Nine Chuppahs in New Jersey

Bris Avrohom, headquartered in Hillside, NJ, recently celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a dinner, held in the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel. The Guests of Honor were Simon and Lina Garber, of Colts Neck, NJ, who have been involved with the organization for over 28 years.

The dinner was preceded by Bris Avrohom’s 24th Annual Gala Weddings, in which nine couples from the Former Soviet Union were married according to Jewish tradition. The parking lot of the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel was filled with the nine chupahs and each couple’s family and friends, who came to participate in this important milestone in their lives. Rabbi Mordechai and Mrs. Shterney Kanelsky, Executive and Associate Directors of Bris Avrohom, prepared each couple for marriage and presented them with gifts following the ceremonies.

At the dinner which followed, supporters of Bris Avrohom gathered to reminisce about the many accomplishments of this organization over the past thirty years. A video presentation was shown, which highlighted the most remarkable accomplishments, such as their four primary centers in Hillside, Fair Lawn, Old Bridge and Jersey City, the educational programs for young and old at each of the locations, the Bat Sheva~Chaya Esther Mikvah in Hillside, the Fair Lawn Jewish Day Camp, the annual holiday events, hundreds of Bar Mitzvahs and thousands of Brissin performed over the past thirty years.

With the Board of Directors looking on, Guests of Honor Simon and Lina Garber spoke about their love for Rabbi and Mrs. Kanelsky and their maturation from youngsters raised in a rigid Russian society to the Jewish family they have become. Now, they both explained, Judaism is a central part of their lives, and the lives of their five beautiful children. In thanks, they have made it a practice to give back to Bris Avrohom, so that others who have not yet accomplished what they have can have the extra assistance they need. They encouraged the over 300 dinner guests to each do the same.