Links To Their Past

Bat mitzvah students at CHAIM Hebrew School say
classes in Judaism help them relate to their
grandparents.

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

ictoria Shapiro and
and Anna Yemets
finally understand
what their grand-
mothers were talking
about when they spoke of
Yiddishkeit.
The 13 year olds, who
left Russia almost two
years ago, never lit
Sabbath candles, recited
the kiddush or learned to
read Hebrew. The
Communist government
prohibited such obser-
vances.
"I didn't know about
being a Jew. I didn't even
know what it was," Anna

V

said.
Teachers at CHAIM
Hebrew School wanted to
change that. The Hebrew
school for new Americans
is sponsored by FREE,
Friends of Refugees of
Eastern Europe, which
operates under the aus-
pices of Chabad-Lubavitch
in metro Detroit.
On June 20, CHAIM
Hebrew School sponsored
bat mitzvah ceremonies
for five Russian girls.
Among them were Victoria
and Anna. Held at the
Jimmy Prentis Morris
Jewish Community

Rabbis Support
MLK Celebration

LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER

dat Shalom Syna-
gogue Rabbi Efry
Spectre remem-
bers participating
in a seder of blacks and
Jews in Philadelphia.
Together, the two cul-
tures celebrated free-
dom.
He also recalls attend-
ing a rabbinical conven-
tion assembly in Atlanta
and meeting Coretta
Scott King. Mrs. King
joined the rabbis in
sending matzah to
refuseniks in Russia.
As president of the
Michigan Board of
Rabbis, Rabbi Spectre
has signed a statement
endorsing the Detroit
branch of the National
Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People's Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. com-
memorative weekend
June 25-26.
The celebration takes
place during Shabbat, so
the Board of Rabbis has
asked its colleagues to
discuss civil rights,
Jewish commitment to
justice and Dr. King's
goals with their congre-
gants.

A

"A message can be
worked into a sermon,
or be spoken of as a sep-
arate tribute," Rabbi
Spectre said. "There is a
lot that unites us. That's
what Dr. King empha-
sized."
Sometimes, Rabbi
Spectre said, individuals
within the black and
Jewish communities are
not receptive to the mes-
sage. Militancy and a
zealousness for rights
have often separated the
two.
"We need to look to
the larger issues. The
hurts that have occurred
on both sides need to be
mitigated — for Martin
Luther King Jr.'s dream,
and for our dream of one
people," Rabbi Spectre
said.
Although the Board of
Rabbis maintains no for-
mal relationship with
the NAACP, many local
rabbis work indepen-
dently with different
human-rights organiza-
tions.
"More needs to be
done, though," Rabbi
Spectre added. ❑

Anna Yemets prepares for her bat mitzvah.

Center, the simchah was
a momentous occasion for
both.
"It is part of our link to
the past," Anna said. "My
grandma is still in the
(former) Soviet Union, but
we hope she will come
here. If she does, she will
really be glad to see me
learning Hebrew. My
great- grandma, who is
94, still remembers cele-
brating Sabbath. Then
Communism came and it
was prohibited and forgot-
ten.
"But now that I'm here,
it will start again," she

said.
Now in its fourth year,
the Hebrew school offers
weekly classes to Russian
youth, ages 6 to 13, who
want to learn more about
being Jewish. Teachers
try to introduce them to
everything from Sabbath
prayers to Torah.
"We teach them the
basics," said Rochel
Zaklos, whose husband,
Rabbi Hershel Zaklos,
serves as adviser to
FREE. "The students start
at aleph bet and learn the
history and holidays."

During the week,
Victoria and Anna attend
Norup Middle School.
Victoria practices her
Hebrew at home on week-
ends. Sometimes, she
teaches her parents what
she has learned, like the
candle-lighting prayer.
"And I plan to teach it
to my children some day,"
Victoria said.
Both girls intend to take
part in post-bat mitzvah
classes, which CHAIM
Hebrew School is offering
for the first time next
year. ❑

Rally Protests For Pollard

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

S

peakers at a rally for
Jonathan Pollard
called on American
Jews to follow the
example set by blacks
when one of their own suf-
fers at the hands of the
U.S. legal system.
"I have often marveled
at the African-American
community," said former
Jewish Federation
President Mark Schlussel,
speaking at the event
which was held at the
Jewish
Maple-Drake
Center.
Community
"When they see an injus-
tice brought on their peo-
ple, they bring it to
national attention and
galvanize support for

their cause. We in the
Jewish community have
become too interwoven,
assimilated ... I say to
you, we must never
become complacent."
More than 500 'people
attended the June 16
event. Organized by mem-
bers of the Young Israel
Council of Metro Detroit,
the rally aimed to educate
local Jews about Jonathan
Pollard, who was arrested
in 1985 for passing U.S.
military secrets to Israel.
Mr. Pollard received a
life sentence in 1987. The
former Navy intelligence
analyst spent time in a

RALLY page 16

Brother's keeper Carol Pollard.

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