I Love A Parade

'Archie wears tefillin and Superman
encourages Jews to study Torah.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSISTANT EDITOR

ven the birth of a
new baby couldn't
keep Rabbi Meilech
Silberberg away from
this parade.
Rabbi Silberberg, of
Bais Chabad of West
Bloomfield, came directly
to last Sunday's Lag
) B'Omer parade two hours
after his wife gave birth to
a baby boy. (Chabad was
an organizer of the event,
which was sponsored by
Friends of Refugees of
Eastern Europe.) He was
one of more than 500 par-

Esther Klein shows daddy Jeff
the parade.

ticipants — most of whom
• came under less dramatic
circumstances — who
joined the parade at the
• Charlotte Rothstein Park,
• followed by a Jewish
Heritage Expo at the
Jewish Community Cen-
ter.
Multicolored balloons
decorated trees in the park
as the crowd gathered for
the parade. Patticake the

clown carried a wagon,
labeled "Monkey Busi-
ness," filled with toy mon-
keys. Garbed in a rainbow-
colored wig, another clown
rode a bicycle built for two.
Chabad representatives
encouraged men to put on
tefillin, while men, women
and children of all ages
carried signs that read
"Love Your Fellow Jew"
and "Pitch In (and give
tzedakah): Every Little Bit_
Counts." One woman coun-
tered the sun by creating a
makeshift hat out of a
Russian newspaper.
Following a rousing cho-
rus of "We Want Moshiach
Now," the parade contin-
gent began at about 2:15
p.m. Among the partici-
pants were representa-
tives of Jewish
Experiences For Families
and Russian veterans from
World War II, some of
whom were in full military
regalia.
The parade walked the
full length of the park.
Signs along the way
showed comic-strip charac-
ters doing their part for
Jewish tradition. Archie
wore tefillin. Olive Oyl lit
Shabbat candles. Super-
man urged children to
study Torah.
Following the parade,
the crowd poured into the
JCC for an exhibit on
Jewish holidays and
mitzvot. Children made
paper dreidels and challah
for Shabbat, and, despite
the mob, just about every-
one found his way to an
exhibit offering free noodle
kugel.
The gym was turned
into a large game board,
where children learned the
mitzvot and were encour-
aged to perform good
deeds themselves.
Hinda Zaklos, 8, pledged
to give tzedakah. Six-year-
old Dovid Silver was just
getting started on learning
about mitzvot at the pro-
gram. So far, he said, the
best part of the day was
"playing the games." ❑

Patticake the clown gives a balloon animal to Alexandra Edelstein.

Independence Day
Climaxes With Walk

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

or the first time in
her life, West
Bloomfield resident
Charlotte Tessler
will participate in the 3.5
mile Walk For Israel, part
of the Detroit Jewish com-
munity's celebration of
Israel's Independence Day
and 45th anniversary.
"I've always supported
Israel, but in other ways,"
she said. "The walk was
something that never
caught my interest before,
and I've never been much
of a walker."
But upon her return
home last month from the
Michigan Miracle Mission,
Mrs. Tessler changed her
mind. She looks forward
to reuniting with fellow

Mission-aires and nurtur-
ing the unity she says the
trip fostered among
Detroiters.
If the weather is a
repeat of last week's sun-
shine, a total of 8,000
walkers will likely show
up, according to Ken
Korotkin, co-chair of the
Walk with Dr. Steve
Grant. Last year's walk,
held on Mother's Day,
drew 5,500.
The walk will begin at
11:30 a.m. from the Maple
Road entrance of the JCC.
It will differ from those in
years past because the
procession will take a cir-
cular route: east on Maple
Road, north through the
Royal Pointe subdivision

to Temple Israel and
south on Drake Road to
the JCC. In years past,
walkers traveled back and
forth along Drake and
Walnut Lake roads.
Entertainment and
refreshments will be pro-
vided at a rest stop at
Temple Israel. Sinai
Hospital doctors will be on
hand for free medical care
along the way.
"The overall purpose is
to bring the Jewish com-
munity together from all
over — Grosse Pointe,
Flint, Windsor and the
metro area," Mr. Korotkin
said.
Organizers of the Walk
say more than 1,000

INDEPENDENCE page 16

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