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Chabad Jewish Center of

Commerce's shofar factory allows

children and adults to make their

own ram's horn for the holidays.

SHARON LUCKERMAN
Sta/TW-iter

R

abbi Schneor Greenberg and his wife, Estie,
of the Chabad Jewish Center of Commerce,
prepared for 15 "apprentices" to attend their
first-time shofar factory.
But twice as many showed up on Aug. 25 at the
Richardson Center, also in Commerce Township.
Alan Perlstein, 42, of Commerce, who attended the
event with his sons, Joey, 4, and Sam, 10, was especially
pleased to see a Jewish program offered so close to home.
The Chabad center opened in April.
"When we got to this area nine years ago, not many
Jews were here," Perlstein said, adding that his kids loved
making the shofars. _
The rabbi ordered the rams' horns needed to make the
shofars. Beforehand, he prepared each horn by sawing off the
tip with an electric saw and drilling a hole in it. Each student
received one of the prepared rams' horns, and then sanded
and shellacked it.
"These shofars aren't exactly kosher," he said. "You need to
work on them a little more [with sanding and shaping]. But
it's kosher for children and it is a real shofar."
This event was designed to make Judaism more interest-
ing, especially for the children, said Rabbi Greenberg.
Estie Greenberg added that other arts and crafts holiday
projects included drawing and eating apples and honey, while
learning the blessing over them.
Rabbi Greenberg said
that when people ask him
what is so hypnotizing
about the shofar, he
responds, "It's the sound of
the spirit."
Chabad Jewish Center
of Commerce will hold
High Holiday services at
Eagle Pond Heights, 300
Eagle Pond Drive, Walled
Lake. For information:
(248) 669-6616. ❑

`.‘

Clockwise from top:

Rabbi Schneor Greenberg practiced
on a homemade shofar.

.

Joey Perlstein, 4, of Commerce
Township learned how to sand a
shofar with his father's help.

Julia Fertel, 5, ofWalled Lake
helped celebrate with
apples and honey.

Estie Greenberg explains how the
instrument is crafted from a ram's
horn and used as the highlight of
Rosh Hashanah services.

116 .---.11110

Nicholas Fertel, 2, ofWalled Lake
got a hands-on lesson on sanding a
shofar he and his father made.

9/ 6

2002

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