Meet our Honorees:

Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin, Rabbinic Leadership Award
Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin, founder and Chancellor, Ohr Torah Stone educational institutions, and Chief Rabbi of Efrat, has been a distinguished communal rabbi for 40 years and a major force in interpreting Torah and its values to thousands of adults and youth in Israel and the United States. He has been a supporter of the OU Israel Center since its inception.

Rabbi Riskin graduated summa cum laude from Yeshiva University and received his smicha from Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He has a master’s degree in Jewish History and received his Ph.D. from New York University’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literature.

As founding rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan, Rabbi Riskin created a focal point for a return to Orthodoxy for many young intellectuals and professionals and became a major spokesman for Modern Orthodoxy. In 1983, Rabbi Riskin left Manhattan and pioneered the settlement of Efrat.

Discussing making aliya in an article published by Ohr Torah Stone, Rabbi Riskin says: “On a conscious level, the Biblical commandment ‘And you shall inherit the land and dwell therein’ was the first motivating factor. But it was not only the formal command, which at least according to Nahmanides, applies to every Jew in every generation. It was also due to my perception that the State of Israel exultantly confirms the eternity of the Jewish people and demonstrates that our ancient prayer for the in gathering of exiles and the rebuilding of Jerusalem had not been uttered in vain. Moreover, I yearned to join in the most magnificent adventure of our people in 2,000 years. I could not escape the sense that after May 14, 1948 - whatever happens in the Diaspora to the Jewish people is at best a footnote to Jewish history, whereas in Israel we are meriting the chapter headings.”

The Ohr Torah Stone organization was also founded by Rabbi Riskin in 1983. Since then, OTS has grown into an all-encompassing educational network, ranging from junior high school to post-graduate programs, all united in their mission of training a new generation enlightened by a spirit of tolerance and social justice.

Rabbi Riskin’s innovative and creative ideology of an authentic Halachic Judaism that is inclusive of every Jew and sensitive to universal human concerns has made him an outstanding figure in Modern Orthodoxy and in demand as a speaker throughout the world.

Dudi Zilbershlag, Gemilut Chessed Award
David “Dudi” Zilbershlag, founder of Meir Panim, is a prominent businessman, respected public mediator and successful publisher of the independent Hareidi newspaper BaKehila. He is known for his far-ranging vision, magnetic personality and all-encompassing love for people. Throughout his career, Dudi Zilbershlag has advocated the importance of people with diverse levels of observance or backgrounds connecting, communicating and creating together. As an observant Jew, he has always been disturbed by the great split between the religious and secular camps in Israel, as well as the enormous gulf between rich and poor. He said to himself: “We are a nation of mitzvot involving action; let’s find something we can do together.” This ideology inspired him to launch a project creating a bridge of tolerance and understanding and generating a spirit of community among all Jews.

Meir Panim (“A Friendly Face”) was established in 2000 by Dudi and Rivka Zilbershlag in memory of two sons who passed away from a rare liver disease.

The organization provides daily, hot, nourishing meals to people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds, while maintaining dignity and sensitivity for those it serves. From a modest beginning of one soup kitchen in Jerusalem, Meir Panim today has 12 branches throughout Israel, feeding 250,000 people monthly, including 140,000 children. The service is provided by a wide variety of professionals and volunteers, including individuals from all walks of life in Israeli society – secular and religious, adults and youth, soldiers and students – reflecting Dudi Zilbershlag’s philosophy of all Jews working together. In Sderot, Meir Panim and the Israel Center cooperate to provide meals for participants in the Israel Center’s Makom Balev youth program. In addition to its chain of free restaurants, Meir Panim also operates six other projects, offering various types of assistance to the needy.

Dudi and Rivka Zilbershlag accepted G-d’s will and turned their grief into a purposeful mission. By making giving to others the focus of their lives, the Zilbershlags trusted that they would receive the healing and inner peace to help them carry on. Dudi Zilbershlag’s dream was not in vain. His endeavor was blessed with success: Meir Panim has given a new lease on life to thousands of people.

