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ZACHARY
MARKMAN
October 18, 2025
26 Tishrei 5786
BERESHIT
Zachary Sean Markman was born on September 11, 2012.
He is named after his grandfather, and like his namesake,
he is easy going and generally happy—someone who has
always been comfortable in his own skin. Zach also has a
great sense of humor. It’s probably genetic. His parents are
hilarious.
Zach is an avid reader, who particularly enjoys fantasy
novels. His favorite books are the Percy Jackson & the
Olympians series, with Harry Potter being a close second.
He excels at strategic thinking and can easily beat his
parents at chess. But you know what, they can drive and he
needs them to get around, so he should really remember
that before gloating.
Zach is a wonderful brother to at least one and sometimes
two of his sisters at any given moment. And really expecting
him to be on good terms with all three at once is a
ridiculous bar.
Zach is a gifted student who seems to do incredibly well in
school even with minimal effort, much to his mom’s chagrin.
What is perhaps more impressive is how thoughtful he is
about his assignments. He often asks questions the
teachers can’t answer because he is truly trying to
understand the hows and whys behind everything. He has a
deep understanding of science, math and technology.
When we want to understand how something works or why
a particular phenomenon came to be, we just ask Zach.
Or Alexa. But usually Zach.
You don’t want to get into a debate with Zach. He will
consider every angle and relentlessly pursue his argument.
He gets that from his mother. It’s a quality his father finds
endearing in both of them.
Zach is always happy to try new foods. He has a special
love for anything that can lead to a heart attack—red meat,
mayonnaise, cheese. While we’ll be happy for him
wherever life takes him, he might do well to marry a
cardiologist.
Zach loves playing video games and D&D. He’s always
happy to spend time with friends even if it means walking
home from school together in the pouring rain or waking up
at 6am to FaceTime with his best friend Kotaro in Japan.
tbiport.org
We are so proud of the time and effort Zach has put into
preparing for his bar mitzvah and for the mitzvah project he
has chosen. Zach has committed to participate in TBI’s
Sunday morning minyan every week this year. He will be
helping to ensure there is always a minyan for anyone
wishing to daven and/or say kaddish, and he will be forging
relationships with other members of our community. We
think this is a beautiful way to exemplify what becoming a
bar mitzvah is all about.
We are so lucky to have such a smart, funny, talented,
thoughtful son. We are so impressed with everything he has
accomplished and pray that he continues to harness his
abilities for good and not evil.
We would like to extend a big thank you to Josh Blumenfeld
and Cantor David for preparing Zach for his bar mitzvah and
to Amanda Greenawalt and Julie Cheevers for all of their
help with logistics today and always. Thank you to Annette
Kasle for his mentorship and guidance on Zach’s d’var torah.
And a tremendous thank you to Rabbi Mishkin and Anya
Morgulis for all of their support and guidance during this
process and beyond that for their friendship, which means
the world to us.
A million thank yous to Zachary’s loving, generous and
supportive grandparents, to the amazing and caring Nadia
Ramdass, to our incredible extended family and friends and
the entire TBI community. It is such a blessing to be
surrounded by a warm and supportive community and we
couldn’t be happier to share this celebration with all of you.
TISHREI/CHESHVAN 5786
