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es to teach a bit of Torah.

KAREN SCHWARTZ
Special to the. Jewish News

E

very Friday afternoon during the school year, local businessman
Henry Sandweiss expects a visit from two Chabad students ready
to talk with him about Judaism.
"I like the fellows who come by — it's a welcome break,"
he said. "They're nice young men ... and you have to give them credit
for what they do."
The visitors are two of 50 Chabad students ages 14-18 who spend
three to four hours a week visiting Jewish men and women at their
workplaces talking about Torah and tradition.
Clad in black suits, white shirts and black hats, they frequent more
than 450 area businesses in West Bloomfield, Birmingham, Farmington
Hills and Southfield on weekly routes, building relationships with the
men and women they meet.
"We just stop in for five, 10 minutes, have a little shmooze, put on
the tefillin with the businessmen and many times it develops into con-
versation — many very close relationships have developed and the busi-
nessmen and businesswomen have increased in their general experience
with Judaism," said Mendel Teldon, director of this past year's Chabad
Student Outreach, the program responsible for the student visits.
Teldon said he feels the students are a large part of what makes the
experience a success. While people might be intimidated if a rabbi
walked into the workplace, he said, students have the chance to really
make an impression on the businesspeople.
"It's two kids, and they are interested as far as what these kids repre-
sent," he said.
The program was started in Michigan out of the Yeshivas Menachem
Mendel Lubavitch eight years ago. What began as visits to local businesses

Clockwise from top right:
Henry Sandweiss of West
Bloomfield washes his hands
before eating dinner.

Levi Teldon of Long Island, N.Y,
speaks to the group, including
Avrohom Simmonds of Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada, andleibel
Kesselman of Oak Park.

Enjoying-mealtime conversation
are Mel Goldstein of Beverly Hills
and Mendel Levine of Crown
Heights, N.Y

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2002

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