OTHER VIEWS
HaShem And A Search
God's Gift To Us
Jerusalem
A
s Jews, we have a connec-
tion to the State of Israel;
the only question is how
connected are we?
As the 35 metro Detroit high
school students on the March of the
Living were about to depart Israel on
Sunday, Shira Stoorman, 16, of Hunt-
ington Woods posed a very intriguing
question: "Are we going home or are
we leaving home?"
I feel, though, that the answer is
quite simple. Israel is the home of the
Jews. After being asked if he would
rather be sleeping in his own bed than
in a youth hostel, our new Israeli
friend, Lotan Hershokovits, 16, of
Hoshaya, one of he Israeli teens who
and so at home. It
was just as familiar
and intimate as if I
was sitting on my
bed, in my room,
in my house in
Southfield.
On Friday,
when we were at
AUBREY
the Western Wall,
BENESON
I felt that same
feeling of love and
Special
security grow even
Commentary
stronger. Here I
was, visiting God's
home, the holiest place on Earth for all
Jews. As Samantha Woll, 17, of West
Bloomfield put it: "Standing next to the
Kotel gives you an unbelievable connec-
Jerusalem
f there's anything that could
nourish the Jewish soul more
than falafel, it's the jet hitting
the runway — destination,
Israel. There's no place like home!
The March of the Living has been
a trip through different realms of life.
The ghostly silence of Poland struck
us all; whether our eyes were clouded
with emotion or our hearts left in an
aching silence, it's relevant.
"When I was in the concentration
camps," says Chana Leaf, 18, of Oak
Park, "I thought of what we could
give back to those who perished in the
Holocaust. I think the most impor-
tant thing we can do for them is live
the life that was taken from them,
I
travel through the
horrors of Nazi
Europe to the
glory of modern
Israel is to jour-
ney from the
darkest past to a
victorious pre-
sent. To do so
with
these young
ELYSE
Jews
is to have
SKLAR
the
precious
Special
opportunity to
Commentary
view this present
extend into a
wonderful and sweet future. What an
amazing experience."
As young Jews, we must realize and
grasp what awaits: unlimited opportu-
nity.
Coming Home
The March of the Living-Detroit
Teen Unity Poland/Israel Expert
7
ence, for teens of all Jewish back-
grounds, ran April 16-30. The Jew-
ish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit and two of its agencies, the
Agency for Jewish Education and the
Michigan/Israel Connection, spon-
sored the Detroit delegation of 35
teens and 16 staff members. Fifteen
Israeli teens from the Central Galilee,
Detroit Jewry's Partnership 2000
region, joined them. The rabbis were
Elimelech Goldberg of Young Israel of
Southfield, Marla Hornsten of Temple
Israel and Hal Greenwald of the Jew-
ish Community Center of Metropoli-
tan Detroit. Cookie Gonik of South-
field was the lay leader of the planning
committee. Judah Isaacs is the AJE
executive director. These teen dis-
patches came April 30, after the group
observed Shabbat in Israel.
Placing notes from the heart in the
Western Wall's crevices is art o f
the spirituality of a visit.
joined us, answered, "It doesn't matter
where I am, as long as I am in Israel."
The Holy Land of Israel was given to
the Jews by God to be our home. As I
got off the plane from Poland — that
dark, unfriendly place where many of
our ancestors were murdered during the
Holocaust — I felt so safe, so welcome
Aubrey `.`ilvi" Beneson, 16, of South-
field is an 11th-grader at Yeshiv-it Akiva
in Southfield and affiliated with Young
Israel of Southfield.
5/4
2001
32
tion with millions of Jews from the past,
present and future. For thousands of
years, the Jewish people have stood
where I am standing now — praying,
crying and giving thanks to God. It is an
extremely powerful feeling."
It was at that moment, standing in
front of the Kotel, that I found that I
could answer Shira's question. I knew
then that I was leaving home — not
going home. Israel is our home. Every
Jew is part of a very large family that has
its home in Israel.
❑
When we arrived in Israel after a week
in Poland, I was dog-tired. Nonethe-
less, as soon as our plane hit the run-
way, there was something magical in
the air. I could feel it. I was home.
A week in Israel is like a week spent
in heaven. If I gained nothing more
than an amazing observation of this
vast historic land, I'd be content. But
my journey to Israel didn't end there.
It extended to one of life's great mys-
teries: connecting with HaShem
(God). From the streets of Tel Aviv to
the flavor of the Old City, that con-
nection grew stronger. However, it
was at the Kotel — standing under the
beating sunlight, engraving my
thoughts with an ordinary No. 2 pen-
cil on a "fancy" sheet of college-ruled,
lined paper — that I felt the deepest
connection of all.
Literally speaking, the Kotel is just
a wall (a portion of the retaining wall
of the biblical Temple Mount). But to
me, it held a much greater meaning. I
sat for a second, contemplating what
to write and how to express my inner-
most feelings. I knew that if HaShem
were listening, that would be the ideal
place to share my thoughts.
As I approached the wall itself, and
found
just the right spot to put my
meaning: Live our own lives to the
small
wish,
it hit me: Life is about
fullest each and every day."
search, connecting with HaShem,
What made our journey to Israel
searching for our neshamah (soul), ful-
altogether fitting was that we got to
filling our Divine purpose. There is no
pursue that very opportunity. Poland
more beautiful way to pursue this
taught us the lessons; Israel let us grow.
search than through Judaism.
Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg of
As Susan Goldis, 16, of Bloomfield
Young Israel of Southfield says, "To
Hills, puts it: "The message of the
march is that Judaism will always go
Elyse Sklar, 16, of Farmington Hills is
on."
an 11 th-grader at North Farmington
— Long live
Am Yisroel
High School and is affiliated with Tem-
Israel! ❑
ple Israel in West Bloomfield.