Colel Chabad Holds Gala Dinner

Photos: Simon Roumani, Bentzi Sasson

Colel Chabad, the oldest continuously operating Tzedakah in Israel, welcomed throngs of guests as they celebrated their International Awards Dinner in New York last week.

Guests at Manhattan’s New York Hilton started the evening with a smorgasbord of hors d’oeuvres, sampling dumplings and sushi, stir fry and carved meat as they mingled in a foyer adorned with posters explaining Colel Chabad’s diverse projects.

The evening began with a warm welcome from Mr. Richard Born. The Rebbe’s chapter in Tehillim was read by R’ Getzy Rubashkin, an honor given in the past to his father, businessman and philanthropist R’ Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin. Prayers were said for all those who need blessings especially Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivkah.

Following was a magnificent video which was produced especially for the evening, and Colel Chabad’s Executive Director Rabbi Sholom Duchman gave his annual Shareholder’s Report which was accompanied by a slideshow of pictures, facts and figures.

He reviewed the charity’s various units, including its mass Bar and Bas Mitzvah ceremony for Israeli orphans, 23 soup kitchens, subsidized dental clinics, daycare centers and the 25,000-square-foot Slager Logistics Center which distributes food to tens of thousands of families.

Honored at the Dinner were Ryan and Dinie Shapiro, Yael Ekstein with the Mesorah Award, International guest of Honor Meyer Nigri, Michael Steinberg with the Kesser Shemtov Award, and Gary Spitalnik with the Rising Star Award.

Rabbi Duchman announced the establishment of the new George Davidsohn Center for Life Enhancing Technologies, named for Reb Moshe Dovid Davidsohn, a Jewish philanthropist of Boro Park and Crown Heights who passed away two months ago.

A division at the new Colel Chabad Multiple Sclerosis Campus in Jerusalem, it will be dedicated to developing and implementing cutting-edge technologies to enhance the quality of life of people with debilitating illnesses.

“Just as George left his mark on technologies, so did he leave his mark on the Jewish community, the land of Israel and much more,” said Rabbi Duchman.

“His legacy is being continued through his children,” he added. “He lived with technology, and will be remembered by it, using it to make life easier for those with challenges.”

The Guest Speaker was Danny Danon, the new Israeli ambassador to the UN.

Danon said that when he walks the halls of the UN, he recalls what the Lubavitcher Rebbe told Bibi Netanyahu many years before.

Netanyahu has related that when he visited the Rebbe and told him he will be the Israeli Ambassador to the UN, the Rebbe told him, “You’ll be serving in a house of many lies. Remember, that even in the darkest place, the light of a single candle can be seen far and wide.”

“Every day walking the halls, I feel like I am holding that candle,” Danon said.