Ilan’s Second Yartzeit
Ilan’s Second Yartzeit Has it really been another year? It feels like yesterday, It feels like forever, It feels like maybe it is still an unimaginable nightmare and will be gone when I wake up. Today marks the English calendar date that we lost Ilan. The confusion over Ilan’s yartzeit continues as he was buried on Rosh chodesh Adar Bet. He was, however, niftar on the 28th of Adar Aleph which will always be the actual date of his yartzeit... Read More
A Message from Ilan’s Family – The Yartzeit.
Dear Friends, Although Rosh chodesh Adar will forever be imprinted in our minds as the time we said good bye to our beloved Ilan, because of the calendar the yahrzeit falls out the 28th of Adar (Wednesday night/Thursday). Many have asked if we are having any events “officially” marking the yartzeit in which they can share. This year we opted to keep the observance private. Any markings along the calendar year that strongly connect us... Read More
Preparing for Purim by Giving Back
100 Yeshiva University Students Volunteer at Soup Kitchen in Memory of Alumnus and Friend On Sunday, March 4, 100 students and alumni of Yeshiva University gathered at the Masbia soup kitchen in Brooklyn to help prepare meals and Purim food packages for more than 500 needy people as part of the Center for the Jewish Future’s First Annual Day of Service in memory of Ilan Tokayer z”l. YU student volunteers prepared meals and food packages... Read More
Remembering Ilan
Eytan and Ilan in NY, January 2010 Many people have known Ilan longer and more in depth than me. I only got to know him when we were both almost 18, and Ilan at least was by then quite mature and on a defined path in life. Yet I had the unique opportunity to be with Ilan in three very different environments, so I feel that I do have what to add. I will start from the last one chronologically, since this was me finally meeting the classic Ilan, after... Read More
Welcome to the world, Ilan Mordechai Ambramson
תודה רבה לכל מי שהגיע הבוקר, בכל זאת- ערב תשעה באב. זה ככ משמח אותי ואת נחמה לראות את כולכם. רציתי להגיד כמה מילים על השם שבחרנו. השם “אילן”, חוץ מזה שאנחנו מאוד אוהבים ומתחברים לשם, קרוי על שם חברנו היקר אילן יחזקאל טוקייער שנפטר השנה באופן פתאומי... Read More
A special dedication
A few Yeshiva and Seminary students spent months organizing and planning The Race to Save Lives Fundraiser for The United Hatzalah of Israel. The event took place on Friday, March 4th 2011. It was at the event that we heard about Ilan’s petirah. Our immediate response was to dedicate one of our life saving ambu-cycles to his memory. Ilan’s love for Eretz Yisrael, Medinat Yisrael, and all living things is reflected with this dedication. The... Read More
Ilan, my friend
I’m not going to try and summarize my friendship with Ilan because I don’t think that I could do our friendship justice or do right by Ilan but I would like to share some of my thoughts about Ilan, some of the characteristics of his personality that stick out in my mind and I think are important to share with everyone here. The absolute first thing that comes to mind when I think of Ilan is his relationship with people. Ilan had this amazing... Read More
Words From a Friend at the Shloshim in Israel
I must admit that I struggle with memorializing and remembering Ilan. When faced with loss, loved ones usually tell stories about the person who is gone, talk about their unique and special characteristics, and exchange memories. But people, and in this case Ilan, are so much more than the words and stories we share. To me, Ilan, was the way he made us feel, the way he acted and treated others, the way he handled situations, his moods, his music,... Read More
Dear Ilan
Ilan and me during Machal '06 Banquet second month Dear Ilan, I was thinking about you a lot over this shabbos. I was at a Jr. NCSY regional shabbaton in NJ. As we were singing the classic NCSY songs before bentching, I decided to teach all the 6th to 8th graders, my favorite song that you had taught me just about five years ago. “Shalom in the East…” It was a big hit and everyone enjoyed it, but the entire time, I was thinking... Read More
Dedication at UC Davis
David Mills comments at the Ilan Tokayer’s memorial. ************************************************************** Hello and welcome. I am David Mills the chair of the graduate group in Viticulture and Enology and I welcome you to this olive grove in the Robert Mondavi Institute for this memorial to Ilan Tokayer, one of our graduate students. Before I start I want to thank various folks who helped organize this event, in particular Andrea... Read More