Meet the Honorees

Tamar Ezekiel Granor

HFL Board 2003 - present

  • Tamar Ezekiel Granor is a software developer, writer, activist, and volunteer. She has operated a software development business since 1988, and published more than a dozen books in that field, along with hundreds of magazine articles. She has been a board member of Hebrew Free Loan since 2003, serving as co-President for 14 years. Tamar is a Past President of Cheltenham’s United Parents Group and the Cheltenham High School Parent Teacher Organization, and a past co-President of Beth Sholom Congregation’s Young Marrieds group. She founded and coordinated for nearly 15 years a user group for her professional community, and with two colleagues, has run an annual conference for that community since 2007. Following the 2016 election, Tamar created Acts of Conscience, a website and social media presence designed to amplify calls to action. Tamar and her husband and co-honoree, Marshal, have two adult sons, Solomon and Nathaniel.

Marshal Granor

HFL Board 2003 - present

  • Marshal Granor is a real estate attorney specializing in condominium law, a real estate broker and title insurance agent, and a continuing education instructor. His parents, Marie and Bernard, were the driving force behind the Hebrew Free Loan Society, where Marshal joined the board in 2003 and served 14 years as co-President. Marshal is a past Chair of the Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section of the Pa. Bar Assn. and the 2024 recipient of the President’s Award for conceiving and overseeing enactment of Act 54 to void racial and religious restrictive land covenants. He is a volunteer with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and answers the 866-OUR-VOTE election protection hotline of lawyer volunteers. Marshal belongs to PBA’s Minority Bar Committee, is on the governing Council of the Solo and Small Firm Section, and is a member of PBA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Action Committee of Community Associations Institute. Marshal and Tamar have two sons, Solomon and Nathaniel.

Elsa Kolansky, z”l

HFL Board 1999-2016

  • Elsa Harwitz Kolansky was extremely dedicated to Judaism. She was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and was a proud graduate of Penn State’s School of Journalism. After marrying Dr. Harold Kolansky following graduation, she wrote for various newspapers and journals. Elsa delighted in being the mother of three children and five grandchildren. 

    Knowing her interest in and skill with finances, the late Rabbi Aaron Landes of Beth Sholom Congregation asked Elsa to be a member of the Hebrew Free Loan Society where she actively participated for many years. She was also a former president of the Henrietta Szold chapter of Hadassah and a board member of the Sisterhood of Beth Sholom Congregation. Additionally, she was a member of the National Council of Jewish Women.

    The Hebrew Free Loan Society was especially important to Elsa Kolansky because she wanted those who did not have something they needed or desired to have the opportunity to obtain it. She often spoke highly about the exceptional work she felt HFL did. 

Bob Lankin

HFL Board 1994-2018

  • Bob Lankin served as a Vice President of the Hebrew Free Loan Society for nearly three decades when there were only a handful of volunteers and most of the work was done by Bernie and Marie Granor. For most of those years, Bob did loan closings and made calls to collect repayments from the borrowers who were delinquent.

    Currently, Bob is a Financial Advisor at Raymond James Financial Services Inc. in Glenside. He has advised hundreds of individuals and businesses for over forty years. Bob is an Attorney, a Certified Financial Planner Licensee ® and a Certified Estate Planner ® Licensee.

    He currently serves in an active role at the Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms in Pike County PA, where Bob and his wife Holly have a vacation home. Bob and Holly have been members of Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park for the past 48 years. He served as a Board Member for twenty-five years, working as Membership Chair, Publicity Chair, House Committee Chair, Young Marrieds Co-President, as a member of the Capital Campaign “Our Time is Now” cabinet. He currently serves as a Vice President of the Beth Sholom Men’s Club.

    Bob leads a group, sponsored by the Beth Sholom Men’s Club, who visit the Jewish Prisoners at the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix - having participated for over forty years. He is an active advocate against mass incarceration and has spoken to numerous groups on the subject.

    Bob is an active member of the Rotary Club of Northeast Philadelphia Cheltenham-Rockledge and served as the District Governor of the clubs in Southeastern Pennsylvania in 2005-06. He is an active Freemason, currently a member of the Richard Vaux Brotherhood Lodge #126, and served as Worshipful Master in 1991 and 2012.

    Bob is married to Holly, a retired Physical Therapist for the School District of Philadelphia, for the past 48 years. The Lankins have two married daughters and two grandchildren. They reside in Elkins Park, PA.

Arthur Lashin

HFL Board 2003-2020

  • Art was born in Mineola, N.Y., and graduated from Queens College and Temple University Beasley School of Law. He met his wife, Eileen, at a Passover seder through a classmate's invitation, who happened to be Eileen's twin sister. Art and Eileen have been happily married for 48 years and have two children, Andrew and Debra, their spouses, Jill and Adam, and four grandchildren: Everly, Brielle, Lennox, and Emmy.

    Art was a managing attorney at the Philadelphia law firm of Hayt, Hayt & Landau, specializing in corporate trial litigation for 42 years. He generally worked six days a week and happily retired in 2018 to spend more time traveling with Eileen. They enjoy extended ocean cruising to various world ports and relax in Cancun annually.

