Morning Mitzvah
Volunteers help seniors visit the burial sites of loved ones.
ROBERT A. SKLAR, Editor
BILL HANSEN, Photographer
t was a crisp, sunny morning, a perfect back-
drop to pray at the graves of family members.
And thanks to a corps of volunteers, that's
what 65 elderly people in the Detroit Jewish
community did on Sunday.
Carol Berg and Barry Rankin, both of Farmington
Hills, were among 157 volunteers taking part in the
sixth annual Kever Avot (Graves of our Ancestors)
program co-sponsored by Ira Kaufman Chapel and
Temple Israel.
Berg and Rankin accompanied Esther and
Lawrence Wiener, also of Farmington Hills. The
Wieners visited the gravesites of their parents. Esther
then visited the
grave of her sister,
Ida Zeron, who died
of pneumonia at age
17 in 1933.
"It was so wonder-
ful for the temple to
organize this event,"
Esther said. "We
can't really drive out
that far anymore.
This was a real mitz-
vah."
This was Berg's
first volunteer expe-
rience with Kever
Avot.
"I'm really glad I
did it," she said. "It
felt so good to help
Esther out and to
get to know a little
bit about her life."
"To learn what
happened
to
her
sister, because
Volunteer
there
were
no
antibiotics
then for
Norman
pneumonia — something we
Samson of West
take for granted now — is very
Bloomfield
sad, but special."
recites a prayer
The seniors came from various
for the deceased.
senior complexes and their own
homes; the volunteers helped
them find the graves, say Kaddish
and place stones. The program
was open to the community, not
just temple members. Snacks were donated.
Nine buses fanned out to Jewish cemeteries
throughout metro Detroit, with the largest fleet
going to Hebrew Memorial Park in Clinton
Township. Ida Nemzin and Marc Siegler were event
co-chairs. The event is a Temple Israel Life Center
Program supported by the Ira Kaufman Chapel and
Zif. the Susan and Hanley Yorke Builder Endowment
9/26 Fund at Temple Israel. ❑
2003
24
4
Five buses of
seniors and their
volunteer
companions
visited Hebrew
Memorial Park.
Esther Wiener,
right, touches the
Hebrew Memorial
Park gravestone of
her sister. She's
accompanied by
volunteer Carol
Berg.
Alfred Brooks
of Fleischman
Residence in
West Bloomfield
rides the
shuttle bus.