Herlene and Yaacov Nagler Show Their Deep Commitment to CESJDS Through Bequest, Endowment

This is a cherished photo of Yaacov in gan with a wreath on his head handing his mother a gift for Shavuot. When Yael was in first grade at CESJDS, Herlene and Yaacov went to the Haggigat Hasiddur ceremony. When they saw so many children coming in with white wreaths on their heads to celebrate their "siddur" on Shavuot, it took their breath away—seeing the continuation from father to child, from Israel to the U.S., from a gan in Haifa to CESJDS.

For Herlene and Yaacov Nagler the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School has been a lifeline tradition and a bridge to the future, which is why they have established planned gifts to keep CESJDS going strong for generations to come.

In addition to a bequest, Herlene and Yaacov have created an endowment that is named for Yaacov's parents, Yosef and Sima Nagler, who, as youth, met on board a ship bound for Haifa before World War II. They made aliyah and were halutzim (pioneers) influenced by Zionist youth movements in Europe. Yaacov and his brother grew up in then Palestine. Herlene and Yaacov moved to the U.S. from Israel after their first child, Yael, was born.

"There was no question that Ivrit (Hebrew), exposure to Israel, Zionism, and a fuller knowledge of Judaism was a gift we wished to impart to our children so that they would have a rich base of being Jewish, American, and Israeli," Herlene says, adding that, thanks to CESJDS, "Mission accomplished!"

Now, Herlene and Yaacov want to ensure those same values are available for future generations.

"We wanted to give something back to JDS that would live on past our own children," she says.

For anyone else considering a planned gift, Herlene and Yaacov, whose grandchildren have also benefited from a CESJDS education, have set a strong example.

"For the endowment, we loved the permanence of it and the recognition for Yaacov's parents," Herlene says. "Making a bequest was so easy. We can make the commitment now and ensure that JDS benefits from it when we are no longer here."

Yael, Asaf, and Tali had meaningful experiences at CESJDS, and now Herlene and Yaacov's grandchildren Meirav and Eli are blessed with a JDS education.