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.