Day By Glorious Day
Saddened by the death of their adviser and friend, NCSY youth group
members continue to be inspired by his life.
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer
F
was among dozens who prayed for
Mikey at the Kotel each Tuesday
evening.
"Those Tuesday nights gave all of
us here a sense of hope for Mikey,"
said Anstandig, immediate past presi-
dent of NCSY Central East region.
never stopped smiling. He was one of
the happiest people I ever knew."
Participants of one NCSY event
received the book Permission to Believe
by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen,
inscribed with the words, "Do a
Mitzvah for Mikey Butler."
"The idea was to go beyond saying
tehillim and have something more
tangible that the kids could do as a
merit for Mikey," said Rabbi Bezalel
Freedman of Oak Park, NCSY Central
East regional director. "The other
regions heard about it and made it
into a national initiative."
An NCSY Web site was established
to record mitzvot done in Mikey's
honor. This month, they added a
"Learn in Memory of Mikey" link.
"Mikey was both a friend and a
teacher to all of us," Rabbi Freedman
said. "He was our drummer, our head
adviser, a spellbinding speaker. He
taught us about
hope, optimism,
tenacity,
endurance and, in
general, positive
attitude."
or two-and-a-half-years, 19-
year-old Mikey Skoczylas of
West Bloomfield prayed for
the good health of his friend
Frank Michael "Mikey" Butler, 24,
who spent his entire life fighting ill-
ness.
But on Jan. 26, after hearing that
Mikey Butler had died, Skoczylas
reached the part of the daily service
where he typically recited the prayer
and was keenly aware of a deep
emptiness.
"That is really when I realized that
God had given and taken back a true
gift to this world," Skoczylas said.
Mikey Butler, an inspiration who
ferociously battled the effects of cys-
tic fibrosis, a double-lung transplant
and cancer, left a remarkable legacy
to a world of friends and family.
"Part of Mikey's mission here on
Earth," said his friend Keren Stiebel,
Mikey Butler playing the
18, of Bloomfield Hills, "was to
drums, which was one of
inspire others to live life to the
his passions.
fullest, be happy with what God has
given us and, most importantly, sup-
The Tuesday after he
port each other."
Determined To
died, she joined hun-
C ENTRAL EAST
Although he lived in Pittsburgh,
The Core
dreds throughout the
Mikey had countless friends in
In
spite of ongo-
world, listening to an
Detroit, met through the National
ing
health battles,
audio feed conference
Conference of Synagogue Youth
Mikey's
life was
LIFEGUAn
call of Mikey's funeral.
(NCSY), whose regional office is in
hardly
sedentary,
Some Detroiters
Southfield. Mikey's mother, Dr. Nina
's.CEGUARD C
having met then-
Novetsky Butler, is a former Detroiter; braved a snowstorm to
President Bill
attend
Mikey's
funeral
grandparents Morris and Phyllis
Mikey with Deborah Anstandig
Clinton and Vice
in
Pittsburgh,
while
Novetsky and uncle and aunt, Dr. Jay
of West Bloomfield at an NCSY
President Al
others
watched
the
serv-
and Paula Novetsky, and their family
event.
Gore and cele-
ice, Webcast online
all live in Southfield.
brating his bar
through a video
Detroit NCSY'ers rallied around
mitzvah in Israel.
hookup.
Mikey. "Whenever Mikey was in dire
Mikey
volunteered
at Camp Hebrew
The
next
day,
NCSY
Detroit
and
need — even on a Saturday night — we
Academy
for
Special
Children
in New
Cleveland
chapters
drove
together
to
would have 20, 30 or even 40 teenagers
York
and
interned
with
the
Institute
for
Pittsburgh.
Detroiters
were
among
those
coming out to say tehillim [psalms],"
Public
Affairs
of
the
Orthodox
Union
in
on
four
chartered
buses
that
traveled
Skoczylas said.
Washington, D.C.
from Yeshiva University in New York,
Often the group congregated in
A political science and business
where a memorial service was also held.
simultaneous prayer with youth group
major
and active in student govern-
"There
was
something
special
about
chapters across the country.
ment, he was too ill to travel to New
his presence," said Stiebel, who visited
York for his Yeshiva University gradua-
Mikey's family while they sat shivah for
You've Got A Friend
tion. So Mikey was conferred in the
him. "His personality, spirit, love
Deborah Anstandig, 19, of West
unlikely venue of the Port Authority
towards all and his overall uniqueness
Bloomfield, a student at Michlelet
made him truly incredible. Mikey Butler Conference Room of the Pittsburgh
Mevaseret Yerushalayim in Jerusalem,
3/ 5
2004
98
International Airport by Rabbi
Norman Lamm, current chancellor
and then-president of the school, visit-
ing exclusively for the occasion.
Perhaps the most memorable show-
ing of Mikey's determination took
place at an NCSY convention, when
he surprised friends who were told he
was too ill to attend.
"Everybody in the room — a few
hundred people — stood up and
clapped for him," said NCSY Central
East Regional President Sidney
Schechet, 17, of Southfield.
At first Mikey, a talented drummer,
who recorded a CD, sat with friends.
But at midnight, Schechet said, sud-
denly, "Mikey was playing the drums.
Next thing I know it's 3:30 in the
morning," he said. "With his sleeves
rolled up and sweat dripping from his
face, I saw Mikey banging away at those
drums like his life depended on it.
"That night — and morning —
everybody who was lucky to be there
was affected to the core by seeing
Mikey beat his unbearable disease by
playing the drums for us."
An NCSY Web-message board,
posted following Mikey's death, was
flooded with e-mails, many from those
who didn't even know him.
"People recognized how he still
loved and appreciated God, even
through what he was going through,"
Schechet said of Mikey's inspiration to
others to do the same.
A message posted by Mikey's par-
ents — Dr. Nina and Judge Daniel
Butler — referred to prayers said for
Mikey. "God did listen," they wrote.
And we have no regrets. Mikey is
hearing beautiful music — without
hearing aids; breathing easily in a
pleasantly warm — not hot — place;
playing the drums and singing at the
top of his full, vibrant lungs."
They ended the letter with
Mikey's mantra; the words that were
saved across his computer screen and
reflected the way he lived his life.
They signed the message with the
simple, yet telling line: "Day by
Glorious Day."
Contributions in memory of
Mikey Butler may be made to
The Mikey Butler Foundation,
do Gary Torgow, 220 W
Congress, Detroit, MI 48226 or
NCSY, 15919 W. 10 Mile Rd.,
Suite 100, Southfield, MI 48075.