NOVEMBER 4 • 2021 | 21
of hopelessness, that which was
destroyed will never be rebuilt.
That is why Noah needed to
banish the raven, as he and his
family were about to rebuild
and repopulate the world. They
could not allow space for pessi-
mism and hopelessness.
“It was the dove, the symbol
of hope and renewal, that was
sent out to herald the dawn of
the new era of rebuilding. The
Torah describes that when the
dove came back to Noah on
the ark bearing an olive branch
it was to proclaim that there
is always the opportunity for
rebirth and renewal, if we reject
despair and focus on the posi-
tive.
“That is our message this
evening, a proclamation of hope
and renewal summoning us as a
diverse but unified community
to rebuild, to grow, to dream
and to believe in our ability to
bring those dreams to fruition.
This is why tonight we celebrate
as we invest in every child, as
each of them has their own
ability to change the world, one
person at a time.”
Torgow recognized the assem-
bled guests for their part in
the Yeshiva’s success. “By all of
you joining together, COVID-
conscious, but hopeful, you
have become identified with the
beautiful dove that represents
the shared vision of hope and
renewal. Tonight I am supreme-
ly confident that with your
friendship and generosity the
Yeshiva will continue to succeed
in this cosmic vision.”
Both diversity and unity were
evident on the dinner dais, fea-
turing a veritable who’s who of
politicos, CEOs and community
leaders from throughout our
state and country. Last year’s
virtual event, An Evening of
Unity, reached hundreds of
thousands of viewers around the
world and included video mes-
sages from national and world
leaders. But this year’s attendees
seemed grateful to gather in per-
son once again.
The dinner dais and the
entire ballroom were filled with
rabbis, senators, congressional
representatives, supreme court
justices, mayors, and sheriffs,
along with Dinner chairpeo
ple,
Jewish Federation leadership,
and the evening’s keynote
speaker, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
The event was presented by
General Motors and sponsored
by DTE Energy. Lead sponsors
also included Lear Corporation,
Huntington Bank and Princeton
Enterprises. Greetings were pre-
sented by Detroit Mayor Mike
Duggan and Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer, both of whom were
grateful to be there in person.
A highlight each year is the
Yeshiva Boys Choir, a group of
talented middle school boys who
perform under the direction of
Rabbi Rocky Stewart and Rabbi
Dudi Kalish. After being intro-
duced by Sen. Gary Peters, the
boys choir dedicated one song
to Mary Barra and another in
honor of the First Lady.
A FEW SURPRISES
In a surprise presentation, dis-
tinguished community leader
and Dinner Chair Jim Grosfeld
announced the induction of
Mark Davidoff as the newest
Yeshiva Guardian, a cohort of
longstanding Yeshiva friends
and supporters. Mark received
the Yeshiva’s Outstanding
Leadership Award in 2018 and
has served as a Dinner chair
for the last three years. He was
commended for his dedication
to ensuring the success of the
Yeshiva Dinner year after year.
Another announcement was
the inauguration of the Yeshiva’s
boys educational complex, to
be named for philanthropist
Mickey Shapiro. Mickey’s rela-
tionship with the Yeshiva began
more than 70 years ago, when
he was enrolled in the Beth
Yehudah Preschool at age 4. The
child of Holocaust survivors,
Mickey’s generosity continues
to reinforce his belief that we
must never ever forget the past
and we must do everything
possible to strengthen and
guarantee our future. He called
the dedication of the Mickey
Shapiro Educational Complex
of the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah “a
dream come true.”
Torgow presented the
Yeshiva’s Outstanding
Leadership Award to Mary
Barra, Chair and CEO of
General Motors. Mary’s work
at GM emphasizes her commit-
ment to creating a better, more
sustainable and more inclusive
world for our children. Mary
expressed her joy at seeing so
many “from all cultures, reli-
gions and walks of life gather in
the city of our world headquar-
ters to support the education
of our future innovators, edu-
cators, physicians, leaders and
anything else they choose to
be.” She shared that her parents
and teachers encouraged her
love of learning and taught her
that “with hard work, I could
be and do anything I wanted.
It’s the very same message I
shared with the students when
I visited last month.”
Barra applauded the lead-
ership and supporters of the
Yeshiva. “You are modeling,
through example, the values
that will shape their character
and citizenship for the rest of
their lives. With your envi-
ronment of learning, encour-
agement and hope at Yeshiva,
you, too, are inspiring the next
generation of innovators and
leaders.”
The Yeshiva’s Dinner staff is already
hard at work preparing for next year’s
event. Mark your calendars for the
next Yeshiva Dinner, on Oct. 30,
2022.
TOP: The Yeshiva Boys Choir. ABOVE: Outstanding Leadership
Awardee Mary Barra. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah Annual Dinner.