And, of course, Lenny and Susan are also very supportive of Chabad’s outreach activities, which are successfully reaching unaffiliated families and bringing them back to the Jewish community.

Maurice and Jonathan Mandelbaum grew up in a poor community in North Tel Aviv. From very humble beginnings they went on to become an amazing story of success, charity and Jewish pride.

It all began with two hundred hard-earned dollars that their mother Julia gave to them with clear instructions to “start a business”. And they did exactly that. In 1975, twenty year old Maurice and eighteen year old Jonathan went ahead and established Almond Jewelers in a small space on 46th Street in New York City, where they began manufacturing ladies earrings and accessories. The rest is history. With the hard work and dedication of these two enterprising brothers, the company grew rather quickly, soon outgrowing its Manhattan space. In 1980 they moved the company to a spacious facility in Westbury, Long Island.

In 1987 they opened an assembly operation in Bangkok, Thailand, which today employs over 1,200 people. In 1995, Jonathan and Maurice decided to move their manufacturing facility from Westbury to Beer Sheva, Israel. To be sure, many other countries were eager to open their doors to Almond International. The Mandelbaums were offered all types of incentives if they were to settle their manufacturing plant in other places. But expedience is not what guides these two brothers-partners. They chose Israel, as this was their way of giving back to the country of their birth. Their plant there now provides livelihood to more than 140 families, including many recent “olim” who emigrated from the Former Soviet Union.

Judaism is very important to Jonathan and Maurice. They possess very deep feelings for Israel, its people and its culture. The Mandelbaum family has very strong roots in terms of Jewish identity, Zionism, and good ‘ole fashioned Ashkenzi yiddishkeit. Though there are many levels of observance amongst Jews, to the Mandelbaums all are equally part of the family of Am Yisroel, the people of Israel.

It is perhaps this attitude that most attracted them to Chabad.  In their extensive travels over the years they have had numerous interactions with Chabad. Each time, they found a place with an open door and an open heart, inviting and welcoming to all. They speak enthusiastically of Chabad’s openness, warmth, tolerance and acceptance of every “type” of Jew, regardless of their level of religious observance. During their frequent visits to Thailand, they always enjoyed visiting Chabad Centers in Bangkok and Chang Mai, under the directorship of Rabbi Yoseph Kantor, brother in law of Rabbi Paltiel.

Maurice and Jonathan have great respect for success. As such, they very much admire the amazing growth of the International Chabad Movement and its worldwide operation. As people who have had the opportunity of watching Chabad grow for more than a generation, they are proud of how the movement has developed and expanded, from a small outreach group to the international renown it is today, with centers in most countries and virtually every major city around the globe.

The Mandelbaums are very grateful to the Al-Mighty (or the Ribono Shewl Olam) for their many blessings. They are always looking for ways to give back to the community and help others. Though they normally keep a very low profile, they reluctantly agreed to accept this honor in order to help Chabad right here in their local community further its activities of fostering Jewish awareness, education, and pride.

Maurice has two children, Jason and Daniel, and a daughter in law Eden. He is eagerly anticipating becoming a grandfather this June. Jonathan is married to Lamom, and has five children: Andrew, Laura, Melissa, Elizabeth and Rachel.