BACKGROUND
SPEND A
SEMESTER IN ISRAEL
WITH PROJECT DISCOVERY
The High School Program
In Israel
". . . The opportunities students have for
experiencing life in other cultures is very
important in the International World Today.
Project discovery expands these oppor-
tunities for Michigan Students and is a
valuable resource to the State Educational
System. Students who participate will
benefit from an International Experience
and be able to continue their High School
Education at the same time. I encourage
parents to consider this fine program as
you plan a good education program with
your student."
Sincerely,
Donald L. Bemis
Superintendant of Public Instruction
State of Michigan Department of Education
• Live and study at an American-accredited
High School February-June 1989
• Study in English including preparation for
S.A.T. as well as Hebrew, Judaica, History
Cost of program: $2,000
Registration $25.00
Subsidized by Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit
Affiliated with Youth Aliyah Project Discovery
Co-Sponsors: Jewish Welfare Federatino of Detroit, United Hebrew Schools
ANDREW P. SOFEN, D.D.S.
is pleased to announce
his joining
!SALLY'S DESIGNS'
RONALD D. BERRIS, D.D.S., P.C.
CHANUKAH!
CHANUKAH!
CHANUKAH!
Is
DEC. 4th!
in the practice of
GENERAL DENTISTRY FOR CHILDREN
AND ADULTS
6400 Farmington Road
(North of Maple)
West Bloomfield,
661-4000
38
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1988
Ml
29657 Orchard Lake Road
(Inside Antonio's Salon
near 13 Mile Rd.)
Farmington Hills, Michigan
(313) 626-0886
BOUTIQUE
Rabbi Michael Melchior, trained in Israel with the help of the Memorial Foun-
dation for Jewish Culture and the Oslo Jewish Community, helps little girl
in lighting Shabbat candles and saying the blessings. Rabbi Melchior has
revitalized Jewish life in Oslo, which had been without a rabbi for more than
20 years.
Isolated Norwegian Jews
Recover From Holocaust
The story is a dramatic
one, of how an isolated Euro-
pean Jewish community,
without a rabbi for more than
20 years, bounced back from
the Holocaust with the aid of
the Memorial Foundation for
Jewish Culture. From 1958 to
1980, Oslo, Norway, func-
tioned without a rabbi. It fell
upon Michael Melchior, the
eldest son of a Danish family
counting six generations of
rabbis, to rekindle Jewish life
in one of world Jewry's
loneliest outposts.
Trained in Israel with the
help of the Foundation and
the Oslo community, Rabbi
Melchior opened the first
kindergarten in Oslo since
the Holocaust and revitalized
the afternoon schools, which
teach children from 7 through
13. In 1979, there were 39
children receiving religious
instruction at the Jewish
Community Center in Oslo.
The number for 1985 is 68.
Rabbi Melchior has reac-
tivated the youth groups.
Teenagers study Jewish
history, Zionism and re-
ligious texts. More than 80
percent of all Jewish youth
are now being reached.
Herman Kahan, Vice Presi-
dent of the Oslo Jewish Com-
munity, describes one way in
which Rabbi Melchior works
with children: "Expectant
faces wait every Friday for
the weekly appearance of
`Michael,' as they call him.
One week, he appears as a
pirate; the next, an expectant
mother. His imaginative
disguises inspire the children
to listen to his words and ap-
preciate Shabbat as some-
thing very special. And
special it is for the children
who bake challah, say kid-
dush and light the Shabbat
candles every week. Basic
elements of Hebrew are
taught in the Jewish kinder-
garten; and every 17th of
may, the Norwegian national
holiday, the children march
under their own banner in a
children's parade."
Through the children's
choir that Rabbi Melchior in-
itiated, he has also brought
new life and increased atten-
dance at the synagogue,
bringing into the synagogue's
orbit much of the commun-
ity's youth and many young
couples as well.
Adult education has also
been a focus of Rabbi Mel-
chior. A large number of
workshops have been organ-
ized under his leadership with
Rabbi Melchior has
reactrivated the
youth groups.
Teenagers study
Jewish history,
Zionism and
religious texts.
More than 80
percent of all
Jewish youth are
being reached.
study groups in Pirkey Avot,
Jewish thought, and Jewish
Holidays. Rabbi Melchior's
wife, Hannah, has taught
classes for potential converts.
Rabbi Melchior was in-
strumental in establishing
the "Kosher Food Center," a
grocery which at the time of
its opening in November
1981 had the largest selection
of kosher foods in Europe.
Since 1982, the Kosher
Food Center has provided
food amounting to $30,000
each year to the Jews in
Poland. This enterprise has
come about thanks to an