MI11111111111.- "RIP •111111
JNCelebrate
MITZVAH
from page 6
some money to and I thought it was
the right thing to do," she says. "I did a
lot of research and picked Interplast,
which provides reconstructive surgery
for kids in developing nations. These
are kids shunned in their society; the
surgery really makes a difference in
their lives."
Carrying the mitzvah a step fur-
ther, Kate decided to ask for dona-
tions in lieu of gifts. She enclosed a
letter with her invitation. So far she's
donated nearly $6,000 to Interplast.
Like several of the teens interviewed,
Kate didn't want praise or attention
for her mitzvah.
"How can you not want to do this?
It's called having a heart," Kate says.
"It's part of fulfilling my responsibility
of being a Jewish adult."
Ritual
and the
idea
of mitzvah.
HATE
OPEN THE DOOR TO A WORLD
WITHOUT
Says Rafi Martina, "I love doing —\
community service; it makes me feel
good. He began at age 2 when he
accompanied his parents to a down-
town soup kitchen to help with
Christmas dinner. He and his broth-
er, Ari, also have adopted two
"grandparents" at a Jewish nursing
home and now Rafi plans to orga-
nize a school fund-raiser to buy
medicine for local people with
AIDS.
"When I help others, it makes me
remember what I have in my life and
be grateful. I hope through my
actions others will start, too," Rafi
says.
At his bar mitzvah last December
at B'nai Moshe, he set up a minia-
ture Western Wall and urged people
to drop pre-written prayers and
wishes into its crevices. He'll take
them to the real Wall when he trav-
els to Israel this summer. It was one
way, he says, to include his many
non-Jewish friends in the ritual. His
mother, Alyssa Martina, encourages
his mitzvahs.
/
It's one thing to expose obvious acts of hate—something the Anti-Defamation League has pursued with
vigilance since its founding in 1913.
It's quite another thing to root out more subtle, everyday forms of prejudice. Ugly attitudes—racism, anti-
Semitism and other forms of bigotry—that, if left unchallenged, severely undermine our society's democratic
ideals of equality and opportunity.
So stand with us at ADL and help open the door to a new world.
A world without hate.
Send an ADL tribute to mark life-cycle events and
other special occasions.
Michigan Regional Office
3/20
1998
C8
4000 Town Center, Suite 420
Southfield, MI 48075-1402
(248) 355-3730
FAX (248) 355-9534
E-mail: detroit@adl.org
Anti-Defamation League®
Creative: I3ronner Slosberg Humphrey
Photography: Paul Frankian (617) 443-9290