Tonight: 93rd Annual Dinner of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath

Alumni, parents and friends of Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath will gather at the yeshiva‘s 93^rd Annual Dinner this evening at The Palace in Brooklyn. The dinner promises to be another unforgettable event, graced by the presence of distinguished rabbonim and Torah leaders. As in the past, the goal is to create a platform for kavod haTorah, lehachzik Torah ulehaadirah, to support Torah and to honor it.

“Where Legendary Leadership Begins” is the theme of the evening, as Torah Vodaath focuses on the role the yeshiva has so prominently played in the development of Yiddishkeit on these shores for close to 100 years. If one were to examine the educational experience of the majority of today’s rabbonim, roshei yeshiva, askonim and lay leaders, one would invariably find that a large percentage were talmidim of Torah Vodaath.

At the dinner, the Kesser Torah Award will be presented to Rav Yitzchok Scheiner, one of the ziknei hador. Rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Kamenitz in Yerushalayim, a member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah in Eretz Yisroel and a close talmid of Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz zt”l, Rav Scheiner will be traveling to America specifically to accept this award and help the yeshiva.

Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Cywiak will be the guests of honor in tribute to Mr. Cywiak’s mother, Mrs. Chana Cywiak, and in memory of his father, R’ Elchonon Cywiak, and Mrs. Cywiak’s parents, R’ Shlomo and Pessel Snow z”l. Mr. Snow was one of the original Torah Vodaath talmidim in the early 1900s. These families represent the essence of Torah Vodaath and are very proud of their decades of connection to the yeshiva.

Mr. and Mrs. Moti Davis, proud parents of several talmidim at Torah Vodaath, will receive the Parents of the Year Award. Community-minded people, Moti is an active Hatzolah member in Sea Gate, where he resides. The president of a large company supplying dialysis equipment to nursing homes, Moti and his wife are very involved with chessed, the yeshiva, their community, and, most importantly, their own children. They are grateful for the chinuch their boys are receiving at Torah Vodaath.

Mr. and Mrs. Avrumi Haas will receive the Moreinu Horav Pam Ohev Torah Award. A Torah Vodaath talmid for years, R’ Avrohom and his brothers are very appreciative of the tremendous hadracha they received at Torah Vodaath from their rabbeim. Avrumi was a close talmid of Rav Pam zt”l and credits the rosh yeshiva, Rav Yosef Savitsky, for setting him on the path of lomdus. An exceptionally well-liked individual, Avrumi is a tremendous talmid chochom and has made a Siyum Hashas b’iyun. Remarkably, he is the CFO of a major import company while still being able to dedicate every afternoon to learning b’iyun with a noted rov in his neighborhood.

Mr. and Mrs. Moshe Dovid Stahl will be acknowledged as the Alumnus of the Year. An individual with a tremendous desire to learn, R’ Moshe Dovid is also a successful professional in the business world. He remains close to many of his roshei yeshiva at Torah Vodaath. He is very involved in his shul, and credits the yeshiva with showing him how to live a life of Torah and chessed while contributing to the welfare of his Marine Park neighborhood.

The class of 1987 will receive a public tribute for 25 years of service to Klal Yisroel. Representing the class will be Rabbi Zalman Leib Hollander, rosh kollel of Kollel Zichron Avrohom Moshe in Yerushalayim. A tremendous yodei’a sefer, Rav Zalman Leib is well-known for his tremendous hasmodah and ability to relate to others. His ehrlichkeit and middos reflect the hadrachah he received from his great rabbeim at Torah Vodaath.

The Yovel Class of 1962 will receive an award marking 50 years of devotion to the community. Rabbi and Mrs. Shlomo Wilhelm have agreed to represent the class by accepting the Moreinu Horav Yaakov Kamenetsky Memorial Award. R’ Shlomo, a grandson of the legendary R’ Binyomin Wilhelm zt”l, is well-known in the Five Towns and Monsey communities as a ish chessed veyoshor. Mrs. Wilhelm is a daughter of Rav and Rebbetzin Binyomin Kamenetzky.

The Class of 1952 will celebrate 60 years of service to Klal Yisroel. Public tributes will be accepted by members of the class, Dr. and Mrs. Harvey Rosenfeld, Rabbi and Mrs. Yosef Feit, and Rabbi and Mrs. Joel Skurnik, all distinguished educators, professionals and rabbonim who wear the badge of Torah Vodaath with pride and have made a real difference in their respective communities.

This year’s dinner is being dedicated l’zechus a refuah shleimah for the beloved rosh yeshiva, Rav Yisroel Belsky. On the road to recovery, the rosh yeshiva continues to need our mitzvos and zechuyos. A well-attended and well-supported dinner will give the rosh yeshiva much chizuk.

The annual dinner serves as a public platform acknowledging the partnership between the marbitzei Torah and the machzikei Torah of Torah Vodaath. The well-known askan, R’ Gedaliah Weinberger, will once again serve as dinner chairman. R’ Gedaliah is a devoted member of the yeshiva‘s Executive Committee and works in partnership with R’ Chaim Leshkowitz and R’ Shiya Hollander to ensure the vitality of the mosad.

{Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}