STEVE

BROWN'S

AMERICAN

doesn't "derive my identity from
any of these things." First and
foremost, he is a Jew.
Growing up in a Conservative
Jewish home, Cherrin first grap-
pled with issues of identity as a
teen-ager. That led to later learn-
ing and questioning and a year
in Israel at Hebrew University,
when he tried every flavor of Ju-
daism he could find.
Now, Cherrin is in his second
year at Detroit College of Law at
Michigan State University. He
plans to study in yeshiva for at
least one year following law
school.
"Adolescence and post-adoles-
cence is a time for defining iden-
tity, to take one's place in the
community," says Cherrin, "con-
duct a search and not just take
a default identity.
"I'm on a journey ... my calling
in life is to help other people go
on a journey. Jewish education
doesn't have to be coercive."
Judaism came to life for Cher-
/in in the home of Marc and
Chantal Belzberg. Spending
three days on his first stay with
the Belzberg — Rosh Hashanah
5754 (1993) plus the Shabbat
that followed it — Cherrin "sat
stunned ... Judaism — in its full
form — was happening in front
of me."
To express his experience at
their home, he borrows a quote
from author Anne Roiphe, pub-
lished in a March 1994 article in
Moment magazine. Describing a
Passover seder at the home of
her family pediatrician, Roiphe
writes: "I felt like a child with my
face pressed to the window of a
house inside of which a won-
drous thing was happening. It
had nothing to do with the fine
china. It had everything to do
with expectations of the heart.
"I heard the sounds of my peo-
ple. I heard history moving and
standing still. I saw generations
lifting up cups, washing their
hands, saying the same words. I
was a guest and not a guest, I be-
\— long, past, present and future."
— When Cherrin went to shul
with Marc Belzberg, he recalls
how his new friend literally
turned the pages of the prayer-
book for him, to help him follow
along.
"They weren't hung up on de-
nomination, they just did Ju-
daism," he recounts. "It was
living — from the way the hus-
band talked to the wife, to the
kids, treated guests. I saw Ju-
daism happening in front of me
and that was impressive."
Now, Cherrin is the one turn-
ing the pages for others. El

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