Our Honorees
Jacob and Lois Miliman z"l were dedicated members of Beth Tfiloh since 1960. Faithful supporters of Beth Tfiloh for nearly 60 years, Jacob and Lois spearheaded the building of Beth Tfiloh’s high school, with Jacob serving as the chairman of the founding committee and Lois recruiting students. Jacob also served as the chairman of the Beth Tfiloh Board, president of the congregation, and president of the Brotherhood.
Jacob and Lois always cherished the value of “l’dor v’dor” and put that value into practice for their family. They famously hosted Shabbat dinner for their children and grandchildren every Friday night for more than 20 years. Their love for Beth Tfiloh and their considerable dedication to Jewish education has extended for four generations. Their four children attended its Hebrew school; Ten of their 13 grandchildren graduated from its high school; and currently, three of their great-grandchildren attend the day school. Lois and Jacob’s extraordinary legacy, their love of Judaism, and their devotion to Beth Tfiloh will continue for generations to come through the life and family that they created.
Event Co-Chairs
The Brown Family
We are flattered to have been asked to co-chair Spotlight for 2023, especially since this year’s event honors the memory of Joanie’s parents, Jacob Yosef Miliman and Lois Miliman. Joanie’s parents were part of the fabric of Beth Tfiloh for years, and both sides of our family trace their Jewish roots in Baltimore to Beth Tfiloh.
All our children attended Beth Tfiloh since PreSchool; two of them — Alex ’06 and Cory ’08 — continued at BT to graduate from the High School. Dustin, Cory’s twin, remained a big part of the Beth Tfiloh family and even traveled with Cory on the annual senior class trip to Poland and Israel. All of them remain connected to their Judaism and their menschlichkeit because of their Beth Tfiloh education.
Spotlight is critical to Beth Tfiloh’s mission of providing a quality education in a nurturing environment while promoting Jewish observance wisdom and values. The scholarships which this event funds gives access to all the wonderful aspects of the Beth Tfiloh educational experience to children who would likely not otherwise have the opportunity. The lives of the children who benefit from this event — from a Beth Tfiloh education — are changed forever; they enter our community as Beth Tfiloh ambassadors to future generations.
This event would not be possible without our co-chairs Mark and Eve Gheiler, the entire Spotlight committee, and, of course, the Beth Tfiloh Development team. This is going to be an amazing event. We thank you all for making it possible.
- Joan and Brian Brown
The Gheiler Family
Many people would say that Beth Tfiloh is their second home or their home away from home. For us it is home.
Mark has been at Beth Tfiloh since his family moved to Baltimore from Lima, Peru in 1986. He went to the day school. He had his Bar Mitzvah here. He volunteered at the office during college and has held several leadership roles over the years. And he comes to the daily Minyan.
Eve came to Baltimore from Bogota, Colombia in 2001. We met at a Shabbat dinner and we were married five months later. Of course, Rabbi Wohlberg and Chazzan Albrecht officiated at the wedding in Miami. As Baltimore newcomers, the Beth Tfiloh Young Couples Chavurah and Beth Tfiloh community were essential in developing our social network — especially for Eve.
There was no question where our kids would go to school. Our daughter, Tali, went to the day school and is now in college; our boys, Ilan ’26 and Itai ‘28, are about to finish 9th and 7th grades at the day school. All three had their Bar or Bat Mitzvot here. We feel very fortunate that our children have a school and shul that teaches them the same Jewish values that we profess at home: kindness, respect, charity and derech eretz.
We are thankful for the donors and supporters who bring Spotlight to life, and make a BT education possible for more than 50% of our student body. We are eternally grateful to all of the BT teachers, staff, rabbis and Dr. Schorr, and we are truly honored to co-chair Spotlight 2023 with Joanie and Brian Brown.
- Eve and Mark Gheiler