Phil Chernofsky - Keter Torah Award
Phil Chernofsky, Educational Director of the OU Israel Center, editor of Torah Tidbits - and considered by many the heart and soul of the Israel Center - made his first connection to Israel as an infant — his Shalom Zachor took place a few hours after the State was declared. Phil's connection to Eretz Yisrael thus established, it continued to be nurtured by his Religious-Zionist parents and his heavy involvement in Bnei Akiva, and a number of visits to Israel in his youth.

As madrich in Bnei Akiva in Crown Heights and Forest Hills, national advisor in NCSY, shul youth director of Adath Yeshurun in Kew Gardens and Young Israel of Queens Valley, teacher of Limudei Kodesh, math, science and computer at Yeshiva of Central Queens, and then Educational Director of the Israel Center, Phil has been sharing his love of Torah and worldly knowledge, the Jewish People and the Land of Israel with hundreds of students and colleagues for most of his life.

Coming on Aliya in 1981 with his wife, Toni (Feltscher), and two of their daughters (Miri and Aviva; the third one, Ora, is their native-born Israeli - as are their three grandchildren, K"Y), Phil immediately transferred his NCSY and teaching activities to his position at the OU Israel Center, where he continues to spread Torah via shiurim, Torah Tidbits, and his weekly internet broadcast - Torah Tidbits Audio - on Israel National Radio. Torah Tidbits began as a one-sheet flier in 1992 and is now a weekly publication ranging from 44-60 pages with a distribution of well over 10,000, via the hard copy, email version, and on the OU website.

Phil is proud of his role at the Israel Center and of the role the Center plays as a voice for Orthodoxy in Israel. Today the Israel Center is many things to many people, he notes: programs for youth, outreach, shiurim, tiyulim, Shabbatonim, Torah Tidbits, and more. But, through all the different programming, he says, the goal is always the same - "to strengthen the bond between the individual Jew and Torah, the Land of Israel and the Jewish People.

Phil has been at it for almost 24 years, and emphasizes - in his own words - "I haven't had a boring day yet." He traded junior high level formal teaching for informal adult education by coming on Aliya, but, as he puts it: "It's all the same - sharing Torah with others, to stimulate their minds and to excite their hearts to greater love of G-d, His Torah, His People and His Land".

Perel Joseph-Azaria - Eishet Chayil Award
In 1997, Perel Joseph-Azaria fulfilled a longtime dream that she and her first husband, Dr. Maurice E. Joseph had shared - to make Aliya after retirement. Maurice Joseph's health problems prevented them from doing so, but several years after he passed away, Perel came on her own.

Perel, born and raised in the Bronx, received her undergraduate degree from Queens College in New York and her master's degree in audiology from the University of Pittsburgh. She taught deaf and hard-of-hearing children in St. Louis, New Orleans and Gainesville, Florida, before moving to Chicago. There her husband, whom she had married while they were both graduate students, became director of the Speech and Hearing Clinic at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. Perel was hired to computerize hearing tests at the Medical Center, where eventually she developed patient care systems and became assistant director of computer systems.

In 1989, after 25 years in Chicago, Perel and Maurice moved to New Haven, Connecticut, where Perel became manager of technical services and patient care systems at Yale-New Haven Hospital. In 1993, Perel retired and the couple moved to Tucson, Arizona; six months later Maurice died.

Beginning in 1994, Perel made several trips to Israel on her own. In 1997, she made Aliya. In 1998, she met and married Rabbi Yisrael Alexander Azaria.
The Israel Center has been a second home for Perel for many years: She and Maurice attended lectures on Straus Street in the 1980s, and after making Aliya, she became a regular volunteer, a dedicated Torah Tidbits "folder" and a student at many shiurim and ulpan classes.

After the Center moved to its new building on Keren Hayesod, Perel endowed the Dr. Maurice E. Joseph Jewish Video Resource Center, perpetuating her first husband's memory with some of his interests - libraries, learning and Torah study. Through Perel's generosity, many Israel Center participants enjoy "lunch and learn" sessions by watching Torah-study videos in the library.

Today Perel continues to be a dedicated volunteer and supporter of the Israel Center - her "home away from home." Living in Israel is the fulfillment of a long-time dream: "I love living here," she says.