NATIONAL
JEWISH OUTREACH PROGRAM
Rabbi Buchwald’s Vision
Makes Life Easier for Everyone
HOLOCAUST
survivor and Jewish activist Sam Domb knows how to preserve
his heritage. When the real estate mogul dedicated his house in the
Hamptons last summer, one his guests asked him about his involvement
with the National Jewish Outreach Program (NJOP).
Sam explained how Rabbi Ephraim
Buchwald founded the organization with a mission to reach out to
unaffiliated Jews, helping them reconnect to their tradition.
His friend wrote a check
for $10,000 to NJOP.
It was surprising that the
man was a native of India named Sant Singh Chatwal who
operates a string of hotels in the Times Square vicinity.
It was not surprising that
at the seventh annual NJOP dinner at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria,
Chatwal was one of the honored guests. Unfortunately, he had to fly
back India where the earthquake took its toll on his family – his
mother was in a coma.
His son, Vikram Chatwal,
accepted in behalf of his father and noted that it’s not
surprising that his father should be recognized by NJOP.
“There are lots of
similarities between Jews and Sikhs,” he said. “We both cover
our heads, love and respect God, seek work and nurture family.”
For the second year in a
row, Domb served as emcee.
It’s funny, as Rabbi
Buchwald pointed out, that every year the rabbi gets less hair while
Domb gets more hair.
Karen Lehmann-Eisner,
a dinner co-chair, relished the chance to speak from the dais:
“This is the only time my children can hear me speak and not
answer back.”
Rabbi Buchwald also honored
Beth and Joshua Schwartz and Jill and Rabbi Mark
Wildes of Manhattan Jewish Experience.
“My
grandparents came here from Germany in the 1840s,” Beth Schwartz
said. “They became Episcopalians. But my mother searched to marry
only a Jew. If she had NJOP, her quest would have been easier.”
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