(Courtesy of Bris Avrohom) Bris Avrohom, headquartered in Hillside, New Jersey, recently celebrated a milestone of its 32nd Gala Weddings at the Sheraton in Parsippany, in which five couples from the former Soviet Union were married according to Jewish tradition. This event was called a “Celebration of Religious Freedom.” To date, Bris Avrohom has married close to 900 couples.
The Sheraton Parsippany Hotel’s ballroom was filled with the five chuppahs and each couple’s family and friends, numbering approximately 350 guests, who came to participate in this important milestone in their lives. Rabbi Mordechai, executive director, and Shterney Kanelsky, associate director, of Bris Avrohom, both prepared each couple for marriage. Each couple was escorted to their chuppah for their ceremony and was presented with wedding gifts that included sacred books published by Bris Avrohom with Russian translation, candlesticks and a kiddush cup to enhance their lives as a Jewish family following the ceremonies.
Concurrently celebrated with this event was Bris Avrohom’s 38th Annual Dinner marking their achievements for the past year as well as honoring those individuals who have shown their dedication and commitment to its cause. This dinner’s theme was “Light Up the World.”
The event’s honorees were Dr. Jerald Friedman and Dr. Zev Schuholf, principals of North Jersey Oral & Maxilofacial Surgery, located in Teaneck. The Community Service Award was conferred on representatives of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Diannae Ehler, director, tunnels, bridges & terminals; Gerard Lindenmeier, general manager, Lincoln Tunnel; and Mark Schaff, general manager, Port Authority Bus Terminal, through whose efforts the lights of Chanukah were brought to millions of people through the placement of menorahs at various public spaces.
This year’s journal was dedicated in memory of Harry and Joe Wilf, who were pillars of the Jewish community, Holocaust survivors and builders of a number of Jewish institutions. It was graciously donated by Edward and Cecile Mosberg, ongoing supporters of Bris Avrohom.
Bris Avrohom was privileged to have Ambassador Dani Dayan, consul general of Israel, as its keynote speaker. He spoke about the connection of Bris Avrohom to the promised land, which was given to us as a gift to our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by God as is written in the Torah.
For more information about the Bris Avrohom organization, please call their headquarters at 908-289-0770, or visit their website at www.brisavrohom.org.
