From the moment you walked in, you knew this was going to be a special evening! It was moving, inspiring and tasty all at once. If you missed our Annual Dinner honoring Rabbi Eliyahu Weisman (’98), Daniel Weisman (’98) and Ari Weisman (’02) – don’t fret – you can experience the camaraderie, the excitement, the deep emotions and the kiddush Hashem, right here, right now (and as often as you like) at this Dinner In Review Page.
If you want a quick recap of the evening, you can watch the highlight reel below (don’t forget to keep on scrolling down so you don’t miss anything important).
This Dinner was different. It was scaled back in size. But improved in every way. Our new venue, The Taglyan Complex, received rave reviews from all our guests. It was a little bit of heaven in the middle of Hollywood. Nir from La Gondola hit a home run, and you knew it as soon as you saw the reception. From the freshest sushi, to the selection of meats topped with his delicious Bourbon Bacon Jam.
We are so pleased that well over 220 of our closest friends joined with us to celebrate our honorees, and to support the students of Valley Torah High School.
Promptly, at a few minutes before 7:00 the doors opened to the ballroom. The decor, the lighting, all exquisite!
The salad course was waiting at our table. The efficient wait staff promptly removed our salad and served the prime rib of beef (this is where virtual reality leaves something to be desired – I’m afraid you can’t taste just how delicious that steak was!) Just as we put down our forks… the wait staff magically appeared and removed our plates.
The program started off with a fast-paced overview of some of last-year’s accomplishments
Our MC for the evening was Mr. Lou Shapiro (’98). Lou is an alumnus of Valley Torah and grew up together with our honorees.
Lou warmed up the crowd with a few jokes and then introduced a video that told the story of two current students. Both joined Valley Torah from public school – but are now flourishing in our Torah environment.
After watching the video, everyone wiped away a few tears from their eyes and Lou introduced someone famous: Saul Blinkoff. Saul is an animator and film producer. He speaks frequently about how his religious life interfaces with the modern world. Saul introduced the crowd to our ALIVE and SHIFT programs and explained how they give our students the choice to avoid the pitfalls of social media. Watch a bit of his presentation below.
We were then treated by a musical performance by our own Talya Golestanipour (class of ’27) on the piano. Talya was accompanied by her father, Behzad, on the violin.
Next, Rabbi Stulberger was called to the stage where he introduced the Honorees Video. This presentation highlighted each of our honorees and their accomplishments. After the video, Eliyahu, Daniel and Ari were presented with their awards. Eliyahu represented his brothers and thanked the school and its supporters.
Lou returned to the podium and concluded the program. Dessert was served (choice of bread pudding or rice pudding) and everyone left inspired and with a strong feeling of unity with our community, the entire Jewish Nation and the Power That Endures. Here are some more pictures of the evening (you can see even more pictures at the VTHS.org Dinner 2025 picture gallery post).
