Riverdale’s ‘The Bayit’ celebrates 50th dinner

The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale drew 400 attendees to its 50th annual dinner on June 14, honoring two couples and featuring a video showcasing five generations of shul members.

Senior Rabbi Steven Exler called the gathering “an opportunity to say ‘wow, what have we accomplished in 50 years [and] where do we want to go from here’?”

HIR, a Modern Orthodox congregation founded by Rabbi Avi Weiss, is affectionately known as The Bayit.

Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe said the dinner was an opportunity to recognize the shul’s values which, according to its mission statement, is to warmly embrace “all Jews” in “a place of love and welcome.”

The Guest of Honor Award was presented to Rabba Sara Hurwitz and her husband Josh Abraham in recognition of Rabba Sara’s retirement from 23 years of clergy service. Rabba Sara was the first publicly ordained female Orthodox rabbi — in 2009 — and is stepping down to fully focus her efforts on Yeshivat Maharat.

Maharat, an institution that ordains women within Modern Orthodoxy, was founded by Rabba Sara and Rabbi Weiss in 2009. What began with three students has grown significantly over its 17 years, graduating 107 women and currently enrolling 50.

The students’ goal, after four years learning Talmud, halacha and pastoral training, is to receive smicha.

Rabbanit Bracha observed that Rabba Sara “created opportunities that never existed before.”

“Young girls can imagine and grow up with what it means to have Orthodox feminine leadership,” she said.

Rabba Sara told The Jewish Star that Maharat, located in the HIR building on Henry Hudson Parkway, “is a flourishing institution and [we’re] very proud of what we’ve grown.”

She said that “my arm was twisted” before agreeing to accept the Bayit’s honor, but she realized that it was “important for me and for the community … to have an opportunity for them to share gratitude.”

“Even though I’m stepping back from my role I’m not stepping back from being present in the community,” she said.

The Community Service Award was presented to Tobey Linhart and Yonah Goldschmidt, honored for their deep involvement in the shul over the past seven years. Whether delivering chicken soup and challah on Friday afternoons, creating a women’s megillah reading, or organizing athletic activities to bring the community together, the couple has been instrumental in “building the social community,” Rabbi Exler said.

As the family prepares to move to Israel this August, the dinner served as a formal goodbye.

Yonah explained how honored he felt to be surrounded by his community and family, while Tobey described the evening as “totally surreal and very overwhelming.”

“It was such an honor to speak about our time there.”

She also shared that “the most meaningful moment for me at the dinner was having my kids sing in front of the community,” noting that the HIR is a very family forward community.”

Tobey joked that “HIR is notorious for having bad kiddush … but the dinner [catered by Ephi’s Catering] is the one time a year where there’s excellent food so we really liked that.”

Rabbanit Bracha said that volunteers packaged the leftovers and donated them to the Friendly Fridge, a gesture that, she noted, “really aligns with our values.”

Leora Mahler, who is entering her junior year at SAR, is an intern at The Jewish Star.