45 NEWS
Community
Young Israel of Long Beach Annual Dinner
Dr. David and Leya Diamond, guests of honor
The Young Israel of Long Beach celebrated its sixty-fifth anniversary on Tuesday night, July 8 with a gala dinner at the White Shul. The guests of honor at this year’s event were Dr. David and Leya Diamond. The reason for their recognition can be no better articulated than the story they themselves related with respect to their relationship to Long Beach and the YILB. “Twenty-two years ago, on Erev Yom Kippur, David stopped into the Young Israel to daven Mincha. Leo Edinger, a”h, welcomed David in his inimitable style by saying, ‘Don’t sit there. That’s Phil Zimmerman’s seat.’ That was the start of a long and cherished friendship. It was soon revealed that David is a kohen. Leo was thrilled. ‘We have only one other kohen,’ Leo lamented. We had been looking for a new community and the welcome David received was the beginning of our search for a home in Long Beach. “Once we made the decision to move, we received a phone call offering any necessary help we might need. That was our introduction to our beloved rabbi. We never heard of a mora d’asra personally calling new members of the community, but that speaks to the dedication, energy and love for this community and shul that Rabbi and Rebbetzin Wakslak have demonstrated many times over through the years. We thank them for all they have done and continue to do. We moved to Long Beach in March 1993 into a two-family home with Yael and Adin, and Leya’s parents, Phil, a”h, and Paula, she should live and be well, Gorodetzer. Six months into our time here, Phil became ill. We were amazed and truly touched by the con-
Rabbi Chaim and Yael Axelrod, Avodas Hakodesh awardees
cern and support we received from the community. One would have thought we had been long-time residents to receive such attention. We feel most fortunate to have raised Yael and Adin in Long Beach, as they were made to feel important and special members of the community. They were able to observe acts of chesssed, tzedaka, hachnassat orchim, and middot tovot occurring on a regular basis, modestly and often anonymously. Everyone rejoiced with us at Yael’s bat mitzvah, Adin’s bar mitzvah and Yael and Josh’s wedding. People are concerned with Paula’s health, and they kvell with us whenever our grandson Eitan is in shul. Our children learned by example the importance of being involved in your shul and kehillah. Both of us have served in various capacities for the Young Israel, using our skills and abilities to help where ever we were needed.” Rabbi Chaim and Yael Axelrod were presented with the Avodas HaKodesh award in recognition of serving in the capacity of Assistant Rabbi for the past three years. Rabbi Chaim Axelrod grew up in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. In addition to currently serving as the assistant rabbi at YILB, he is on the Judaic Studies faculty of MTA, where he has taught since September 2010. He received his rabbinic ordination from RIETS at Yeshiva University in 2010 and an M.A. in Secondary Jewish Education from YU’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education in 2011. Before coming to Long Beach, Chaim served as the assistant to the rabbi at the Young Israel of North Woodmere
and as a Rabbinic Intern at the Young Israel of Scarsdale. Yael Axelrod, formally Wagner, grew up in Woodmere. She currently serves as the Director of Junior High School Girls at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach. Yael is a graduate of Stern College and has a M.A. in Secondary Jewish Education from YU’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education. When they are not working, they are kept busy by their four children, Dovi, Akiva, Aharon, and Nava. State Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg received the Lifetime Community Achievement Award. The honorable assemblyman will be retiring at the conclusion of his current term. Rabbi Wakslak recognized him for his outstanding achievements on behalf of his constituency, his advocacy for people with intellectual and physical challenges, and most particularly for his friendship to the YILB. Rivka and Yehuda Bohan served as the dinner chairpeople while Nelson and Dr. Tara Spiess served in the capacity of Journal chairpersons. The Young Israel enjoys a long and storied history. The Young Israel of Long Beach was officially chartered in 1949 by a small group of summer residents who were anxious to ensure the presence of an Orthodox synagogue within the “City by the Sea.” The synagogue grew and ultimately played a pivotal role in the establishment of additional community organizations such as the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach and the Mesivta of Long Beach, two educational institutions which continue to thrive to this very day, and a community eruv. It has introduced the South Shore Vaad and holds the dis-
Assemblyman Weisenberg with Rabbi Wakslak
tinction of building a new synagogue edifice and the community mikvah. Since the arrival of Rabbi Chaim Wakslak, some twenty-eight years ago, the congregation has worked together to fulfill its mission of doing everything to foster and enhance Jewish life in the Long Beach community. The Young Israel looks back at its past accomplishments with much pride but recognizes that it behooves us to reinvigorate and revitalize our beloved Young Israel so that we can carry on our tradition of leadership. The YILB has undertaken an incentive program that is available to those families who will purchase a home or rent an apartment in the community. A new children’s outdoor playground and playroom were recently constructed and several youth programs are being planned. A night kollel was established in memory of the Rabbi and Rebbetzin’s daughter, Avigail Rechmitz a”h and the addition is designed to establish a makom Torah for those seeking a place to learn in the evenings. There is much more to come which will insure the stature of the YILB for many more years to come.
What can we learn from “selfies”? See what Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz has to say on page 66
T H E J E W I S H H O M E n J U LY 1 7 , 2014
Around the
LOCAL