Wake-Up Call

Darchei dinner speaker promotes religious outreach
to Jews to counter anti-Semitic upsurge after 9-11.

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in danger — it's time to wake up!"
According to Rabbi Jacobson, Rabbi
Weinberg agreed to speak at the
Darchei dinner as a special tribute to
abbi Noach Weinberg, com-
dinner honorees Rabbi Alon and Leah
monly regarded as the father
Gella Tolwin. Rabbi Tolwin was one
of the Jewish outreach move-
of Aish HaTorah's original students
ment, will be guest speaker at Yeshivas
and for decades has maintained a close
Darchei Torah's annual dinner on
relationship with Rabbi Weinberg.
Monday, June 20, at the Shriner's
Rabbi Tolwin has been director of the
Conference Center in Southfield.
Detroit branch of
Rabbi Weinberg, a
Aish HaTorah for
native of New York's
nearly 20 years and
Lower East Side, made .
has led one of the
aliyah to Israel in 1960.
community's
There, he opened Ohr
longest-running
Somayach in 1972 and
lunch-and-learn
Aish HaTorah in 1974
programs at the
— the two most suc-
Jewish News every
cessful and widely
Thursday for more
known kiruv (outreach)
than 15 years.
yeshiyot in the world.
"Ray Noach is a
"He is a world-
visionary, a man of
renowned speaker who
incredible innova-
has touched tens of
Rabbi Noach Weinberg
tion — he literally
thousands of Jewish
changed the Jewish
lives throughout the
world," Rabbi Tolwin says. "He pio-
world," says Rabbi Tzvi Jacobson,
neered the Baal Tshuvah (returnees to
director of development at Yeshivas
observant Judaism) movement. He
Darchei Torah (YDT).
won't rest until every Jew knows about
Rabbi Weinberg is the rosh hayeshiv-
his heritage."
ah (dean) of Aish HaTorah in
Jerusalem, a school with about 200
Tolwins As Role Models
"permanent" students and 1,200 visit-
The
Tolwins are being honored with
ing students each year. There are 32
the Avodas HaKodesh, or Community
Aish branchesworldwide; they run a
Ambassadors Award in tribute to their
plethora of adult education classes as
involvement with the school and the
well as Discovery outreach seminars.
community.
The rabbi believes that the job of
As director of Aish Detroit, Rabbi
kiruv is "to get people in touch with
Tolwin's stated goal is to make sure
what they already know" — to get
"every Jew in the city knows that the
Jews over the hurdle of being "afraid
opportunity to learn exists." He sees
to investigate God." The reason for
the Jewish community as "hemorrhag-
this fear, Rabbi Weinberg says, is that
ing" and says he yearns to connect his
American Jews are so steeped in their
fellow Jews with "the beauty and
country's Christian culture they think
power of Jewish wisdom and Jewish
that Judaism works the same way as
living."
Christianity.
The Tolwins' commitment to out-
Christianity, says Rabbi Weinberg, is
reach
-goes far beyond office hours, as
"all or nothing: You do it all or you
they maintain a home of chesed, open
burn in hell." Judaism isn't like that,
always to guests. Leah Gella's back-
he says. "God-is our Father and wants
ground in social work includes found-
us happy. He's happy whenever we do
ing and directing organizations in her
good, but He wants a relationship
native California to help the homeless,
with us even if we're too weak to do as
abused children, drug addicts and can-
we should.
"The worst problem today," says the cer patients.
In Metro Detroit, she volunteers
rabbi, "is that Jews are asleep. Sept. 11
with Yad Ezra, the Jewish Federation
was a wake-up call; there's growing
anti-Semitism all over the world. We're of Metropolitan Detroit, the Women's

SUSAN TAWIL

