New Shluchim to Massachusetts

Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy first opened its doors close to 70 years ago, in a small house on Belmont Avenue in Springfield, MA as the areas first Jewish day school, providing quality secular and Judaic education for children in the Greater Springfield community.

Rabbi Dovid Edelman and his wife, Leah, moved four years later to Springfield and have devoted their lives to fulfilling this goal. The location and student body of LYA have undergone many changes since that day, however the mission of the school has remained the same.

It is with great pride and excitement that LYA announces the appointment of third generation members of the Edelman family. Rabbi Lavy Kosofsky and his wife, Mushkie, have relocated to Springfield from New York, to join the LYA team of Chabad Rabbis and their wives, who are dedicated to strengthening the Jewish community in Greater Springfield. Rabbi Lavy Kosofsky is the son of Rabbi Noach Kosofsky, LYA principal, and his wife Esther.

“It feels very natural to be coming home to LYA”, remarked Rabbi Lavy Kosofsky on his move. “I am excited to be a part of the continued growth of our community and I am looking forward to working with the special team of dedicated LYA staff.”

“The LYA community is experiencing growth and an increase of enrollment in the day school translates to a need for more staff members”, commented Rabbi Noach Kosofsky.

“LYA is more than just a school.  It is a community institution that offers quality holiday programming, adult education classes, prayer services and events to a growing audience that includes a broad spectrum of the Greater Springfield community.”

In addition to teaching responsibilities at LYA, the new couple will support LYA staff run the ongoing LYA programs, as well as develop a new level of programming specifically designed for alumni, young couples and families.

For Carol Engelson, LYA board member for over 20 years and proud parent of two LYA graduates, Rabbi Lavy and Mushkie Kosofsky’s move is a welcome addition to the community.

“It is delightful to see the next generation coming home and carry on this wonderful tradition of building for the future”, commented Engelson, whose daughter Elke Reva Sudan was a classmate of Lavy’s.

“I am happy with the Jewish gyroscope that my children acquired at LYA and I am confident that Lavy and Mushkie will be a strong part of LYA‘s success in bringing vibrancy to our community for the future.”

Kosofsky, a Springfield native is a graduate of United Lubavitcher Yeshiva in New York.  He received his rabbinical ordination from the Central Tomchei Tmimim in New York. Lavy has been occupied all his life with Chabad community outreach, including spending two years in Venezuela, traveling to Finland, Kobe, Japan, Namibia and Lima, Peru.

Mushkie is a graduate of the Chaya Mushkah Teachers Training Seminary in Tsfat, Israel.  Mushkie, a daughter of Chabad emissaries, Rabbi and Mrs. Levi Block of Westfield, New Jersey, has an extensive background of working with children. Some of Mushkie’s experiences include working in various Chabad Gan Israel camps, teaching Hebrew School in Westfield, NJ and coordinating Friendship Circle in Bucks County, PA. Before moving to Springfield, Mushkie was an educator and program coordinator at the Jewish Children’s Museum in New York.

“I am so excited to be here”, remarked Mushkie. “I am looking forward to meeting people in this warm and welcoming community.”