This past Motzaei Shabbos the Young Israel of Long Beach held the Annual Robert Chiger Scholarship Concert featuring Avraham Fried. Despite the weather, which created a degree of uncertainty, the concert took place in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

In years past, the concert, dedicated to the memory of Robert Chiger, was designed to raise funds for yeshiva and summer camp scholarships. This year’s concert, however, was dedicated to the volunteers and benefactors who so valiantly assisted the Long Beach community during the horrific period following Superstorm Sandy. Invitations were sent to these wonderful individuals to attend as guests of the community. Many volunteers from all over the general metropolitan area attended the concert.

Rabbi Dr. Chaim Wakslak, mara d’asra of the YILB, expressed heartfelt expressions of hakaras ha’tov during the course of the concert. He mentioned several outstanding benefactors:

Rivka and Yehuda Bohan, the Teaneck community, the Maimonides School from Boston, the West Hempstead community, the Edison community, the Passaic community, and the National Council of Young Israel.

Chaim Leibtag, Binny Maryles of the Orthodox Union, UJA, Met Council, Red Cross, Achiezer, the Bergenfield community, the West Side and East Side NYC communities, Chabad, Congregation Orach Chaim, the New Rochelle community, the Monsey community, the Queens community, Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, Schick Caterers, Presser’s Bakery, Tyberg Caterers, Ram Caterers, Pizza World, Alan Sokol, Rabbi Avrohom Kahn, Lisa Gaon, COJO of Flatbush, COJO of the West Side, Zev Brenner, and Rabbi Sokolof of Kew Gardens.

Rabbi Wakslak acknowledged the many individual donors and synagogues that came forward and contributed to the emergency YILB Charity Fund.

The concert ended with the singing and dancing of Yachad. This followed Rabbi Wakslak’s observation of how the Long Beach community has come together as never before–working in unison under the banner of JCAP, an organization formed to coordinate the needs of the community and to present a unified voice in seeking the desperately needed assistance.

An elaborate meleveh malkah was served with delicacies donated by Yanky Brach of Brach’s supermarket. Yanky Brach has been an amazing supporter to the community from the time of the initial storm until the present. v

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