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A fresh look at some recent stories in the headlines.

Yiddish Clubs Offered
Throughout The Area

Scholarship Dinner
Finds A New Date

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

ALAN HITSKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR

everly Dunn of Oak
Park grew up in a
house where Yiddish
was spoken — but
not directly to her.
She understands the
language but can only
speak a few Yiddish words.
Ms. Dunn is one of a
number of local residents
looking to join a Yiddish
club or group. Among those
available are groups offered
through the Maple-Drake
Jewish Community Cen-
ter, the 10 Mile JCC, the
Workmen's Circle! Arbeit-
er Ring, and the Singles
Extension Group of Tem-
ple Israel.
On the second and
fourth Monday of every
month, Yiddish speakers of
various levels get together
at the West Bloomfield
JCC to "keep the language
alive," according to Lor-
raine Morris, assistant di-
rector of adult services.
Anyone is invited, but non-
members will be charged

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$1 each time they attend.
Ms. Morris can be contact-
ed at 661-7649.
In Oak Park, the JCC's
Yiddish Culture Club
meets on the second Thurs-
day of each month. Group
activities include speaking
Yiddish, listening to guest
speakers and participating
in a variety of Yiddish en-
tertainment. Alyssa Gold-
berg, coordinator of adult
services, can be reached at
967-4030.
The Agency for Jewish
Education is not offering
Yiddish classes at this
time, but they are taking
names for possible future
classes. Nancy Kaplan can
be contacted at 354-1050.
The Workmen's Circle/
Arbeiter Ring offers adult
Yiddish classes, Yiddish
Sunday school for children,
a Yiddish discussion group,
films and a summer con-
cert. Ellen Bates-Brackett
can be reached at 545-
0985.

he American Arabic
and Jewish Friends
group nearly com-
mitted a faux pas
last month when it sched-
uled its annual scholarship
dinner on the same night
as the big fund-raising
event downtown for the
National Association for
the Advancement of Col-
ored People.
The dinner has been
moved to May 22 at St.
Mary's Antiochian Ortho-
dox Church in Livonia.
Chairmen are Shelley
Jackier and Dennis Gan-
non and the honorees will
be Sen. Carl Levin and
UPI White House corre-
spondent Helen Thomas.
The event funds college
scholarships of $500 to
$1,000 for Arab and Jew-
ish high-school seniors in
the Detroit area.
. While the dinner has
been moved, the scholar-
ship deadline remains the
same: March 15. Students

T

Volumes await processing
National Yiddish BoctikssCielingteatr.

Marilyn Rosner, presi-
dent of the Temple Israel
Singles Extension Group,
said anyone who is single,
Jewish and over 50 is in-
vited. There is a small fee.
Members can then volun-
tarily attend a special in-
terest Yiddish group, which
usually meets on the first
Thursday of each month.
Ms. Rosner can be contact-
ed at 683-8272.
Faye Adelson, activities
director at Franklin Club
Apartments in Southfield,
wants to start a Yiddish-
speaking club for residents
and members of the com-
munity. She needs a facil-
itator. Ms. Adelson can be
reached at 353-2810.

must write an essay of up
to 1,000 words on what it
means to be an American
of Arabic or Jewish de-
scent.
Students can get entry

forms through their high
school counselors. Scholar-
ships will be awarded in
mid- to late-June at a re-
ception at WKBD-TV.

Cold Doesn't Halt
Early Learning

Michigan Company
Helps Quake Victims

LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

n the coldest day of use of puppets, song and
the year, Janet Pont movement for instruction.
"In the past, the early
pulled on her winter
woolens to join 150 childhood directors have
early-childhood
development di-
rectors and teach-
ers in a night of
learning.
Titled "Shabbat
Magic," the Jan.
18 program spon-
sored by the
Agency for Jewish
Education (AJE)
offered five work-
shops aimed at
practical methods
for making the
Sabbath more
meaningful for
children.
The evening
was an attempt to
fill the special-
needs gaps of pre-
school instructors, instructors work on puppetry projects.
often dealing with
different issues than 1C-12 brought in speakers to talk
teachers. Topics included about child development or
Shabbat symbols, and the Judaica. This directly dealt

0

with enhancing Shabbat in
the school and in the home,
while offering practical
tips," said Ms. Pont, nurs-
ery school di-
rector for
Congregation
Shaarey Zedek.
"Most of these
teachers are
well-versed ed-
ucationally. We
want to im-
prove in our Ju-
daica, to utilize
in class and up-
grade our own
knowledge.
"This (the
Shabbat Magic
program) is
what we need."
The AJE
hopes to intro-
duce a more
comprehensive,
year-long pro-
gram for early
childhood directors and
teachers in the future.

w

hile the Califor-
nia earthquake
and the bitter
cold tempera-
tures have caused havoc for
many, such acts of nature
increased business for Bob
Levin and Allen Gross of
Southfield-based Globe
Midwest Corp., a public-
adjusting company.
Mr. Levin and Mr. Gross
have been working togeth-
er to assist the insured
around the country in try-
ing to collect all they are
entitled to from insurance
companies in the wake of
disaster.
In the aftermath of the
Northridge earthquake,
Globe Midwest Corp. has
set up temporary offices in
California.
After several days of
looking at cracked and de-
stroyed structures in L.A.,
Mr. Levin said property
damage was more wide-
spread than he anticipated.
He also estimates his

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"Cr

A family uses a shelter after the Jan. 17 quake.

company will be working
with quake victims
throughout the year.
"What makes this worse
is that the damage is not as
obvious as damage from a

hurricane, where you can
see all the damage," he
said. "With an earthquake,
the damage is more subtle
and investigation is re-
quired." El

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