Rabbi Mintz To Be Honored For 13 Years Of Service With Hillel

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A Bar Mitzvah Year of Service honoring Rabbi Shay Mintz, who for 13 years has served and inspired Jewish college students at the UB-based Hillel of Buffalo, will be held at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Center for the Arts on the UB North Campus.

The 13th year is traditionally celebrated at a Bar Mitzvah ceremony when Jewish males make the transition into adulthood.

Hillel is the religious and cultural organization serving college and university students around the world.

Tickets for the event and buffet reception are $50 per person or $100 for patrons; there is a reduced rate for students. Proceeds will benefit the Rabbi Mintz Intern Endowment Fund and other Hillel programs.

For tickets or further information, call 639-8361.

During his years with Hillel of Buffalo, Rabbi Mintz and his wife, Lila, have enriched the lives and heritage of Jewish students at UB and other area colleges and universities.

He has been involved in every facet of Jewish life in the local community for nearly 30 years, serving as educational director at Temple Shaarey Zedek during the 1970s and through the Jewish Community Center.

Rabbi Mintz was born in Tel Aviv to Polish parents who immigrated to Israel in the 1920s. His father, Benjamin, served as a cabinet minister and was vice speaker and one of the first members elected to the Knesset after Israel won independence in 1948.

Rabbi Mintz entered Jerusalem Rabbinical School in 1954, leaving two years later to serve as a chaplain with the Israeli Defense Forces in the Sinai campaign. He graduated in 1960.

He came to the U.S. in 1965, serving as principal of the United Hebrew School in South Bend, Ind., and lecturing on Judaic studies at The University of Notre Dame.

He lives in Williamsville.