4 | SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay
Abraham’s Tent is Staked in Detroit

Mark Davidoff is General 
Chair of this year’s Yeshiva 
Beth Yehudah annual dinner.
F

or many years, 
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah 
has held an annual 
dinner to further the 
educational 
mission of 
this essential 
Detroit Torah 
institution. 
 The dinner 
enables an 
introduction of 
the school to 
the broader community — 
highlighting the Yeshivah’s 
incredible work in service to 
its students, their families, 
and to the Jewish and 
general communities.
There’s little doubt that 
at its inception, the dinner’s 
primary purpose would 
have been to raise funds to 
support scholarships that are 
needed by the majority of 
the students who attend the 
Yeshiva.
And although the dinner 
still carries an important 
fund development goal, over 
these many years the annual 
dinner has been positioned 
to serve as a special moment 
when the Jewish and general 
community come together 
for a common purpose, as 
if under the protective and 
welcoming environment of 
Abraham’s tent — open on 
all sides to everyone.
In the past number of 
years, the dinner has hosted 

honorees including Ford 
Motor Company CEO Mark 
Fields, Lear Corporation 
CEO Matt Simoncini, PVS 
Chemicals Founder and 
Chairman Jim Nicholson, 
and Huntington Bank 
CEO Stephen Steinour. In 
addition, the dinner has also 
presented guest speakers 
including British Prime 
Minister Tony Blair, U.S. 
Ambassador to the U.N. 
Nikki Haley and former 
Secretary of State Colin 
Powell.
The theme this year’s 
dinner on Oct. 24 is 
“
An Evening of Hope 
& Renewal.” With the 
announcement that the event 
will honor General Motors 
Chair & CEO Mary Barra, 
with Guest Speaker, the First 
Lady of the United States, 
Dr. Jill Biden, the Yeshiva 
Beth Yehudah dinner has 
taken first position as the 
most important Jewish 
organization event in the 
country.
The opportunity and 

responsibility in curating 
such an event cannot be 
underestimated. Year after 
year, the Yeshiva team that 
executes this event has 
proven one conclusion: They 
got this!
The momentum that has 
been building surrounding 
the dinner continues to 
grow, and with it a rise 
in understating among 
corporate, community 
and government leaders 
from all corners that the 
Detroit Jewish community is 
special and unique — and it 
provides a tent that all aspire 
to be under. 

The Yeshiva Beth Yehudah 
annual dinner will take place 
at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 
24, at the Detroit Marriott 
Renaissance Center. For 
additional information, call 
(248) 663-8299.

Mark Davidoff is President and 

CEO of The Fisher Group and Senior 

Advisor to the Board of the Detroit 

Jewish News Foundation.

Mark 

Davidoff

Honoree 
Mary Barra

Guest Speaker 
First Lady 
Dr. Jill Biden

The Yeshiva Beth 
Yehudah Choir 
performs at the 
2019 annual 
dinner.

