Norman & Rachel Gluckstein Lew &Beth Gray Itay & Renana Avtalyon
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Congregation Ohr Moshe ˘16th Annual Seudas Shabbos Guests of Honor Norman & Rachel Gluckstein Simchas HaChaim Awardees Lew &Beth Gray Maalin BaKodesh Awardees Itay & Renana Avtalyon Will ✓ Attend Celebrating 30 Years of Service to the Hillcrest Community שבת קודש פרשת בהר‐בחקתי, כ"ד אייר תשע"ז May 20, 2017 Sixteenth Seudas Shabbos From the desk of Rabbi Asher Schechter I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who partici- pated in this successful Seudas Shabbos Fundraiser for our Shul. Your commitment to a - תומך תורה and love for our Shul and the ideals that it stands for truly make you a bless you and your family with many more years הקדוש ברוך הוא supporter of Torah. May .עבודת ה' and the ability to continue growing in your נחת and הצלחה of Special thanks go to our dedicated committee, its Honorary Chairman Rabbi Eliyahu Hartman, and its Chairman Benjamin Zanjirian, who worked very hard to make this Seudas Shabbos a success. !at age 30 one is blessed with strength—בן שלשים לכח .years is a special milestone 30 for many of us it feels like it was just yesterday that we were nurturing the nascent new Shul that was to grow and become a vibrant and integral part of the Hillcrest communi- ty. If it were not for your foresight and commitment, we would not be where we are to- day. We may not feel as young as we once were, but we certainly can feel very proud of our communal accomplishments and we can and should face our future opportunities May Hashem continue to bless our .עבודת ה' with continued zeal and excitement in our Kehila with strength to accomplish more and more in the future. This year we are truly privileged to be able to bestow recognition upon Norman & Rachel Gluckstein, our Guests of Honor. The Glucksteins in their quiet and inimitable way have enhanced our Kehila for many years and continue to do so each and every day. They have always been involved in all the good that goes on in our Shul and community. Norman & Rachel are among the most respected members of our Shul and their Torah bless them השם יתברך serve as a shining example to all.. May יראת שמים lifestyle and from their children and נחת in good health along with אריכת ימים ושנים with grandchildren. It is also our pleasure to recognize Lew & Beth Gray, our Simchas HaChaim Award- ees. Lew & Beth personify good humor and good cheer in their interactions with all. They spent a relatively short time in our Kehila and became everyone’s best friend! Their and Chessed combined with their dedication to שמירת המצוות wonderful reputation for their children, family and community makes them a perfect couple for this award. May נחת they be blessed with many years of success, health and happiness along with much from their children. It has been a special pleasure to watch the spiritual growth and maturation of a unique couple who graced our Shul and Community for the past year. Itay & Renana Avtalyon, the recipients of the Maalin BaKodesh Award, have grown tremendously in over the past year. They have also grown as a family with the תורה עבודה וגמילות חסדים We have learned from and been inspired by them .אסתר לאה שתחי ‘ newest addition of equally if not more than they have learned from and been inspired by us!! May they be from נחת blessed with many years of success, health, and happiness along with much their family. We hope you will all enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of a family Seudas Shabbos to- on this, one of the זמירות and דברי תורה ,gether with our worthy honorees, friends יום שכלו שבת ומנוחה to a זוכה longest Shabbos afternoons of the year. May we all be .and throughout the world ארץ ישראל together with our brothers and sisters in Congregation Ohr Moshe Sixteenth Seudas Shabbos Chairmen’s Letter Many people worked hard to make this Shabbos Luncheon a special occasion. Special thanks to Rabbi Schechter who worked extra hard to make today's event so beautiful. We would also like to thank all of the attendees and advertisers, whose contributions allow our Shul to function properly. Many people take Shuls for granted. They just show up and expect everything to be "normal". They may not realize how much effort, energy & resources are required to create that "normal". With your support today, you have a big share in the creation and .of Ohr Moshe מקום תורה ותפילה "maintenance of the "normal Norman & Rachel Gluckstein, Lew & Beth Gray and Itay & Renana Avtalyon are all prime examples of truly inspiring individuals who are constantly growing in Torah & Mitz- vos and bringing others along for the ride. May Hashem grant all the honorees much happiness and success as a token reward for all their hard work. in a תפילות Besides the meaningful .