For Openers Lending An Ear T eens and telephones: The mix might be every parent's night- mare, but not for Robert and Nancy Levy of West Bloomfield. Their daughter, Alanna, decided to collect old cellular telephones as her mitzvah project for her bat mitzvah at ALAN Temple Israel in West Bloomfield last HITS KY April. Associate Collect old phones? Not wear them Editor out? Nancy Levy saw a notice for donatea- phone.com , an Ann Arbor-based organi- zation that re-programs old cell phones to call only the 911 emergency number. The phones are given nation- ally to domestic abuse victims. The donors receive a tax write-off of $1 to $3 per phone (depending on age and condition) to be donated to a charity of their choice. Nancy Levy and Alanna took to the program with a vengeance. The two placed donation boxes at West Bloomfield High School, where Alanna's brother Noah, 15 1 /2 , goes to school; at Orchard Lake Middle School, where Alanna just complet- ed seventh grade; and at Tapper's Diamonds & Fine Jewelry in West Bloomfield, where Nancy is a jewel- ry designer. And the phones came rolling in — 98 in all. Alanna was responsible for bring- ing home the phones from her school, separating the chargers and wrapping up everything. "It was funny seeing all the old phones," she said. "Some were real heavy." At her bat mitzvah party at Hotel Baronette in Novi, guests were seated at tables decorated with a charitable theme. Each table reflected a different charity, and the Levys made contributions to those charities in honor of their guests. The telephone collection project "was a fun, simple thing to do," said Nancy Levy, "and it showed the kids that it doesn't take a lot to help someone." She also wanted to show them that there are needy people in West Bloomfield. The Levys plan to give the proceeds from the telephones to West Bloomfield's Our Children's Fund. Before Alanna left for summer camp June 22, the Levys mailed large boxes of phones to donateaphone.com . And they are planning to resume Alanna's mitzvah project in the fall, with a Jewish char- ity as the recipient. Alanna Levy packs up the phones. Shabbat Candlelighting "When I light Shabbat candles, I feel the light entering my soul and filling my heart with warmth." — Leah Levin, 16, Oak Park mam ,abzkuno.com now © 2003 p assover is known as the fes- tival of freedom. How does the pronunciation of the Hebrew word for Passover (Pesach) point to one such freedom? — Goldfein -Taxis Jo umpaaij alp luasaicial uaas aq TIED govsacr prom — uoptsianuop JOJ maiciaH vovs :t.pnow .ToJ 'gad — -TAs oma olu1 umop ua3laig ji :Jamsuy Quotables "The idea that Jewish charity means giving to things run by Jews is a nar- row and parochial definition. If Jewish education and institutions pre- fer such a narrow way of looking at the universe, they deserve to get only 6 percent of the big donations. Can you compare the value . of a Jewish day school to curing cancer? Is a trip to Israel as worthy as working against illiteracy, poverty and hunger in your community? Perhaps giving to Stanford University is more important than contributing to a Jewish organi- zation." — Rabbi Irwin Kula, president of CLAL-the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership in Washington, as quoted in the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles' June 27 article "Why Aren't Jews Giving to Jews?" Yiddish Limericks • Sponsored by Lubavitch Women's Organization. To submit a candlelighting message or to receive complimentary candlesticks and information on Shabbat candlelighting, call Miriam Amzalak of Oak Park at (248) 967-5056 or e-mail: K Candlelighting Candlelighting Friday, July 4: 8:55 p.m. Friday, July 11: 8:52 p. m. Shabbat Ends Shabbat Ends Saturday, July 5: 10:07 p.m. Saturday, July 12: 10:03 p. m. Your image was destined to shatter. You thought that you weren't getting fatter. You thought you looked regal, But sadly, der shpiegle Viezt ohs dem emess,* no matter. — Martha Jo Fleischmann * The mirror reveals the truth Yiddish-isms aroysgevoifi2 Thrown out Source: From The New Joys of Yiddish by Leo Calvin Rosten, edited by Lawrence Bush, copyright 2001, by the Rosten Family LLC. Used by per- mission of the Rosten Family LLC. • TNT 7/ 4 2003 7