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Migdal Ohr Gala Dinner Highlighted by Rabbi Grossman

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Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman with Tzvi and Nancy Fishman, Tower of Light Honorees at the Migdal Ohr Gala Dinner, IAC Building NYC 4/29/15
Left to Right: Jeff Eisenberg: Board Member AFMO, Tony Fromer: President AFMO, Ilyana Mitchell, Eliana Greenwald, Isaac Mizrahi: Twinning Honorees, Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman: Founder and Dean Migdal Ohr, Eli Cattan, Ari Mitchell: Twinning Honorees, at Migdal Ohr Gala Dinner.
Laurie and Todd Scherzer, Young Leadership Couple of the Year Honorees, at the Migdal Ohr Gala Dinner, IAC Building NYC 4/29/15

The American Friends of Migdal Ohr (AFMO) held its annual Gala Dinner on April 29 at the trendy IAC Headquarters in lower Manhattan to a crowd of 400 people.

Migdal Ohr, with its headquarters located in the city of Migdal HaEmek in the Lower Galilee area of Israel, has educational campuses across the country. Under the leadership of Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, it has become the most acclaimed institution in Israel for providing a first-rate education and loving home to nearly 12,000 Jewish children at-risk across Israel annually.

This year’s Gala Dinner marked Migdal Ohr’s 42nd year since Rabbi Grossman first came to Migdal HaEmek, as a young Rabbi from an eminent rabbinical family in Jerusalem. Under his father’s urging, Rabbi Grossman was challenged with the task of reaching out to the most troubled segment of the Israeli population. In his early years, he went into the discothèques in Migdal Hamek to spiritually uplift the youth of the town. Today he is one of the most beloved spiritual leaders in Israel and has received many national awards including the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement and the Israel Presidential Medal of Distinction.

Rabbi Grossman came from Israel to attend this year’s event to offer his blessings and well wishes to all and to launch a fundraising campaign for a critical new project, the $2 million renovation of a boys dormitory building, for children ages 6-12 who are orphaned, impoverished or have been removed from their homes because their parent(s) have been determined “unfit.”

The 2015 Gala honored long-time supporters and AFMO board members Tzvi & Nancy Fishman and Laurie & Todd Scherzer. Both Tzvi Fishman and Laurie Scherzer gave moving speeches describing their initial introduction to Migdal Ohr, shared recollections from their many awe-inspiring visits to the campus in Israel, and expressed their devotion to Rabbi Grossman and the children and teenagers in his care.

In his speech, Tzvi Fishman thanked Rabbi Grossman for the beautiful introduction and said that the greatest honor that he and his wife Nancy had received over the years was that Hashem had put Rabbi Grossman in their lives. He recalled that he met Rabbi Grossman 38 years ago at a reception at the home of Dr. Paul Rosentock who had come special that evening to greet the Rabbi.

Tzvi related how he had the honor of being at the ceremony for Rabbi Grossman receiving the Israel Prize. “There were a bunch of honorees. They all got applause and a handshake from the Prime Minster and Knesset members but when Rabbi Grossman received the prize, there was thunderous applause and the whole auditorium stood up and every member of the Knesset stood with them.” Tzvi told of how Rabbi Grossman was part of his life during his mother’s illness, was part of his and Nancy’s life when they were engaged in his Succah in Israel and subsequently married by Rabbi Grossman in New Jersey a year ago.

Tzvi commented that Rabbi Grossman is the true definition of the word “Tzaddik”, a righteous person. “What is a Tzaddik. My definition is that he is a person who has such a close relationship in service to Hashem, that he can ask G-d for special favors…. It’s not a natural process of something that G-d gives to a person, its something that a person “earns” and must continue striving to “own” by virtue of his commitment and service to G-d. It’s not about being a natural born “Kabbalist”, it’s about being a G-d driven “Realist.” That is what Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman and Rebbetzin Grossman are. Their whole life is dedicated to the service of G-d, to their endless “Ahavas Yisroel” love of the people of Israel and to their clear visions of how a Jew must be and behave in order to be a role model for all of mankind.”

Tzvi concluded: “We want to share this honor with all of you and because you came here tonight in support of Migdal Ohr, you are sharing in the honor of what G-d wants the most, the Unity and Love of all of the Jewish People and our requirement of being Ohr Lagoyim, a role model onto the nations.”

In her speech, Laurie Scherzer recalled that she met Rabbi Grossman when she attended a similar dinner years before. She said, “I wasn’t expecting much, just another dull dinner. But instead of waiting for the night to end, I found myself not wanting to leave. I had been moved by Rabbi Grossman’s genuine drive and commitment to make life better for children and young people, who needed help, or were in trouble.”

Laurie recalled that when she traveled to Israel for Pesach she wanted to see Migdal Ohr but was told that very few children would be on campus and this was Rabbi Grossman’s only vacation time but that she could meet with Rabbi Grossman in his home. When reaching his home they spoke for an hour at which time he suddenly jumped up and said, “Let’s go to the campus.” Laurie relates that his enthusiasm was electrifying, and upon reaching the campus his face lit up as he opened the locked woodworking room, showed the wall of Mezuzot in the synagogue and the newly renovated basketball courts. “While walking from building to building, people were constantly greeting Rabbi Grossman, each of whom stopped to have a personal conversation with him, including two teenage girls who were happy to see the Rabbi. He immediately invited them to show me their beautiful dorm room which by the way was no ordinary dorm, it was beautiful!” Laurie concluded, “Clearly there is no vacation for Rabbi Grossman. When I married Todd, he became involved too as part of the Audit and Finance committees.”

The event also included a special tribute to one of AFMO’s primary founders, Dr. Belle Rosenbaum, Z”L. Rabbi Grossman spoke about Belle and her husband Jacob’s involvement in raising the original funds needed to open the campus in Israel in 1972. Rabbi Grossman than acknowledged all of Belle’s family in attendance and shared a photo of leather bound Siddur dedicated in her memory that is now being used in the Belle and Jacob Rosenbaum Synagogue on the Migdal Ha’Emek campus.

Another highlight of the evening’s program was a spotlight on Migdal Ohr’s Bar and Bat Mitzvah Twinning program, featuring five local teenagers who had each participated in some capacity: Eli Cattan, Eliana Greenwald, Isaac Mizrahi, Ari Mitchell, and Ilyana Mitchell. Each spoke lovingly (via pre-recorded video) about their special involvement with this important chessed project. At the Gala, AFMO Board Member Jeff Eisenberg presented each of them with a mezuzah that was handmade by the children of Migdal Ohr just for them.

The event was emcee’d by WPIX11 Morning News sports anchor and entertainment reporter Andy Adler, and also included the official debut of the new spectacular Migdal Ohr video produced by Jordana Grunfeld.

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