HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD CONGRESS OF BUKHARIAN JEWS
Dear Lev Avnerovich Leviev, The Bukharian Jewish community of the United States warmly congratulates you on your 70th birthday. As a renowned international businessman, distinguished philanthropist, founder and longtime president of the World Congress of Bukharian Jews, and president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, you have reached a milestone that the Torah itself regards as a special gift from the Almighty.
Jewish tradition teaches that «The world stands on three things: Torah, the service of G-d, and acts of kindness.»
Your life has become a powerful affirmation of this timeless teaching. You have united deep faith, extraordinary vision as a builder and leader, and an unwavering sense of responsibility toward others.
In 1991, in New York, you received the blessing of the great teacher, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, after seeking his personal blessing for both your business endeavors and your ambitious efforts to revive Jewish life throughout the former Soviet Union.
You have often said that this blessing became your spiritual foundation—an inexhaustible source of inspiration that opened an entirely new chapter in your life.
With profound gratitude to the Almighty, you have always viewed your success not simply as a personal achievement, but first and foremost as an opportunity to serve others and increase acts of kindness.
After building a successful business, you did not allow it to become merely a source of personal prosperity. Instead, you transformed your achievements into a vehicle for fulfilling a higher mission: advancing Jewish education, strengthening Jewish identity, and investing in the next generation.
That mission has touched Jewish communities throughout Israel, the United States, Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Austria, Canada, and beyond.
Whenever you arrive in New York, it has become your cherished tradition to travel directly from the airport to the Ohel Chabad-Lubavitch in Queens to visit the resting place of your revered teacher, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
You have often acknowledged the Rebbe’s defining influence on your life, explaining that the blessing you received from him helped shape the course of your future.
Indeed, no visit to New York feels complete without paying your respects at the Ohel.
Thanks to your generous philanthropy and selfless support over many decades, the renowned Queens Gymnasia continues to flourish, providing Jewish children not only with an outstanding education but also with a deep love for Torah, Jewish tradition, and their people.
Your unwavering conviction that the greatest investments are those made in education, spirituality, character, and the future of Jewish youth has proven both wise and visionary. Thousands of Jewish families remain deeply grateful for your ability to recognize what truly matters amid life’s endless challenges and distractions.
Your remarkable ability to look ahead and your thoughtful, farsighted leadership have consistently borne extraordinary fruit.
No great achievement comes without hardship. Throughout your life, you have faced trials, obstacles, difficult decisions, and painful losses. Time and again, you have been called upon to make choices that others neither understood nor accepted. Yet you continued to walk the most difficult path with confidence and conviction, always seeking to guide your people toward the right direction.
The Almighty has also blessed you with a beautiful and loving family.
Your devoted wife, Olga, your nine children, and your many grandchildren are not only your greatest joy and pride. They are living testimony that the values you have embraced throughout your life have been passed on to future generations—and will continue to endure for many years to come.
Throughout the Jewish world, you are known as a successful businessman, an exceptional organizer, an inspiring speaker, and a man of remarkable charisma and personal grace.
Yet above all these gifts bestowed upon you by the Almighty stands your sincere commitment to living according to the Torah and sanctifying G-d’s Name through your actions.
Through the example of your life, you have shown that true happiness is found only through faith and spiritual purpose.
May the Almighty continue to bless you with good health, inner peace, the love of your family and those closest to you, many more years of abundance, and the continued opportunity to bring goodness into the world.
With profound gratitude and deepest respect for your inspiring life’s work,
The Bukharian Jewish Community of the United States
