idre Drive:
ons Of Food

JENNIFER FINER JEWISH NEWS INTERN

Julius Schulman weighs donations of food;
Richard Barr and Mike Eizelman take food
from pallets into Yad Ezra; Rabbi Jacob
Gregg and his sons, David Yitz and Melt,
build their sukkah as does Sol Lachman.
Photos by Glenn Triest

he Sunday after the Yom
Kippur fast was hardly a
day to sit back and recov-
er for Detroit area Jews.
Scores of Yad Ezra volun-
teers worked through the com-
munity, collecting donations of
foods (see related story) from
temples and synagogues in re-
sponse to its Kol Nidre Yom
Kippur drive.
As well as the sounds of peo-
ple lifting parcels of foods were
the noises of hammers banging
and wood being sawed as the
community also went out en
masse to build sukkot.
In the back yards of homes
from Oak Park to West Bloom-
field, parents hauled out the
sukkah frame and boards from
the garage or basement while
their children put together pa-
per chains and other works of
art suitable for framing. There
was the typical run on lumber
at the area hardware stores as
many learned that the bolts or
mills they were sure they stored
from last year came up missing.
At the same time, many
rushed over to their synagogue
or local Jewish bookstore to pick
out a lulav and an etrog.
All the work that was done
was enough to create quite an
appetite, something that no one
was without just the day be-
fore.

IFI

ood, or a lack of it,
seemed to be on the
minds of almost
everyone last week-
end — especially in
the Detroit Jewish
community.
Before Kol Nidre services
Friday night, many local syna-
gogues collected bags of food for
Yad Ezra, the only kosher food
bank in the state.
So far, the community has
donated over 20,000 pounds of
food.
On Sunday, the day after
Yom Kippur, scores of volun-
teers were swamped with all
the food brought to Yad Ezra's
Oak Park warehouse.
What might have looked like
mass chaos was actually an or-
ganized operation. Nearly 75
volunteers spent a good portion
of the day bringing food to Yad
Ezra, weighing it, sorting it and
shelving it.
Volunteers moved quickly,
unloading trucks and storing
the food before the next load
was brought in. Any non-kosher
food was separated and will be
traded for kosher items with
the Food Bank of Oakland
County.
Yad Ezra does not have final

figures on the amount of do-
nated food because a handful of
local synagogues and other
community organizations plan
to bring in their collections at a
later date.
By the time all the food was
shelved Sunday, Yad Ezra had
collected more than 20,000
pounds of food, about 5,000
pounds less than last year's fig-
ures, according to Nancy Wel-
ber Barr, food drive coordinator.
Ms. Barr is hopeful that
when all the food is in, the final
total will come close to or du-
plicate last year's 25,000
pounds.
In one month, Yad Ezra
hands out 30,000 pounds of
food.
"It seems to me attendance
was down at Kol Nidre and that
would affect what's brought in,"
said Ms. Barr. "I'm optimistic
we will break even."
Although figures appear to
be down from last year, Yad
Ezra is praising the communi-
ty for its support.
"The beauty of it all is every
facet of Judaism is represented
here, including contributions by
JARC, Kadima and Federation
Apartments," said Lea Luger,
special projects coordinator.

❑

Dick Cheney To
Address Yeshiva

ick Cheney, America's
17th secretary of de-
fense, will deliver the
keynote address at the
Nov. 7 Yeshiva Beth Yehudah
79th annual dinner at the
Westin Hotel.
Mr. Cheney will be part of a
program that includes dinner
honoree Selwyn Isakow re-
ceiving the Golden Torah
Award.
A possible 1996 presidential
candidate, Mr. Cheney is per-
haps best known as the man
in charge during Operations
Desert Shield and Desert
Storm. Under Secretary Ch-
eney's leadership, the U.S. mil-
itary undertook its largest
overseas deployment since

D

Vietnam. For his service dur-
ing the Gulf War, former Pres-
ident George Bush awarded
him America's highest civilian
award, the Presidential Medal
of Freedom.
Mr. Cheney has also served
as former President Gerald
Ford's assistant and White
House chief of staff. At 34, he
was the youngest person ever
to hold that position.
After his involvement with
the Ford administration, Mr.
Cheney was elected to Con-
gress from Wyoming for six
terms. He became the House
Republican whip in 1988, the
second-ranking minority
leader in the House.

❑

