Recently, Congregation Shaare Shalom held their 10th anniversary dinner in honor of Rabbi Joseph Dweck, in the elegant hall of the Sephardic Lebanese Congregation. Members of the synagogue and other well-wishers from the community filled the room, excited to be there to show respect for Rabbi Dweck and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Shaare Shalom.
The congregation was established 10 years ago as a small minyan in a house. As soon as young Rabbi Dweck became hazan, it began to grow. Torah classes immediately followed and the youth minyan was formed.
Through the years, and under the guidance of Rabbi Dweck, that small congregation has expanded to accommodate more than 700 people in two joint buildings. Every Shabbat there are three minyanim, one for the adults, the youth minyan (which thrives under the leadership of of Rabbi Avraham Ben Hamu the associate rabbi of the congregation) and one for the children.
Due to the success of Shaare Shalom, many young couples have moved to the Madison area to pray and benefit from Rabbi Dweck’s teaching. Over the years, the congregants have become a large, happy family.
The 10th anniversary dinner was an exciting, happy occasion with delicious food provided by Zami Caterers. Morris Manopla, committee member and emcee of the event, introduced the speakers. In between speeches, there was a video playing on a big screen, showing the history of the synagogue and private messages for Rabbi Dweck, from community members.
Rabbi Shimon Alouf, the first speaker, had wonderful things to say about Rabbi Dweck. “He is a dedicated, rabbi, teacher and family man who had the merit to study in an excellent yeshivah in Jerusalem under the supervision of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Mazal Tov to Rabbi Dweck and to the members of Shaare Shalom. He has made sacrifices for peace, loves the people and brings them closer to Torah,” Rabbi Alouf said fondly.
The second speaker was Ricky Cohen, who praised Rabbi Dweck on the excellent job he does as associate principal at Barkai Yeshivah. “Rabbi Dweck’s success is from his ability to motivate people and build the community from simhat lev,” he said. “May his contributions be eternal to our community.”
Then the president of the synagogue, Joseph Torgueman, gave a heartwarming and emotional speech. “Through Rabbi Dweck’s dedication, Congregation Shaare Shalom went from being simply a minyan to the center of Torah for our community. He always works hard, teaching classes almost every night, three times a week in the morning, preparing speeches for Shabbat, and of course hazaning for us every week. In addition, Rabbi Dweck teaches at The Allegra Franco College, is Rosh Yeshiva of Barkai, and as a side hobby, he wrote a book for our community on Berachot. He is a talented, hard working, intelligent and sympathetic leader of our congregation. I feel blessed to have an advisor, a partner, and most of all a friend so dear and special to me,” concluded Mr. Torgueman.
Rabbi Ben Hamu presented Rabbi Dweck with a plaque, then Rabbi Dweck spoke, thanking the people in his life, the teachers, his family and congregants, who have brought him to his recent accomplishments.
The evening could not have been possible without the dedicated committee members, who in a short amount of time, put together a beautiful and memorable event. Many thanks to Mark Greenberg for taking photos and making the wonderful video.
