On Monday night, December 4, Chazaq celebrated their 11-year anniversary with their fifth annual gala dinner that highlighted the past years’ achievements and also sets the tone for all the exciting upcoming projects and programs.

The event took place at Leonard’s Palazzo in Great Neck. The night formally began at 6:30 p.m. for the guests, but a few hours earlier for the Chazaq staff who came to set up. Everyone was welcomed at the main hall by Chazaq’s warm staff to a beautifully adorned hall. One really gets a sense of the positive morale shared by the Chazaq team by seeing their inspirational work. Yaniv Meirov, Chazaq’s operations manager, was all over the place, directing guests, socializing, and generally infecting everyone with his contagious smile. The mood of the event was congenial due to the camaraderie of the participants.

The dinner began in the side hall with a delicious shmorg that surely whet everyone’s appetites. During this time, the main hall was abuzz as the night’s entertainers prepared. The slated singers included Mordechai Shapiro, Mendy J and Benyamin Elbaz. We were to learn later that night in a video message from Gad Elbaz that he unfortunately could not make it to the event because of a physical injury.

At 7:45 p.m., the guests were invited into the main hall for the night’s formal dinner. The tables and chairs were elegantly arranged for the occasion, and the hundreds of guests took their seats. Yaniv took the microphone to welcome everyone and thanked all the guests for their demonstrable support for all of Chazaq’s work. He then turned attention to the focus of the night, the dinner’s esteemed honorees.

The first award was presented to Rabbi Aharon Walkin, the rosh hayeshiva of Chazaq’s Beth Midrash Nosson Meir of Queens. Both Rabbi Ilan Meirov and Yaniv presented the Rabbinic Leadership award to Rabbi Walkin in recognition of his selfless devotion to his students (he lives in Lakewood and delivers a shiur in Queens four days a week).

The rav took the opportunity to tell the story behind the yeshiva’s inspiration. Many years ago, Rabbi Walkin was serving as a rebbi in Queens. He had a very devoted student who came from the Bukharian community. This student truly loved to learn Torah, even though he came from an irreligious family. As time went by, the rosh yeshiva of the institution told Rabbi Walkin surprising news: the boy’s parents were extremely upset with their son’s lifestyle and were threatening the school with legal action. Because of this, Rabbi Walkin was compelled to tell the boy he had to go home.

Rabbi Walkin originally refused to release his student, but after consulting with leading rabbanim, he was told he needed to comply with the demands of the parents. He brokenheartedly told the boy what happened and asked him to no longer attend the class. The boy looked at his rebbi and remarked, “Rebbi, you always taught us that learning Torah required mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice). Doesn’t teaching it require the same?!” How can you ask me to leave the yeshiva?

The boy spent an entire winter listening to the classes from outside the window before being allowed to once again return. This student eventually married and moved to Lakewood. Unfortunately, he contracted a rare disease and gave his soul back to his Creator while still in his 20s. His life was a short streak of light which, in its brief time, lit up the lives of many people.

The next award was given to Mr. and Mrs. Noach Deutsch, the nasi of the aforementioned yeshiva. Reb Noach and his wife were joined on stage together with their children and grandchildren, along with numerous prominent rabbanim who expressed their gratitude for their vision of building a prominent makom Torah in Queens despite living in far-away Australia.

The next award was the Jewish Music Award. Gad Elbaz was unable to receive it because of his aforementioned injury, but his wife and son did receive it for him. His young son Benyamin then sang for the entire crowd and showed us how the name Elbaz will become synonymous with pure, unadulterated musical talent.

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gendin then received the Pillar of Chesed Award for their genuine support of Chazaq’s cause of redeeming Jewish children from public school education. In a similar vein, Mr. and Mrs. David Koptiev were awarded the Community Leadership Award for their continued support toward Chazaq’s after-school programs for our youth. Finally, Councilman Eric Ulrich was awarded the community service award for his invaluable counsel and support regarding all matters in his vast retinue of experience.

The last set of awards was given to Mr. and Mrs. Beniamin Sdayeb. They were called upon to receive the Hachzakat Hatorah Award in recognition of their near-infinite logistical and familial support to Chazaq at all times, and in all places. They help make Chazaq possible by supporting the organization in so many ways. (Editor’s note: An award was also given to this author, Adam Sionov, and his wife for their genuine involvement in the community.)

The night progressed wonderfully. The guests were treated to beautiful music by Mordechai Shapiro and Mendy J in between the awards. The chief rabbi of the Bukharian community, Rabbi Yitzchak Yisraeli, gave the crowd his message and blessing in honor of Chazaq’s achievements and pushed for more growth. Many other distinguished guests arrived, including Councilman Rory Lancman and newly elected Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal.

During the course of the event, a short video clip of Chazaq’s great work was shown to the audience where people learned that over 800 Jewish public school students were touched by Chazaq programs over a 15-month period, and an astounding 345-plus were transferred to yeshiva.

The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, sent a video message blessing Chazaq and its director, Rabbi Ilan Meirov, for their great work, and encouraged them to continue inspiring Jewish public school students who lack a yeshiva education. As a show of appreciation for Chief Rabbi Yosef’s continuous guidance, Chazaq presented a small painting of his late father, HaRav Ovadia Yosef, together with his rebbi, Rav Ezra Attiya. The gift was given to Chief Rabbi Yosef’s son who attended the dinner in his stead.

By the end of the dinner, it was clear that Chazaq had the continued support of its guests. The guests left the hall knowing that Chazaq will continue to address the community’s many needs and innovate programs to advance. They realized that Chazaq truly is building a stronger future.

By Adam Suionov