The first time TA’s Executive Director, Rabbi Binyomin Mermelstein, met Richie Slifka, he wasn’t sure what to expect. He knew Richie was a major figure in Boston’s business world, the chairman of Global Partners and a name spoken with reverence in every Jewish day school office. But what struck him most wasn’t Richie’s reputation. It was his warmth.
“Richie made rabbis feel comfortable,” Rabbi Mermelstein recalls. “He had this way of putting you at ease. You didn’t walk into his office to ask for a donation; you walked in to talk to a friend.”
What began as a fundraising meeting quickly became a friendship. Their conversations often turned to community, leadership, family, and yiddishkeit. Richie ended every visit with his trademark, “Be good, kid,” a phrase that carried genuine warmth.
“If I was having a tough week, I’d go see Richie,” Rabbi Mermelstein says. “Between business and philanthropy, he’d seen it all. You always walked out lighter.”
Richie was motivated not only by the mission of Jewish education but also by the people behind it. Supporting Torah Academy meant supporting every family, every teacher, and every child whose future was intertwined with Jewish education in Boston. His generosity came from a place of boundless heart.
The Turning Point: “This Is a Check to the Community”
One of Rabbi Mermelstein’s most vivid memories came early in their relationship, when Torah Academy needed to raise significant funds for a critical project.
“I sat down with a consultant,” he recalls, “and we made a list of people who might give $250,000. Honestly, it felt unrealistic. TA’s biggest annual gift ever had been about $50,000.”
Still, he visited Richie and explained the project, the stakes, and the gap that needed to be closed. Richie listened quietly, then said simply, “The community shouldn’t be on a string.” He wrote a check for $250,000
At first it was a loan, but more importantly, it was a vote of confidence. But when the project succeeded, Richie said, “Send me the receipt.” He had decided to convert the loan into a gift.
That moment marked the beginning of a true partnership. Richie came to see that Torah Academy wasn’t just another cause, it was the heart of a thriving Orthodox community. “This isn’t a check to Torah Academy,” he told Rabbi Mermelstein. “This is a check to our community.”
What Richie Saw
Richie had a soft spot for the underdog. “If you look at his giving,” Rabbi Mermelstein explains, “it was always to the people and places that didn’t get enough attention.” He supported Boston Medical Center, St. Francis House, and the Orthodox schools that are essential to Jewish life.
“In Boston, the Orthodox community is small but essential to the city’s Jewish life,” Rabbi Mermelstein says. “Richie understood that supporting its schools meant investing in the whole community’s future.”
When he first became involved with Torah Academy, Richie didn’t necessarily see himself as part of that world. But over time, his outlook softened, his curiosity deepened, and his connection to the school and to Jewish life became personal.
During a Torah-writing project, Rabbi Mermelstein invited him to include his family in a virtual dedication. He hesitated, feeling he hadn’t raised his children with that appreciation, and it was hard for him. But he did it, and nearly every one of his children and grandchildren joined the call. “It gave him such joy,” Rabbi Mermelstein recalls.
He spoke often of his beloved wife, Rosalyn, who played a quiet yet essential role in everything he accomplished, and of the pride he carried for his children and grandchildren.
In his later years, Richie’s warmth for the school was unmistakable. “Richie didn’t just write checks,” Rabbi Mermelstein says. “He got involved. He was part of every good thing I did.”
Lessons and Legacy
For Rabbi Mermelstein, Richie’s impact cannot be measured in dollars. It lives in the lessons he left behind about generosity, humility, and the quiet power of meaningful connection.
“Richie was a man filled with love,” remembers Barry Shrage, Richie’s dear friend and former president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies. “His love embraced the entire Jewish people. When someone came to him and said, ‘We’re here to help the Jewish people, can you help too?’ He never resisted. He opened his heart and did whatever he could.”
That love lives on at Torah Academy. A plaque on the Torah Academy Donor Legacy Wall will soon be dedicated in his honor, a small symbol of a friendship that helped shape the school’s story. But his truest memorial is the school itself, classrooms filled with children learning with warmth and purpose.
In every sense, Richie’s legacy is alive, not only in the lives he touched but in the values he lived. His story reminds us that giving is not just about what we leave behind; it’s about who we lift up while we’re here.
