Rambam Mesivta senior Bezalel Graber, 17, of West Hempstead, has been named a semifinalist in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, recognizing him among the nation’s highest-achieving high school students.
Rambam Mesivta in Lawrence serves students from the Five Towns, Queens, Brooklyn, Great Neck, Plainview, West Hempstead, and the greater Long Island.
Graber is one of approximately 16,000 students nationwide selected as semifinalists in the prestigious scholarship program. About 95 percent of semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist stage, with roughly half of the finalists ultimately receiving National Merit Scholarships.
For Graber, the recognition was both exciting and an opportunity that could help him as he prepares for college.
“It’s a pretty big deal, I feel like,” Graber said. “Hopefully, it will help me get into a good college.”
Graber earned a 1550 on the SAT, including a 750 in math. He said he did not do extensive preparation for the exam.
At Rambam, Graber has pursued a range of academic and extracurricular interests. He is the head of the school’s Creative Writing Club and a member of its chess team. He also enjoys mathematics and science, particularly chemistry and physics, although he has not yet decided what he wants to study in college.
Creative writing has been a particularly important part of his Rambam experience. The school’s Rambam Writers Guild has 25 students who write short stories based on prompts and then gather to critique one another’s work.
Principal Hillel Goldman said Graber serves as editor-in-chief of the school’s annual collection of student writing, known as the “Edgar Allen Prose.” The publication features stories written by members of the Writers Guild.
“It’s a very big academic club in school,” Goldman said.
Graber said he enjoys the opportunity to receive criticism and advice on his writing while reading the work of his classmates.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said.
Beyond academics and extracurricular activities, Graber has taken on a leadership role in the Rambam community. Goldman said Graber also serves as the school’s gabbai, helping organize and lead prayer services and reading from the Torah approximately every other week.
“He takes that community service piece very seriously also,” Goldman said.
Goldman said Graber’s National Merit recognition reflects not only his academic ability, but also his involvement in the broader school community.
“He’s a tremendous academic, but he’s not an isolated person,” Goldman said. “He’s out there getting involved in the community, and that’s something that we’re very proud of.”
Graber said his favorite part of attending Rambam has been the school’s teachers and the impact they have had on his development.
“I’ve grown a lot over the past few years as a result of the culture and the teachers in this school,” he said. “It is a great school.”
As he looks ahead to the rest of his senior year, Graber is also preparing for a gap year in Israel before beginning college.
Outside of school, he enjoys chess, board games, math and science. He is also a fan of Dungeons & Dragons and played softball during his freshman year.
Goldman said Graber joins a long list of Rambam students who have been recognized through the National Merit program.
“We’ve had a number of students over the years,” Goldman said. “He’s joining a great rank of really special Rambam students.”
