Head of school Rabbi Yehuda Gabay announced on Tuesday, March 25, that he was leaving his position at NYHS. In his place, Rabbi Dr. Ben Aaronson has been appointed as the new head of school.
Gabay announced at a school assembly that due to his wife’s recent diagnosis, his family will be moving away. His family will be moving to Houston, Texas, but he specifically noted to the community that he is not moving to take a new job.
“It is no secret this year has been profoundly difficult for my entire family,” Gabay wrote in an email to the community. “Haya being diagnosed with breast cancer on our 20th wedding anniversary was a punch to the gut we did not expect.”
Gabay has been working at NYHS since 2023, following his role as associate principal at Cincinnati Hebrew Day School.
In addition to Gabay’s departure, NYHS is seeing a major transition in its Judaics faculty. Rabbi Naftali and Mrs. Tali Rothstein, along with Rabbi Tzuri and Mrs. Hannah Hason, will also be leaving at the end of the school year. The administration has not yet announced who will be filling their positions.
“A lot of Judaics teachers have reached a point where they need to leave, or it’s best for them to do so,” said student council agenda chair Zach Saltsman. “It’s a big transition, and I think it will be difficult, but I really hope for the best for this school.”
Aaronson, a Seattle native and NYHS alumnus currently residing in Israel, will take over as head of school. He is currently teaching at Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah in Modi’in, Israel, and at Hebrew University. Aaronson also has experience working at Seattle Hebrew Academy as a Judaics teacher and is the director of the APEX Summer Camp hosted by the University of Washington Autism Center.
Aaronson received training at the NYU Child Study Center, the Yale Child Study Center and the UW Autism Center. He visited NYHS in March and gave a Dvar Torah to students, however, according to members of the administration, it was not clear to them that Aaronson was here for a job.
“I am deeply grateful to you – the community, students, parents, and staff who have made my time here so rewarding,” said Gabay. “Though our time here is cut short, we feel truly privileged to have been a part of NYHS.”
