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Chabad of Springfield Celebrates 10 Years With Gala Dinner

Springfield’s Jewish community marked a decade of growth and activity with a celebratory gala honoring the 10th anniversary of the Chabad Jewish Center of Springfield. The event brought together approximately 150 guests for an evening highlighting the community’s achievements and recognizing those who helped build Jewish life in the city over the past ten years • Read More, Photos

Approximately 150 community members and guests gathered at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for a gala dinner marking the 10th anniversary of the Chabad Jewish Center of Springfield, celebrating a decade of Jewish life, education, community programming and growth.

The evening began with a cocktail hour followed by a formal dinner, with kosher catering brought in from Chicago. Amy McDaniels served as master of ceremonies.

Rabbi Eli Turen of Chicago and Rabbi Pesach Scheiner of Boulder opened the program with a prayer, followed by a video featuring the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraging people to continually seek opportunities to increase in goodness and positive action.

Rabbi Gershon Avtzon of Cincinnati, a longtime friend and mentor to the Turen family, addressed the gathering and spoke about the importance and impact of Chabad’s work in Springfield.

A special portion of the evening honored 10 individuals and families as the “10 Pillars,” with each representing one of Chabad’s 10 years in Springfield and the community support that helped make its growth possible.

The evening also featured live music by Shalom Lebowitz, who traveled from Florida for the celebration and entertained the guests with guitar, song and spirited Jewish music.

Two special awards were presented during the gala. Rabbi Rob and Lauren Thomas received the Chesed Award, recognizing their exceptional commitment to kindness and helping others. They were presented with a silver menorah symbolizing the light they bring to the community through their acts of Chesed.

Barry and Barbara Seidman received the Dor L’Dor Award, recognizing their longstanding involvement in Springfield’s Jewish community and their efforts to pass Jewish identity, values and pride on to the next generation. A surprise video featuring their three children sharing reflections on the Jewish values instilled in them added an emotional touch to the presentation, which concluded with the presentation of a Tree of Life artwork symbolizing continuity between generations.

The gala also featured the premiere of a short documentary produced for the occasion chronicling the history of Springfield’s Jewish community. The film honored previous generations while highlighting the community’s present and future.

Rabbi Mendy Turen delivered the concluding address, thanking the honorees and community members who helped Chabad reach its 10-year milestone and expressing his optimism for the continued growth of Jewish life in Springfield.

The celebration marked a decade of Chabad’s presence in Springfield while looking ahead to the next chapter of Jewish education, community building, kindness and growth for generations to come.