Youth Movement

Federation's family mission kickoff is geared toward the young.

Staff photos by Angie Baan

DAVID SACHS

Senior Copy Editor

W

ith all their youthful energy
and exuberance — and the
anticipation of seeing Israel
for the first time — scores of kids and
teens going on Federation's Family
Miracle Mission in December didn't
need much prompting to get into the
swing of the kickoff rally Sunday at
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield.
Dubbed "the largest single family
mission in the history of the Western
world" by co-chair Dr. Conrad Giles,
750 local people have signed up so far.
The closest competition,' he said, was
Miami's "puny 426" two years ago,
adding that there's still room for more
— "but not many more."
The rally featured craft tables for the
very young and also a breakout session
just for teens — many of whom will
mark their bar or bat mitzvah in Israel.
The family mission, a first for
Detroit, is sponsored by the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,
the Michigan Board of Rabbis and the

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Detroit Jewish News.
Although geared toward children,
the mission has attracted multiple gen-
erations of extended families.
Eight-year-old Jesse Adler of
Farmington Hills will set foot on the
Jewish homeland for the first time
with her grandmother Elana Adler of
Walled Lake. Grandfather Sandor
Adler will go too, along with Jesse's
other grandparents, Libby and Larry
Newman of West Bloomfield, brother
Mitch, 15, bat-mitzvah-celebrating sis-
ter Eden, 12, and mom and dad,
Nancy and Jeff Adler.
Friends of the family will join them:
Anne and Michael Rottman of West
Bloomfield and their sons Geoffrey,
15, and Brandon, 12, also a bar mitz-
vah celebrant.
Nancy is hoping that her sister and
brother-in-law and their three children
are able to go on the mission, too.
That will make 18 in their entourage,
she said. "We're hoping for chai."
The concept of multiple generations
is unique to this mission. "We'll be
seeing this mission through the eyes of
our kids, of our parents and of our
grandparents — three generations,

Clockwise from top:
Israel-bound are mom and dad Tracey and Dov Lisner with daughters
Allie, 9, and Emily 12, and grandparents Seymour and Anita Cywiak.

The Knoll clan includes six first-timers to Israel: kids Allison, 13, Emily,
14, Josh, 8, Sarah, 10, and mom and pop Jay and Mary.

Jake Obron, 13, of Bloomfield Hills and Brad Schlafer, 14, of West
Bloomfield stop at a poster to ponder one of the mission goals, "To learn
more about my Jewish heritage."

Grandmother Elana Adler and granddaughter Jesse Adler, 8, and their
extendedfamily will visit Israel together on the Decembe mission.