This A prayer book for the record book; a donor for the JCC gym; a boost for literacy. Fifth graders at Cong. Beth Shalom's religious school bucked the less-is-more trend last week when they completed what their teacher, Joe Lewis, wagers is "the world's biggest siddur." The approximately 30-foot-long prayerbook contains 19 pages, one for each blessing in the weekday amidah, or thrice-a-day central prayer. Working in teams over the course of two months, the class wrote out the Hebrew prayers on flattened card- board boxes, freely decorating with poster paint and any other art supplies they could get their hands on. Student Adam Barth of Oak Park described the project as "fun and somewhat educational." "It helped us learn the parts," he explained. "Since we read them so much while were copying it out, we got used to them." Perhaps even more valuable, Barth said the project taught him "that Hebrew isn't always boring." Now that it's finished, the giant siddur makes its home in the class- room; when students aren't using it, it folds up like an accordion. The fifth grade's next larger-than- life venture? Lewis is planning "The Dikduk [Grammar] Jungle," a colos- sal mural highlighting the various Hebrew prefixes and suffixes that change the meanings of words. The new gymnasium at the Jewish Community Center's D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building in West Bloomfield now has a name, reports the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Lillian and the late Samuel Hechtman provided a $1 million donation to name the soon-to-be- built gym. The new facility will dou- ble the size of the existing gym. Construction is scheduled to begin by the start of next year. Samuel Hechtman, who died in 1994, was an attorney who helped form Practical Home Builders Inc., a company that built more than 10,000 single-family homes and 4,000 apart- ments in metro Detroit. He was also involved in the planning and con- struction of the JCC in West Bloomfield and the neighboring Holocaust Memorial Center. As president of Jewish Apartments and Services, Mr. Hechtman's generosity spurred the creation of Hechtman Apartments I and II on the Maple/Drake Jewish Community Campus. . The People of the Book are being invited to share their skills. Under the auspices of the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit, a new Detroit Jewish Coalition Remember Wh en • III From the pages of The Jewish News for this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago. 1989 Joe Lewis' class surrounds itself in prayer. for Literacy will send volunteers to par- ticipating elementary schools to read to kids and have them read back. The council has hired an AmeriCorps intern, Lauren Marcus, to help staff the coalition as it signs up the local groups that will be enlist- ing the individual volunteers. Each organization will be linked with a spe- cific elementary school, said David Gad-Harf, executive director of the council. So far, 14 local groups have pledged their assistance, including Birmingham Temple, Hadassah and the Neighborhood Project. "We're still in the organizing phase," Gad-Harf said. The formal kickoff will be April 5, when the founder of the national Coalition for Literacy, Leonard Fein, will speak at the council's delegate assembly. . Marking 100 Years Of Detroit Jewry William Kristol, son of leading L\ Jewish neo-Conservative Irving Kristol, has joined Vice President Dan Quayle's staff as assistant for domestic policy. Kristol hopes to improve the vice president's image among Jews, noting that Quayle "has close ties to the Jewish com- munity in Indianapolis. But beyond the Beltway, he's not par- ticularly well known in the Jewish -Th community." 1979 The 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's birth will be celebrated in Bern, Switzerland, Jerusalem, Washington, Paris and New York. A 15-cent U.S. stamp will be issued in Princeton, N.J. 1969 Two additions to the Passover seder are suggested to show soli- darity with Soviet Jewry. One is the "Matzo of Hope" statement: "As we observe this festival of freedom, we know that Soviet Jews are not free... They can only sit in silence... We shall be their voice." Jews also are urged to leave an empty chair at the table each year until the gates of the USSR are opened. 0-59 B'nai David Religious School will hold a unique group bas mitzvah of 22 girls. Rabbi Hayim Donin, noting this will be the first bas mitzvah ceremony in the congre- gation's 67-year history, said "it becomes imperative in modern times to give some recognition and pay formal honor to (the) girls (in) religious study." 1949 Members of the Halevi Musical Society, founded by the Sholem Aleichem Institute, are shown, circa 1925. Photo courtesy of Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. If you have information about this photograph, please call Sharon Alterman, Jewish community archivist, (248) 203-1491. 3/12 1999 28 Detroit Jewish News Columnist Danny Raskin relays a request for sheet music from Air Force troops stationed in Japan. "We've got a five-piece Japanese band to play for us and we're dying to hear any kind of American music," they write. Danny will forward all donations.