Agudath Israel of America's 81st Anniversary Dinner, held
Sunday May 25-23 Iyar at the New York Hilton, marked the
conclusion of a year-long series of special events in honor
of Agudath Israel of America's 80th year and featured the
debut of the hard-cover volume and original film, Daring
to Dream: Profiles in the Growth of the American Torah
Community.
In one of the evening's most dramatic moments, a proclamation
by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah acknowledging the US
government's commitment to promoting religious tolerance,
freedom and worldwide peace was presented to President George
W. Bush. (See text of proclamation.) The proclamation was
accepted on behalf of the President by the Honorable H. James
Towey, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the
Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Mr. Towey
said that the values of the Orthodox Jewish community are the
very same values upon which the US was built and the same
values that are shared and promoted by its current
President.
Mr. Towey was introduced by Agudath Israel executive vice
president for government and public affairs Chaim Dovid
Zwiebel.
Later in the program, Agudath Israel vice president Rabbi
Shlomo Gertzulin paid tribute to America in a presentation to
Major Henry B. Cohen, Special Force Battalion, United States
Army.
In his stirring message to the assemblage, Rabbi Yaakov
Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe and Rosh Agudath Israel,
specifically addressed Mr. Towey and Major Cohen. Beginning
in Yiddish, Rabbi Perlow charged his listeners to focus on
the many chassodim that Hashem has bestowed on His
people in the face of an implacable enemy in Eretz Yisroel.
"And the shaliach," he continued, "has been the
malchus shel chesed in which we live."
Switching to English, Rabbi Perlow then spoke directly to the
"representatives of the government of the United States and
her brave fighting forces."
"Please convey to the President," the Rebbe asked, on behalf
of the Agudath Israel community, "our deep gratitude for his
heroism and the bold steps he has taken." He expressed the
community's great appreciation for how America has stood up
to the challenges of recent months and its "moral victory."
Rabbi Perlow also gave eloquent voice to the community's
heartfelt appreciation for the fertile field our country has
provided for the "renaissance of Jewish spirit" American
Orthodox Jewry has experienced.
Returning to Yiddish, the Rebbe noted that the tochochoh
that had just been read in parshas Bechukosai,
like the one in Ki Sovo, precedes a "day of
judgment," in this case Shavuos, when Hashem judges the yield
of tree- fruits. It is thus an appropriate time, he
explained, to voice the tefilloh: "May the year and
its curses be ended, and a new year of blessings begin."
We have experienced, Rabbi Perlow said, much challenge of
late in Eretz Yisroel, threats and injuries both physical and
societal, the latter in a manner "unprecedented in fifty
years . . . affecting yeshivos, kollelim, families,
Shabbos and kedushas hayichus . . . a tochochoh
in its own right."
"We here in America," he said, "must recognize the dangers in
Eretz Yisroel without a moment's pause." And we must
remember, too, he stressed, the Jewish tragedies in this
country, the American Jews who have become estranged from
their heritage.
And yet, Rabbi Perlow averred on a positive note, so many who
seemed to have drifted from their Jewish moorings have come
to return to the Jewish fold. And so we need to recognize,
too, above all else, that our people is an "aveidah
hamisbakeshes," a "lost item" whose Owner seeks its
return -- our return to Him."
Earlier in the program, following the recitation of a chapter
of Tehillim on behalf of Jews in Eretz Yisroel, dinner guests
were addressed by New York Senator Charles Schumer, who was
introduced by dinner chairman David Friedman.
Major awards were presented by Agudath Israel executive vice
president Rabbi Shmuel Bloom to Shlome Chaimovits, recipient
of the HaGaon Rav Aharon Kotler Memorial Award for
distinguished service to Torah; Abe Eisner, recipient of the
Reb Elimelech Tress Award for preservation of the legacy of
the Shearis HaPleitoh; and Rabbi Nochum Fishman, who was
honored with the Moreinu Yaakov Rosenheim Memorial Award for
distinguished service to Agudath Israel. Mr. Chaimovits
accepted his award in memory of his late father-in-law,
Herschel Sax, a"h, who was niftar shortly
before Pesach.
The Rabbi Moshe Sherer Memorial Award, presented annually to
individuals who labored at the legendary Agudah leader's side
in the building of Agudath Israel of America, was presented
to Yisroel Lefkowitz. The award was presented to Mr.
Lefkowitz by Rabbi Sherer's son, Rabbi Shimshon Sherer.
Each of the honorees was featured in a special audio- visual
presentation produced by well-known film producer Aryeh
Gelbard, who also produced the fascinating and evocative
presentation, "Daring to Dream," which traces the growth of
the American Torah community.
The showing of the film, the final segment of the program,
was preceded by an address by Agudath Israel executive vice
president Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, who praised the vision and
mesiras nefesh of the countless Jewish heroes whose
achievements shaped the previous century of Torah life in
this country. Each of the individuals profiled in the film
and book -- copies of the beautiful coffee-table sized volume
would later be distributed to the dinner guests -- Rabbi
Bloom explained, are examples of such heroes.
Featured in the book are Ephraim Finkelstein, Mrs. Necha
Golding, Harry Herskowitz, Richard Horowitz, Rabbi Dovid
Leibowitz, Rabbi Joshua Silbermintz, Avrohom Schonberger,
Rabbi Moshe Sherer, Akiva Zilberberg, Michoel Tenenbaum, and
Elimelech Tress.
