Twenty-four Middle School students of Great Neck’s North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA)—both Ashkenazic and Sephardic—joined together on Purim Day to chant the Gantze Megillah at the Cherry Lane campus. This unique initiative, founded in 2001 by dermatologist Dr. Paul Brody, was renamed the Dr. Paul Brody Megillah Readers Program upon his retirement three years ago.
This year, Cantor Yitzy Spinner instructed the Ashkenazic students, while NSHA Middle School Judaic Studies Principal, Rabbi Simon Basalely, and Elementary School Judaic Studies Principal, Rabbi Adam Acobas, guided the Sephardic students. Each student read from the beautifully crafted Megillah (Scroll of Esther), purchased by NSHA and dedicated as the Dr. Paul Brody Megillah upon Dr. Brody’s retirement, to be used annually by all student readers during Purim festivities.
Purim commemorates the miraculous salvation of the Jewish people through Queen Esther, who courageously beseeched her husband, King Achashverosh, at the urging of her uncle Mordechai, to overturn the decree of the evil Persian Prime Minister Haman, who sought to annihilate the Jewish people. This year, the holiday—celebrated on Thursday evening, March 13, and Friday, March 14—resonated especially deeply within Great Neck, home to one of the world's largest Persian Jewish communities.
The horrific attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, serves as a stark reminder of what might have transpired 2,500 years ago had Esther and Mordechai not intervened—an event orchestrated by the Hand of Hashem.
Each Ashkenazic student honored tradition by donning the century-old talis of Dr. Brody’s maternal grandfather, Rabbi Jacob Brown z”l, who inspired Dr. Brody to learn and chant the Gantze Megillah after he studied its trope at the Cantorial Training Institute (now the Belz School of Jewish Music at Yeshiva University).
A Lasting Legacy
The Megillah Readers Program has become a model for other yeshivos and day schools, inspiring generations of students to read Megillas Esther publicly. Many of Dr. Brody’s 400 NSHA students have gone on to chant the full Megillah solo or share the reading at shuls, nursing homes, and private homes—an especially vital service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among this year’s readers with siblings previously taught by Dr. Brody:
Jonah Gelberg (brother of Eli ‘20),
Jack Muller (brother of Ben ‘21), and
Nate Wallenstein (brother of Noah ‘22).
Dr. Brody himself has read the Gantze Megillah for 53 years, including 31 years at the Great Neck Synagogue, first chanting it in 1973 at Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld ztk”l’s Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, and later at Rabbi Teitz ztk"l's Aderes Eliyahu. His commitment to Jewish perseverance extended beyond the U.S.—in 1985, while smuggling Judaica to Jewish “Refuseniks” in the USSR, Dr. Brody read the Megillah in secret at the Great Synagogue of Leningrad, risking his safety in defiance of Soviet authorities. As he quipped, “Better Re(a)d than Dead!”—knowing the synagogue’s Gabbaim were rumored KGB informants.
Public Recognition
Dr. Brody’s lifelong devotion to Jewish education was honored by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who issued a Proclamation in 2022 declaring June 15 as “Dr. Paul Brody Megillah Readers Day” in recognition of his extraordinary contributions. Similarly, NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli lauded Dr. Brody’s “outstanding service” and lasting impact on Jewish continuity.
A Special Moment This Year
One particularly inspiring reader this year was Jeremy Brownstein, who just three years ago began studying Hebrew with Dr. Brody’s wife, Drora, before enrolling at NSHA in sixth grade—his first yeshivah experience. Jeremy’s remarkable mastery of his Megillah portion stands as a testament to the transformative impact of the Dr. Paul Brody Megillah Readers Program, as did the outstanding efforts of all student participants.
Dr. Brody’s vision has empowered hundreds of students to uphold the cherished tradition of public Megillah reading, strengthening their Jewish identity and leadership. Through his dedication, the Dr. Paul Brody Megillah Readers Program continues to inspire the next generation of Torah leaders—one verse at a time.
