During the week of March 17, NYHS held its annual Ari Grashin Memorial Week, a tradition that was initiated in 2003. The week stands as a tribute to Ari Grashin, a student at NYHS who died from brain cancer in 2002.
The week was filled with Torah study and volunteering — ending with a community basketball tournament, a tribute to Grashin’s love for Judaism and sports.
On Monday, March 17, athletic director Steve Bunin, NYHS basketball coach and friend of Grashin, shared a presentation about Grashin’s life with students.
“Ari’s kindness is the defining trait I hope everyone remembers, along with his courage and the bravery to confront and overcome immense obstacles,” Bunin said.
Grashin and his family impacted the community. They invited people for Shabbat and were kind to others. When he got sick, all that kindness came back to the Grashin family. The community came together to help and pray for him.
“They were super giving. They still are, by the way, the type of family that welcomes new families who are moving to Seattle for the first time into the community and gives a place to stay or a meal.” Bunin said, “Their family would just open up a house and put three kids in a one bedroom and welcome a family in and have them embrace them into the community.”
Bunin also talked about how Grashin put up a strong fight against cancer, sharing that if the doctors wanted him to do something, he would do it.
“Some people don’t want to [fight against it] and they sort of quit,” Bunin said. Ari had the incredible courage to face it and to say, it’s okay, like it’s gonna be okay.”
The presentation was followed by a chesed activity. Students wrote cards, made paper flowers, and created gift baskets for children who are terminally ill in the hospital.
On Thursday, Grashin’s family and Steve Kelly, a retired Seattle Times sports editor and friend of Ari, visited NYHS. Kelly met Grashin through Bunin. According to Kelly, the two bonded very quickly. “You could always count on Ari to give you a good laugh,” said Kelly.
General studies principal Deirdre Schreiber also spoke about Grashin, who was her classmate at NYHS. She talked about how Grashin included people and was always there for the underdog.
“I was athletic, but I wasn’t particularly cool or popular, and I had my insecurities, as most high schoolers do, and he had a way of just making me feel proud of the things that I should be proud of, right and not feel insecure,” Schreiber said.
To wrap up the week, the Jewish community came together at the Ari Grashin Memorial Gym at Seattle Hebrew Academy to play a series of basketball games. The gym was packed with students from both SHA and NYHS, plus parents, teachers and Ari’s family.
The first game was the JV team versus their dads. The dads won in overtime, 18-16. After that, the SHA boys and girls teams each played on one side of the court. Then the NYHS girls played versus NYHS alumni, 3 on 3, and the alumni won 17-9. Lastly, the night ended with the varsity boys’ basketball team playing against NYHS alumni, with the varsity winning 43-41.
At the end of the games, Ari’s father, David Grashin, gave a speech. “This week is not just about basketball,” he said. “It’s a time to think about the legacy we want to leave in our community and learn from Ari.”
