Hundreds Salute Colel Chabad at Gala Dinner

Celebrating the organization’s successes, Colel Chabad welcomed throngs of guests at its annual dinner, which also commemorated 200 years since the passing of Colel Chabad’s founder, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Chabad Rebbe.

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 diversity of projects.

The evening began with a warm welcome from Mr. Richard Born. The Rebbe’s Kapitel was then read by Rabbi Getzy Rubashkin, the son of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, who has traditionally recited the Tehillim. They prayed for all those who need blessings, especially Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivkah.

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

In delivering the annual Shareholders’ Report, he reviewed Colel Chabad’s various units, including its mass Bar and Bas Mitzvah ceremonies for Israeli orphans, reduced-cost dental clinics, daycare centers, Colel Chabad’s very own 25,000-square foot Slager Logistics Center – where food is distributed to tens of thousands of families and its 20 Soup Kitchens. He excitingly announced Colel Chabad’s recently acquired campus in the center of Jerusalem, which will be a built as a new MS Center.

“We don’t judge the poor, we feed the poor,” Duchman told the applauding crowd.

The Rabbi then went on to list a host of events planned for the next year, including the opening of 8 new Day Care Centers and the gut renovation of the new Finger MS Campus in Jerusalem.

A highlight of the dinner was a passionate and engaging address by the Guest of Honor, Reb Yosef Yitzchak Popack, in which he spoke about the inspiration he received from his grandfather, Reb Avraham Popack, OBM, and the mesiras nefesh his grandfather had for Torah and yiddishkeit before coming to United States pre World War I.

He spoke with pride about his partnerships with Colel Chabad and about the Levi Hendel Store he and his family sponsored in Tzfat, as well as the Shmuel Issac Popack Day Care Center in Kfar Chabad that he opened last year.

Yossi expressed his and his wife Penina Batsheva’s appreciation to the director of Colel Chabad, Reb Sholom Duchman, for his commitment and devotion to this vital cause.

Yossi also pointed out that his children are already taking an active leadership role in Colel Chabad. His son Avi, hosted the breakfast for Colel Chabad this summer.

The Young Leadership Award was given to Mendel and Reut Pinson. The dinner chairman explained how, in the Chitas of the night of the dinner, the words the Torah uses in describing the first Jewish leader, Moshe; “Moses grew up and went out to his brothers and saw their burdens.” Moshe’s leadership began as a young adult. True leaders begin as young adults.

“Colel Chabad is proud to honor Mendel and Reut with the Young Leadership Award,” he said. “An outstanding young couple who in addition to being young entrepreneurs, are taking an active role in Colel Chabad and many other charity institutions. We know we will be seeing them in the years and decades ahead as they grow into giants of tzedakah and serve as an inspiration for others who will surely follow in their footsteps.”

Also honored were Russell and Ronalee Galbut with the Leadership by Example Award, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein with the Trailblazer Award and Stephen Nitkin with the Kesser Shem Tov.

The Guest Speaker was Yossi Jacobson, who mesmerized the crowd of 1,000 people and brought out the incredible fact that it’s almost 225 years and Colel Chabad is still here stronger than ever before. He inspired the room with his humor, message and lessons.

Rabbi Jacobson brought out that the method the high-level German officials used to exterminate Jews was gas. The reason they came up with gas was because it’s cheapest. They didn’t value the life of a Jew for one cent, the cost of a bullet. In contrast, the Alter Rebbe values every single Jew infinitely and pricelessly. Each Jew is a direct and integral part of Hashem and Hashem has an infinite love for every Jew.  We must have the same infinite love for every Jew. This is what Colel Chabad is about and this is what Colel Chabad does.

Photos by Bentzi Sasson and Shimon Roumani