    Art and Eileen have been members of Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park since 1976. Their devotion to Judaism and Israel has always been a big part of their lives. Art's involvement in synagogue life made him active in the Men's Club. He served as Treasurer of the Men's Club for four years, President for seven years, and Vice President of Programming for three years. Art's Club is one of only eleven FJMC Men's Clubs in North America to receive the prestigious Quality Club Award for outstanding programming for the past 13 years. The Men's Club gave him focus, honed his leadership skills, increased his circle of friends, and made him proud to be a volunteer.

    Art has been dedicated to volunteering for a lifetime. It all started in Junior High School when, as a 7th grader, he led his first school charitable campaign for United Cerebral Palsy. Volunteering has provided a safe space for him to develop new skills and talents. From 2012 through 2016, Art served as the Treasurer of the Federation of Jewish Men's Club's (FJMC) Middle Atlantic Region. He was then elected Regional President of the Middle Atlantic Region for two years starting in 2017. In 2022, Art took on the role of emergency region Treasurer after the previous Treasurer unexpectedly moved to Florida for work. Since 2019, Art has been the FJMC international Shoah Yellow Candle chair, a program focusing on Holocaust education, memorializing Holocaust victims, and addressing anti-Semitism. The program distributes over 90,000 Holocaust candles annually, which are lit on Yom HaShoah.

    In 2000, Art's strong devotion and commitment to Judaism led him to become involved in the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia. For 20 years, he served in various HFL positions, including vice president for twelve years. He handled loan-related responsibilities such as phone and email intake, screening applicants and guarantors, issuing, collecting, and updating applicant and guarantor forms, and approving loans in adherence to applicable guidelines. He was also involved in the collection aspect of the program. He enjoyed attending the annual International Jewish Free Loan conferences, where he met leaders from other Jewish Free Loan organizations and had the opportunity to ask questions, exchange ideas, and establish valuable relationships with these influential individuals. 

    Art remembers the early HFL days of struggle, the setbacks that seemed insurmountable, and the victories that were sweeter for their difficulty. Art is deeply grateful for the support and collaboration of his colleagues at HFL. Their expertise, passion, creativity, and dedication have been instrumental in our achievements.

Martin Roffman

HFL Board 2003-present

  • A scientist and project planning manager who specialized in reliability, cost minimization, and performance tuning of large operating systems for government and industry. These projects involved the use of big data and analytical forecasting methods to improve profitability of transportation networks and detect outbreaks of fraud in credit lending markets for a world class bank.  

    In spare time, Marty prepared generations of bar and bat mitzvah students for their s’machot, participated in and took leadership roles with his masonic lodge, worked with HFLS of Greater Philadelphia to distribute funds for individuals and businesses in need, and is passionate about all things astronomical. 

    Marty is blessed with a wonderful wife, Selma, four married children and their spouses, and thirteen very talented grandchildren.  

Neil Shupak

HFL Board 1999 - present

  • Neil Shupak retired from the industrial real estate business in December 2019 after working as a broker his entire career. He started with Lanard & Axilbund in 1974 and spent 25 years with Zalesne & Herd Realtors. He was with Newmark Knight Frank/Smith Mack from 1999 to retirement and was their Broker of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2011. He served on the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Board of Realtors and as Chairman of the Commercial & Industrial Division. He is also a charter member of the Tri State Realtors Commercial Alliance.

    Neil is a lifelong resident of the Philadelphia area and an active member of the Jewish community. He grew up in Abington Township and is an active lifelong member of Beth Sholom Congregation. He became Bar Mitzvah there in 1965, married there in 1975, and his three children had their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and were confirmed at Beth Sholom. Neil has served on Beth Sholom’s Board of Directors and as President of the Men’s Club. His wife, Helen, is a past President of the Sisterhood and they served as presidents of the two auxiliaries simultaneously.

    Neil has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2004. He has served HFL on the Finance and Loan Committees, as Vice President, and Chair of the Collections Committee. He and Helen reside in center city Philadelphia and have three married children and five grandchildren.

Milton Sork, z”l

HFL Board 1994-2009

  • Milton Sork worked for the City of Philadelphia for 22 years as a programmer and data processing manager. When he discovered data processing, then in its infancy, Milton spent several years at night school at Temple University to advance in his field. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Milton proudly served in the United States Navy during World War II and earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drexel Institute.

    In addition to serving Hebrew Free Loan for 15 years, Milt also served on the Board of West Oak Lane Jewish Community and the Sol C. Krause Lodge of Brith Sholom. He received the Congregant of the Year Award from Beth Sholom Congregation in 1996, where he volunteered in many capacities. He was an instructor for the 55 Alive Driver Training Program, helped prepare the Golden Years Resource Service luncheons, and was stage crew for their musical performances.

    Milton was married to Phyllis and they had two children, Robin Katz and Frank Sork. 

Philip Witman

HFL Board 2005-2022

  • Philip is the Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs at Exelixis. Hehas more than 36 years of clinical and regulatory experience in the development and execution of programs in hematology/oncology and additional therapeutic areas. IHe has led the regulatory activities that resulted in the approval of two new treatments for cancer in the US.

    While a college and graduate student, the Hebrew Free Loan Society in Northern New Jersey provided Philip with interest-free loans that helped pay for his tuition. He was extremely fortunate that this program existed and became a donor once the repayments had been completed. When he learned of the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia, it was easy for him to volunteer to help provide other interest-free loans to those who could benefit from the assistance. 


    In addition to Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia, he was an active fundraiser for the American Cancer Society and Livestrong. He and his wife are proud members of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park.