(Courtesy of YIWP) There have been 34 other annual galas in the history of Young Israel of White Plains, but never one so momentous and emotional as this. The 35th annual gala, held on June 6, 2021, celebrated the miraculous return to health and the pulpit of Rabbi Alter Shmuel Greenberg, who had suffered a severe case of COVID-19 that left him hospitalized for six months, many of them in a coma.

Many in the YIWP congregation were joyous in their prayers on behalf of Rabbi Greenberg and their gratitude to Hashem, which they expressed in a video presentation streamed during the virtual gala. Rabbi Greenberg and his family, in turn, thanked the congregation, the community and well-wishers throughout the world for their prayers, tzedaka and performance of mitzvot, to which Rabbi Greenberg attributed his miraculous recovery. In a broad-based act of mitzvot, a fundraiser started in the zechut of the rabbi raised enough funds to construct the Young Israel of White Plains Mikvah, the first orthodox mikvah in White Plains and a 25-year dream of Rabbi Greenberg.

The evening also honored the many congregants who rose to the occasion over the past year and helped the synagogue to continue operations during the pandemic. Specifically recognized for their volunteerism were minyan coordinators Mark Guterman, Charlie Wachsstock and Yonah Wolf; rabbinic committee Rabbi Jeffrey Beer, Rabbi Yaakov Bienenfeld, Rabbi Avi Hoffman and Rabbi Yossi Oratz; medical committee members Dr. Daniel Gold, Dr. Annebeth Levenson, Dr. Janice Mirsky and Dr. Garret Weber; and teen baalei koreh Eitan Donath, Tzvi Englander, Aryeh Levenson, Beni Room and Jonathan Rosenberg.

Also recognized were 2021 graduates from middle school to medical school.

Following the online gala presentation, the evening featured an on-site conclusion: a drive-by dessert at the Greenberg residence.

The YIWP gala was chaired by Yael Rosenberg, Amy Singer and Faigy Wolf.