This year’s “Big Event” by the Jewish outreach group CHAZAQ lived up to its name as well over a thousand people flooded into the auditorium of Forest Hills High School on Sunday night, March 30, for an evening of inspiration and entertainment.

Founded in 2006 by Rabbi Ilan and Yaniv Meirov, CHAZAQ’s offerings include educational programs (classes and one-on-one learning) for men and women of all ages, youth groups, a variety of family-oriented publications, even a shidduch service. And under leadership of the Meirov brothers and their colleagues, CHAZAQ is now well known in the Queens Jewish community.

At the heart of the evening’s proceedings were presentations by respected Jewish figures such as investor-turned-motivational speaker and media personality Charlie Harary, and a highly esteemed procession of rabbanim, including crowd favorites Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein and Rabbi Paysach Krohn, along with Rabbi Yitzchak Oelboum, who chaired the event. The theme of Freedom, central to the Pesach holiday, was a popular one throughout the evening. Mr. Harary exhorted the audience that if one wants to be free from those weaknesses and personal obstacles keeping them from personal fulfillment, one need simply “act free.”

“Our holidays are not commemorative,” declared Harary, noting that each holiday is intended to be a transformative personal experience, which is why, he explains, the first Passover Seder took place prior to the Exodus from Egypt, rather than on the first anniversary thereof.

Though presented with a tough act to follow, the rabbis whose speeches came after Harary’s were certainly up to the task. They regaled the audience with a variety of parables and personal anecdotes, and the evening served as one big call to action, both in attendees’ own spiritual lives and in support of the vital work of CHAZAQ.

Fresh from their success with last year’s sefer Torah campaign (whereby the organization was able to create a Torah scroll with letters filled in by numerous gedolei hador), CHAZAQ is currently promoting its “A Teen for Eighteen” initiative, whereby community members may partner with CHAZAQ’s highly successful after-school programs for local teenagers by sponsoring a teen for only $18 a month. The Big Event was a fundraiser for that program, and efforts are ongoing.

To learn more about how CHAZAQ is building a stronger future for the Jewish community or to join their efforts, visit their website at chazaq.org or call 917-617-3636.

By Daniel Perez