PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPITT To Walk In The Rabbi's Shoes Young and hip, Kasriel Shemtov shows it can be cool to live Jewishly. LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER Rabbi Kasriel Shemtov: "You can't lie to today's young generation; they won't buy Judaism that is fluff." t. t 29 years of age, Kasriel Shemtov has traveled the globe, received rab- binic ordination, gotten married and elped launch the first four-year Jewish university in the state of Michigan. Oh, and he has two children. He's a busy man, hip to the generation of which he is a part. "You can't lie to today's young genera- tion; they won't buy Judaism that is fluff, void of meaning," says Rabbi Shemtov, who is vice president of the Michigan Jewish In- stitute, the state's only Jewish-sponsored college. He knows how difficult it is to juggle a budding career, family, relationships and Judaism. If anything helps the young rab- bi balance the many facets of his life, it's his wife, Itty, 25. "We go out as a team." A rabbi's job is not to be in the commu- nity while his wife sits at home, he insists. "We do [everything] together. She invites people over, arranging for all these differ- ent things ... But it's not only that. Every day and every night, when your work is overwhelming — we think together, we dis- cuss it, [we are] growing together." At those overwhelming moments, the rabbi also remembers his teen-age years, standing spellbound, hanging on every syl- lable of the late Lubavitch rebbe, Men- achem Schneerson, whose words inspired him to reach out. The biggest difference between the teen- age years and the twentysomething decade, he says, "is the change from being someone who's absorbing and being something for yourself to learning to teach others." "All young people have basically two stages: one is going places, moving ahead, finding new things in life. And then there's a time when they 'settle."' In a relationship, two people have searched separately and come together as "one unit, with the same aspirations, want the same things — to- gether." A native of Oak Park, Rabbi Shemtov grew up inculcated in the Chasidic phi- losophy of the worldwide Lubavitch move- ment, firmly believing that every Jew carries unexchangeable cargo: a Jewish soul. All he wants to do is share that idea with those around him — twentysomething and older. Wearing a sharp suit, stylish tie and warm smile (rabbi/businessman mix), he says, "I grew up in a home where our en- tire life [philosophy] is that we are all re- sponsible for each other." That home included 10 children and a father who is well-known in the Detroit Jewish commu- nity — Rabbi Berel Shemtov is regional di- rector of Lubavitch of Michigan. At 17, Kasriel left for a New York yeshi- va and later went to Australia and the Far East to do "outreach" work: For several years, he lived in Melbourne, running adult education programs and studying Torah. Rabbi Shemtov later went to Taiwan, Ko- rea and New Zealand, seeking Jews who wished to learn more about Judaism. With no "lists" to guide them, he and col- leagues "had to search out Jewish names," sometimes from priests — the only com- munity leaders conscious of religious iden- tity. He found people who hadn't seen a Jew for years; some had left larger Jewish cen- ters expressly to assimilate. In New Zealand, Rabbi Shemtov en- countered a woman who headed an in- digenous tribe and could trace her roots back to Judaism. Her maternal grand- mother had married the head of the tribe, bringing the ritual of lighting Shabbat can- dles with her. Now, Rabbi Shemtov calls West Bloom- field home. He chose the mostly non-frum (observant) locale because "I wasn't look- ing to go to where the religious communi- ty was; I was looking to move out further to start sort of a new community, to be there for those who are not affiliated with any synagogues at all, and especially not Or- thodox synagogues." People are already involved — "rio build- ings or anything, but we get together, some study groups, inviting people to our house for Shabbat," says the rabbi, who has the energy of a teen-ager and the universal un- derstanding of someone decades older. "Most of the people out there are not part of any synagogue, and even the people that are don't go to them," he says. "Our mes- sage has to be for the entire community — a lot of people want to be involved, and we just have to stretch out our hand and say `We're there for you."' While traveling to far-out locales, Rab- bi Shemtov discovered that every Jew is "really deep down waiting for a connection, waiting for someone to reach out to them." "I think the same thing is [true] in West Bloomfield ... [despite] all the synagogues and institutions that are here, I think many Jews are Jewishly hiding, waiting for some- one to reach out to them. That's what we're here for." ❑ Priscilla Trunk Show Thursday June 5 Friday June 6 Saturday June 7 A special collection of Priscilla bridal gowns will be available to try on and purchase during our 3-day trunk show. Please call for an appointment (248) 443-6375 The Bridal Salon at Hudson's Northland store only 21500 NORTHWESTERN HWY • SOUTHFIELD. MI 48075 (Deborah's Dnvitations DEBORAH'S INVITATIONS WE'VE MOVED! ('DANKS GOODNESS) VISIT US AT Debbie goldfine (Veisserman Invitations 25% Off A A: 0 LA MIRAGE CENTER 29555 NORTHWESTERN HWY. 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