Community Hino A Trunk Show Presented by Roz & Sherm February 8 -10, 2001 Thursday - Saturday Experience the straightforward elegance of Hino & Malee and meet the design team's representative, Elaine Louie, when Roz and Sherm brings you the complete Spring '01 line — including jackets, pants, vests, skirts and accessories. ILC71 Aic 811 - 1EILM In the Bloomfield Plaza Maple & Telegraph Bloomfield Hills (248) 855-8879 The Natural Order of Things Call now for free estimate & consulting appointment Susan Stone (888) 914-9700 Good Closet Keeping Systems' So many options...we couldn't begin to show them all. Closet quality tailored to your taste, clothes & lifestyle 11(100 1,0SET kEEPIIII Si STEIN ( 1 ARNOLD Automotive Group Ltd. LINCOLN Ma71.11Da All Mercury Gil Pratt LEASING MANAGER Your West Side Specialist (810) 445-6000 Gratiot Ave. (at 12 Mile Road) Roseville. Michigan 48066 Fax (810) 771-7340 Jews by choice and those born Jewish but now seeking basic knowledge at individual synagogues by pooling resources." Project NAOMI, an effort of the AJE in cooperation with Jewish Family Service "may be the first com- munity council of its kind in the country," Stettner says. One of Project NAOMI's first undertakings is it's "Mikva Project." Now, when men or women convert through any of the council's syna- gogues, a package filled with various ritual objects and materials from com- munity organizations is waiting at the mikvah for each of them. "Women wept when they received their mikvah baskets," Sklar says. "The package is a beautiful offer- ing," adds Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, "as peo- ple go through the incredible conver- sion process and cross the threshold into Judaism." Among the items in a basket, donated by individuals and organiza- tions, are towels, candlesticks, tzedakah (charity) boxes from the Jewish National Fund, mezuzah covers made by children at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit, hand- stitched challah covers made by the Pomegranate Guild (a Jewish needle- work group), a trial subscription to the Jewish News and a copy of its JN Sourcebook. Each synagogue personalizes the baskets and includes the names and phone numbers of people in the con- gregation to call "to break into the community" and who can answer future questions that may arise, says Sklar. The project already has distributed 60 baskets. The success has attracted the attention of Temple Israel's . Sisterhood, which last month awarded a $9,000 grant to completely fund the mikvah packages. "So many of our children and grandchildren are in interfaith rela- tionships," says Sherrie Stern, Temple Israel Sisterhood president. "We don't want them to lose touch with their Jewishness." Building Jewish Memories Stettner conceived the idea of Project NAOMI after she returned from an outreach conference of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the national organization of Reform tem- ples. NAOMI, she says, is an acronym for Newcomers Affiliating through an Outreach Mentoring Initiative; it's also a reference to the biblical Naomi who reached out to her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth. Cooper also attended a certification program as an outreach fellow at the Reform movement's Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati last summer. In the past, Cooper conducted Temple Israel's program "A Naomi for Every Ruth," a half-educational, half- support group that met at her home. It was aimed at those considering con- verting to Judaism, those who have converted or those born Jewish and who want to learn more about the Jewish traditions. "We help build Jewish memories for those who don't have any," Cooper says. Hoping that the Temple Israel effort will spread to other synagogues, Cooper started a new Project NAOMI program, "A New Beginning" — five classes, sometimes conducted by a rabbi, for people considering conver- sion to Judaism. "It's a place where people can dis- cuss practical issues," Cooper says, "from how to tell family and friends you've converted, to how often the mikvah is cleaned." In the future, Project NAOMI is looking into two more programs. The first is a mentoring program to con- nect family-to-family and person-to- person within the synagogues. Another would train support staff at the synagogues, especially people answering the phones, "to build sensi- tivity and awareness skills." "The most exciting part about this council," Stettner says, "is creating a bridge between newcomers — the unaffiliated who become affiliated — and the congregation." 0 eopk interested in participating Or learning more about Project OMI or the Mikva Project, on call Sue Stettner (800) 399- 76 Some of the synagogues that ave participated in Project NAOMI are Conservative . Congregations Beth Shalom, B'nai Mo.she and Shaarey Zedek and Adat Shalom Synagogue; Reform Temples Israel, Emanu-El, Kol Arni and Shir Shalom and Congregation Shir Tikvah; and the Secular Humanist Birmingham Temple.