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.