Helene Berman Seidenfeld z"l

Family, philanthropy and art were integral to the life of Helene Berman Seidenfeld.

Helene's journey as an artist began when, as a teenager, she became a fashion illustrator, assembling a portfolio to impress potential employers, among them Hechts, Jelliff's and the prestigious Kronstadt advertising agency. The result of this effort won her the distinction of being the youngest woman to be accepted into the Woman's Ad Council.

With the births of her three children, Steve, Denny and Laurie, Helene's artistic interests began to share time with raising a family and philanthropic pursuits. However, she never lost interest in art. As her children grew, Helene began to take oil painting classes from Michail Scremchenko. Mr. Scremchenko told her "to paint what you know." Among her earliest works are a portrait of Melvin J. Berman and many portraits of rabbis.

Throughout her life, she experimented in many different media, including oils, translucent inks, stone sculpture, monoprints, xerography and acrylics. Throughout her marriage, Helene and her late husband, Melvin J. Berman, gave generously to many Jewish causes such as UJA/Federation, Aish Hatorah, the Anti-Defamation League and Ner Israel Rabbinical College. When Melvin passed away in 1996, Helene and the Berman family honored Melvin by making the principal gift to our capital campaign, dedicating the current building to his memory. Proudly, six of Helene's grandchildren attended MJBHA and several of her great-grandchildren are current students.

This spirit of support continued when Helene conceived and funded the Helene Berman Seidenfeld Visual Arts Center, which we dedicated in 2004. The Center was based on her vision that the students of the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy should have an opportunity to express their inner selves through various visual and artistic means.

Sadly, Helene passed away in the spring of 2008 but her many contributions continue to be a large part of our school.