g. TY E “F044? 2. opa, rkC • ,lt uoN da SPA fik Wake/f Wt . tfti with natural looking permanent makeup • Full Sensual Lips • Perfectly Shaped Brows • Well Defined Eyes GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE FOR EVERY OCCASION gcm, -,c.tuini 0 Vat of Faiwi2ert.mte gtgodultv-hate, 32520 Northwestern Hwy. • Farmington Hills • www.tamaraspa.com 248.855.0474 Efforts to get young Jews to feel ceeds, or the car itself, to a charity, part of the community, however, seem says Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, direc- to be bearing early fruit, though no tor of youth and informal education one has yet researched their influence for the movement's Pacific-Central- on a national scale. West region. Cyd Weissman, whose son partici- At Temple Sholom, just south of pated in the Beth Am Israel's San Francisco, students since last fall madrichim program, was for a have been taking Stanley Kaplan decade director of the suburban preparatory tests for the college board Philadelphia congregation's school SAT exams. They warm up by picking and found the madrichim program out key vocabulary words from each yielded an 85 percent retention rate week's Torah portion, doing the move- from ages 13 on. ment's new "10 Minutes of Torah" "Eight years ago we had two or study first. three kids in a con- The idea is to get firmation class; now teens involved in we have 25," she areas they already says. consider important, The idea was to then envelop the Get teens involved take older students activity in a Jewish and have them help in areas they already setting in a form of younger students in "soft sell," says pro- consider important. areas they excelled gram director Eli at, whether it was Wirtschafter Torah or arts and "We're not going crafts, she said. In to throw hard-core the process, relation- Bible or Talmud or ships sprung up between the genera- history studies at them. The first step tions, in a Jewish setting, and connec- is getting them back in the door," he tions were made. says. "The whole frame for Jewish educa- But Rabbi Ed Feinstein, of the tion is, you have learning with mean- Conservative synagogue Valley Beth ing, in a nurturing, caring context; Shalom in the Los Angeles suburb of you start when kids are younger and Encino, takes a different approach. you build on that when they're older," Feinstein, who wrote a book aimed she says. at answering theological questions Now Weissman is working with 20 from a teen perspective, Tough non-Orthodox synagogues in the New Questions Jews Ask, says "kids know York area on a project called "Re- when they're being sold something. Imagine," for the Experiment in They have a powerful nose for the Congregational Education. In it, each phony." synagogue is asked questions such as His synagogue takes a tough tack what role family and community with parents of teens entering their plays, and what's the connection religious school. "We tell them that if between learning and living. they leave after bar mitzvah, it's a lie," The Reform movement is also he says. launching new, informal methods of Instead, the school practices "good Jewish education outside of congrega- teaching." One teacher screens tional school classrooms and youth episodes of the classic TV show groups but inside synagogues. These "Twilight Zone" and debates the "alternate doors" to Judaism include Jewish ethical issues the shows raise. teen healing services; rap groups or Another teaches a class that debates Jewish theater, Davids says. Jewish values arising from provocative In one rural Northern California court trials of issues such as assisted synagogue, students are overhauling suicide. an old car, then debating the Jewish "In the end, it's the question, 'Is this view of tzedakah, with a view toward worth my time?"' he says of whether selling the car and donating the pro- students will choose to stay on. ❑ Courtyard by Marriott 31525 W. 12 Mile Farmington Hills, Michigan COURTYARD ,Marnoll The Courtyard by Marriott would like to be your hotel of choice for all your special occasions. c Weddings FREE Certified Wedding Planner on Site ca Bar & Bat Mitzvahs ca On-Site Catering c Corporate Meetings Social Events c'a 4,000 sq. ft. of Banquet Space MEI Mention this ad & receive 10% off your next special even www.marriott.com/DTWEVI 248.553.0000 949950 We offer: 4- cultured stone, brick and siding mailboxes 4- post-mounted mailbox installation *- installing cultured stone 586-899-2988 stylemailboxes.com Imagine an escape from stress and fifes dd.% routines. Where you can rehzx and pamper yourself. that has an abundance of activities for adults and children. A at your disposal and free child care. You need not to imagine anymore. CM- we have something for everyone. At 30333 Southfield Rd. Southfield. MI 48076 248.646.8990 Cali now /in - our (united--time special. offer. 3/24 2005 51