The event will honor the Mayerfelds, Dubins and 10 CBA chayalim.
On Sunday evening, March 10, Congregation Beth Aaron (CBA) of Teaneck will celebrate its 52nd Annual Celebratory Dinner. The event will bring together the members of this warm, intergenerational congregation in a show of camaraderie and unity. This year’s guests of honor are Adeena and Yair Mayerfeld, a couple whose devotion to their shul, as well as to the larger klal, are exemplary. The Shelly Leffel Service awardees, Sheryl and Josh Dubin, are models of community involvement with a strong focus on welcoming new people to the shul.
In light of the war in Gaza which occupies all daily prayers, thoughts and support, Congregation Beth Aaron is supremely proud to count among its members 10 chayalim who have served and are still serving courageously in this life-threatening arena. Included with these brave and dedicated soldiers is CBA’s youth director who recently returned from his close to three-month service in the war.
Morah d’atra of CBA, Rabbi Larry Rothwachs, shared his thoughts. “We are so excited about the upcoming celebration at CBA’s annual dinner. I am filled with a tremendous sense of pride and admiration for our honorees. This year, we are thrilled to honor the Mayerfelds, the Dubins and our courageous young men who are serving our nation devotedly in the IDF. Each of these remarkable individuals and groups exemplify the ideals and values of our shul, contributing immensely to our community.”
Yair and Adeena Mayerfeld first visited the Beth Aaron community in 2006 and were immediately won over by the warmth of the congregation and the inspiring leadership and genuine friendship of the rabbi and Chaviva. They saw immediately that this was a community conducive to family life with a serious focus on Torah, avodah, gemilut chasadim and chinuch habanim.
Yair Mayerfeld, a corporate transactional partner at the law firm of Kramer Levin, rolled up his sleeves and served on the board for over a decade. He served as president during some challenging times for the congregation, including a damaging flood, financial hurdles after expansion, increasing security costs and other unanticipated needs. His knowledge and creativity, coupled with his quiet diplomacy, successfully brought the shul through these tough times. To date, Yair counsels shul officials on complicated legal matters, always in his unassuming and amicable manner.
Adeena Mayerfeld joined the CBA Sisterhood early on and presented many scholarly shiurim to women throughout the Teaneck community. In addition to having served on the executive board of RYNJ for many years, Adeena took upon herself the supervision of the construction and operation of the Sterling Place Shabbos Mikvah, a great service to the women of the community. She has been an active participant in the Bergen County Bikur Cholim, particularly in assisting and hosting family members of patients at Holy Name Hospital and Care One. Adeena recently put the CBA community on the map in her position as assistant director of the OU Women’s Initiative. She organized the Nach Yomi program’s second biannual siyum at which 2,500 women from throughout the world celebrated their completion of the 742 chapters of Nach.
The Mayerfelds are the proud parents of Noam and Dassi, who in June 2024 will be respectively completing Yeshiva University and Stern College. Adeena and Yair credit their parents, siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins with “setting high bars of chesed and community involvement from Queens to Los Angeles and beyond.”
This year’s Shelly Leffel Service awardees are Sheryl and Josh Dubin. The Dubins both grew up in this area and they sought out a shul that would represent diversity, warmth and sincere devotion to Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael. Josh, a technology lawyer at Verizon, serves as the gabbai of the 7:15 a.m. hashkama minyan as well as on the board as second vice president, and is also a member of the Judaic Enrichment Committee. Sheryl, an actuary at GenRe, is involved in welcoming and recruiting new families who move into the area. Their three children, Reuven (14), Rivka (11) and Keren (6), attend Yeshivat Noam. The Dubins regard the Beth Aaron community as a priority in their lives and try to help make it as vibrant as possible through their ongoing efforts. They encourage others to do the same.
The Eitan Shapiro Young Leadership Award will be appropriately bestowed upon nine sons of Beth Aaron members who have just completed or are still in the midst of serving in the IDF during the past four terrifying months. Their life-changing decision to make aliyah as lone soldiers and their courageous actions on the battlefield are a testimony to the devotion to Medinat Yisrael that was exemplified in their homes, shul and community.
CBA is honoring Ezra Friedman, currently in miluim (reserves), son of Rachelle and Howard Friedman; Abie Goldberger, sadir (regular service), son of Sandra Mazel; Daniel Honikman, miluim, son of Devorah and Rafael Honikman; Alex Neugroschl, miluim, and Ezra Neugroschl, sadir, sons of C.B. and Jeff Neugroschl; Akiva and Naftali Pudell, miluim, and Gavriel Pudell, sadir, sons of Nechama and Steven Pudell; and Pinchas Shalom, miluim, son of Jan and Harvey Silberstein.
Expressing the thoughts of the parents of these brave young men, Jeff Neugroschl shared, ”We are so very proud that our boys and those of our Beth Aaron friends chose to serve Am Yisrael through volunteering to join Tzahal. Each in his own way has been able to channel his passions and personality to serve alongside their Israeli brethren. They have grown in many ways during their service. They are true models to their peers. We greatly appreciate CBA for recognizing their service as well as the support that we, as their parents, receive from this warm community.”
In addition to its nine chayalim, CBA youth director Kfir Day, who is also being honored, was called into service shortly after the outbreak of the war. Leaving his wife Dvorah and their three young children in Teaneck, he joined his unit and fought bravely. The parents and children of Beth Aaron celebrated his safe return with a festive Shabbat kiddush attended by the entire CBA congregation. Kfir expressed, “I am deeply humbled to receive this recognition from the Beth Aaron community. It has been a privilege to work with such dedicated leaders, members, their children and of course, our special youth leaders. I thank the shul for the support that was extended to my family while I was away. Beth Aaron is an incredible community.”
Nechama Pudell and Moishe B. Singer, current president of CBA, are organizing the annual elegant CBA dinner. Nechama noted, “What connects the special people we are honoring this year at Beth Aaron, the Dubins, the Mayerfelds and the CBA chayalim, is that they are all people who quietly observe and assess the needs around them and do not hesitate to do what needs to be done. Both the Mayerfelds and the Dubins are thoughtful, sensitive and caring couples who are always looking for ways to improve the shul. They sensitively and constructively provide feedback and humbly offer the help to make it happen. What can we say about our brave chayalim? They represent the best of Beth Aaron, demonstrating true commitment to serving Am Yisrael.”
The dinner, which will be held at CBA, will begin at 5 p.m. with a gourmet buffet provided by Petaks followed by the program including Rabbi Rothwachs’ remarks, video presentations and awards to the honorees. A raffle and lavish dessert will conclude the program.
To RSVP for the dinner, go to bethaaron.org/dinner. Chances for two tickets to Israel valued at $2,500 are $100 each. Raffle tickets for the goods and services and all other packages are $10 each and three for $25.
