On Tuesday, June 23, the West Coast Region of the Orthodox Union will hold its Annual Awards Banquet celebrating two 40th anniversaries: that of the Orthodox Union’s West Coast Region and of West Coast NCSY. In addition, one of the synagogues most responsible for the success and growth of the Region, Beth Jacob Congregation of Beverly Hills, will also be honored at the Banquet.
The event will be held in Sephardic Temple in Beverly Hills, 10500 Wilshire Boulevard, Westwood. The dinner will begin at 5:45 p.m. with an international buffet and sushi bar, followed by the program at 7:30 p.m. and a Viennese table at 8:45 p.m.
Rabbi Steven Weil will be present in two capacities: as the outgoing Senior Rabbi of Beth Jacob Congregation and the incoming Executive Vice President of the OU, where he officially begins his tenure on July 1. Rabbi Steven Burg, International Director of NCSY, will also attend the dinner and present the NCSY Leadership Award to Devorah and Yanky Lunger, Directors of the Valley chapter of West Coast NCSY. The Lungers served under Rabbi Burg when he was based in Los Angeles, before his current position at OU headquarters in New York.
Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, OU West Coast Director, declared, “We are celebrating a milestone event in the history of the OU and NCSY on the West Coast. In celebrating the establishment of NCSY’s presence in 1969, we are paying homage to the past, present, and future of the organization. We are honoring the Region’s founders, both those who have passed away and those who are still vibrant leaders in our community today; acknowledging the teens who took an active role in leading NCSY and who are now adults and communal leaders; and Devorah and Yanky Lunger, who can serve to represent both the present and the future of NCSY.”
Rabbi Kalinsky continued, “It’s appropriate that Rabbi Weil will be speaking in the first official capacity for the OU on the West Coast at the Banquet, as he served at Beth Jacob Congregation for nine years before his current position at the OU. I’m glad that we can acknowledge Beth Jacob along with NCSY, as NCSY’s offices were housed at the synagogue for many years. Beth Jacob has been a stalwart congregation, always supporting the OU and NCSY, and thankfully, other synagogues in Los Angeles in particular and throughout the Region have followed its exemplary lead to be involved in the support of the OU.”
Rabbi Burg declared, “This event serves as a tribute to the constancy, growth, and vitality of Jewish life and the Orthodox Union along the West Coast. We all owe a great deal to the visionaries who first established the OU and NCSY there, and have seen that the organization has thrived over the last forty years. Beth Jacob Congregation is an example of another model institution that has served as a beacon of innovation, Talmud Torah (Torah study), and inspiration, particularly under the guidance of Rabbi Steven Weil.”
Among the honorees of the night’s event include the founders of the OU. They are: Sigi a”h and Jean Bardach; Max and Sandy Candiotty; Sanford and Beverly Deutsch; David and Pnina Dror; Emil and Jenny Fish; Dr. Jerry and Jean Friedman; Jack a”h and Rachel Gindi; Ernie and Regina Goldberger; Rabbi Marvin and Malka Hier; Rabbi Reuven and Miriam Huttler; Robert and Annie Ives; Leon and Harriet Katz; Earl and Dorothy Korchak; Sam and Bertie Krieger; Rabbi Maurice and Shirley Lamm; Martin and Elizabeth Nachimson; Jack and Gitta Nagel; Joseph and Adina a”h Russak; Lee and Anne Samson; Sam and Estelle a”h Samson; David and Fela Shapell; and Manny a”h and June Stern.
A tribute journal will be distributed at the event. Journal ad categories range in price from $50,000 (Master Builder) to $150. Those who contribute $600 or more are entitled to two dinner reservations and a journal ad.
For more information, contact 310-229-9000 or Westcoast@ou.org.