On Sunday, Bris Avrohom, directed by Rabbi Mordechai and Shterney Kanelsky, held their 26th Gala Weddings and 32nd Annual Dinner at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark. The evening was filled with excitement, elegance and tradition.
The event began with their annual Gala Weddings, when couples from the former Soviet Union are married in a traditional Jewish ceremony, under a chuppah. This year, there were five couples from the Tri-State area who renewed their commitment to each other in a manner prescribed by Jewish tradition. The couples were welcomed by the Israeli Cabinet Minister for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, the Honorable Yuli Edelstein.
The chuppahs were followed by traditional circle dancing, enjoyed by the couples, their family and friends, as well as all the Bris Avrohom supporters in attendance.
Once seated, the assembled guests were privileged to hear a few words from Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, who presented citations to the guests of honor and a proclamation to Bris Avrohom, Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage, who retold his long history with Rabbi Kanelsky, NJ Senator, Robert Gordon, who presented a Proclamation from the combined House and Senate to Community Service Award recipient, Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority and a former colleague of Senator Gordon’s and, finally, from Mr. Baroni himself. Mr. Baroni spoke about the power of light to remind us of what has come before. For the past several years, the Port Authority has allowed Bris Avrohom to place a menorah at the Goethals Bridge for the week of Chanukah to publicize the miracle of Chanukah.
Honored at this event were two couples who, themselves immigrants from the former Soviet Union, are long time supporters of this organization, Felix and Paula Belferman and Mark and Galina Rekhtman. Each couple was presented with a large piece of artwork.
The highlight of the dinner was the keynote address, by the Honorable Yuli Edelstein. He spoke about how we focus on the past and the future, but first we must all unite in the present. He explained that it is easy to stand together in difficult times, but when life is going smoothly, it is harder to remember to make the time and effort, spiritually and financially, to help your brethren. He pointed out that Bris Avrohom has, for 32 years, remembered to help everyone, in good times and bad and that the evening’s Guests of Honor were, themselves, now doing the same.
For more information about Bris Avrohom and its activities, please visit their website at www.brisavrohom.org or call their Hillside office at (908) 289-0770. Bris Avrohom also has branches in Fair Lawn and Jersey City.
Seen in picture, left to right:
Seated: Aharon and Larisa Alperin of Fair Lawn, Yuriy and Zinaida Itkin of Fair Lawn, Yuriy and Regina Gurevich of Westport, Ct., Honorable Yuli Edelstein Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs of Israel, Rabbi Executive and Associate Directors of Bris Avrohom, Steve and Tanya Kagan of Brooklyn, Leonard and Zhana Khodorovsky of Brooklyn
Standing: Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman, Youth Director of Bris Avrohom of Fair Lawn, Rabbi Berel Zaltzman, Community Development Director of Bris Avrohom of Fair Lawn, Rabbi Baruch Lepkiver Program Director and Rabbi of Bris Avrohom of Jersey City, Rabbi Eliyahu Shain Bris Avrohom certified mohel, Mark and Galina Rekhtman, Guests of Honor, Felix and Paula Belferman, Guests of Honor, Rabbi Chaim Brikman of Brooklyn, Rabbi Yechezkel Lebovic of Maplewood, Rabbi Dovid Wilansky, Administrator of Bris Avrohom and Rabbi Avremy Kanelsky, Torah Education Director of Bris Avrohom
Is that the mashgiach?
from the nicest people i have ever met!
Beautiful. mt!