Mitzvah Projects

iv the "fenny
otinty -- to be
donated to
rganizations.

Sharing
The
Wealth

Tzedakah Experience

teaches pre-b'nai mitzvah

students the value of giving.

RONELLE GRIER

Special to the Jewish News

ow would you provide a week's
worth of meals for a family of
five with a budget of $50?
What is it like to fill and seal
bags of candy when you have a physical dis-
ability? What would you do if your public
school classmates criticized you for not
believing in Jesus?
These challenges were presented to more
than 350 fifth-graders who attended the
Tzedakah Experience 2002. at Temple Beth

2/1

2002

76

El in Bloomfield Township on Jan. 27.
The Tzedakah Experience is geared for
fifth-graders who are about to begin their
b'nai mitzvah preparations. Learning about
the various agencies helps many students
decide where they want to volunteer as part
of their upcoming "mitzvah project."
The annual event, now in its 15th year,
was co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit and the Agency for
Jewish Education's Jewish Experience for
Families (JEFF) and its School Services
Division, along with several other local
organizations.
The morning began with the singing of
Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, and
God Bless America. This new addition to the
program was inspired by the events Of Sept.
11, according to Wendy Sadler, director of
School Services, who co-chaired the event
with Debra Rosenberg, JEFF program coor-
dinator.
After a group assembly, fifth-graders and
their families dispersed to learn about the
many agencies that serve the needs of the
local Jewish community through a variety
of exhibits and hands-on activities.
Participants made bags of toiletries to be
delivered to Jewish people who have
HIV/AIDS by the Michigan Jewish Aids
Coalition. The students wrote personal
notes to be included in each bag.
Avram Finerman, a seventh-grader from
Rochester Hills who attended with his sister,
thought this was a great idea.

"I want people with AIDS to feel better,"
he said.
The Michigan Regim of the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL) asked students
to review a situation involving anti-
Semitism and decide how they would react.
Yad Ezra, the kosher food bank, gave
fifth-graders a preprinted shopping list and
asked them to determine what to buy to
feed a hypothetical family on a limited
budget.
Evan Fischer, an Adat-Shalom-Beth
Achim student from West Bloomfield, was
impressed by the "shopping" experience
provided by Yad Ezra.
"It's not as easy to run a household as I
thought," he said. "I learned not to take
what I have for granted."
His mother, Terri Fischer, said, "Before
we visited the ADL booth, Evan didn't even
know what anti-Semitism was. And it's
wonderful to learn about all these valuable
agencies. I'm getting an education, too."
"Grief packets," containing tissues, mints
and aspirin, were created by the Hebrew
Benevolent Society, an organization that
provides funerals and monuments for peo-
ple who cannot afford them.
Some of the agencies, including the
Jewish Community Center and the Hebrew
Free Loan Association, had participants
make tzedakah boxes so they could contin-
ue the spirit of the program at home.
A table was set up with examples of cen-
terpieces filled with items that can be donat-