מקדש מעט Our Shul is a unique and beautiful delivered by our Mara D'Asra שיעורים decorum filled atmosphere and the educational and other highly qualified speakers, it also provides a nonpolitical, warm and special en- vironment for our families to cherish friendships with the likes of our honorees and each other. We are extremely proud of the recent influx of young families with young children to our Shul which is evident in the large number of youngsters present today. Our Shabbos Youth Groups and weekly MiniKiddush and of course our Mega-Playground .become very popular ברוך ה' have to continue to develop our Shul reaching greater and greater זוכה May we be .עבודת ה' heights in Rabbi Eliyahu Hartman, Honorary Chairman Benjamin Zanjirian, Chairman Congregation Ohr Moshe Sixteenth Seudas Shabbos Norman & Rachel Gluckstein Guests of Honor Norman and Rachel married in 1967. Both are baalei teshuvah. They have had the ben- efit of studying with exceptional Rabbis: Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, Rabbi Meir Fund, Rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner, and most recently Rabbi and Rebbitzen Elyakim Rosenblatt of Yeshiva Kesser Torah, among others. Rachel and Norman moved to Hillcrest 40 years ago. Their first shul was ICHM, Israel Center of Hillcrest Manor with a new dynamic Rabbi Michael Strasberg. Seven years later, Rachel was learning with Rabbi Meir Fund and had just returned from studying at Neve Yerushalayim and the couple moved to Ohr Yitzchak where they were warmly welcomed by Rabbi Chaim Baruch Faskowitz ZT”L. It was a small shul with a very special Rebbitzen Razel Jofen Faskowitz, the daughter of Rabbi Abraham Jofen ZT”L. After many years and the passing of their beloved Rabbi, Norman and Rachel moved to Ohr Moshe. Again they were warmly welcomed and feel blessed to be part of the Ohr Moshe family with Rabbi Asher and Ruchie Schecter and their special children. Rachel and Norman have two children and six grandchildren. Sho- shana is married to Rabbi Yehuda Halpert (a local romance) and they have four very special children, Aryeh, Avigail, Ezra and Leora. They live in Teaneck, N.J. David is married to Julie Cheshire and they have two wonderful boys, Cas and Kyle. They live in Warwick, N Y. Congregation Ohr Moshe Sixteenth Seudas Shabbos Norman & Rachel Gluckstein Guests of Honor Norman was born and raised in NYC and Long Island. He graduated from Middlebury College with a major in philosophy and did graduate work in philosophy at the University of Texas. In 1967 he graduated from N.Y.U. School of law. After law school he worked at ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) of music. He was a Judge for the Environmental Control Board, Workers Com- pensation Board, and the city Taxi and Limousine Commission. Now fully retired for thirteen years, he reads, attends concerts, the opera, and reads some more. Rachel was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania and graduated from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Scranton, Pa. She is a Regis- tered Nurse. In 1962 she came to New York and worked at New York Hospital Cornell medical Center. She was a head nurse for four years and worked on one of the first open heart teams. After having two great children (David and Shoshana), she started a private prac- tice in shiatsu and yoga. She was one of the first Holistic Nurses in Queens. Presently Rachel has a private practice in yoga, shiatsu and nutrition- al counseling. In addition she studies nutrition and Quantum Reflex Analysis and teaches meditation at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Congregation Ohr Moshe Sixteenth Seudas Shabbos Lew & Beth Gray Simchas HaChaim Awardees Lewis and Beth Gray began their journey toward Jewish observance the year they became en- gaged. They wanted a place to go for High Holi- day services and a friend suggested the Queens Jewish Center beginners Orthodox service. It’s free! No tickets required! This was important because Lew was unemployed at the time and Beth was a full-time student and could not afford to shell out $300 a ticket to connect to the Al-mighty! The dynamic Rabbi who led the service suggested they take his classes, a Hebrew reading refresher and “Intro to Judaism.” The shul invited them to “Shabbat Across America” Shabbatons and the Rabbi invited them to his home and introduced them to the beauty of Shabbos. The couple began to attend Chabad of Northeast Queens run by Rabbi Yossi Blesofsky and took wonderful classes on the Tanya and other topics. A few years later, a friend suggested they go to the Jewish Heritage Center of Queens and Long Island. It was there that they met the directors of the center, Rabbi Moshe Turk and Rabbi Naftali Portnoy.