Celebrating Torah Leadership, Mesorah and Community
For more than 140 years, Yeshiva University has fulfilled the charge of L’hagdil Torah
u’L’ha’adira—educating young men in the values of Torah – affirming a legacy that continues from generation to generation.
On Monday, March 16, Roshei Yeshiva, rebbeim, alumni and supporters will gather at Marina Del Rey in the Bronx for the Annual Yeshiva Dinner, an evening devoted to rabbinic leadership, mesorah, community and the enduring strength of the Yeshiva. The dinner is a moment of hakaras hatov, honoring Elliot Gibber, Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger and Rabbi Dovid Miller along with the alumni of the RIETS Israel Kollel.
“Our Yeshiva is the premier institution for Torah scholarship, home to the greatest Roshei Yeshiva and rabbinic minds of our time,” said Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, Rosh Yeshiva and President of Yeshiva University. “The depth of learning in the yeshiva’s batei medrash, the caliber of our educators and the impact of our talmidim are unparalleled. This dinner is an occasion to gather as a community, honor our exceptional students and strengthen the foundation of Torah leadership.”
Honoring Those Who Strengthen Torah
This year’s dinner will recognize individuals whose lives exemplify devotion to Torah and communal responsibility. Elliot Gibber, Vice Chair of the YU Board of Trustees and Trustee of RIETS, will serve as Guest of Honor and receive the Eitz Chaim Award, the highest honor RIETS awards to lay leadership. A longstanding supporter of Torah institutions, he has helped advance the Yeshiva’s mission of enduring study and lived practice of Torah.
“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, an institution that has meant so much to me for so many years,” said Gibber. “RIETS and Yeshiva University represent the highest ideals of Torah learning alongside academic excellence, preparing leaders who are deeply rooted in our mesorah and equipped to engage the world with integrity and responsibility. I am deeply grateful to be part of a Yeshiva that shapes Jewish life in such a profound way.”
The Amud HaTorah v’HaMesorah Award will be presented to Rabbi Neuburger, the I. Meier and Henrietta Segals Chair in Talmud. For decades, Rabbi Neuburger has guided countless talmidim with intellectual and spiritual rigor and clarity of thought and strengthened the fabric of rabbinic leadership in the community. His influence is evident in the students who continue to live, embody and transmit his Torah in their families and communities.
The Torat Tzion Award will be presented to Rabbi Miller, the Benjamin and Charlotte Gottesfeld Chair in Talmud and Rosh Kollel of the RIETS Israel Kollel, together with the alumni of that kollel. Through their years of learning in Eretz Yisrael and their ongoing service to the Jewish people, they embody the enduring bond between RIETS and Torah life in Israel.
“At the Yeshiva, we believe that leadership is formed through deep learning, lived commitment and responsibility to Klal Yisrael,” said Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz, Abraham Arbesfeld Torah Dean of RIETS. “The RIETS Israel Kollel gives our talmidim the opportunity to immerse themselves in Torah in Eretz Yisrael, equipping them with the knowledge that will guide their service to Jewish communities around the world.”
A Beis Medrash at the Center
At the heart of the Yeshiva stands its undergraduate Torah studies, Semichah program and kollelim, where future baale batim and rabbanim devote themselves to rigorous Torah study under the guidance of our Roshei Yeshiva. With a resounding Kol Torah talmidim are trained not only to master Torah knowledge but to process life’s situation through the prism of Torah wisdom.
A Living Mesorah
The Annual RIETS Gala affirms the chain of Torah transmission—from rebbe to talmid, from generation to generation—while offering the broader community a meaningful way to express hakaras hatov and help ensure that the Yeshiva continues to flourish.
A panel discussion will open the event with Rabbi Dovid Miller, together with RIETS musmachim and kollel alumni Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky and Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, who will reflect on the obligations of spiritual leadership in a rapidly changing world. The program will feature addresses from Rabbi Ari Berman and Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger.
Through its Roshei Yeshiva, faculty and talmidim, the Yeshiva remains devoted to serving Klal Yisrael with depth, integrity and dedication to avodas Hashem.
To attend or support The Yeshiva Dinner, visit yu.edu/yeshivadinner or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
